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Meet the CIO’s | Nick Court | Inspire:MK

This interview is a part of the Inspire: Cities series – meet the Chief Inspiration Officers. Inspire: Cities is the local arm of the global movement from Inspiring Workplaces. Our mission is to change the world, with you, through the world of work. One workplace, city and community at a time. View the full list of Cities here.

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What does an Inspiring Workplace mean to you?

A workplace where people know that they have a voice, that they can act for the good of their colleagues and make decisions that improves their world and that of their customers.

They are inspired by their organisation to trust and be trusted and to know that the company they work for has got their back.

Do you have a personal purpose? A why? Something that drives you daily?

Our own value of “Do The Right Thing” drives me, I have a strong moral compass and have always tried to make sure that what I do can be scrutinised as to whether it was the right thing to do both now and in the future.

What do you think is the top priority when it comes to people at work this year and why?

I think the focus needs to be on “people first”, by this I mean that we get closer to designing work with our people in mind and when we make decisions we do this consciously with regard to our people and their situation

The past 12 months has seen an acceleration of positive change, mostly due to it being enforced upon employers. Change like trust, empowering choice, flexibility, investment in wellbeing and the reduction in the stigma around mental health. Our question is, how many employers stick to this path and how many revert to type?

My belief is that many organisations will want to hold onto the good that has come out of the last year and that their intention will be to do so. I predict that many will do this and for those that do not we need to focus more on understanding the why, helping close gaps and showing support than we possibly have in the past

A follow up to the last question. How do they stay the course should they wish to?

Be clear on what they want to keep, to not go back to and what still needs thinking about. Communicate this clearly and listen to their people. Move with purpose even if you are moving slower than others – the destination is important, the intention is important and some businesses will have further to go than others.

You’re a founding Chief Inspiration Officer for Inspire: Cities. What are you most looking forward to learning/ sharing with your local community?

There are some great workplaces out there and some mega people supporting them, I am looking forward to learning from them and hearing their stories while sharing our own.

Tell us something about your city or the people that make it. Something the rest of us won’t know.

40% of Milton Keynes is open space, 15 lakes and 11 miles of canals mean that MK is a great place to be able to just escape from the hubbub with ease

Alan Turing was based in Bletchley Park with other code breakers and The world’s first semi-programmable electronic computer, Colossus, was installed at Bletchley Park

Do you think in-person events will be valued more than ever before after the past 12-18 months?

I think that people want choices on anything in life and how they connect is one of these, face to face will be important and enriched with online connecting as well – the barriers are coming down on the where and when of life!

How do you think attendees will react to The Inspire Ring and our unique event format?

THEY. WILL. LOVE. IT.

What are three areas of focus for organizations looking to improve the people experience?

Listen to your people, give them a voice and permission to use it
Design with the people experience in mind
Trust your teams to Do The Right Thing (which may not be the comfortable thing)

What do you think is the most important quality in a leader?

Ooooooh I do not think I can name one thing, leaders are people and people are more complex than just one thing.

What’s your go to productivity trick?

As I am filling this in on the last day possible I may not be the person to ask!

Who was the last person to inspire you at work and why?

I think I would have to say Henk Verhoek

Henk was everything a leader should be, he always had time to coach and mentor people, he was knowledgeable and also knew how to support people in doing their best work – all while being a great human.

I think I learned more in one year of being around Henk of what it meant to be a Leader than at any other time in my career.

What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?

Don’t change yourself just to fit into someone elses perception of what you should be, they may not be right. – The group ER manager at Tesco

Name one song that fires you up, when you need to get motivated and fast

Either Lola Montez by Volbeat or Four Simple Words by Frank Turner

Best place, (other than your own city) that you have ever visited?

So many great places! I worked for a few months in Belfast and that is an AMAZING city, I love the vibe in London and Manchester too.