Maureen O’Callaghan – Good Business Research

Benevolence is about having good intentions towards other living beings, including yourself.

In these times of stress and conflict, a little benevolence can go a long way.

‘Leadership goodness’ has been the focus of much research, not least because of changes in leadership roles and environmental challenges (Ciulla, 1995; Sanderset al., 2002; Doh and Stumpf, 2005; Whittington et al., 2005; Brown and Trevino, 2006;Maak and Pless, 2006; Bass and Bass, 2008).

Traditional leadership models need to be improved to meet these challenges. Could benevolent leadership be a way forward?

Benevolent leadership is about encouraging and initiating positive change in organizations through ethical decision making, creating a sense of meaning, inspiring hope and courage for positive action, and leaving a positive impact for the larger community (Habermas, 2001; Daly and Cobb, 1989; Bryson and Crosby, 1992; Karakas and Sarigollu, 2012).

Through benevolent leadership, leaders can become more effective and approachable, and achieve more favourable employee outcomes (Niu et al., 2009).

Benevolence is more than just a nice notion, it can improve business performance.

Studies have shown that companies that put an emphasis on encouraging trust, understanding, and mutual respect between people perform better.

Benevolence creates honest and harmonious relationships, and where people feel valued, respected, and listened to, they want to do better.

Benevolent leadership and healthy profits can co-exist.

So how could you be benevolent at work?

In challenging situations, like a difficult conversation with an employee, remaining patient, and kind can be difficult, but being benevolent could mean:

• Asking yourself how you can express compassion and kindness.
• Thinking about the other person’s welfare.
• Looking past their words or behaviour to see what might be worrying them.
• Being kind in thought, word, and deed.

At all other times, benevolence can mean:

• Offering encouragement and saying thank you for a job well done.
• Being present in conversations.
• Making people feel seen and heard

How will you be benevolent today?

Many experts have said we are approaching the ‘fourth industrial revolution.’

The world is changing at an increasingly rapid pace.

We have more knowledge and advanced technology than ever before at our fingertips.

How will this change the way we work?

New jobs will emerge and some will be made obsolete, and the skills organisations need the most will change.

This also means certain character strengths will become more valuable.

Creativity will be important as leaders and workers will need to be able to solve ever more complex problems and embrace new ways of working in an ever-changing environment.

A love of learning will also be increasingly important for employees who will need to work with new technologies and keep pace with emerging knowledge.

Businesses that are built around the character strengths of their employees will flourish as we enter this new age.

Which strengths do you think will become important?

Having an awareness of your character strengths and being able to use and develop them in your job role and in life can help you flourish.

A study of 10,000 workers found that high strengths awareness was associated with flourishing (Hone et al, 2015) and that when people were matched to job roles where they could make the best use of their strengths, it improved work-related outcomes (Harzer.et.al, 2020)

Further research has found that the character strengths that were most associated with work satisfaction were curiosity, zest, hope, gratitude, and spirituality (Petersen et al., 2010)

The character strengths of leaders are also important. A study found a correlation between leader wisdom and employee engagement, leader humanity and employee wellbeing, and leader temperance and employee trust (Thun and Kelloway (2011))

So, the ability to use our strengths and to work with others who display positive strengths can enhance our work satisfaction, but the thing that links life and work satisfaction with character strengths is that strengths increase our ability to find meaning and purpose in our work and our life.

Life is more fulfilling when you know your ‘why’

Which of your strengths make you feel more fulfilled in life and work?

Only 1 in 3 UK entrepreneurs is female according to an independent review commissioned by the Treasury. The review also found that businesses run by women were only 44% of the size of male-led businesses, and that SMEs run by men were five times more likely to achieve a turnover of £1 million. Why is the case?

Women aren’t less able or any less ambitious, but it seems that they do face considerably more barriers than men when it comes to entrepreneurship.

So what are these barriers, how can they be overcome, and what is the case for encouraging more women to become entrepreneurs?

Barriers to Female Entrepreneurship

A lack of funding

Female entrepreneurs tend to have less capital made available to them than male entrepreneurs, and this poses a problem when it comes to being able to grow a business. The Treasury’s independent review mentioned above also found that a third of women said that access to funding is the biggest barrier to starting a business, compared to 20% of men. Another report found that only 1% of venture funding goes to business with all-female founders and teams.

Gender bias

Female entrepreneurs often feel that they aren’t taken seriously and are treated less favourably than male entrepreneurs, and this issue is especially prevalent in industries that are still very male dominated like tech.

