Business Problems Solved Podcast

As always, Lee encourages you to think, feel and do in depth about the 3 things about Coaching. Take a close look at Coaching and it’s importance as a skill in all workplaces in all its variations as a method for developing people towards desirable goals.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Clarity of intent and destination. Coaching can only be attempted with a clear and definable goal to move towards.
• Prioritise questions and the thinking space rather than answers.
• It is a scale from consulting and providing answers through to creating a space to think.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I believe we can only and should only coach when we have clarity of that destination. You need to truly have clarity of your intent in each of your interactions with your coachee and other people on the team.’

’The more that you can make somebody think the more that they are developing their own thinking and their own answers to help them get to where they are trying to get to.’

‘I don’t think our default as a coach is to provide options. It might be in the moment the thing that you think about to help the coachee move  past whatever it is hinders them.’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

In various situations, our standards differ and in terms of change, improvement and problem solving it can be difficult to decide where to set expectations to regard goals and targets as being met. Lee defines the 3 things that need to be considered when setting standards.  

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The standards need to be in line and support the reason why you are there. 
• They need to be visible and reviewable at the point of work, action or function. 
• They need to be simple, clear and address the operation required.  

BEST MOMENTS

‘It should be an expectation set on an outcome from a leader in line with the purpose of the team, the function, the department, the business and also in line with the direction that you’re heading.’ 

‘I often see standards in lever arch folders in cupboards and the cupboards are not actually in the place of the work they’re in an office somewhere.’

‘Standards are a mechanism to solve the problem between what we say and what everybody hears.’  

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

 CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

In this ‘3 Things’ episode, Lee talks about the tools we all need to use to identify quantitively if our changes and improvements are successful, our chosen measures and metrics. What 3 things do we need to bear in mind to use these tools effectively?  

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Aligned to purpose. Ensure the chosen metric is the exact measure of the team’s success.
• Meaningful to each layer. The figures should be comprehensible and meaningful to all levels within the organisation. 
• To be actionable and solvable. The metric chosen should be affected by the actions and decisions of the change team. 

BEST MOMENTS
‘They should be aligned to a particular purpose, to a purpose of the team and that team’s purpose is to be aligned to that overall business purpose as well.’  

’Does every person on every team resonate with the measure or metric and the reason why they are there?’

‘Can you go away and understand where and why the gap exists? Are you empowered to actually resolve or close that gap with you and your team?’

VALUABLE RESOURCES
Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST
For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD
You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194
Lee@leehoughton.com 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

The creation of this mini-series has forced Lee to distil the complications of his chosen topics down to 3 easy to understand, most important points and in this episode, he is concentrating on Leadership. This time our 3 are Vision, Communication and Teamwork.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Set a clear understandable direction. This creates motivation, passion and a shared target.
• The importance that people are clear on the messages that you deliver.
• Just because your team ‘works’ doesn’t mean you’ve got teamwork.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Your ability to set a clear direction, one that is engaging, one that is motivating, and fundamentally one that people can resonate with.’  

‘Truly, the art of communication is what’s been heard, not what’s been said, and I think what we need to do as leaders is truly understand what has been heard not just what we have said.’

‘How effective are you at creating teamwork? Encouraging and helping people to sacrifice their own personal goals for those of the team?’   

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Problem Solving can be a highly discussed topic with many differing opinions on methods. However, at this mid-point in his ‘3 Things’ series of episodes, rather than concentrating on method, Lee explains the 3 blocks that he feels you will encounter during your Problem Solving approach. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Finding problems, not solving them. Often locating the problems can be more difficult than solving them.
• Solving at the right levels, little and often. If you can solve problems with the people that actually work with them and do it often enough you also empower the people at that level.
• It’s everybody’s job. It’s not a specialist role to solve problems.

BEST MOMENTS

‘We are not very good at finding problems because very often we just accept whatever we see, whatever we hear and whatever we feel because it’s always been that way.’

‘Some problems may need to be escalated through the line to more senior people but only if the people escalate it’s not within their gift to solve.’ 

’Is problem solving, moving forward, is identifying and overcoming opportunities actually part of everybody’s job, of everybody’s role to help everybody make today better than tomorrow?’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee introduces 3 important things that will make you think, feel and act differently concerning Visual Management. The fourth episode in the ‘3 things’ will explain how you can cue actions or activities based on the visuals and other sensory input that you share with your team. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Visual Management should provide focus and clarity for everybody on the important points. 
• It provides an opportunity for increased support and teamwork.
• It incorporates all sensory management to tap into the senses of all of the people that we are working with.  

