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Are you living your life on purpose?
By Jan Peters, on 15 September 2011
Are you living your life on purpose?
authored by Helen Duguid, posted by Jan Peters
The most successful leaders I know and work with are crystal clear on their purpose in life, are you? If you do not have a personal purpose you will always end up as part of somebody else’s agenda rather than your own!
Purpose is the driving force behind great companies. A shared Purpose unites leaders and employees, and sets organizations on the way to the success. Microsoft has been a fantastic example of that over the years with “a PC on every desk and in every home” to “Helping individuals and businesses throughout the world to realise their full potential! I do consider it a privilege to have worked inside Microsoft during an era when the purpose was so powerful and profound.
The reason why Purpose is so powerful is because it is founded on people’s deeply held ideas about what is right and worthwhile. When leaders tap into these ideas, they improve morale, they stimulate innovation, and they help to maintain strong relationships. Indeed, Purpose helps improve performance in all the areas of a business where people play an important role. It can help a manager to set the direction for a team, just as it can help a CEO to reinvigorate a lagging corporation.
If you want to live your life on purpose or learn more take the Purpose profiler.
The Purpose Profiler [from Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies By Nikos Mourkogiannis] enables leaders to better understand their own Purpose, and the Purpose of their company. It is even more important for a leader: your Purpose sets the direction for everyone else to follow.
I am really keen to hear current stories of purposeful leaders and learn more about the questions you have on being a successful leader so please post your thoughts and questions and we can learn more from each other.
As Henry Ford said:
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
Let me know what you would like to learn about leadership and I will do my utmost to help you!
Second Industry Roundtable 15 September
By Jan Peters, on 31 August 2011
Industry talent managers, technical managers and leadership trainers from a variety of companies will come together to share ideas and insights at a roundtable kindly hosted at Roke Manor Research near Romsey, Hampshire from 2-4pm on 15 September. Discussion topics will cover:
You can find out more and register here
We are also looking for interviewees to talk about recruitment processes, assessment of candidates and good practice on giving male and female candidates equal opportunity to shine. Get in touch or leave a reply below
Industry Roundtable rescheduled
By Jan Peters, on 11 July 2011
Public sector strikes and heatwaves aside we have rescheduled the roundtable discussion for industry participants to Monday 18 July. Two sessions are scheduled for 13:00 and 15:30
There are still spaces left in the 15:30 session.
We are running two groups and are looking to hear your thoughts on leadership, the kinds of skills and insights you would like to see new graduates coming to you with and seeing demonstrated in assessment centres. We also want to capture insights into perspectives on leadership and success from a diversity perspective to so we can use this to help shape the development of resources we will include in a workshop for engineering academics.
Microsoft Open Day success
By Jan Peters, on 11 July 2011
The feedback for the open day held at Microsoft Campus Reading showed what a great time the students had. The students really valued the chance to meet and talk to employees without the pressure of being there for an interview. Presentations from grad scheme entrants and students showed the variety of roles available. The HR team set up an assessment centre role play exercise with students playing assessor and assessed. Helen Duguid, the leadership coach working with Set to Lead, helped the students interview senior manager, Andrew Oliva-Hauxwell about his journey into leadership.
At one feeble answer from Andrew, Helen asked the interrogator if she was happy with the reply and she replied, “no, not really”. So Helen urged her to have another go until she got an answer that satisfied her!
The day was action packed with plenty of time for networking and chat – lunch was flooded with Microsoft employees to ensure that everyone got the chance to ask questions about being interviewed, how to choose a job and make general enquiries about what it’s like working in IT.
The video material of the project will be edited over the summer and we look forward to sharing it with you soon!
We are still looking for hosts for teh next two open days so do get in touch if you would like to learn more!
What does it take to become a successful leader?
By Jan Peters, on 15 June 2011
Posted by Helen Duguid
I met Dr. Anna Rowley when I joined Microsoft in the early 90’s; she was a significant partner and influence on leadership and team development then and, still is! I loved working with Anna as she was thought provoking, incredibly smart and had a unique ability to get inside the minds of those who mattered and challenge them to become the best they could be! You can learn more about her work on how to become a successful leader here and it is a must go to link, if you aspire to be take the next step up the career ladder and thrive as a leader.
In an exclusive interview Dr. Rowley talks about some of the most essential personality traits of a successful leader including resilience, the ability to manage people, inquisitiveness, and a drive to make a difference. To view the interview click here. Anna has been described as one of the most insightful guests we have had the opportunity to interview on our program by Nicole Zeitzer-Johnson.
Roundtables announced for Set to Lead
By Jan Peters, on 1 June 2011
Set to Lead is underway. The Microsoft open day is fast approaching and is full, with some places becoming available daily as we get cancellations – so do make sure you sign onto the waiting list.
The first round-table discussions are also set in place for 28 and 30 June. 28 June is a call for academics involved in developing and or delivering leadership and team skills to STEM undergraduates and the 30 June is a call for STEM employers: technical recruitment managers, HR and talent managers as well as leadership specialists to join us to look at current leadership models, resources, training and visionaries to help inform the development of a workshop for STEM academics and undergraduates. Interested? do get in touch or sign up on the registration page.
Women in IT – Microsoft Open Day – 10th June 2011
By Jan Peters, on 5 May 2011
Second Open Day Event Announced! – Microsoft Campus on 10th June 2011
The day is aimed at 2nd or 3rd year female undergraduates and will include tips on how to make your CV stand out and how to succeed at Assessment Days and interviews.
You will have a chance to network with key female engineers, gain insight into developing your leadership skills and try out some of Microsoft’s latest technology in technical demo’s.
Spaces on the Microsoft Open Day are filling fast so register now on Eventbrite at www.leadershipmicrosoft.eventbrite.com to secure your place.
WELCOME
By Jan Peters, on 7 April 2011
SET to Lead is an exciting new HE STEM funded project led by UCL’s Engineering Faculty. The project will be collating and sharing insights into leadership skills, styles and success. This blog will be the main information portal advertising events with links to online registration, meeting details and progress on the project. We will be building up a resource for academics and students including leadership articles, links to resources and video clips of great leaders.
The project includes:
- Roundtables with academics and industry
- Research into the recruitment process and gender differences in success rates
- Four industry open days targeted at women students
- Creation of a resource on inspiring leaders and leadership
You can also follow us on Twitter as SETtoLead
This project is operating across the South East with partners Imperial, Surrey and Southampton Universities.
An industry open day has already taken place at Arup and a second is planned for 10 June at Microsoft Campus, Reading.