Author Archives: Larry Janis

This personality type can help create a healthy workplace culture..

 

 

 

 

by Jose Ucar

 

When it comes to communication, there are three effective strategies that can help you influence people and create a positive shift in their perspectives and actions:

 

1) The conveyor: this involves directing and telling people what to do, providing clear instructions and guidance to achieve desired outcomes.

2) The coach: this approach revolves around asking individuals how they would handle a situation, encouraging their input and guiding them towards their own solutions.

3) The challenger: by challenging the way people are currently approaching things and fostering healthy discussions, you can stimulate critical thinking, creativity and innovation, leading to positive changes in their behaviours and commitment levels.

Each of these strategies involves taking on a persona of some kind, in this article I will cover the conveyor strategy/persona and how this can help to create a feedback culture.

This strategy focuses on delivering information in a manner that prompts individuals to shift and act. When presenting information within this framework, frankness will be crucial, but your approach should be tailored to the individual, cultural context and situation. This is laying the groundwork for effective ongoing communication, and you may need to acquaint the person with this style if it diverges from their typical approach.

When taking on the role of the conveyor, the goal is to communicate from a point that integrates heart, mind, and body. This will enable you to feel what you want to say and to think about the person you are saying it to; to rationalize the situation to find the best way to say something so that it has the intended impact; and to present the message with congruence in your physiology and tonality. These skills represent the basis for the conveyor.

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Three “Bad Boss” Habits to Avoid in 2024

 

 

 

 

by Graham Ward, INSEAD

 

 

 

Resist the urge to emotionally detach, control outcomes or blindly comply.

As the new year swings open its doors, promising a fresh start and a burst of motivation, it also brings the daunting prospect of having to do it all over again. Despite our best efforts to lead with empathy, authenticity and clarity, we often find ourselves slipping back into bad habits that can frustrate our teams and harm our organisations. 

The characteristics of good bosses is a subject of ongoing debate. Countless books are written on the topic each year, many of which offer inconclusive findings. However, certain fundamentals remain unquestionable: a clear vision; a well-defined and aligned strategy; an inclusive, intellectually stimulating, and creative work environment; and a commitment to developing employees to their full potential.

While this looks achievable on paper, events often derail us from our “true north”. When emotions run high, we become susceptible to falling into three mindsets that undermine our effectiveness and erode trust within our teams.

1.The self-protector

These leaders are driven by a need for self-preservation, which manifests as aloofness and a preference for intellect rather than empathy in their leadership approach. For these bosses, displaying vulnerability is considered a sign of weakness. This emotional detachment creates a sense of distance and disengagement among their followers. 

Often found in engineering and scientific fields, these leaders need to recognise that vulnerability is not a weakness but rather an appealing and humanising quality.

Pope Francis is a great example of a leader who tried to bridge the distance between himself and his followers. Unlike his predecessor, Joseph Ratzinger, he has made himself a man of the people by making bold strategic decisions that break with tradition and expressing himself with candour and authenticity. 

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Three “Bad Boss” Habits to Avoid in 2024

 

 

 

 

by Graham Ward

 

Resist the urge to emotionally detach, control outcomes or blindly comply.

 

As the new year swings open its doors, promising a fresh start and a burst of motivation, it also brings the daunting prospect of having to do it all over again. Despite our best efforts to lead with empathy, authenticity and clarity, we often find ourselves slipping back into bad habits that can frustrate our teams and harm our organisations. 

The characteristics of good bosses is a subject of ongoing debate. Countless books are written on the topic each year, many of which offer inconclusive findings. However, certain fundamentals remain unquestionable: a clear vision; a well-defined and aligned strategy; an inclusive, intellectually stimulating, and creative work environment; and a commitment to developing employees to their full potential.

While this looks achievable on paper, events often derail us from our “true north”. When emotions run high, we become susceptible to falling into three mindsets that undermine our effectiveness and erode trust within our teams.

