Moloney Minds

This page explains the types of client I work with, the problems they need resolving and lists some typical assignments. If you need more specific detail, scroll down and you'll find a description of how I work and interact with you as well as a list of the topics I cover in my work. Finally, there are some interesting comments and testimonials from clients, providing a flavour of what it's like to work with me.

Tel : +44 (0) 208 374 8770
Fax: +44 (0) 208 374 8770
Mobile: +44 (0)779 69 55 361
Email: karen@moloneyminds.com

Registered in England and Wales.
Registration number 4896562.
Registered office Penrose House, 67 Hightown Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 9BE

18.08.08

NEWS!

I am changing my long-standing email address so you can contact me more easily. Please get in touch with me at

karen@moloneyminds.com

Many thanks.

27.05.08

POTENTIAL LEADERS FROM THE TALENT POOL

A very busy springtime list of speaking engagements sent me across Europe to meet mostly with large companies nurturing their pools of talented people. So I've been in Hamburg helping a large manufacturing organisation develop leaders. I've been in the Netherlands investigating insights that come when top leaders engage with younger potential leaders. I've worked across Europe at several meetings designed to help a global professional services firm to create a platform to take their firm forward for the next 10 years.

What these clients want above anything else is the assurance that these young people will take over their roles in 5-10 years time, allowing them to step back from the business, retire, do something new.

Of course, they need to resist the temptation to mould these people to be just like them, so I have been helping these companies understand that the kinds of skills, talents and insights the business needs in the future may be different to those needed now.

07.04.08

WOMEN IN THE LEADERSHIP PIPELINE

Working with TOSCA over the last few months, we pulled together a fascinating collection of organisations from the public and private sectors to investigate why their were problems with a "leaky pipeline" of women into senior positions. This wasn't the usual glass ceiling or glass cliff phenomena, but a more in-depth exploration of male-female difference at work. I'm preparing a manuscript for publication which investigates these ideas further and will probably take some time over the summer to write the book.

09.09.07

THE OIL BUSINESS

I was helping a client organisation last week to improve the interpersonal skills of its middle managers. You know the kind of thing: getting them to role play tricky conversations with subordinates or suppliers. Typically, these managers are terrific at getting things done but their ability to empathise, cope with sensitive, personal issues, handle conflict within their teams, give praise, criticise without damaging confidence; all these skills need honing. So, using the services of an acting team, we embarked upon an afternoon of role plays.

Everything was going fine until an oil man from China stepped up to the plate. He informed us he'd like to practice a typical conversation he would have to have with one of his team who was having difficulties meeting the standards expected in a western company. We should imagine that this individual had been spending too long on the phone with friends and that he was going to tell the employee that it was simply not acceptable.

So he began, but what we expected would turn into a series of questions and statements, with some resistance from the actor but leading to an agreed understanding at the end about what improvements needed to be made, never transpired. He talked so long and so hard at the poor actor that it could only be described as a monologue, not a conversation. When we stopped and asked him to explain, he convinced us that this was entirely plausible, that a subordinate would never answer back and that they would just sit there and take it. Our actor, who couldn't get a word in, happened to be from Singapore and had some sympathy with his situation. She played along and kept silent. But the rest of us, with our western experiences, kept expecting interjection.

We talked afterwards about the continuing divide between developed and emerging economies and how western businesses struggled to understand the eastern psyche of those they employed. I guess in our haste to improve our Chinese friend's interpersonal behaviour that afternoon, we overlooked something so fundamental to Chinese management culture, that it was us who learned the most in that room, not him.

07.08.07

BACK FROM MINNEAPOLIS

There is something surreal about travelling over a bridge which collapses 8 hours later, drowning 60 people in the Mississippi river. When your life comes within a hair's breath of ending, you can't help readjusting your priorities. So the report of the WFS conference which I had planned to write on my return is now slightly different.

I could have told you about the backlog of 1million applications in the US Patent office, mostly caused by a staff shortage (40% turnover p.a.). This is really worrying the nanotech community who have cutback on their research, particularly in pharmacueticals.

