Sherpa

When its right to break the rules

2009-05-14T12:48:00.000+01:00

Another day, another headline about the integrity of our politicians. We look on incredulously as all hues of the spectrum line up to explain that they were only following the rules.

But what happens when you try to defend the indefensible? The Speaker believed he was right to defend 'the system' from its detractors. Of course when you opt to argue one point or another its crucial that you are able to reinforce your arguments with honesty, openness, integrity and purpose.

I think many will recognise that the working hours, stress and scrutiny that many MP's and their families cope with perhaps merits a salary equivalent of a GP or senior manager in the private sector, but few will forgive exploitation of a system that sought to line pockets rather than keep wolves from the door.

There are lessons for leaders here in all walks of life. People are tired of apologies but will never tire of action that builds firm foundations rather than a house of cards.

A wise person once said that integrity is how you behave when no one is watching, a lesson for us all.

March Hares

2009-03-14T12:36:00.000Z

Its that time of year when the annual performance wheel concludes another revolution and individuals, teams and organisations are judged. Have targets been achieved? Little focus on the how the goal was scored or indeed if it was the right target in the first place. The important thing of course is 'bottom line delivery' - hitting the target at all costs.... isn't it?

In today's frenetic paced world, how many would back the tortoise? The tortoise who ploughs a steady path with integrity, courage and commitment keeping him on the right path in a long distance race.

Most of the money has been on the cunning fox, higher share price and hard to find values, was a great recipe for sprint success but for the marathon, my money has always been on the tortoise. As they say it aint't what you do but the way that you do it and that's what gets (real) results.

Crunch Course

2009-01-03T12:25:00.000Z

In times of plenty it has sometimes felt that less has been done with more.

The upcoming equality bill will undoubtedly call for faster, better and more widespread action across of a range of sectors in employment and service delivery.

The challenge of course is can more be achieved with less?

At SHERPA we've always believed that reactive add ons and sheep dip training provide little more than a lovely day out on a very necessary journey. And, as we know, days out can prove very expensive, often fail to please everyone and are all too readily forgotten.

Much better we think to embed diversity & inclusion in the the core of your business, whether its planning, strategy or training, the right fuel will go a long way...

Something old, something new

2008-12-27T12:17:00.001Z

The old year is on its way out and the new year will undoubtedly bring fresh opportunities and new challenges. However, it is a safe bet that familiar targets and demands will stop many an employer from finding the time to appreciate the new or having the confidence to tackle new challenges.

Perhaps then 2009 should be the year of doing it differently?

Looks can be deceiving

2008-11-10T10:14:00.004Z

Wow!! what a start to the month, we kicked off with a win on the racing track making Lewis Hamilton the youngest winner and the first black winner. And after a few false starts Barack Obama powered his way to success in the USA election and the world is looking forward to welcoming the first black 'first' family to the White House.

Yes, the world is certainly looking a different place, we have positive role models in global politics, in golf, in motor racing and not to mention the success of British talent from all walks of life at the Beijing 08 Olympic and Paralympic games, oh and the small matter of a Scot doing quite well at Tennis. So despite the doom and gloom affecting us all in this time of financial strife we still have plenty to celebrate and every reason to aim high, if not higher than we have before.

For employers this means they need to move from reporting what their (workforce) picture looks like, they need to break free from legislative ties (no need to break them) and start to take the action that will improve their outlook. All too often I come across action plans and equality reports that describe a picture, not necessarily bleak, but more often than not one that is incredibly bland. Compliance rather than change seems to be in the driving seat for many, and getting us nowhere fast.

The reaction from government and industry 'experts' is often quota's and targets, scary words in my book. Instead we should aim to ensure understanding before representation and sign up to a commitment to give and to get the very best.

Why?, well, in the Diva's humble opinion neither Lewis or Barack achieved their recent successes with the help of positive action on account of their skin colour, they achieved their well deserved success by being determined and being the best. A lesson for us all.

Big Bad Bill

2008-07-14T08:58:00.004+01:00

Poor old Equality Bill. Along with his pal Harriet Harman, he's been getting a bit of stick recently. Apparently he'll be driving people to vote for the BNP and is putting the future of the white middle class male at risk.

No fan of red tape I'm not exactly in favour of yet more rules and regulations, however well intentioned. However, I think the creative writing favoured by our tabloid press has more to answer for when it comes to keeping a them and us culture alive and kicking.

My favourite sensationalist headline last week? Has to be the Advert for Blind Air Traffic Controller. Oh no, was it political correctness at its worst? I shouldn't have been fooled, after all it was the Daily Mail I was reading. Reading between the lines the real story seems to be quite boring really: a normal advert with bog standard equal opps statement tagged on the end. So, the crime wasn't about ignoring requirements for the job, it was using the standard format for an ad. The out of proportion coverage does reinforce the terror of error that must face so many public bodies in today's climate. No wonder there is a feeling of can't do right for doing wrong amongst those subject to the public duties.