BEST MOMENTS

‘What is it that you are looking to control and how can you prompt or trigger or cue a particular activity or action or thought in somebody based on what they can see?’

‘You can use Visual Management to help people see whether we are winning or losing today.’

‘You want people to understand where we are, where we are trying to get to, whether someone is overloaded, underworked and how we can support each other to get to where we want to get to.’

‘We need to consider how we can actually be more inclusive of peers, colleagues and friends and actually try to utilise more sensory management.’  

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

In this episode Lee continues his ‘There’s Always 3 Things’ series and sets out the 3 most important things to consider about your all-important daily team meeting. After this, you will think, feel and do more when it comes to structuring your regular updates and discussions. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Daily meetings are an opportunity to engage everyone and have two-way conversations.
• An opportunity to connect your communication floor horizontally as well as vertically with effective escalation and cascade.
• An opportunity to increase your focus and align your priorities.  

BEST MOMENTS

‘You’ll maybe feel conflicted about your current meeting structure, or you might feel positive and confident about it.’

‘But often people mean when they say that there is a lack of communication, it’s a lack of communication to help them do what they are doing today.’ 

‘Can you connect your daily conversation with your peer’s daily conversation, with your seniors' daily conversation? Is there an effective cascade of communication and expectations down and is there an effective escalation of issues, challenges , frustration and things that get in the way of people doing the job?’

‘You are aligning people on what the focus and priorities are today, but also celebrate what has gone well when it’s fresh in the mind.’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

The latest in Lee’s series on the power of 3 takes a look at Customer Experience. What 3 things can you consider when focusing on consumers that can challenge you, refresh your viewpoint and make you apply changes to the way you currently deliver your Customer Experience?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Customer experience is about the full journey, from awareness, through to purchase and then follow-up. To provide the best experience we need to consider all aspects from the moment the consumer starts to look at your provision.  
• Have a detailed understanding of the flow of all customers through your organisation. Your task is to understand how they think and feel about all your touch points on the journey.
• Create powerful memories so that the customer remembers the experience and will be fully willing to repeat it. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Customer experience for me has been an exciting journey to understand more about that but if we think about customer experience and the best model that we use, if you think about consultants 15 to 20 years ago they focused primarily on the targets of a business.’ 

‘A customer doesn’t typically follow the same route as the way you are set up organisationally.’ 

’The true value in any customer experience measure is to understand the intent of that customer, what they were trying to achieve, and maybe how they felt while they were doing that.’

‘What lasting memories do you want to leave with the customers?’

VALUABLE RESOURCES
Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD
You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194
Lee@leehoughton.com 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

In this episode Lee takes a look at the 3 main points when forming positive habits to benefit our organisations. How do we create those automatic actions effectively in ourselves and our team that can become parts of the system and problem solving solutions that we need?  

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• One of our favourite definitions of ‘culture’ is the sum of all of the habits that exist within our organisation. 
• Belief is the most natural way to form a habit if your people believe that change is truly possible. 
• The Habit Loop is the model which is based on cue, routine and reward. The same model is applied to creating a good habit as a bad one. Cue is the repeated trigger for the habit, routine is the process to deal with the situation and the reward is the results achieved. 
• Craving will be the eventual result of repeated problem solving through the habit loop and will be the driver behind habitual change.

BEST MOMENTS

‘There’s various different studies that suggest that a high percentage of what we do every single day is habitual.’ 

’If we really want to challenge and change our culture then it starts with creating and forming new habits.’ 

‘I see a lot of people want to do the routine without considering the cue and the reward.’ 

‘If you can sufficiently get people to continuously travel that habit loop over a period of time then you will create a level of craving and then it becomes habitual.’

VALUABLE RESOURCES
Business Problems Solved Podcast       

ABOUT THE HOST
For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD
You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194
Lee@leehoughton.com 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee begins his ‘3 Things’ mini series with the 3 things he believes makeup Operational Excellence. He will guide you to help you ‘know, feel and do’ in a new way in regards to Operational Excellence to challenge you or help your confidence so you can take action effectively as a leader of change. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The first is an environment that works daily towards a particular destination.
• The second is encouraging teamwork and cooperation. 
• The third is committed, supportive, empowering leadership. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘For me, typically, this is about the process of the systems, the organisation, operating in a manner that strives towards excellence. I believe that Operational Excellence is a journey that we should be continuously striving towards.’  

’How clear is your vision? How clear has it been articulated? What do people take from it and are you all striving towards the same end?’ 