I could also have told you about the increasing but rather belated concern Americans have for demographics, being surprised by the mass retirement of babyboomers and calls for restricted immigration, both of which are predicted to begin taking a stranglehold on their economy. Having been used to conspicuous growth, it's come as quite a shock to think they won't be able to enjoy continued prosperity without the helop of either another baby boom or mass outsourcing offshore.

Which brings me on to India and China, which I do want to tell you about. These burgeoning economies are not only neighbours, but trade partners, who together are forming the largest economic giant the world has ever seen. Furthermore, there is talk of them digging a tunnel connection under the Himalayas so goods and people can move more freely across their borders. Thank God for their common sense, leading them to cooperate and share their faith in free markets, when a possible scenario would have been to compete and end up enemies.

World Future Society members like me scan the time horizon for trends and moves which may impact upon us all. I for one am watching this with interest as it will have global implications.

MY CLIENTS

I work with clients who need to understand the economic, demographic, environmental, technological, political and social developments which lie around the corner and how those changes will challenge their capabilities to thrive. They are all interested in how their organisations can change to meet future challenges, whether they are

corporate clients needing to understand, for example, the demographic and social factors that influence their ability to attract and retain outstanding people.

public sector clients needing to understand social and political trends that may drive their agendas.

not for profit clients keen to use emerging technologies to support their efforts in emerging economies.

Whatever their challenges, what they all have in common is a need for FORESIGHT; to be alerted, so they can get prepared; so they can continue to adapt and change with the world as it changes around them.

THE PROBLEMS THEY NEED RESOLVING

Here are some typical clients and the reasons why they hired me.

Professional services firms

An accounting firm experiencing difficulties attracting good quality young people from university. I helped them understand who they might be competing against and how to position themselves as an attractive employer to generations X and Y.

A medical practice concerned that the different work-life balance needs of the partners was causing strains within the team. I helped them to come to terms with the differences between them and agree equitable terms and conditions.

A law firm worried about being unable to retain female partners. I helped them understand why they were experiencing attrition, what they needed to do to address the culture of the organisation to make it more attractive to women and young people and to introduce part-time partnerships

Large Corporates

A manufacturing company was interested in why its middle managers in the west might be experiencing a lack of ambition compared to its competitors in the emerging economies of the east. I helped them understand the nature of ambition, what drives people to work, and how to capture the curiosity and drive of developed nations.

A successful organisation which anticipated the dangers of complacency amongst their leadership. They brought me in to shake them up and remind them of the need for constant vigilance towards the market, their competitors and their ability to attract good people riding only on their reputation.

Individuals

Senior managers aware of the difficulties of talking through some of their challenges with colleagues or senior mentors within their organisations. I help provide an objective sounding board for their plans, frank advice about their next steps and encouragement to persist in their efforts.

Conference designers

In-house conference organisers often want an external chair or speaker who brings a fresh, independent view, balances the gender mix, enlivens the proceedings, challenges the received wisdom

Public conference organisers, looking for a controversial keynote presenter to set the scene or tone for a particular programme, or to end on an inspirational note, choose to work with me as I bring something different from the usual academic or guru speaker. (see DVD on the video page)

TYPICAL ASSIGNMENTS

Here are some of the assignments clients have hired me for over the last couple of years:

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Management Centre Europe, Seville, opening address and chairing Global HR conference April 2004

PwC, Keynote address “Tomorrow’s People” to European firm partners in Athens, September 2004

UPC facilitation of their top team on Return on Investment in Training, October 2004

PwC Switzlerland, keynote address to Swiss firm, November 2004

TOSCA: Consortium of companies: Zurich Financial Services, Unilever, British Telecom, Prudential, Manpower on Employee Engagement, Zurich February 2005 and London September 2005 Examining the Future of Work

Chairing international conference “The Effect of Globalisation on Human Capital” in Rhodes, Greece, April 2005

GE, addressing their top HR fraternity from Europe, Middle East and Africa on The Future of HR, April 2005

British Council, key note speech at conference in Moscow on “What do employers think of competencies?”, April 2005