It's not all bad, occasionally common sense does prevail, I liked one journalists re-writing of the Bill in plain english. "Appoint on Merit and Don't discriminate" Seems simple doesn't it.

Model behaviour

2008-07-10T11:58:00.002+01:00

AMTM, BNTM - either an acronym too far or like me you are well aware of the empty head nonsense that is Americas/ Britains Next Top Model. Programmes where lot's of girls who are (by industry standards) too old, too short etc etc fight it out in the hopes of becoming the next 'top' model. Great fun, but I suspect Agenyss Deyn is still sleeping soundly.

So working on the premise that model perfection lies somewhere between size zero and 5ft11" can a disabled girl become a mainstream model? This is the question posed by BBC3's Britains Missing Top Model. As with the more familiar Living TV series, a handful of stunning girls have to share an apartment and compete for the top prize through a series of modelling tasks. The difference of course that the girls all consider themselves to be disabled.

In episode 1 the ranking of disability started, the girls moaned about who was more disabled than who, the judges couldn't agree if they were looking for a model or a role model, a poster girl for disability if you like. At judging all of the contestants were angry at the lack of constructive feedback, disappointed at with comments like ' didn't you do well', 'do you think you could cope in the real world?' .

By episode 2 things really started to heat up:- well, my blood was boiling! The models mentor, Jonathon 'i've only ever met perfect people' Phang, decided that ensuring the deaf girls could participate in a group discussion was a bit of a luxury, after all wasn't it annoying/inconvenient/expensive (for him) to have an interpretor on hand. Never mind the phone call to give instructions for the next days task - couldn't he send a text or did he really enjoy telling the girls who hadn't heard what was going on a dressing down?

For me the jury is out on this show. Like The Apprentice I can watch and cringe at the gaffs of the 'industry experts' and sneakily enjoy the catty remarks between contestants, but I do wonder if this programme will really achieve its aim of challenging stereotypes or if in fact it will perpetuate a view of disability as one of inability and not ability.

Sugar Coated

2008-06-27T09:56:00.000+01:00

I like to think I don't watch much telly, I'd like to tell you that I was more of a culture vulture dahling. However, I'd be lying. I, like so many others, have been completely spellbound by the going ons in that board room. I didn't care about the real Francis, but I couldn't wait for the double standards and blatant sexism that the apprentices faced each week. Everyone, well nearly everyone, behaved badly. Punishment for bad behaviour was much stiffer for the girls. I suspect this harks back to Sir Sugar's youth and the expectation that girls were made of all things nice. Strong girls don't fit with the picture, so sorry Claire, like Badger before you, you had no chance. Girls who fib and play the cunning game, they won't go far. Michael gets another chance, Jenny quite rightly got what she deserved. Girls who succeed at their tasks and wear hats and bright colours will probably realise the prize would be more of a poisoned chalice. In the end the 'prize' went to the charming Lee, a hard working good fun kinda guy, well he must be, surely folks who bully their co workers and lie on their CV's don't get hired?

Of course I recognise that exaggerated personalities, careful editing and a healthy dose of controversy all make for compulsive viewing but I do worry about the messages we are sending out to our aspiring entrepreneurs and our future leaders.

Is the 'how' important in the real Board room or like in The Apprentice do results alone rule?

Are all men macho?

2008-04-15T15:57:00.004+01:00

Watching the news today I discovered that an all male team might not be the best thing for investment banking. It's to do with testosterone apparently. The solution, older men and more women. So at last, we have some inconclusive but scientific evidence that says older men and women might not cause chaos if they were to get jobs as traders.

The danger of course is that these sweeping generalisations lead to tokenistic appointments and a failure to recognise the hidden diversity in our prospective workforce.

The big question for the city has to be - can they recognise trading talent in all its guises, or will they still go for the usual bankers?

sherpa style

2008-04-11T15:50:00.003+01:00

The Diva is over the moon and ready to crack open a bottle of shampoo, we've just heard that our groovy corporate identity has been shortlisted by the judges of the Scottish Design Awards, not bad for the new kid on the block.

Of course whilst the sherpa team were the inspiration for the brand, its the cool creative types at 'So.. it begins' who made it look so good

good luck all!

Coffee time blog spot

2008-04-10T18:07:00.001+01:00

You're a busy person so if you are visiting me, it probably does mean that you have a caffiene fix close by, when I'm grabbing my 5 minutes down time, I do like to sneak a peak at the other blogs out there, so much going on, from extreme ironing to extreme HR, the UK recruiter site has rather helpfully put a whole host of recruiting blogs together. The Diva's favourites? gotta be the Evil HR Lady and for a fun filled friday, its got to be the guru at personnel today.

