Speaker's Corner: Shay McConnon

Shay McConnon, founder of People First Limited, brings a little spark to his talks on relationship building, communication and leadership. He will speak at this year’s North West Regional Conference, 24 November

Why do you focus on relationships?
The vast majority of people who leave their job do so because of a conflict with someone in the organisation, and many of these disputes are with their immediate supervisor. Research also suggests that approximately 25% of a manager’s day is spent dealing with relationship issues. Stress in an organisation is most often put down to the management.

Is this strain a sign of the age we live in?
The conflicts that we are seeing are the same as those identified 30 years ago – it is not a new problem, we have simply yet come up with an effective remedy.

What solutions do you offer?
I try to take a fresh approach, and challenge the traditional models of relationship management. Something I learned over time was that the issues must be tackled at a local level, rather than from the top down. It has to work for individuals, for the team that works together every day.

What can guests expect from the conference?
Conference speakers generally offer a great deal of theory and information – I talk about and demonstrate the practical, how-to of relationship building and conflict resolution, and guests will have tangible materials to take away from the event. I offer not just information, but transformation.

Sounds interesting. What techniques do you use to engage your audience?
I am a member of the Magic Circle, and for a while was a professional entertainer. I use magic tricks as visual metaphors to reinforce what I am trying to teach. I still see my public appearances as ‘gigs’ – we don’t have to be glum to deal with the seriousness of business.

What is the most important thing we should know about relationship management?
An organisation has to take ownership of its culture development. There is no sense sending employees out on an expensive training course, only for culture inside the organisation to remain untouched. The changes must come from within a business. This is why I have created www.anevenbetterplacetowork.com – an online tool for organisations to use in a way that they need.

Where did your ideas originate?
I specialise in people. I set up my business 24 years ago, and since then have worked with Siemens, BAE Systems, Barclays and other large corporations. I have shaped my teachings and programmes around the questions that organisations I worked with would commonly ask. It’s far less about what I think, and more about the individual needs of organisations and the people that make them.