UN World Food Programme, running two meetings of their global HR team on the challenges of international mobility in a world wide organisation, 2004 and 2005, Rome

PwC Eurofirm, addressing new partners conference on “Best Employers: the challenges of leadership”, Stockholm October 2005

The Feminisation of Work, a seminar discussing the increasing influence of women in senior positions and the impact of large numbers of women in the workforce, various dates around the world 2006

The Future of Men, paper presented to the World Future Society Minneapolis 2007

The Future of Work, input to Leadership Development Programme held around Europe, spring and summer 2007

CONSULTING WORK

Ernst & Young, advice on the preparation of a global competency framework for all levels and all functions

CRH, running half day session with their national leadership team at their annual Leadership Development Programme for high potentials, Rijswyk, Netherlands, May 2004

UNICEF, creating organisational competency framework and preparing guidance for recruitment, profiling, assessment and development, 2005

Guidance to professional services firm on how to prepare hi-potentials for leadership positions

TEACHING

Interpersonal Effectiveness, 5 day programme held four times a year at Management Centre Europe, Brussels

Operation Enterprise, 8 day programme held at Columbia University New York, June 2004

Coaching Skills, in-company programme for Volvo, held twice a year at Management Centre Europe, Brussels

‘Working with Competencies’ and ‘Competency-Based Recruitment’, two programmes run several times a year for Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, United Kingdom.

‘Mastering HR’, year-long twelve module programme run for Management Centre Europe and Czech Republic HR Association in Prague

“The Psychology of Managing Performance”, twice a year programme run for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Many of my clients know they need to offer a better work-life balance to their employees but they don’t know how to do this without it impacting on their bottom line. I help them understand the diversity of interests amongst their employees, how they can prioritise their talent, organize flexible work contracts, treat people equitably but still remain competitive and true to their values.

My clients also appreciate the critical importance of emotional and psychological factors in engaging their people to bring out the highest level of commitment and performance. They’re just not sure how to build a culture that captures individuals’ talents and uses their contribution for mutual benefit. I help them understand how the energy of their key staff can be captured and put to best use, how their best people can be led, managed and set free to perform and produce outstanding results.

HOW I WORK

I work as an external advisor to the senior management team in an organisation, addressing their leadership and management challenges, alerting them to the future, and providing the foresight for them to see a way forward.

My role is to listen to the issues they’re facing, point out some they may have missed, explore where they want to be in a 3-15 year time frame, suggest alternative ways of looking at their situation, provoke new strategies for working with people, explore outdated thinking about individuals and groups within society, challenge their assumptions about their people. Together, we come up with a framework that will enable them to address the human issues of the future.

Being first and foremost a psychologist, I focus on the human side of the organization: how to find and keep good people, how to create and sustain an attractive culture, how to make difficult decisions and sensible choices when it comes to people. Applying principles from the behavioural sciences, I draw on applied research to ascertain what is really happening in the organization, then use that understanding to predict what may happen in the future.

INTERACTING WITH YOU

Clients sometimes ask me to address their conferences, either annual corporate events or specific meetings of groups of people. My presentation style is lively, and thought-provoking and, because it addresses futures, which many people are not used to thinking about, it usually slots best into an early session in the conference programme as a stimulus piece.

Alternatively, I regularly get asked to facilitate important or difficult meetings or ones which require a neutral outsider to negotiate and manage. Clients have commented that my style brings people together and resolves tricky issues in ways they would find hard to achieve alone with their separate interests and histories.

If we are working together over a longer period, possibly on a project or other initiative, I will form a specialist adjunct to your HR team, offering guidance, advice and input to your project team or manager.

I am happy to talk over your interests, challenges and problems and to suggest a few ideas over the phone or at an initial meeting. I'll put a written proposal to you which responds to your brief, outlines what I think might work for you. This will include plans, timescales, prices, terms and conditions. If you like what you see, a note agreeing to my proposal is all that suffices.

