Hundreds have played Corporate Snakes and Career Ladders around the world – and we like to check in with people. In this installment of our series of conversations, Carmen spoke to Colin Hatfield the founder and senior partner at Visible Leaders.
Carmen: Hello Colin; tell me a bit more about your work…
Colin: We help leaders to articulate a vision that inspires – at all levels. We help them develop the skills to engage their internal and external audiences, to drive performance and realise their organization’s ambitions.
We believe that at the heart of leadership lies great communication. Great leaders inspire change and motivate their teams through what they say, what they do and how they listen.
Carmen: You’ve played this game more than once…
Colin: Yes! And it has developed quite a bit. The first time I tried it was when it was in a very early version. And then I partook in a ‘proper’ session earlier this year at the Strategic Adviser Forum as part of IABC’s World Conference in Montreal.
I think it works on many many levels. It is an idea that we could build in with some of our clients, and some of the relationships we’ve got.
Carmen: What surprised you the most?
Colin: Perhaps not surprised, but what I liked the most is the discussion it generates. In some situations there is a right and wrong answer. but in many there aren’t. What is interesting is to see a bunch of professionals in the room come to different outcomes. Understanding the different factors that informed their decision-making process. Getting into that was enlightening.
Carmen: You’ve recently been writing and speaking about Adaptive Leadership. Is this something that is relevant here?
Colin: Adaptive leadership is about how leaders show up: reading a situation, understanding the context – and understanding how to have the best possible impact. It is a move on from the pure ‘authenticity’ discussion that has been going on for some time. I think the game could easily be used to explore some of these challenges and approaches in practice.
Carmen: Have you got a couple of top tips from Adaptive Leadership that could be used by others playing the game?
Colin: Sure!
- Never assess the situation from your own lens. What’s great about the Adaptive Leadership approach is that it helps you look at things from the point of view of your stakeholders.
- Experiment – try taking on the different ‘personas’ as you think through the challenge. That’s essential when you play this game – and in work in general. Explore what makes the various stakeholders you deal with tick.
Carmen: Big thanks Colin – and where can we find out more about your work?
Read our blog for more on Adaptive Leadership – and you may also find our recent white papers on Communication Across Cultures and A Practical Approach to Stakeholder Management useful.
Connect with Colin on LinkedIn if you want to learn more – and follow @VisibleLeaders
And if you’d like to try the game: see if it is right for you.
If you’re an alumni and you’d like to be interviewed by Carmen, let us know here.
Corporate Snakes and Career Ladders 