Fear of failure

The Treasury review also found that when it comes to actually starting a business, only 39% of women believed they had the necessary skills, compared to 55% of men. Women also tend to be more risk averse, and 55% said that a fear of going it alone was a barrier to them starting a business.

Lack of access to business networks and female mentors

Unfortunately, less female entrepreneurs means that there’s a smaller pool of women who can mentor and give advice to women who want to start a business.

But the good news is that this appears to be changing and female-focused networking groups and events are springing up on Facebook and other platforms.

Caring responsibilities

This barrier is a tale as old as time. Juggling childcare and other caring responsibilities alongside the demands of running a business can be incredibly tough. In fact, women are twice as likely as men to cite family responsibilities as a barrier to starting a business.

Women who do go into business and decide to have children have to navigate the difficulties of the lack of provision for, and legal protections around maternity compared to female employees, and finding affordable childcare. Many women go into self-employment as that is they only way that they can work while being able to look after their child themselves.

 

The case for more female entrepreneurs

If the barriers to female entrepreneurship were adequately addressed, there would be a positive impact on businesses and on the economy as a whole.

• Companies with gender balanced boards are more successful on every measure. (McKinsey & Co 2007).
• Up to £250 billion could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as men. (Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, HM Treasury 2019)
• Because about 1 in 5 women move into self-employment from unemployment, this has a more immediate positive effect on the economy. (‘Promoting Female Entrepreneurship’ SBS/ DTI, 2005)
• Women who combine motherhood with being their own boss have become increasingly valuable to the UK economy. A 2015 report from the economic think tank Development Economics, commissioned by eBay, found that ‘mumpreneurs’ generate over £7 billion for the economy and support 204,000 jobs.

What about BAME entrepreneurs?

Women from BAME backgrounds face the same challenges as other women but to an even greater extent. Despite this BAME women are two and a half times more likely to be entrepreneurs than white women. (ibid GEM, London Business School, 2006)

A big challenge for BAME women is that they feel that the leadership and communication styles of white women were more positively regarded in the workplace. (Different Women, Different Places, The Diversity Practice Ltd, 2007).

The challenge for businesses owned by BAME entrepreneurs as a whole is a self-reported lack of confidence when it comes to finance. (Dr Stuart Fraser, Finance for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, 2005)

How will the barriers to female entrepreneurship be addressed?

The barriers and challenges faced by female entrepreneurs don’t have easy solutions as many are societal and cultural issues which demand a shift in attitudes and behaviours. Solutions will most likely have to be adapted for BAME female entrepreneurs and women in geographical areas where the rate of female entrepreneurship is already very low.

The barriers in this article need to be addressed by:

• Increasing funding and funding opportunities for female entrepreneurs.
• Giving families more support when it comes to issues like childcare.
• Making entrepreneurship more accessible to women by improving access to mentors and networks.

Are you a female entrepreneur? Have you faced similar challenges, and if so, how have you dealt with them? I’d love to hear from you!

I’m currently developing some research on entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial journey, and in particular the relationships between character strengths, mindfulness and trustworthiness in business.  If you’d like to take part in the research, email mOCallaghan@lincoln.ac.uk

Being genuine is a Buddhist principle .

Generally, people who are genuine inspire trust and have appealing traits that draw people to them, like strength of character, confidence, and tenacity.

A genuine leader will have no trouble getting their employees onside.

Genuine leadership is about integrity, accountability, communication, and respect.

What might that look like in the workplace?

• You always do what you say you’ll do.
• You lead by example and always admit to your mistakes.
• You communicate open and honestly with employees.
• You respect and value people because you want to improve people’s lives.

If you’ve read a lot of articles about what makes a good leader or a successful business owner, you’ll have noticed that ‘softer’ skills are becoming increasingly important.

It’s no longer enough to have the intellectual prowess and experience, today’s leaders and business owners need social skills that will help them both get along with and understand others.

These skills come under the umbrella of social intelligence.

What is social intelligence?

Social intelligence is about being aware of the motives and feelings of yourself and of others, knowing how to fit into different social situations, and knowing what makes other people tick. In a nutshell, it’s about being ‘tuned in’, being able to get along with people, and encouraging them to cooperate with you.

It’s not difficult to see why having high social intelligence would make you a good leader or business owner, and not only that, research has found that the ability to recognise feelings and motivations both in yourself and in others is connected with better mental and physical health, work performance, and social relationships.

In terms of character strengths, social intelligence is linked to strengths like perspective, leadership, bravery, humour, and zest, and it’s one of the strengths that’s associated with having a pleasurable life.

The different types of intelligence

When it comes to intelligence, there are basic distinctions that must be made between different kinds of intelligence.

