Behaviour Change in a Hybrid World with Paul Coates from FranklinCovey

Special Guest: Paul Coates, FranklinCovey

In the second of our podcasts with special guests, in this we interview Paul Coates, Head of Consultancy with one of the top leadership development and behaviour change companies in the world, FranklinCovey. You will have heard of the founding and best-selling business book that started it all 30-odd years ago: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Paul runs the consultancy team and is a leader at FranklinCovey, a global consultancy firm that focuses on leadership development, individual development, cultural inclusivity development and strategy execution.

The podcast discusses the importance of behaviour change and mindset in leadership, the challenges and opportunities of hybrid working, and the need for leaders to be intentional in creating a sense of belonging, strengthening communication and balancing accountability with flexibility.

What will you learn?

Definition and characteristics of a good leader: A good leader is someone who delivers results, takes effective actions, has a mindset of stewardship and trust, and leaves leaders behind. A good leader also chooses to be a leader and does not use the word "should" in their vocabulary. A good leader also knows what they don't know and hires people who can complement their strengths and weaknesses

The importance of behaviour change and mindset in leadership: Behaviour change and mindset are interrelated, as mindset drives behaviour, behaviour drives results and results reinforce mindset. Behaviour change is not achieved by reading a book, but by reflecting, absorbing, practicing and applying the content. Behaviour change also requires a shift in mindset from being efficient to being effective, from being a manager to being a leader, and from being self-centered to being others-centered

The challenges and opportunities of hybrid working: Hybrid working is a reality that is here to stay, and it poses both challenges and opportunities for leaders and organisations. Some of the challenges are maintaining trust, communication, culture and productivity in a dispersed and diverse workforce. Some of the opportunities are increasing flexibility, autonomy, engagement and innovation. Hybrid working also requires leaders to rethink the purpose and function of the office, and to balance accountability with flexibility

Ten Takeaways from Paul Coates:

1. Trust is a leadership skill that can be learned and is an economic driver that affects speed and cost in an organisation
2. Behaviour change is not achieved by reading a book, but by reflecting, absorbing, practicing and applying the content
3. Hybrid working poses both challenges and opportunities for leaders and organisations, and requires leaders to rethink the purpose and function of the office
4. A good leader delivers results, takes effective actions, has a mindset of stewardship and trust and leaves leaders behind
5. Mindset drives behaviour, behaviour drives results and results reinforce mindset
6. Hybrid working is here to stay, and most people want a hybrid model, but there are concerns about its impact on culture
7. Leadership is a skill that can be learned, and everyone can choose to be a leader
8. To maintain a consistent company culture in a hybrid setting, leaders need to be intentional about creating a sense of belonging, strengthening communication and balancing accountability with flexibility
9. With people, slow is fast and fast is slow, meaning that behaviour change takes time and cannot be achieved by flicking a switch
10. FranklinCovey is hosting live events focusing on growing managers to be able to deal with the hybrid workplace, covering topics such as adaptability, leading