News

MDS celebrates 25 years

On the 29th October, MDS celebrated 25 years providing the Fresh Produce Industry with the very best post graduates the industry needs. Over 200 guests, including member companies, past and present graduates, senior staff from Harper Adams University College, Brathay, and Matthew Hunter Associates were at the ball in Peterborough.  Guest speaker Adam Henson from the BBC's Country File, spoke about his career and the rapidly changing industry that is food production.  MDS took the opportunity of the ball to announce the expansion of its programme to meet the need for young agronomists in the industry, and to confirm that with new members such as Waitrose, Pepsico, and Syngenta joining MDS, the post graduate development programme was now being seen as the industry standard.

Boundary Spanning Leadership

The biggest challenge facing leaders today is how to span the boundaries that exist in organisations, and between organisations, in order to bring about real added value.  The Boundary Spanning Leadership research carried out by the team at CCL® found that while 86% of leaders interviewed felt this was extremely important, only 7% felt they had the necessary skills to be proficient at spanning boundaries.  The research headed up by Chris Ernst has been used as the basis for the book 'Boundary Spanning Leadership', co authored with Donna Chrobot-Masson. The research has identified 3 stages in the process of spanning boundaries -  Managing Boundaries, Forging Common Ground, and Discovering New Frontiers.  Within each of these there are six essential practices - Buffering,  Reflecting, Connecting, Mobilising, Weaving and Transforming.  More information can be found on the web site: www.spanboundaries.com and also on YouTube at the following address:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9oa_Nt4Jlc

This research, and the book that is based on it, is a major contribution to helping leaders meet the present and future challenges faced by them in a rapidly changing business environment. 

Change Style Indicator

This Autumn, Matthew Hunter Associates will be piloting the Change Style Indicator on the MDS Post Graduate Development Programme as part of the week long course 5 on improving business processes.  The CSI® is a very useful instrument that helps those involved with all aspects of change, to understand their own preferences to change, and the preferences of others.  By understanding why people react differently, and also why most change programmes get 'stuck', those involved in leading change will be more successful at bringing about the change that organisations are seeking.

The CSI® is simple to complete online, is validated with considerable supporting research, and has a high level of correlation with MBTI.

For more information on the Change Style Indicator and how it might be useful to you, please contact Matthew Hunter.

Mentoring

Matthew has recently been asked to join the mentoring team at the Center for Creative Leadership in Brussels. The mentoring team is drawn from faculty, programme designers and coaches, and is an initiative to help support the growing talent pool that CCL EMEA now has available to support both the open enrolment programmes and customer solutions programmes.

Influencing Style Indicator

A major new diagnostic tool is now available from Discovery Learning in the US. The Influencing Style Indicator™ is based on research conducted by Chris Musslewhite and Tammie Plouffe.  As leadership across boundaries becomes more and more common, the need for leaders to develop their influencing skills is critical for success. As Chris and Tammie state in the introduction to ISI, 'When you influence effectively, you increase trust, support and ownership for your priorities.' ' The ability to influence effectively is emerging as a key leadership skill for a new generation of leaders.'  Matthew Hunter Associates is now able to offer the Influencing Style Indicator™ as part of a range of tools to help organisations develop their leadership talent. For more information about the Influencing Style Indicator visit the Discovery Learning web site @ www.discoverylearning.com

Philip Crisp joins the MDS delivery team

After more than 20 years of involvement with MDS Jim Hick has taken up a post with Impact International in Singapore.  As a result Philip Crisp is now taking on Jim's previous role and has just completed facilitating Course 4 prior to a major redesign of this part of the two year development programme.  Included in the new design will be a greater emphasis on the practical applications of MBTI and Temperaments in managing people, and the coaching role of leadership. Initial responses to these changes has been very encouraging.

Workplace Big 5™

Every now and again in one's professional development you come across research and an application of that research which helps you to significantly better understand why we behave in the way that we do.  The Workplace Big 5 Profile™ developed by Pierce and Jane Howard is a great addition to the knowledge bank. It is practical, easy to use, and when linked with a 360 degree instrument such as Benchmarks® has real beneficial impact for those who complete the questionnaire and then receive feedback.  The Workplace Big 5 emerged from research originally begun in 1936. The search was on to find how many clusters of words were required  "to distinguish the behaviour of one human being from another".  The advent of the personal computer in the 1980's,and the availability of software, meant that there was a much greater research focus and  5 clusters of words appeared to account for the majority of the differences between individual personalities.  These 5 factors are referred to today by five letters N, E, O, A, and C.