• Intelligence: The intellectual kind. This is about having the ability to reason.
• Hot intelligence: This is about being able to process signals on motives, feelings, and other things that directly relate to our survival and wellbeing.
• Social intelligence: O’Sullivan (1965) defined social intelligence as being able to build and maintain positive relationship with others, gain people’s trust, persuade them to follow you, and gain power by way of understanding people and showing empathy.
• Personal intelligence: Garner (1993) defined personal intelligence as the ability to reason about motivational, emotional, and dynamic processes.
• Emotional intelligence: Mayer and Savoley (1997) defined this as being able to use emotional information in reasoning.

Socially-intelligent leaders are better leaders

The successful, effective, and value-driven leader or business owner is high in social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and personal intelligence. Here I’m going to break these down into traits so you can get an understanding of exactly why.

Social Intelligence

• You have a strong sense of self or a ‘magnetism’ which means you exude confidence and win people’s respect.
• You can express yourself clearly and persuade others to follow you or go along with your ideas.
• You have the ability to ‘read the room’ and adapt your behaviour accordingly.
• You are honest and authentic.
• You are able to appreciate the emotions and experiences of others so you can connect with them and encourage them to cooperate with you.

Personal intelligence

Personal intelligence is about being able to reason about and understand both our own personalities and those of other people. This then helps us understand emotions and motives, and it also informs how we act, as well as improving our awareness and self-control.

Understanding ourselves generally helps us perform better whatever we are doing. ( Bandura 1997)

Emotional intelligence

According to Petersen and Seligman (2004), people who are high in emotional intelligence:

• Have special capacities in regard to experiencing and strategising about emotions.
• Are adept at perceiving emotions in relationships, whether it’s at work or in their personal lives.
• Have a keen understanding of emotional relationships.
• Understand the meanings of emotions in relationships

This means that people will high emotional intelligence generally have better relationships with others, make better decisions, and because they understand emotions, they tend to live a more harmonious life. Emotional intelligence is perhaps undervalued in society, which is unfortunate, because maybe today’s world could do with more people who understand others better.

The evidence shows that people with high emotional intelligence provide better customer service in business, and that when it comes to understanding emotions, women do better than men (Mayer et al, 2002).

Social intelligence can be coached

Have you ever had a boss who was very charismatic and who made people feel valued, respected, and appreciated?

The chances are that what you were seeing was someone with high social intelligence. Such people can win the respect of others, influence them, and reach their goals working from a place of empathy and compassion. It’s not just about being a nice person, it’s about being able to reduce conflict, make better decisions, and encourage people to unite behind a common goal-the cornerstone of effective management.

Social intelligence is not necessarily built-in, it can be developed. With coaching, it’s possible that anyone can learn to understand and accept their own emotions and those of others, live a more harmonious and balanced life, improve their relationships with others, influence people, and be able to communicate with them better, no matter the situation they’re in.

 

Maureen O’ Callaghan has a University Diploma in Mentoring and holds a Level 7 qualification in Management Studies. She also has over 30 years’ experience in leadership and management, including running her own business.

 

If you’re a business owner who wants to follow a more mindful and stress-free entrepreneurial path, you can find Maureen’s book ‘Success Without The Stress’ here.

Judgement and Wisdom: The Strengths that Will Help You Navigate a New Business World

So many aspects of our lives have changed dramatically since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and many of us have realised exactly what we take for granted.

For business owners especially, this pandemic has been a white knuckle ride, where many of the old ways of doing things have either been lost or they can no longer be counted on. The only option left is to fall back on your resilience, judgement, and wisdom. This is what will help you make sound decisions, rebuild, and move forward in a new business world.

What is judgement?   

Having good judgement means that you can think things through, see things from all sides, and weigh up options or evidence without jumping to conclusions. It’s about being rational, logical, and willing to change your mind if something new comes to light.

You can already see then, why having good judgement is a great attribute to have if you’re running a business. Being a business owner brings with it a lot of pressure and challenges, especially in times of crisis like this, and all too often, this can make people react without thinking. Good, balanced decisions are not made like this, but they are needed more than ever in challenging times.

This is why judgment is one of the 5 most frequently endorsed strengths. It’s linked to taking perspective, being prudent, honesty, love of learning, and fairness. If you listed the attributes of someone you would want at the helm of a business, steering it through choppy waters, surely some of these would be on the list.

What kind of business owner do you want to be?

For example, a love of learning is about mastering new skills, absorbing knowledge, and persisting in the face of challenges because there is always something that can be learned from them. Is this the kind of business owner you would want to be? Someone who is not afraid of challenges and setbacks because they are not failures, they’re an opportunity to learn?