‘Teamwork is a recognition that the sum is far greater than the individual parts.’ 

‘How supportive are we of our people? How supportive are we of each other? How often does one leader sacrifice themselves for the benefit and gain of the whole system?’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

3 seems to be a culturally significant digit and Lee is running with this, creating a mini-series over the coming weeks on a number of problem-solving subjects titled The 3 Things About...

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Have you ever thought of why the number 3 is significant?
• The rule of 3 is a powerful technique used in writing and speaking.
• Whittle it down to the 3 most important priorities for your team.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I’m gonna do a mini-series, the 3 things about ‘x’ and over the coming weeks I’m gonna introduce the three things about ‘x’. The 3 Things About Visual Management, The 3 Things About Operational Excellence etc’    

’When you think about plays, and every story in every film, it’s always divided into 3 parts isn’t it?’

‘I want you to know some stuff’ I want you to think some stuff and ultimately I want you to take action and do some stuff afterwards.’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

One habit is the differentiator between an environment that sustains and improves and one that does not. The habit that we should all commit to installing in our repertoire is continuous improvement. Lee explains how to make today continuously better than yesterday.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• By ensuring leaders ask better questions a system of continuous improvement can be installed.
• There is a difference between identifying blocks to productivity and removing them and improving the actual process by which productivity is achieved. 
• It all starts with belief. Are you coming from a place where you believe anything can be improved? 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I don’t think people really focus on the habit of continuous improvement. The purpose of everything we do is not necessarily to improve the metrics but improve how we do the job.’ 

’If you continuously cue, routine, reward it creates a craving in you to want to do it more.’

‘Use your senses. Use everybody’s senses. What things are you seeing? What things are you hearing? What things are you feeling? What processes are you touching that can be improved?’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

When leading people we often look at things on a macro level. Detailing to a micro level can help you change a culture. Culture is a conglomeration of formed habits, and you need to identify the habit loops present and alter them to make any headway in changing culture.  

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The Habit Loop is the structure of a habit, made up of cues, routine and reward.  
• To understand habits you need to engage with people and understand their cues, routines and how they feel rewarded. 
• You cannot just tell people to change, you need to convince them of the need to do so, cultivating their belief and thus desire to change habits.  

BEST MOMENTS

‘If you can identify the habits that people do every single day then you can start to change the culture.’

‘Often I use the example of walking past a piece of rubbish in any working environment. If you do that then you make it instantly acceptable to do that.’ 

‘The easiest way to create belief in others is to create a community set of believers. It’s the reason why religion is so popular, it’s the reason why communities are starting to grow.’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

One of the most important aspects of driving change in a team or as a change manager is asking the right questions, but is there any worth in repeating questions previously asked? Lee believes asking the same question in the right setting and with the right intent can benefit you as a leader of people and change and he explains why. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Lee asks weekly ‘how have you felt this week?’ and ‘what one thing that’s noteworthy have you learnt this week?’
• Consistently asked questions over time can mean a more in-depth and heartfelt response as time goes on as the responder feels safer in their environment. 
• A follow-up question as simple as ‘and what else?’ can challenge someone to think deeper about the answer they have just given and elaborate. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Every single Friday morning we have a little ‘reflection section’. It’s a small team and we sit around a table and I’ve asked for the last ten weeks the same two questions.’ 

‘Over a course of ten weeks, boy, can I tell you the conversations have developed and have changed.’ 

‘Fundamentally it’s about making sure you have clarity of intent of what it is, you create a safe space for people to think.’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

When asking better questions, how comfortable are you with silence as a response? Not all questions require a yes or no answer and a team’s strength is built with open-ended questions that require more thought. Is your discomfort with silence causing unconsidered answers and thus unsatisfactory solutions? 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Fundamentally, becoming more comfortable with silence can help you with coaching your team. 
• Common responses to silence are; rephrasing a question to elicit a more immediate response, answering the question themselves or providing prompts or suggestions. Anything to break the silence.  
• Ask questions that require more thought such as “How can you visualise the performance of your team?” 
• Create the space and time for the answer to occur. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘You might be somebody that when you get in a lift and you're travelling with people you don’t know, do you break that silence with an uncomfortable giggle?’ 

’I encourage you to think of an open question. Think of a question that requires some thinking.’

‘Your ability to be comfortable with silence I think is an important factor in your ability to coach and lead your people.’  