N = The need for Stability
E = Extraversion
O = Originality
A = Accommodation
C = Consolidation

Another very useful aspect of this instrument is that as part of the outcome, a participant receives a Trait Capacitor report.  This estimates your energy capacity for various competencies. These estimates are based on specific research studies. In addition to a score, the estimates of your capacity are also described along a continuum:  Energising ---- Natural ----- Somewhat Natural ----- Draining ---- Outside Comfort Zone.

What Pierce and Jane have achieved is to develop a user friendly instrument with a wide range of applications.  The 5 factor model ticks all the boxes for Reliability, Validity, Norms, Global applicability, and Descriptive Power.

A must read:  The Owner's Manual for Personality at Work by Pierce J. Howard and Jane Mitchell Howard.  ISBN 1-8851-6745-8

Matthew is accredited in the use of the WorkPlace Big 5 Profile™

London Business School NISM programme for Roche

As a result of a sudden change in plans, MHA was asked to join the facilitation team on a recent negotiation programme in Basel, Switzerland. Working with existing London Business School faculty and coaches, this builds on earlier contacts with LBS.

Team Event for Oxford University Development Office

66 members of the OUDO team attended the away day at Said Business School on the 15th December. Facilitated by Matthew, the event was part of the programme supporting the recent organisational changes at the OUDO. Further coaching sessions are taking place with the Senior Leadership Team between now and June.

The Collaboration Game

Following a recent training event with David Briggs of the Inside Out Partnership Ltd., Matthew is now able to offer the Collaboration Game® as part of our senior management team development programmes.

MBTI

A further member of our team is now accredited in the MBTI instrument. As part of our range of psychometrics and 360 Degree instruments, MBTI can be used in a wide range of situations including senior team development, coaching, and personal development.

Oxford University Development Office

In September Matthew will start working with the Oxford University Development Office, as part of a development programme designed by The Center for Creative Leadership. The programme includes working with the new senior management team, coaching, and supporting the whole of the OUDO as it moves forward.

MDS Post Graduate Certificate in Fresh Produce Management

MDS has asked the team at MHA to take on the facilitation of a large part of the MDS innovative post graduate development programme. The Post Graduate Certificate in Food and Fresh Produce Management was set up in 2007, in partnership with Harper Adams University College. MDS is a not for profit organisation owned by its members. All of its members are major food producers, food marketing businesses and retailers. For more information about MDS see the link on our home page

The CCL EMEA EOL(®) Dubai November 2008

Leading Concepts of Dubai organised the CCL programme in Dubai, this week. Matthew facilitated the 3 day programme with participants from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE.

Negotiation Programme, Singapore. October 2008

Following recent discussions with Uni-Strategic in Kuala Lumpur, Paul travelled to Singapore last month to run the first programme. Participants from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore took part on the two day event

Malvern Hills Conservators

Malvern Hills Conservators has asked MHA to help some of its team develop their interviewing skills. The workshop will take place on the 27th October and will be facilitated by Paul Turner. This event is part of the ongoing collaborative relationship with Lorna Bain of Training MidWest, which is now in its 12th year!

Gent by Honeywell, Leicester

Philip and Matthew recently completed a business improvement project for RDI Consultants Ltd., Coventry. RDI's client is Gent by Honeywell, part of the global business Honeywell. Philip and Matthew facilitated two programmes of continuous improvement training for the company's workforce. The following results have been achieved by Gent by Honeywell, following completion of the programmes.

• 35% Reduction in change over times
• 55% Reduction in product travel distances
• 40% Reduction in inventory due to reduced cycle times

To see the energy and enthusiasm that people put into changing processes for the better is incredibly uplifting. In Addition the maturity of the solutions that we see from the workforce everyday and the fact that during coaching sessions there is an absolute understanding of the language and of the need for change we now feel able to move forward at pace. I have complete confidence that the improvements we enjoy are sustainable because they are being driven and owned by the staff unlike the historic short term success lead purely by management and engineering.' Steve Rames, Operations Director, Gent by Honeywell, Leicester UK

The first ever CCL EMEA LDP® in South Africa

The first ever CCL EMEA LDP® has just taken place at Stellenbosch, near Cape Town. This programme was jointly organised between CCL - EMEA in Brussels and the University of Stellenbosch Business School- Executive Development Ltd. All the CCL team volunteered their time in order to get this major leadership initiative up and running in Southern Africa. Matthew helped Al Calarco, Group Manager, facilitate the 5 day programme. For more information visit the CCL web site by clicking on the link on our home page.