Check out UK recruiter, the central hub for recruiters at www.ukrecruiter.co.uk As for the extreme ironing blog, you can try and find that one yourself!

Mad March

2008-03-31T15:23:00.003+01:00

Wow! So where did February & March go? The Diva has been busy of course being rather divaesque but not quite as bad as one reality TV 'star' ...

I nearly chocked on my morning cuppa watching Katie "apprentice" Hopkins on BBC breakfast saying that women just had to act like men to get on. It took a long time to pick my jaw off the floor after hearing her admit that she would be unlikely to employ a women as they would be more likely to get pregnant, erm.. I take it Katie missed out on biology at school then.....

Of course no other employers (apart from Sir Sugar) would be agreeing with her .... would they? do you?

Diversity at the Board

2008-02-07T15:12:00.005Z

The Diva is pleased to see that the sherpa workhorses are on message when it comes to the steps that deliver diversity. Lynn, the chief map reader at sherpa can be found in the pages of issue 14 of the Health Service Review making a plea for executive appointments to measure understanding of diversity beyond a tick box mentality. Check out what she has to say.

Lynn%27s%20Article.pdf

Targets at any cost

2008-02-06T10:49:00.000Z

Aargh! It's happening again. Government Targets driving employers to think the only way that diversity can be achieved in the workforce will be through a introducing positive discrimination.

Martin Tiplady at the Met has gone on record to say that positive discrimination is the only way they will achieve their employment target. There are no doubt a number of factors that lead to this conclusion, but the Diva doubts positive discrimination can be the real answer.

Push for the quick fix if its a numbers game, but be warned 'success' will be short lived. How many people want to be the token square peg squeezed into the round hole?

Address culture and perceptions and diversity will fall into place.

Chase a target for targets sake and you might win a race, but will never get the prize.

To Toss or not to Toss

2008-02-05T08:55:00.000Z

Today is one of the Diva's favourite days in the new year. Yes - hang the diet, the Diva will be tucking into pancakes a plenty. So whether you are having a wee drop scone, an American pancake, a Polish naleŚniki, a Russian blini or even doing it French style - have a great pancake day.

Can good manners be bad?

2008-01-28T10:57:00.000Z

Keeping the journalistic theme going I was very honoured to be invited along to an awards ceremony last week. I enjoyed a glass of champagne, a kettle chip or two and was looking forward to a witty speech and finding out more about the crème de la crème in the world of business journalism. All in all the makings of a very pleasant evening. Unfortunately a misguided (I’m being kind here) quip in the key note speech left a rather bitter taste in my mouth. Yes I do find that a racist joke doesn't go down too well. Unfortunately it would seem that for others such comments are still easily ignored or forgotten about.

But hang my head in shame - was my early departure and letter to the organisers enough?- was I being too polite. Should I have had a more divaesque moment in front of several hundred strangers? – I think not, but really I should have grabbed the speaker before he made his getaway (my heels were higher, I was slower) – as unlike the hosts and the guests who laughed - I just didn’t get it.

E-mail me at diva@thesherpaway.co.uk or leave a comment about the times around the coffee machine/photocopier when you just didn't get it.

NEW YEAR, NEWS STORIES

2008-01-25T10:44:00.000Z

Its January and the Diva is back, I’ve missed the sales and apparently much of the snow having been combining work, research, pleasure and leisure in the southern hemisphere.

In Thailand my flabber was gasted at job add’s stipulating the age, gender and weight of preferred candidates (that would save on government fat busting vouchers), In Australia I choked on my cappuccino reading articles about the the plight of the 'black fella'. Yikes! Anyway, I think we were talking about the challenges that the indigenous population face through generations of exclusion.

Australia is a only a day away but with attitudes in some quarters clearly decades in the past. Oh, how I'd love to go down under and get my head round the unique diversity agenda australia is facing - maybe when I go back I might actually be served my cappucino by a indiginous member of staff....

Now that I'm back in blighty I see that the powers that be are concerned that the Three Little Pigs will offend both muslims and builders and are therefore banning an animated version of the story from a competition. aaah, life goes on....

Seasons Greetings from the Diva

2007-12-21T12:15:00.002Z

Under a week to go, so not to early I feel to send out greetings of the season. In fact I’m going to go as far as to say have a Merry Christmas. I hope no one is too offended.
Or are we ‘downplaying’ Christmas this year?
Religiously significant to me or not its of no matter.
What you do need to know is that I like presents and love chocolate. I also like the school nativity play and Santa in the shopping mall. Having said all that - it’s true - I’m not a fan of Christmas cards on sale in October and decorations up before December. Make it less commercial – yes please - pretend it has nothing to do with Christianity – no thanks.

Take every opportunity to respect and enjoy a festivity – absolutely

Wouldn’t it be nice if the more of us in the UK could start celebrating and stop tolerating?