1.The self-protector

These leaders are driven by a need for self-preservation, which manifests as aloofness and a preference for intellect rather than empathy in their leadership approach. For these bosses, displaying vulnerability is considered a sign of weakness. This emotional detachment creates a sense of distance and disengagement among their followers. 

(more…)

Can Remote Work Help Diversity Recruitment?

 

 

 

 

 

by David Hsu and Prasanna (Sonny) Tambe

New research from Wharton shows that technology firms pull a more diverse pool of job applicants when they offer remote work, a finding that could help shape how jobs are designed in the future.In their paper accepted for publication in Management Science, Wharton professors David Hsu and Prasanna (Sonny) Tambe analyzed thousands of technical and managerial jobs that were posted before, during, and after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the same jobs shifted from in-person to remote, that single change yielded a 15% increase in female applicants, a 33% increase in underrepresented minority applicants, and a 17% increase in total applicant experience.Although the study focused on tech startups, the professors said the results are relevant for business leaders across industries as they tackle the dual challenge of increasing workforce diversity and figuring out remote, hybrid, and in-person work.“We think that there’s going to be a lot of real-world importance [to this research] as companies think through what their policy is going to be. Is it going to be equitable? How do we encourage the right behavior and balance it against the needs and wants of the employees?” Hsu told Wharton Business Daily on SiriusXM during an interview about the paper, which is titled “Remote Work and Job Applicant Diversity: Evidence from Technology Startups.”The Flexibility of Remote Work for Diversity Applicants

Hsu and Tambe said they wanted to study the effects of remote work on women and minorities because they are often overlooked in emerging research on remote work. They are also statistically underrepresented in careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), despite well-established research showing that diversity boosts innovation. (more…)

New Business Sales – F&A BPO & Advisory Practice

 

 

 

 

 

New Business Sales – F&A BPO & Advisory Practice

 

 

Responsibilities:

  • Have Big-deal experience – the ideal candidate will have proven experience in closing deals with ACV > $2M and TCV > $ 10M selling BPO services to the CFO suite of large corporations.
  • Be responsible for New Logo hunting and the sales cycle from deal origination to closure (signed contract) and successful handover to the Account Manager subsequently.
  • Bring an understanding of the F&A BPO marketplace and competitor offerings to drive the company’s growth strategy and investments.
  • Work closely with Industry Business Unit leads to work on targeted account strategies, agree on target logos, and pursue to deliver high value and high growth new logos.
  • Build a predictable pipeline of new business to generate repeatable and profitable revenues across the various Business Units
  • Execute go-to market plans via targeted campaigns and other sales channels including advisors, influencers, conference attendance, industry events, etc.
  • Can effectively identify and translate client needs into the company service offerings. Develop an understanding of customers’ business needs, matching them with the company capabilities, and developing winning proposals for the company.
  • Be a key intermediary between the service delivery team and the customer.

Experience and Skills Qualifications:

The person hired for this role must have solid current experience as an individual contributor selling multi – year / multi – million-dollar F&A BPO engagements to the CFO suite that leverage global teams.

  • 8 – 10 years as an individual contributor selling new business for a BPO and / or Top 10 Advisory Consulting firm.
  • Astute at identifying and qualifying leads, be able to develop strong relationships at potential client organizations and have the proven ability to convert these relationships into commercial engagements in situations where little to no previous relationship existed.
  • Effectively and proactively managed client’s expectations, built deep client partnerships,
  • Broad functional knowledge within the North American BPO sector and able to connect with a variety of executive level stakeholders on their specific pain-points.
  • Strong sales process and operations skills (pipeline management, forecasting, budgeting, etc.)
  • Strategically minded and able to create a consultative and solution-minded sales environment.
  • High-energy style who is motivated by winning.
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural global environment.

If you are interested or know someone who might be, please contact me:

Larry Janis, Managing Partner ISSG

Email: Janis@issg.net