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Have you got enough time? If not, you probably need to prioritise. If you place everything in your ‘in-tray’ into your ‘urgent’ tray, then you are probably going to be eternally frustrated. Lee takes a look at how you can denote what needs doing now.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• What is the most important thing for you to do today? Fundamentally, despite outside pressures, you can only really have one priority at a time.
• Are you a specialist or a generalist? This will have an effect on your chosen priority for you.
• If you are pushing everything a little this makes less progress than pushing the main priority hard.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I’m working with a number of teams currently in a couple of different businesses and they’ve all not got enough time. Each of the leaders has not got enough time, they’re working on too many things.’ 

’And I can hear you now saying that you don’t have time and there’s so many different expectations on you to do all sorts of other things, but are you going to some meetings where you’ve only got to provide a 10-minute update in a 60-minute meeting?’

‘Help your team understand what they need to do and how they can help you overcome and achieve the goals that you’re trying to get to.’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

You cannot solve problems in a business if you cannot even find them. Encouraging and training team members to locate problems is a first step to making real progress towards solutions. Lee explains the qualities and mechanisms to put in place to create an army of problem finders. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When something is big enough to quantify as a problem then we often have strategies in place to then find and apply solutions. 
• All team members need to be able to identify problems, especially those that have not yet grown into large system breaking blocks. 
• To create a good problem finder, have clarity of direction, understand expected standards, have good visual management to prompt the right focus, demonstrate compelling engagement, create confidence and empower those that are closest to the problems.  

BEST MOMENTS

‘Recently with one of the teams that I’ve been working with, they have a belief or a perception that they are really good at problem solving.’

’The real crux of this change and improvement thing is to be able to have everybody finding problems. Solving problems is the easy bit.‘

‘The reward is a resolution of those challenges and that only comes from having a feedback mechanism or empowering those that are closest to it to fix it.’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

In this episode, Lee wants to talk to you about simplicity. Over complication is the enemy of comprehension so when leading people keep it concise and simple to facilitate better understanding with those you lead.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Often when in change mode we can become over enthusiastic and overload a task explanation to a team member decreasing their comprehension, knowledge and confidence in the change at hand.
• Keep instructions to one for each task and you will be unlikely to have to repeat yourself.
• Really understand the task from the perspective of the other person to be able to communicate in the most sympathetic way.

BEST MOMENTS

‘If you can’t explain something simply you don’t understand it well enough.’

‘When we start to deliver change in organisations and in businesses, we don’t necessarily keep it simple for the person, we over complicate things..’

‘The simpler you can make what they hear and not necessarily what you say, then that will help you be more successful.’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee goes back to basics and discusses some of the common pitfalls of business change. You may recognise some of these problems in your own change team and systems as many people have before. Listen in and see if you can avoid these problems before they occur.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Immediate success and instant change is rare to impossible. Change is a process and a journey. 
• Communicate clearly to achieve change. Be sure your message has been received.
• Involve the people who are in the process to develop the change. It is more likely to be successful with buy-in from the initiators. 
• Be flexible. Be ready for fluid change when encountering problems in a plan.  
• Take care of your people. Involvement in change decreases the fear of it. 
• Celebrate success. Recognise things that are going right, nor just things that go wrong. 

BEST MOMENTS

“There is no moment when a monkey learns to ride a skateboard. It’s a process.”

‘Just consider are you involving enough people? And how are you involved with those people?’ 

‘Leading change can be stressful and it’s really important to take care of your team or the people and peers that you’re working with during this process.’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Whose job is it to create motivation? Having a reason to take action is the meaning of ‘motivation’, but whose role is it to demonstrate the reasons to act? The fact is everyone needs a reason to do what they do, but what is the best motivation for your team to not only apply themselves but to do so energetically and enthusiastically? 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• We have to have clarity of understanding of the reason why we are doing our tasks. 
• As leaders, it is up to us to create the ideal environment to motivate with the right measures, vision, clarity, reward and recognition.
• Understanding the full reasons for their tasks is important for staff. A seemingly pointless activity is demotivating. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘“Bob lacks motivation.” They are pointing the finger of blame at Bob and suggesting that it’s all Bob’s fault. But I think that as leaders of people and of change we have got a role in creating the environment to allow the people to have greater reasons to do the stuff than not do the stuff.’

‘Nobody goes to work to do a bad job, I genuinely believe that. But not everybody is motivated to do a good job.’

‘There’s so many factors that we need to consider and when we’re dealing with medium to large organisations it’s not simply just to give everybody the business reason to act because that does not motivate people.’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Business Problems Solved Podcast         

ABOUT THE HOST

For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.

Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

CONTACT METHOD

You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194

Lee@leehoughton.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/