Or would you want to be a business owner with great perspective? Someone who can look at the big picture and see how you and others contribute? Someone who just seems to view things in a way that makes sense? This is the hallmark of someone with good judgement.

Judgement can also be useful when it comes to correcting faulty thinking and biased opinions. Faulty thinking includes things like only considering the dominant view when it comes to making a decision and disregarding, or paying very little attention to, the less dominant view. Imagine how more effective your decision-making would be if you listened to a range of viewpoints and weighed up all of the evidence fairly, even when it goes against your beliefs or point of view. Considering things from all angles also makes you less susceptible to suggestion and manipulation.

A word on wisdom

Wisdom is difficult to define, but most psychologists agree that wisdom consists of knowledge, experience, and an acceptance that life can be uncertain and has its ups and downs. This is the perfect combination of attributes for a successful business owner.

Wisdom brings with it the ability to provide wise counsel to others, to listen to their point of view, and to see the bigger picture. As a business owner, your employees will look to you for answers, they’ll want to feel listened to, and they’ll want to know that there is a wider mission and bigger goals that they can get behind. Wisdom means you can offer all of this and more.

 

Peterson and Seligman (2004) describe wisdom as a noble trait that is appreciated by others, and it’s linked to qualities like judgement, hope, bravery, and honesty. It’s little wonder then, that it’s one of the character strengths that’s most associated with a life of engagement.

Wisdom is also linked to positive ageing and is a buffer against stress. People who are wise tend to be optimistic that problems and challenges that come along can be solved, and so they are generally calmer when it comes to making decisions. They don’t react, they look at the bigger picture, retain a sense of perspective, and are also adept at going inward and relying on experience and emotional intelligence.

Both judgement and wisdom involve a combination of experience, an ability to see the bigger picture, and a desire to balance competing demands and goals. If a business owner has both of these strengths, they’ll be able to understand and respect people, and they’ll be open to new ways of thinking and doing things, which will be more important than ever in the coming weeks and months.

You may have heard of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), but the latest approach that’s gaining more attention is Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice. So what is it, what are the benefits, and how is it different from other mindfulness-based approaches?

Mindfulness and character strengths are complementary

Mindfulness and character strengths can both be considered pathways to the character virtues of wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence as defined by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman, the founders of positive psychology. They also share the same goal of enhancing the good in us and enabling us to use that good both in our interactions with others and in the way we view the world around us. Not only that, strengths practice can enhance mindfulness practice, and vice versa.

The struggle many people have with mindfulness

Even though mindfulness teachers tell us to not expect anything from our practice and to approach it with openness, acceptance, and curiosity, we may often practice when we feel the need to feel less stressed or anxious, or to avoid feelings of guilt that we might experience from missing a practice when we promised ourselves we’d do it daily.

Often, meditation and mindfulness is touted as something that people do to ‘fix’ something that’s wrong. Other mindfulness-based therapies use mindfulness to solve a problem. Maybe someone is stressed, anxious, depressed, or angry. But what it we approached our mindfulness practice from a strengths perspective, and focused on the positive, rather than the ‘problem’ that needs to be fixed?

The benefits of approaching mindfulness practice from a place of strength

• Mindfulness helps us to realise and use strengths like openness and curiosity, and to focus on the good attributes we already have, rather than the difficult thoughts and feelings that pervade our minds.
• Strengths practice can help us to continue to practice mindfulness even when it seems difficult or when troubling thoughts or emotions arise during our practice.
• Mindfulness helps us keep our attention on difficult thoughts and feelings and teaches us to hold them in non-judgemental awareness, and using a strengths approach can help us look at thoughts, feelings, and problems in a different and more positive way that we might not have thought of.

Mindfulness and strengths practice complement each other and help us grow as people. Together they help us discover the good inside of us that can be nurtured so that we can live a full, happy life and thrive.

 

If you are interested in learning more about Maureen’s research, looking at relationships between character strengths, mindfulness and trustworthiness in business entrepreneurs e mail mOCallaghan@lincoln.ac.uk

When it comes to character strengths, everyone has a different profile of strengths like bravery, kindness, and integrity. Research has shown that getting to know our strengths and knowing how we can best use them every day can help us flourish.

Many of us think that focusing on our weaknesses is the way to go, and that working at the things we’re not so good at will help us become better versions of ourselves. This may be true, but focusing on our weaknesses and forgetting about our strengths can fast become exhausting and demoralising.

Which strengths should we focus on?

