- Organizations are constantly in transition.
- Investing in the training of staff is today’s way out.
- In recruitment, scouting for talent is paramount, and so is retaining it.
- Organizations should know the go-to people for staff coaching, for vibrant productivity.
Today, digital migrations, stiffer and more complicated competition, the need for more vibrant marketing and visibility enhancement approaches and dealing with emerging issues at the workplace have all made the workplace more complex and sensitive than ever.
Undoubtedly, workers now need to stay in the know and in constant sync with the daily transitions organizations are facing.
To keep on top of it all, organizations have to invest in the training of their staff so that they can correctly and enthusiastically handle their daily duties.
Of concern, however, is the go-to people for such training.
Cognizant that training sessions aim at imbuing freshness into the company, the genius stroke is engaging the right people who have the expertise and relevant understanding of the winning approaches in running such institutions.
Skills in leadership and governance, policy formulation, implementation and evaluation, business strategy, ethical practices, finance management and many other movers of governmental and non-governmental organizations are all vital aspects to infuse into your staff.
Arise Circle KE is a leadership and organizational development organization offering consultancy and training services to organizations in Kenya, Africa and beyond.
In their latest training, Arise Circle KE offered splendid training to Wakenya Pamoja Sacco’s leading staff, equipping them to face organizational change and transitions, competition and other leadership aspects requiring up-to-date skills, attitude and know-how.
Dr. Walter Okibo, MBS, MHC, an Entrepreneur, Strategist, Consultant, Visionary and Transformative Leader, and Policy Maker, is one of the three trainers who steered the lesson-filled program.
Over the years, through experience, he has mastered the skills and approaches organizations need to, instead of surviving, thrive in a highly competitive environment.
“To lead and transform your organization, you must know the kind of people you are dealing with,” he says, stressing the need to first understand the entire setting of the organization to make the right moves as a transformational leader.
“The world has been going through entrepreneurial transitions and organizations’ leaders should keep in step with the changes,” he told the trainees.
Talent Management
Noting that every talent is vital for an organization’s seamless running, “If we discover our unique inner strengths and utilize them, there’s no question, we shall make a great difference in our lives,” he assured.
The strategist emphasizes that the recruitment process is vital in handpicking the right talent for your organization because it embraces the employee’s inner potential and enhances unique value delivery and employee productivity.
“If people’s talents are tapped into and not just qualifications, the organizations are likely to excel,” says Dr. Okibo.
He notes that regularly, organizations fail to connect the dots and see the forest for the trees when hiring.
Instead, they use academic candidates’ qualifications as the major consideration of their abilities and competence, thus employing papers instead of humans braced to deliver.
“Your papers gave you a job; your talent should distinguish and grow your career,” he told the staff.
According to Dr. Okibo, managing talent allows an organization to have the right people, with the right skills, in the right job, at the right time.
“Talent Management will give your company a unique value preposition compared to professionalism,” he noted.
But also, after hiring the right talent, equipping, managing and retaining them is crucial to keep the top talent for the organization’s success.
Your talent first
But first, everyone needs to discover their talent.
“It takes interest, intelligence and ability to learn and grow. Your talent distinguishes you from your colleagues and helps you to progress in your career,” he noted.
Talent management focuses on recruitment, retention, employee development, performance management, workforce learning and organizational culture.
“Always gel your own vision with that of the company, so that as the organization progresses, you also progress,” he advises.
Intrapreneurship
The entrepreneur says that organizations also need to allow their staff to be intrapreneurs within the company.
This calls for a system that allows an employee to act like an entrepreneur within a company or other organization, with innovation, self-motivation and pro-activeness in pursuing a product or service.
“They do the organization’s business as their own,” he appreciated the advantage of encouraging intrapreneurship.
Organizations’ leaders should therefore create an entrepreneurial environment in which employees exercise their entrepreneurial skills for the benefit of the company and their own.
Such environments give employees the freedom to experiment and the potential for growth.
