Harmonics

Mary Cummins talks with John Fitzgerald, founder of Harmonics, and author of ‘Future Proof Your Career’.  John shares insights on the importance of connection, creating a future ready learning platform, his passion for young people, and the future of education.

I TRULY believe if you want to start your own business, you can’t have a plan B.

That’s the view of John Fitzgerald, career and executive coach, author and founder of Harmonics Change Consultancy and Coaching firm.

“It’s got to be all or nothing because this is what focuses the mind. You have to take a leap of faith, trust your gut instincts, follow your passion, and always remember that everyone you meet in life has the potential to refer you to your next customer,” said John, who launched Harmonics more than 14 years ago.

Working with organisations and individuals to help them anticipate change, John had seen a niche in the market for a values-led approach to a corporate career consultancy.

Wanting it to be the best nationwide quality consultancy to be able to take on large projects, John is proud that this goal has been achieved.

“It is a great achievement that Harmonics are seen as the premium quality provider in the space by far.

“Harmonics are not a high-volume low-cost provider, but we have a great team who are truly passionate about what they do and how they add value.”

Born on a dairy farm in Knockainey, County Limerick in the heart of Golden Vale, John’s old bedroom window has a grandstand view of the Bruff Rugby club pitches, where the Bull Hayes once played.

As the only son, John stayed at home on the farm after his Leaving Cert but knew soon enough he had made the wrong career choice.

Replacing it with a job in Roches Stores, in his opinion, this is the best education for life anyone could ever have. Since then, in addition to studying business at UL, John has been involved in three business start-ups, qualified as a career and executive coach, has studied neuroscience in the UK, has written ‘Future Proof Your Career’ and most recently has become the host of his own podcast ‘The Chord’.

Exploring his views on leadership today, Mr Fitzgerald believes that hybrid working should be a co-creation between employer and employees.

“We are seeing the rise in importance of the ‘coaching and communications’ leader who is always listening and sensing the mood of their people.

“The importance of personal connection during a time of imposed change, working through some form of hybrid, has put the spotlight on the skills most critical for being an effective and inspirational leader, and being the type of person that people feel they want to be around.

“It all starts by beginning well with the softer skills and connecting with employees in meaningful and compassionate ways. There are many skills leaders must master, but whether in a co-located or hybrid world, there is one piece that just has to be there, that’s trust. Trust and the ability to be aware of the safe space you provide,” said Mr Fitzgerald.

Discussing some of the key challenges facing businesses today, such as the issue of attracting and retaining talent, Mr Fitzgerald referred to the need to convince organisation leaders to shift their leadership style to communicating in a human way with talent who want continuous feedback, coaching and career development. The best way to retain talent is to give them continuous stretch, challenge, and growth opportunities, he said.

With a passionate interest and expertise in the future of work, Mr Fitzgerald described the work that Harmonics do with organisations to make them future ready:

“It’s firstly about context. For now, post-pandemic, most businesses have had to adapt to rapid changes in technology to offer their services.

“People are working from home, in a hybrid model and in the office full time. The business may be scaling and need new people skills and capability or may be downsizing and need to reduce people numbers.

“Then it’s about implementation. We’re ‘hands on’ and we bring real life experiences to business as practitioner consultants to design and develop a people strategy that is fit for the future.

“This is complex work and demands a team like Harmonics with a team of specialist consultants that can see the project to the end.”

 Going forward, John wants to create a future ready learning platform that will become a super smart educational aid for different cohorts of people, as they try to make sense of the future of work.

“The world will continue to change, and we will need to be relevant and deliver timely learning for those who use it to stay ahead in their future careers.”

Also impassioned about the future of young people and the future of education, John referred to the need to resource young people to set purposeful goals that align with their values, instead of chasing college points that lead to working in careers where they fit in rather than have the bravery to stand up or stand out.

Contemplating his career to date, Mr Fitzgerald said: “My big learning is that learning never stops. We never reach the destination because it evolves. We are all human and a work in progress.”

Mary Cummins is a Career and Executive Coach, Trainer and Facilitator and can be contacted by e-mail at: info@careerchanger.ie

To sustain a balanced future with engaged people, organisations must fundamentally shift their concept of real estate. Our offices, once the central place of heads-down productivity, must become the place of heads-up horizon scanning.

