Business Connectors Personal Development training session Jan Levy, Three Hands 4 th March 2013 Some more getting to know each other Explore the skills and behaviours needed in the Connector role Explore your strengths and development areas Create an atmosphere of mutual support amongst Connectors Devise your own personal development objectives Objectives 3.05Set the scene and explore perceptions 3.05 3.30Explore skills and behaviours needed 3.30 4.00Experiential learning case studies 4.00 4.15Break 4.15 5.00Self-evaluation review 5.00 5.15Personal development vision and mission How we will go about it The barometer How much do you know about the role? 1 = Virtually nothing 2 = A little 3 = Enough for now 4 = Quite a bit 5 = Great knowledge of the role The barometer How clear are you on the skills and experience needed in this role? 1 = Not clear at all 2 = I have a vague idea 3 = I have some idea 4 = I have a pretty good idea 5 = I am very clear The barometer How much relevant experience do you think you have for the role? 1 = Virtually none 2 = A little 3 = A fair bit 4 = Quite a lot 5 = A great deal The barometer How clear are you on what you want to get out of the role for yourself? 1 = Not clear at all 2 = I have a vague idea 3 = I have some idea 4 = I have a pretty good idea 5 = I am very clear Behaviours Every day I do something that Im not used to doing, such as a radio interview, making a speech in a school, meeting Prince Charles, hosting a boxing event or persuading someone to get out of bed. Skills and behaviours Seeing the big picture, thinking strategically and spotting opportunities "You have to point out the win wins. Skills and behaviours Motivating and leading others, without positional authority "This is great for confidence. After doing this you feel you can lead any team. Its an amazing leadership development opportunity. Skills and behaviours Being visionary and thinking creatively Every day I do something that Im not used to doing." Skills and behaviours Being flexible in ways of working / staying open-minded You have to work with CEOs and local unemployed people. Everyone must trust you. Skills and behaviours Being self aware and understanding what motivates others You have to understand the agendas of many different types of organisations and people." Skills and behaviours Communicating confidently with different audiences You must mirror the company you are seeing. You cant build trust in the community if you are wearing a suit! Skills and behaviours Being tenacious, persistent and driven to reach goals You must be prepared to take a lead. You are there to make things happen. Skills and behaviours Skills and behaviours: Management vs. leadership Leadership You must be prepared to take a lead. You are there to make things happen. This is great for confidence. After doing this you feel you can lead any team. Its an amazing leadership development opportunity. A manager manages people and makes them do things. A leader genuinely wants to achieve something because its the right thing to do. Case studies and the change curve Experiential learning Being a Business Connector Making sense of the experience Take some learning from the experience through conversations with others Try out new ways of working Kolbs Learning Cycle Photo of Will Lots of change curves daily, weekly, monthly, etc When I thought I knew it all I didnt, and vice versa. I looked for the KPIs, but it was a blank sheet of paper. I was in search of a steer and a structure. Base was uncomfortable, low on hygiene factors. Telling people what I was doing, without really knowing myself. Being chased by a dog, not being able to get online, wearing a suit when I shouldnt have been, meeting with people who didnt get it, having no idea how to fix anything. Turning point: meeting with Oval Cricket Ground and making link with Jobcentre Plus. My mind shifted to: This is possible. There was a snowball effect. It became second nature. Money and resources became the norm. WILL POPHAM, BT BUSINESS CONNECTOR, LAMBETH Wills change curve Naval gazing ; lots of reflection as to whether I was doing the right thing. Pound the pavements and knock on doors - Meet people randomly - Pushing myself to really listen - Analyse the real issues Back at BT: -Influencing senior people by presenting clear propositions and being direct. Kolbs Learning Cycle - Resilience - Determination - Being realistic Wills experiential learning cycle Photo of Will Outside of usual corporate system and structure It sometimes felt lonely. It took a good few weeks to be able to articulate why I was there...... and then to build a menu of opportunities. A meeting with a particular community organisation. I remember thinking that I could add some value here. A small business forum when the speaker mentioned my name 3 or 4 times. Over 40 connections made, almost all in the second half of the secondment Carly Rands, Everything Everywhere, Business Connector in Sunderland Difficulty engaging SMEs Exciting when you connect people... More confidence when you have more information Applying learning to Everything Everywhere Carlys change curve A rich experience that you wouldnt get in the corporate world. Selling in the community strategy to company... and saving her job in the process Getting a new job Kolbs Learning Cycle Working on companys community strategy provided opportunity for reflection and conceptualisation. Her line manager would trust her with greater responsibility, has greater confidence in her influencing ability, thinks she tackles situations and problems in a different way'. Carlys experiential learning cycle Business Connectors Break time Self-evaluation review 1. Summarise your self-evaluation on a large sheet of paper. Name: 2 key strengths 2 key development areas Words others have used to describe you Self-rating on behaviours Seeing the big picture, thinking strategically and spotting opportunities Motivating and leading others, without using positional authority Being visionary and thinking creatively Being flexible in ways of working and staying open- minded Being self-aware and understanding what motivates others Communicating confidently with different audiences Being tenacious, persistent and driven to reach goals Self-evaluation review 1. Summarise your self-evaluation on a large sheet of paper. 2. Conversations in pairs 15 minutes each way Ask questions to: - Help deepen awareness and thinking over how to effectively use strengths and develop them further - Explore how you feel about the words people have used to describe you happy/ surprised/ annoyed to hear? - Be clear on how to tackle areas for development - Develop an atmosphere of supporting one another - Generally support and challenge each others development objectives Quick review Self-evaluation Setting the scene Skills and behaviours Case studies Self-evaluation review Statement of intent Statement of intent Develop a mission and vision for your personal development. Vision: a vision for your skills, behaviours and mind-sets in, say, one year. It is a future state. Mission: how you are going to achieve your vision and bring it to life. These are the specifics about what you'll do to make it happen. It is the vehicle that transforms the vision into reality. Statement of intent For example Vision: I will have new ways of working and I will therefore be able to adapt readily to all types of situations and influence people even when they are not in my immediate circle of influence. I will be more confident when dealing with people who are more senior or from backgrounds I can't naturally relate to. I imagine having new perspectives so that I can better relate to stakeholders who see things from different vantage points. Statement of intent Mission: To stay open-minded in every interaction I have and regularly reflect on what I've learned, understanding that sometimes the learning will feel fairly intangible and that potentially it is my outlook and behaviour, rather than a direct skill set, that has changed. To ask challenging questions of myself and others to deepen my learning (helping to make sense of it) and so that I can learn better from others. Always speaking up and asking when I don't understand something - accepting I don't always have to be the one with the answers and that there are no silly questions. Use listening and questioning skills so that I can better influence others and truly understand what motivates and drives them. Continually monitor how successful I am with this and actively seek out feedback so I can track how I'm doing. Speak to my line manager/ BITC coordinator/ colleagues about my vision and mission so that they can help to hold me accountable for my intentions. Business Connectors Jan Levy Three Hands