New Year Business Guide - brought to you by APL Media •Wednesday 11 January 2023


Professional training & development • 11 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE


Leave your ego at the boardroom door T e key to high-performing executive teams


Our boardrooms have a problem…


has identifi ed the three most common problems: Segregated, territorial functions


— executives have responsibility for an entire business area and, therefore, driven by ego in board meetings, each fi ghts for the needs of their area at the cost of the whole. Instead of working as a single team towards a common overriding goal. Lack of critical, direct, honest or


open feedback due to the seniority of the executive — the more senior you are the less feedback you get and the less honest people are with their feedback, meaning it can be incredibly hard for executives to accurately self-assess their own performance or their impact on others. At this level executives are oſt en


THOR OLAFSSON, CEO OF STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP


Leaders unconsciously change their behaviour as their career progresses towards board level. Thor Olafsson, author of best-selling book Beyond Ego describes the issue this way: “It deeply impacts the way that we lead others, and over time, it creates a


subtle, subconscious belief that in order to be successful and eff ective, we need to lead with our egos at the forefront.” As a result, boardrooms can


become dominated by clashing egos, which inevitably leads to team


dysfunction and weakened business performance. The consequences of this on the culture of the entire organisation can be profound. Strategic Leadership, a consultancy


that specialises in creating more functional boardroom teams,


disconnected from the culture where the work gets done — executives fi nd their time dominated by monitoring, tracking and reporting the performance of their business area. Over time, this detachment from a collaborative working environment manifests in weaker interpersonal relationships. Executives should focus on systematic engagement of the people who do the work. If you recognise any of these


problems then do not lose heart! Thor Olafsson has the positive belief that, “It’s possible to turn the current leadership situation on its


ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Helping vulnerable customers


Financial services organisations have a legal obligation to treat vulnerable customers fairly


According to the FCA’s Financial Lives survey, there are 27.7 million people in the UK displaying one or more characteristics of vulnerability. This makes it a huge operational challenge for fi rms. The cost of living crisis, health


issues, a lack of skills or access to technology will classify an individual as vulnerable. It can happen to anyone and the numbers are quite staggering. Data shows that 4.3 million


people in the UK have no digital skills1


, 2.4 million can’t read2 14.6 million are disabled3 and . All are


viewed as vulnerable customers and need to be treated accordingly. Many will be identifi ed in


a call centre setting where the skill of the operator is crucial. But other teams within the fi nancial services setting also need guidance, including those working in risk and compliance as well as customer service managers and complaint handlers. They should all feel comfortable and confi dent in meeting the diverse needs of their vulnerable customers.


Specialist training can equip staff


with the knowledge to start these conversations, giving them the tools to off er targeted support to customers and help recognise when it’s appropriate to be fl exible with a particular process or policy. They can be given a proven framework to do the best for the customer. This type of support is quite


diffi cult to fi nd. There are only a few expert trainers in this fi eld across the UK. Helen Pettifer is one of these and off ers a wide range of help to fi nancial services organisations. Areas covered include identifying,


responding and supporting vulnerable customers, along with managing suicidal customer conversations and supporting bereaved customers as well as those facing fi nancial diffi culties. People feel more informed and


prepared to have these conversations aſt er the training.


1 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/householdcharacteristics/homeinternetandsocialmediausage/articles/exploringtheuksdigitaldivide/2019-03-04 2 https://readeasy.org.uk/learn-to-read/#:~:text=2.4%20million%20adults%20in%20England,never%20too%20late%20to%20learn 3 https://www.scope.org.uk/media/disability-facts-fi gures/


“The training was impactful


without being upsetting, and I’m sure everyone took multiple things away to share with their teams,” said one participant. “I thought I was already


aware and well equipped when it comes to dealing with vulnerable customers but I learnt so much more. The thing about vulnerability is that it’s always changing and aff ecting diff erent people in a catalogue of ways,” said another participant on one of Helen’s courses.


head, creating a dynamic executive team that is more purposeful, compassionate and engaging.” Using this approach across


the board, teams perform more eff ectively than when they were managed under ego-based leadership strategies. The track record of strategic leadership to shiſt the culture of executive teams is impressive, they have supported senior leaders from leading multinationals in making this journey — and making them highly successful.


For more information


T: 020 8058 7020 W: strategicleaders.com/ ego-in-the-boardroom


For further information


To fi nd out more about helping vulnerable customers in fi nancial services, simply give Helen a call on 01296 596958 or visit helenpettifer.com


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