Managing change
But even after identifying the right talent, nurturing a thriving environment for intrapreneurs and retaining top thinkers, change is bound to come, and the organization stays in transition.
That is why transformational leaders should master the art of Change Management.
Though many see change as an end by itself, “It is only a means of adjusting to new conditions and sustaining or increasing performance and effectiveness,” says Dr. Okibo.
It is worth realizing that Dr. Okibo has been through transitions himself, and has served in dynamic quarters requiring excellent strategies, vibrancy and clarity of thought.
He served as a County Executive Committee Member or Minister in charge of Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development, where he doubled up as an Acting Minister for Trade, Tourism and Industry.
This was after serving as Minister for Roads, Public Works, Infrastructure, Transport & Housing and Minister for Administration, Corporate Services and Stakeholder Management at the County Government of Kisii.
Currently, Dr. Okibo is serving as a Senior Lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in the School of Business and Entrepreneurship.
Change management aims at transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state.
Its purpose is to make the organization better and the future brighter.
Three-step approach
Using Kurt Lewin’s Model of Managing Change, he explained the Unfreezing, Changing and Refreezing steps as crucial.
In Unfreezing, old ways of doing things are chided, and the need for new approaches triggered, with a desire to learn new things being cultivated.
Changing stage involves effecting the newly-learned ways and behaviors.
The Refreezing stage is a period of stabilizing the new changes, rewarding the best new approaches, and integrating newness into daily engagements.
Though these transitions come in handy with uncertainty, resistance and unprecedented reactions, “It is not the strongest who survive, nor the most intelligent, but those who are most responsive to change,” says Dr. Okibo.
Education and communication, collaboration, intervention, direction and coercion are all vital steps to successful change management.
Starting at the top, involving everyone, embracing a sense of ownership among the affected, and preparing for the unexpected are some of the principles transformational leaders and change managers must employ.
When strategy meets passion at the workplace, organizations embrace the right change, transform for good and stride confidently into the competitive market.
Organizational conflict resolution
Of great importance to note is that even when scouting for talent, embracing transitions, and managing change, conflicts arise, calling for redress.
Lack of information and resources, poor personal relationships, incompetence, exhibiting different values, chasing divergent goals, and condoning unhealthy competition among employees are some of the top causes of friction in the workplace.
As a certified mediator and member of the Society of Mediators of East and Central Africa, Dr. Okibo says that when squabble arises in an organization, the leadership should be quick to solve the problem.
Solving
All parties should meet ASAP, set clear expectations, build listening skills, recognize and respect personal differences, be solution-focused and objective, build common ground, and also “beat up” issues, not the conflicting minds.
“When handling a conflict, don’t dwell on discussing the conflict. Equally, separate it from your personal issues,” he advised the Sacco’s leadership.
Why stay professional?
Every step of managing the entire organization requires corporate ethics, etiquette and professionalism.
Actually, that is why such training sessions should also be done by professionals with the advantage of experience in handling organizations.
“As a leader, you are the company’s role model and you should so behave,” he said.
Etiquette, which refers to acceptable norms, manners and behavior, comes in two forms:
- Corporate etiquette is a set of rules an individual should follow while serving customers at work.
- Social etiquette: the forms, manners, and ceremonies established by convention as acceptable or required in serving customers.
“Dress for success, avoiding clothes that attract too much attention,” he advises.
“If you don’t have the morals and ethics, your juniors will not appreciate what you do,” he adds.
The first impression is key, and as a professional, you should present yourself to clients respectfully and courteously, creating an ever-lasting image and remaining sensitive to different personalities and cultural diversity.
The professional also delved into Handling Negotiations as a vital skill in dealing with different types of customers, combating competition, and making significant inroads into the target market.
RELATED STORY: Not business as usual as Wakenya Pamoja Sacco’s top staff train
Remember, he is an entrepreneur and a distinguished scholar in Strategic Management, Business Administration and Commerce.
When organizations engage professionals for training, the company’s scorecard rises and the team begins to work with purpose and passion.