Leadership and the ISO Management System Standards

The survival of our business may depend on how well we plan Last night (2020-05-24) we heard from South African President Ramaphosa that the lock down is being eased from Level 4 to Level 3 on the 1st of June 2020. This, of course, applies to South Africa, but companies around the world that experienced are are experiencing lock down are all in the same boat. In broad terms the easing of the restrictions means that companies in most industry sectors are allowed to resume operations as normal. But the president also reiterated that it does not means that the COVID-19 threat is over, in fact, the worst is still to come. And he is right, if one looks at the current statistics. Normal operation? I don't think so, not in the strict sense of the term. As business leaders we need to ensure that adequate precautions are in place to protect both our companies and our employees, customers, suppliers and our communities. We have heard that the key to protecting from Corona virus infect...

Severe COVID-19 Risk Factors Organizations need to consider the risk factors in terms of comorbidities when preparing to operate while the COVID-19 (or other infectious diseases) pandemic is present The Western Cape Government has published a document that was primarily aimed at schools reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk factors are equally applicable to businesses during this time. It is necessary to ensure that, as employers, we know if any member of our staff does have a record or suffers from any of these comorbidities. We can obtain the information from employees through a questionnaire, and we can then take the necessary precautions to protect vulnerable employees. Just ensure that employees provide you with confirmation from a doctor if they claim to suffer from any of these conditions! (Comorbidities are conditions that may co-exist with the symptoms of the Corona Virus infection and that would make the person more susceptible to serious conditi...

Leadership: Opening the Company Doors after  Lock Down Many companies are, under the current Level 4 lock down, still closed, while other are already open or in the process of opening. But it is not just a matter of opening the gates and the doors, and welcoming all our employees back, because, thank goodness, we can start doing some business again! The threat of infection is still there, and with the current number of new positive cases on a daily basis, bigger than ever. We need to prepare ourselves, our employees and our companies so that we will all be protected as much as possible, including the protection of our communities. As leaders in our organizations, we need to take this seriously and do what we can to protect workers and the community alike. So, what do we do? Fortunately, one of my longstanding clients, Peninsula Drums (Pty) Ltd, who provides an essential service to the food industry, remained open. They had to put all the necessary precautions in place, an...

Leadership Styles in a Nutshell Competent leaders in organizations are vital for the future survival of an organization. They are the person who will take the organization from Point A to Point B - Point A, where we are now, and Point B, where we see ourselves in our strategic vision. Without leadership the organization stagnates, and stays where it is now with no prospect of moving forward. In essence it actually means that the organization is moving backwards in relation to opposition companies who are moving forward. What is a good or great leader like? What "style"of leadership do they practice? In simplistic terms there are three styles of leadership (although there are many variations and other very important aspects and characteristics of good leadership). The authoritarian leader (Autocratic leader) The authoritarian leadership style is used when leaders tell employees what they need to do, without getting any input from the team members. The style is: I ins...

In the new generation ISO Management System Standards we find reference to the term “Leadership”, and clause 5.1 talks about “Leadership and Commitment”. The term has not replaced “top management”, as this term is still used in the body of the standard, and is still defined by ISO. The thought is rather that it takes sound leadership to move the organization towards its strategic goals and tactical objectives. The ultimate success of any business depends on its leadership, irrespective of the type of organization, be it government, a large corporate or even a SME.  The standards, in accordance with the required structure under Annex SL, which has been adopted by ISO as the framework for all management system standards, contain a clause (Clause 5), termed “Leadership”. This clause is introducing some significant changes from the older versions of the standards in terms of the overall leadership and commitment, as well as an expectation for top management to engage more ful...