Line managers and their demons:
taking the fear out of communication
Kate Jones, Engagement & Channels Manager
E.ON UK
12 May 2011
About us
Generation
Central Networks
E.ON Energy Solutions
Support
UK Centre, Business Services and E.ON IT UK
About us
Generation
E.ON Energy Solutions
Support
UK Centre, Business Services and E.ON IT UK
The Wile. E Coyote approach to people managers
What problems did this cause us?
• High awareness of our business strategy… but low levels of local discussion
• Managers did not make it clear how local work contributed to business goals
• ‘Poor managers’ cited as top reason by our Detractors (15%)
• Strong correlation between low levels of Pride, Satisfaction and Advocacy
and poor management behaviour.
How did we know that?
• Quarterly ‘Pride’ engagement survey results
• ‘Pride’ is a temperature check examining:
o colleague understanding of and support for business strategy
o levels of pride in working for E.ON
o levels of satisfaction with job role as E.ON as an employer
o advocacy for E.ON as an employer
o advocacy for E.ON’s products and services.
• Cross-UK, 25% of colleagues invited to take part each wave.
Our solution
• To create a bespoke development programme for line managers
• To show them the link between great engagement and bottom line results
• To provide practical tools and techniques to improve their engagement
and communication skills.
 Leaders as Communicators
Leaders As Communicators – key outcomes
• Make the connection between engagement and the bottom line
• Apply engagement skills to overcome communication blockers to
drive business success
• Help line managers choose and use different communication styles to
suit team members’ differing personality types, drives and motivations
• Provide practical sessions to help line managers role model great
leadership; deliver great team briefings; handle difficult conversations.
E.ON’s blended learning approach
20%
networking/
relationship
s
• Blending learning with real life
work issues
• Focus is about on the job
application and development of skills
and behaviours
10%
classroom
70% on the job
integrated with
real work
• Design of classroom based
learning reflects real life scenarios
Our leadership offer
Executive
Development
General
Management
• Leadership learning
offer aligned to Talent
Agenda.
Line Manager
Future, Engage, Deliver
• F.E.D aligned to
business strategy and
needs of colleagues and
line managers
Leaders As Communicators
• Two-day workshop with a third day after an eight-week gap to practice
• Highly practical, interactive, and built around everyday management scenarios
• Uses 15 tools to build a range of communication skills
• Uses actors, directed by the delegates, to showcase good and bad behaviour
• Part of E.ON UK’s learning offer, available to all people managers.
The 15 tools
• The Gallup 12 questions
• Appreciative disagreement
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
• Managing emotions
• Iceberg communications
(transactional analysis)
• Strength Deployment Inventory
• Active listening
(SDI)
• Hill topping
• Planning communication
• Goal setting
• Building rapport
• Change curve
• Linear probing – QuA QuA
• GROW model
Top three tools in detail
• Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI)
• QuA QuA
• Appreciative Disagreement
Strength Deployment Inventory
Red-Blue:
Assertive –
Nurturing
Red:
Assertive –
Directing
Blue:
Altruistic –
Nurturing
BlueGreen:
Cautious –
Supporting
Green:
Analytic –
Autonomy
Red-Green:
Judicious –
Competing
Hub:
Flexible Cohering
Strength Deployment Inventory in action
Linear probing – QuA QuA
Tell me about the problems you’re having with this piece of work.
Well. I’m just finding it really difficult.
In what way difficult?
I can’t get enough information from people.
What information specifically do you need? And from what people?
Appreciative Disagreement
Men are better
drivers than
women.
Smoking
should be
banned in all
public places.
Everyone
should pay for
university
education.
Appreciative Disagreement
Acknowledging
language
Barrier language
But…
Yes, but…
I see what you mean
No…
However…
I hear what you’re saying Actually…
With respect…
That’s a fair point
That’s irrelevant…
You don’t get it…
That’s not what I
said…
I understand
Bridging language
And…
Also…
Equally…
At the same time…
Something I’d add
is…
Putting it all together
What results have we seen?
• F.E.D leadership survey:
o 93% of colleagues said that their manager had a personal
development plan which had been shared with them.
o Over 65% of colleagues have said that the quality of relationship and
engagement with their line manager had improved.
• Pride quarterly survey:
o ‘Poor managers’ is now ‘only’ the second reason cited by Detractors
(10%).
Don’t take our word for it…
“This is by far the best
programme I have been on.”
“I can now spot people’s
communications
preferences and adapt to
influence them.”
- Central Networks manager
- Retail manager
“The programme had a buzz all
the way through, which made it
easy to take in a variety of
techniques.”
“The practical sessions
and feedback from peers
on how I ‘show up’ were
really useful”
- Retail manager
- Retail manager
The springboard approach to people managers
• Delegates follow up individual gaps with other
courses from our Learning Offer
• Next steps: review current induction for all
people managers and include Leaders As
Communicators / Future, Engage, Deliver as
appropriate to role.
• Mandate induction for new people managers
and managers taking on a larger team.
Summary
Stop
Collaborate
and Listen