LONDON, Nov. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Global management consulting firm Proudfoot (www.proudfoot.com) launches new global leadership movement #HeadsUP today.
#HeadsUP is a collaborative global movement dedicated to encouraging a style of leadership that recognizes great things happen at the intersection of People and Technology but prioritizes connecting with people to build extraordinary businesses and communities worldwide. People have a need for face-to-face interaction and human connection, but in today's digital age, all too often, we can lose sight of this as we focus on digital transformation – especially in the workplace.
Proudfoot has conducted 30,000 assessments and found leaders have reduced face time over the course of the last few decades, replacing it first with admin, then screen time as technology increased. Proudfoot has noted that when leaders were trained and coached in active management – something the firm calls "HeadsUp Management", team results significantly improve leading to increased productivity and engagement.
As Proudfoot Global CEO Pamela Hackett explains, "Economies around the world are undergoing significant digital transformations as they strive to achieve global competitiveness. However, employee engagement levels are often not keeping pace with the digital transformation push. Leaders everywhere must not lose focus on the human side of businesses and communities. That is what this movement aims to achieve – a stronger awareness and action around what it takes to be a #HeadsUP leader and make an impact on people around us, not just our businesses, but within our broader communities as well."
Digital transformation is a soaring trend, with worldwide spending expected to reach nearly US$2 trillion by 2022. At the same time, global employee engagement levels have remained relatively flat in recent years, at between 63-65%, with over one third of workers being disengaged. This comes at a cost to business in terms of lost productivity, increased sick leave, and even risks associated with poor performance of staff; furthermore, this disengagement can have physical and mental health consequences such as depression and anxiety, which come at a national cost to healthcare systems.
According to Hackett, "The future of business is still people, and employee engagement is key to national economic success. The need for even more human interaction comes at a time of accelerated adoption of technology. Face-to-face communication can often be the antidote to the stresses of this fast-paced digital age; taking the time to meet and chat with employees is an important way to emphasise key messages and build a sense of community, as well as to reiterate and expand upon ideas expressed in other channels. It's the time you take to check-in, not upon your people that make you an impactful leader. It's only then that you can create a safe and productive workplace where people can achieve extraordinary results."
"If countries don't get this right, they risk their efforts in building strong, competitive economies. Leaders need to complement the digital transformation push, with a movement that promotes #HeadsUP leadership at all levels – in schools, at universities, across government, within organisations. All future leaders need to have the traits of a #HeadsUP leader to manage an uncertain digital future" she concludes.
Leaders can get on board with this movement by encouraging those in positions of influence to commit to practicing the #HeadsUP Five, a set of five core values encapsulating what it takes to be a true #HeadsUP leader in a disrupted, distracted world. As well as leading by example and practicing the High Five daily, leaders can take the Pledge and commit to being a #HeadsUP leader; or nominate a leader to be an ambassador of the #HeadsUP movement.
About Proudfoot (www.proudfoot.com): Founded in 1946, Proudfoot is a global management consulting company that improves the financial and operational performance of companies through originating a suite of propriety methods including Management Operating Systems, short-interval controls and brown paper process mapping. 70 years on, Proudfoot continues to lead the business improvement industry with cutting edge solutions such as Aerial Mapping and Rapid Prototyping through the company's latest initiative, t-Lab™ which helps build more sustainable and relevant businesses for the future. Since inception, Proudfoot has partnered with more than 1 million leaders across multiple industries and geographies to deliver measurable and tangible results and has delivered more than 30,000 business assessments.
About #HeadsUP: (headsuptoday.global): #HeadsUP is a collaborative global movement that is dedicated to encouraging better leadership at every level. It's about developing better leaders who prioritize connecting with people and human interaction in order to build extraordinary businesses and communities. Great leaders know how to leverage technology to do that. They also know great leadership drives positive outcomes in not only our workplaces, but our communities too.
How to get involved in the #HeadsUP movement:
Contact: Gemma Manning, Manning & Co: gemma@manningandcogroup.com