myAIPMExercising leadership
Andy Combes, AIPM Director - Senior Executive Leadership Development and Executive Coaching
The following advice was recently offered to a police officer on an AIPM program. ‘‘Try this. Listen very hard to the conversations the individuals or team are having at work, then ask yourself, ‘what do they want to happen, and what do they keep doing to stop themselves from getting it?’’
What does this advice offer us when leading in unpredictable times?
Change at is to be looked at as an active living system. The structures, roles, tasks, equipment and paperwork we see, deploy and act on are only a piece of the puzzle.]
The human elements of our organization seeks balance. The comments ‘don’t rock the boat’, ‘swim in your lane’ and ‘keep your head down’ are understandable means for all of us to protect what we care about during change. Like a rubber band when stretched seeks its original shape, so to us and others. Status quo serves the team well in a crisis. It may not, however, be sufficient to continually learn new ways to keep the community safe in an ever changing landscape.
Shift Levers rather than solve problem to make progress. Look at the model below that offer three levers, or ways, to create movement on an issue you need to make progress on.
Leading Adaptive Change – Shift the System*
* Adapted from a model outlined in ‘Leadership Matters – David Pich and Anne Messenger (2017 Institute of Managers and Leaders)
Exercising real leadership to shift the ‘human element’ of an issue is tough, requires effort and endurance. The idea of finding and acting on a lever makes exercising leadership possible, manageable and from anywhere. Using the earlier quote, if you as a supervisor or manager want to shift the culture to be more present, connected and ‘tuned in’ to your people and community concerns, start small. Look at the symbols, behaviours (as well as structures) that get in the way of you doing so. Culture is like the wind – you can’t always see it directly, yet we notice its impacts; when in support or opposition to what matters to us. And exercising leadership is a choice of when to support what works and to act on what matters.
Andy Combes provides Executive Leadership Development and Executive Coaching to Australian and New Zealand Police, Fire and Emergency Management Executives at AIPM.Exercising real leadership to shift the ‘human element’ of an issue is tough, requires effort and endurance. The idea of finding and acting on a lever makes exercising leadership possible, manageable and from anywhere. Using the earlier quote, if you as a supervisor or manager want to shift the culture to be more present, connected and ‘tuned in’ to your people and community concerns, start small. Look at the symbols, behaviours (as well as structures) that get in the way of you doing so. Culture is like the wind – you can’t always see it directly, yet we notice its impacts; when in support or opposition to what matters to us. And exercising leadership is a choice of when to support what works and to act on what matters.
Andy Combes provides Executive Leadership Development and Executive Coaching to Australian and New Zealand Police, Fire and Emergency Management Executives at AIPM.