TRAINING VITAL FOR THE SURVIVAL OF NEW EXECUTIVES

Ain't that the truth! One of the biggest frustrations that I have at present is this whole 'loyalty' thing that seems to be going around. Because of the huge skills shortage at the moment, these new executives are so busy playing one company off against the other in a bid to see just how much they can get out of the deal that they are not performing at all. It's seems to all be in the numbers and it has got to the point that it is almost a catch 22 sort of situation.

Perhaps everyone should take a step back from the situation and what is on offer should be changed to 'this is what you will get IF you deliver"!

There is too much scurrying around. To the new young executives, I say . . . . sit down for a minute and make a difference before you start making demands and looking for excuses!

Training vital for the survival of new executives
02 April 2007 at 06h00

With the growing demand for competent executives exceeding all previous levels, particularly in the BEE arena, finding them and meeting their growing expectations has become a major challenge for chief executive officers and boards. So says Nolitha Tsengiwe, a partner with the executive development and coaching firm, Centre for Conscious Leadership. She believes one way around the problem is to coach incumbents and to maximise the efficiency of those already in place.

"One of the biggest problems hampering the optimisation of South Africa's executive talent lies in the fact that black executives are expected to 'learn from their white counterparts' before they can play a significant role in decision making," she says. "White executives often complain of the perceived apathy or passiveness of black executives, while their black counterparts voice frustrations at their opinions not seeming to be valued. "This could be attributed to both groups having a lack of understanding of each other's challenges, experiences, expectations and an absence of skills to address this.

Well-structured executive coaching is an ideal way in which these differences can be allayed. "Centre for Conscious Leadership partner Lee Freemantle says one of the greatest problems faced by executives is that they are not always aware of the impact of what she calls the "background of shared obviousness" in any particular group of executives. "For example, there's a predominance of white males in particular who went to the same school or university, supported the same rugby and cricket teams and share the same cultural background," she says. This often results in them being unaware of the "background of shared obviousness" that unifies them. "While this seems perfectly obvious and on the surface would not appear to be a problem, the reality is that this is often a gap that many black professionals find almost impossible to bridge," she says.

An old boys club mentality is very much alive and well at a subliminal level and it is going to take a concerted effort to break down the barriers that still separate people from different cultural, experiential and racial backgrounds in the workplace. The challenge of trying to fit in, in order to contribute or earn a meaningful role in the executive suite, then becomes more difficult to navigate. This is equally true for a white executive who enters a predominantly black executive team. "Women executives are often subjected to the joking and jostling style of overbearing males in the executive suite who are often unaware of their unintended impact," she says.

This is made more difficult by attempts to address this with the implication that women are too emotional and oversensitive to cut it in the field. "The question many newcomers to the executive suite ask themselves is: 'How do I need to behave and act to be taken seriously and earn the right to contribute meaningfully'? "Through intensive coaching, we help them to find the answer", says Freemantle "Newcomers to the executive have to be coached to develop skills and awareness about how to go about bridging the gaps.

"Existing executives, in turn, need to be coached to change their mindsets and become more sensitive to these differences and learn how to open up their ranks to leveraging the diversity of newcomers such as race, gender, sexual orientation or culture. "We tailor all our learning and development interventions to the individual. These are then juxtaposed against the needs, expectations and objectives of the company. "This is an integrated process that requires involvement of all key stakeholders ie other board members, line managers, peers, direct reports etc. "This process also takes into account the client's life as a whole and the various challenges that remain in the balance."The coaching process is fully Integrated with other HR processes such as performance management, career and succession planning. "These interventions are aimed at developing a repertoire of skills and awareness around an executive 's personal, interpersonal and task mastery," Tsengiwe says. "People are often blind to the impact they are having in the workplace.

Given the lack of direct feedback and an awkwardness around addressing sensitive issues, they are therefore unable to make improvements. In addition to making executives and board members more effective, it also helped to increase overall capacity and strengthen a company's position in the market place as they are able to challenge the status quo and harness new ways of thinking and doing things. "Freemantle points out that what they offer is not just a quick fix, but a more sustainable solution in that it helps companies align what they say with what they do and so ensure optimum performance across the board.

For more information contact Nolitha Tsengiwe or Lee Freemantle at the Centre for Conscious Leadership on 011-295-6642 or visit the website