I enjoy teaming up with others and like to work with a few select practitioners if their integrity and quality matches Moloney Minds. These people are very special and I am delighted to recommend them wholeheartedly to my own clients. Please see the links page for those organizations and individuals who have impressed me and I hope will impress you.

TOPICS I COVER

As a specialist in the future of work and all that entails - working with different generations, technologies, talents, and how to meet the growing challenges of globalisation, diversity and increased competition, I find myself asked to speak on a variety of topics, not all of which are within my area of expertise. So I tend to specialise in a limited number of topics. The following titles may give you an idea of my areas of interest:

The Future of Work

The Future of HR

It’s a job Jim, but not as we know it: how work is changing

Bedrooms and Boardrooms: balancing work and life

Managing Hot Talent

Attracting, Retaining and Developing Talent

The Corporate Gender: men and women working together

Diversity in the workforce: maximising the impact of people who are different

The Competency-Based Approach: old hat or common sense?

Developing Global Leaders: turning executives into super heroes

Why Can’t I Change?: Effective personal development

How to build emotional capital

You’re Smarter than You Think: Emotional Intelligence for dummies

My War with the Law: developing legal practices

Developing Talent in Professional Services Firms

Difficult conversations: how to say important things effectively

TESTIMONIALS

A sample of comments from those who have worked with me or seen me present:

Here’s a comment from my client in a global firm of professional consultants:

“I just first want to say thank you very much for everything you did for me. You helped me so much in my steep learning curve in getting up to speed and listened to all of the many (!) challenges we encountered along the way. So personally, I want to thank you for your help.”

And here’s another:

“It was certainly an enjoyable and exhilarating experience. I really enjoyed working with you and especially appreciative of your mentoring role.”

In terms of the practical usefulness of my input:

“I know I speak for everybody who attended the Conference last week, in saying how much we feel we benefited from the instruction and guidance that you gave us.

We were all impressed by the way you seemed to practice what you preached! What is more, I believe we came away from the course having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and more importantly, with a much stronger idea on the areas which we need to improve in practice.

Thanks again. I hope we have an opportunity of benefiting from your enthusiasm and knowledge in the not too distant future.”

“Whilst I was very much looking forward to the session, I must say it did considerably surpass my expectations and I really felt that I had learnt a great deal in a relatively short time.”

I regularly received 4.8 out of 5 for delivery in evaluations and in the 37 years history of the Global HR Conference, I received the highest score ever recorded for both a speaker and a chair.

Here’s another comment from a happy course and conference organiser:

“ Many congratulations, I have just read your course evaluation forms for your courses and they are quite first class, with many reports on your pace, and individual care and use of time. We are jolly lucky to have you, and I am so grateful for all your hard work.”

And another, from a participant

“The programme, although good, became outstanding through the instructor's ability to apply approaches and documentation flexibly and in response to needs identified on the day. She knows when to downplay an approach for a given individual and when to force an issue. Her feedback at the end was very insightful.”

Sometimes, I get to work with people who the organisation really wants to invest in, in this case potential chief executives of NHS Trusts. Here are some of their comments:

“ Best development programme I have had in my 10 years NHS service. Really helped me make a difficult decision about my next career move.”

“I found your event last week stimulating, enjoyable and helpful. I came away for it with a strange feeling that for the first time in 20 years as a GP, the organisation (NHS/HA) valued me as a person and cared, and was concerned for my welfare.”

“Over the past 24 hours since returning home, I have realised how the workshop has helped me to gain insight into current problems. It’s been the ability to look at working relationships in a new way that has been most helpful.”

“Thank you so much for such an inspiring and enlightening workshop at Windsor last week. I learnt so much.”

“A very worthwhile 2 days; absorbing, interesting, motivating throughout. Has given me a lot more confidence to prepare me for my new executive role within the organisation.”

And finally, here’s a comment from a fellow keynote speaker

“WOW, you're good! The day was great, wouldn't have been without you leading the events. Thanks for making it possible.”

To read the latest articles, thoughts, papers, and to find interesting materials.

To understand how we could work together, the ways in which I engage and the principles I bring to each assignment.