Since 2005 I have also been working in partnership with Steve Radcliffe Associates based around Steve’s extraordinary book Leadership Plain and Simple. Steve’s Future Engage Deliver philosophy on leadership has revolutionised the way leaders approach this big topic and alongside Steve, I and my colleagues have found a way to bring this to life in organisations that literally transforms the way leaders behave and the possibilities available to them. This is a bold claim I know and after 10 years of helping organisations create their own Future Engage Deliver philosophy for their leadership and seeing the results, it’s a claim we’re proud to make.
I first met Steve in 1995 when he was delivering a breakthrough leadership programme within Unilever where I was employed at the time. Steve changed the way I thought about leadership and about the possibilities for my future. Since 1999, I and others have been working with Steve to get leadership at the top of the agenda as we believe that great leadership is THE difference between merely good and outstanding organisations.
Future Engage Deliver in essence is:
Future
Leaders are passionate about a future that they care about, for their organisation, for their people and for themselves. They are able to speak about this future in a way that brings it to life. They are clear on how they want to lead for this future and pay real attention to what they stand for and how they impact on others.
Engage
Leaders engage others in building this future, they do this by including them in its creation, and helping them feel ownership and responsibility for it. In short leaders ensure that the people around them feel part of the future and and that their contribution to it is valued. They do this by having conversations and engaging in dialogue with their people. Leaders spend time engaging their people.
Deliver
Leaders deliver, and in the main they deliver through others. Leaders are brilliant at helping their organisation deliver the day to day whilst delivering the future at the same time. They remove barriers for their people and they create a feeling of confidence within their organisation. They have the right conversation at the right time. Everything they do or say is about building the future that they and others care about.
“Ian has the ability to make sense out of “stuff that you thought you already knew but weren’t really using properly”. Working with Future Engage Deliver hasn’t been about learning a big new theory or having to embrace the latest idea in management thinking – instead it’s been about re-ordering thoughts, making sense of what you already knew, being clear about where you’re going and knowing what you need to do to get there. Supposedly, it’s very simple – surprisingly, it’s very effective.”
Neil Jones, CEO, Make A Wish UK