Posted: Fri 02 Apr 2010
Creating a culture of innovation means giving people permission to fail and that means that emotional intelligence is a key skill needed by today’s leaders. That was just one of the messages which came out of the inaugural Leadership Symposium facilitated by Lander Associates, the training and performance development specialists, and hosted at the London offices of Baker Tilly Revas Limited
The symposium comprised of fourteen business professionals with a range of backgrounds: recruitment; HR; finance; academia and consultancy who met to exchange views on the challenges and opportunities posed by a new decade – and to share ideas on how to successfully manage those challenges and opportunities.
“Emotional Intelligence is very important in a leader”, says Gerry Peyton a Director of HR Plus, the HR consultancy arm of law firm Hammonds LLP, who took part in the symposium. Gerry went on to say “Often, leaders are much more interested in solutions rather than why something went wrong. But change allows the possibility of experimentation and innovation – and if you want people to innovate then you have to accept that it won’t always work – and that the failure is an outcome that we learn the most from.”
Founder of InTime Solutions Daniel McPherson, now a director with Baker Tilly Revas shared the fact that in one of the businesses he is involved with there is a small Research and Development budget devoted purely to innovation and new ideas. It is managed by small workgroups who are given permission to experiment and innovate. They accept that the money may be lost – but that it may also result in the ‘next big thing’. “To truly innovate”, he says “sometimes you have to let others lead – and allow them to do things you may not necessarily agree with.”
Lander Associates has produced a white paper detailing the challenges leaders face and looking forward to 2010 and beyond.
For a FREE copy click here and fill in your details.
Notes to editors
Full list of leadership symposium attendees
· Christopher Davies: Solicitor and Director of the Corporate Secretariat team within Baker Tilly Revas
· Alan Dickinson: Chairman of Sport2Business and former UK Managing Director of Michael Page International
· Tracey Dunn: Joint Managing Director and Head of Recruitment Practice at Blue Sky PR
· Zena Everett: Founder of Perriam & Everett and now a Director of Second Careers – a career coaching and outplacement consultancy
· Gilly Franklin: Principle training consultant with Lander Associates
· Tony Goodwin: Founder and CEO of Antal International
· Helen Harvey: Coach, mentor and trainer and part of the Lander Associates’ team
· Paul Jacobs: Former Managing Director of Office Angels and Director of Adecco and now an independent consultant
· Simon La Fosse: Former Director of Harvey Nash and now Managing Director of La Fosse Associates
· Fiona Lander: Managing Director of Lander Associates, performance development specialists for the recruitment sector
· David Leyshon: Managing Director of CBSbutler, a specialist engineering and technical recruiter
· Chris Matchan: Former senior partner at Korn Ferry and today an independent HR consultant and visiting executive fellow at Henley Management College
· Daniel McPherson: Founder of InTime Solutions, a web based back office application. He sold to Baker Tilly Revas in 2008 where he is now a board director
· Gerry Peyton: Director of HRplus, the HR Consultancy arm of law firm Hammonds LLP