The flexibility of working from home continues to be a huge benefit for many. Simultaneously, the detrimental effects are being keenly felt.

Water cooler conversations can’t happen, so the potential for synchronicities drops. Without huge intentional effort, new team members aren’t infused with the culture they’ve joined. Learning by looking over the shoulder of a colleague is more difficult.

Most damagingly, it’s less likely we hear the stories of our colleagues’ lives outside work. The glue of personal story that holds teams together, ebbs without the opportunity to pop out for a shared lunch, or exchange news in the lift.

And it’s disheartening to make it to the office only to field a diary full of virtual/online meetings, because everyone else is still at home. I mean, what’s the point of that?

So, what’s the answer? How do we encourage our people back to the office, without losing the benefits of flexible working?

Change … is the answer. It was much heralded at the start of the pandemic wasn’t it? If something good can come from all this madness, it must be that we embrace change and new ways of working when we ‘get out of this!’.

And yet, here we are potentially slipping back into old habits. I even hear whispers of some companies considering mandating (by contractual obligation) at least 2 days back in the office a week…even after their people have proved that business can be conducted efficiently and effectively (notwithstanding the points above) when working from home.

To sustain a balanced future with engaged people, I believe organisations must fundamentally shift their concept of real estate. Our offices, once the central place of heads-down productivity, must become the place of heads-up horizon scanning.

How about we repurpose offices forming fun, interactive, collaborative working areas – fewer desks – much more creation space? The office of the future, rather like museums and galleries, curated to inspire forward thinking.

There’d be no more going to the office to Zoom or Teams. Instead, we go to the office to think, collaborate and innovate. Topics are examined and explored, and innovation courted, on days of the week allocated “agenda-free”. This will require careful formation, suitable space, and a clear vision.

And for those who can’t make it that day, can they dial in? No. That would defeat the purpose.

Open Space Theory says: “Whoever comes is the right people. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have. Whenever it starts is the right time. When it is over, it is over.”

Stepping into that uncertainty, letting go of an agenda, making space for fresh ideas and the alchemy of many brains in the same room, will make it worth the commute. Those who don’t make it can catch up on the outcomes later.

If certain demographics are less likely to make it into the office – working parents for example – we’ll need to work around this creatively. Perhaps inclusion might be the first innovation session …?

Why not use our unique place in time as an opportunity to dream more, dream bigger and solve the world’s, and our clients’, challenges in community?

Tania Watson is based in Edinburgh and works globally at senior level as a consultant for over 20 years supporting Boards and Business leaders. Tania is a long time friend of Harmonics and has worked with us on several coaching assignments in the UK. She can be contacted on tania@twcreativecoaching.com

One Golden Rule for Email Overwhelm for #NationalWorkplaceWellbeingDay .

We used to get the mail delivered once a day by the postman, it used to be around 1pm in the day where I grew up. On school holidays, I would look out the window in anticipation for the postman to drive into our yard to see if there would be any letters. The opening of the letters was done by my Dad with a sharp knife to ensure we didn’t tear the envelope. It was a daily event.

Now we get our emails delivered to our inbox at every time of day. We are overwhelmed and we will never get to open them all. Anticipation has been replaced by anxiety. The faster we respond, the more we set up the opportunity for another email to come flying back.

It reminds me of a tennis rally at speed that only stops when we fail to return the ball. Failing to return an email makes us feel like we are losing, we are letting someone down. Email has evolved to become a volley of shots we simply have to return as soon as possible.

My Golden Rule is to develop the habit of returning emails once a day. Once you start responding automatically, you are sending a message you are ever ready. If it’s an emergency, people can call you.

Focus first on your Intention and what you want to create and achieve. There will always be someone trying to get your attention.

Being ‘Ever Ready’ impacts you being #futureready .

We understand that as businesses evolve and change, their need for specialized support also changes.

At Harmonics we really care about our clients and the challenges they face.

When they look for support in the areas of organisation change, leadership development, executive coaching, recruitment or outplacement, we always look to diagnose well to offer the most appropriate solution.

 

Over the coming months we will be launching several new initiatives to bring leaders in Ireland together to share knowledge with individuals that want to adapt to the Future of Work.

So grab yourself some popcorn, dim the lights, and enjoy putting a face to some of the names on our core team!