All of our strengths are important, but it’s best to focus on what you consider to be your main strengths. These are the strengths that come naturally to you. For example, are you a very kind person who likes to spread a little kindness wherever you go? Start here, and soon you’ll find that it’s easier to start working on your other strengths too.

How to develop your character strengths

• First, find out your strengths by completing a survey, such as the one at viacharacter.org/survey. You’ll then get to know what your top five ‘signature’ strengths are. Start by focusing on these top strengths.
• Make a list of your top five strengths and have it somewhere where you can see it or look at it regularly like on your computer or in your diary.
• Each day find ways to use your top five strengths. So if one of your top strengths is kindness, look for new ways to be kind daily.
• Be a role model for your colleagues and other people around you. Once you know your strengths, and you’re putting them into practice every day, you’re more likely to notice other people’s character strengths. You can even help colleagues identify their own strengths; be the manager who focuses on strengths, not weaknesses and problems.
• At the end of each day, reflect on how you used your character strengths and what went particularly well for you. For example:

If you wanted to use your bravery, you had that difficult conversation with a colleague and it went well.

If you wanted to use your kindness, you made time to meet up with a friend who’s going through a difficult time.

Using your character strengths at work-My experience

Discovering your own character strengths and learning how to use them to make your daily life happier and more fulfilling is a fascinating and very rewarding journey. Work is a huge part of life for many, and all too often, I meet people whose work leaves them emotionally exhausted and physically ill.  The joy has gone out of their work.  Don’t let that happen to you. Identify your strengths, recognise when you perform well and look for ways to ensure that this happens more often. Ask yourself:

What does your best feel like?

When are you most energised and engaged?

When are you so absorbed in what you are doing that time just flies by?

When do you experience repeated success and gain the respect of others?

I learned that to be a success I needed to recognise what my strengths were and to find ways to use them in my work. Obviously, there were areas where I needed to improve but I figured that focusing on my weaknesses wasn’t going to get me very far in the short-term.  It wasn’t going to be much fun either. It was the right decision, by focusing on utilising my strengths I achieved much greater job satisfaction, I was more motivated, I was more willing to share my knowledge and skills with others, I was more creative and I also earned more.  And I like to think I achieved some longevity as I am still doing what I love.

If you are interested in learning more about Maureen’s research, looking at relationships between character strengths, mindfulness and trustworthiness in business entrepreneurs e mail mOCallaghan@lincoln.ac.uk

One thing that many organisations struggle with is keeping their employees engaged. Whether the problem is the culture, a lack of purpose or of opportunities to grow, disengaged employees cost businesses dearly due to lost productivity and high staff turnover. So how can you motivate employees and get them engaged and working for the good of the business again?

Tell them your ‘why’

What is your company’s mission and purpose, and how do your employees fit into the overall picture? If they understand this, they’ll feel as if they are a vital and valuable part of something bigger than them, and they’ll be more motivated to work towards business goals.

Tell them their ‘why’

Employees will feel less engaged if they don’t understand how they contribute. Be sure to clearly define their role and how it contributes towards the achievement of strategic goals.

Communicate

If managers make an effort to be approachable and have regular contact with employees, they’ll feel valued and less like they’re just a ‘number.’

Encourage collaboration

Encouraging employees to contribute their ideas and suggestions will increase engagement, inspiration, and innovation.

Encourage regular breaks

If motivation and energy levels are low because people are stuck at their desks all day, including at lunchtime, make a point of encouraging them to take regular breaks, away from their screens and ideally, in the fresh air.

Be flexible

Employees have lives outside of work, and many of them would be better engaged if they had more flexible working patterns. Being able to start later, finish earlier, or occasionally work from home would improve work/life balance for many people, and they’d be happier, more productive, and more likely to stay as a result.

Look after employee wellbeing

If long working hours prevent people from exercising or heavy workloads make them feel chronically stressed, they’re much less likely to be happy and engaged at work. Introducing things like subsidised gym memberships, walking groups, and relaxation or meditation classes can go a long way towards improving employee wellbeing.

Reward a job well done

Giving an employee some recognition for a job well done can really boost morale and make them feel appreciated. It doesn’t have to be anything costly, but whatever it is, recognising good work can be an incentive to work hard for the company.

Encourage professional development

If employees see that they’re being encouraged to develop and learn new skills, they’ll feel more challenged and engaged, and they’ll want to stay, rather than go elsewhere for better opportunities.

 

If you are interested in learning more about Maureen’s research, looking at relationships between character strengths, mindfulness and trustworthiness in business entrepreneurs e mail mOCallaghan@lincoln.ac.uk