Leadership and team collaboration
The MPF is an independent professional body, committed since 1995 to improving the effectiveness and professionalism of leadership and team collaboration at professional firms worldwide through targeted representation and relevant member services. Our high profile thought leadership and annual Awards for Management Excellence, in association with Harvard Business Review, the Financial Times and others, are resulting in a fundamental re-appraisal of the critical roles and contribution to client relationships that leaders and management teams have to play at professional firms anywhere. The 23 members of the MPF Advisory Panel - chaired by Mike Strong, Executive Chairman EMEA of property advisers CBRE - ensure that our agenda is member-led.
A focus on well-managed firms
The FT/MPF 2012 Study into Effective Client-Adviser Relationships confirms that, when selecting an adviser, most clients view the impression of being a well-managed firm as an essential pre-condition. MPF considers it to be unrealistic to expect people to materially correct their own or others' behaviours so as to deliver the values of a well-managed firm to clients unless they believe themselves to be working for a well-managed firm. In addition, research from Harvard indicates that the most economically successful countries and organisations tend to have inclusive cultures. Based on these insights, we urge:
- Boards to research perceived management prowess and future trends, and to set an agenda and coherent strategy for their firms to be seen as well-managed by clients
- Leaders to distill this agenda and strategy into a vision and values that resonate with clients and employees
- Leaders to be great role models, listen to their experts and transparently track the personal goals of each member of the management team if silos are to be destroyed and collaboration is to become a reality
- Leaders and management teams to enhance client relationships by engaging directly with their peers at clients with an agenda focused on future trends, client industry developments, and common leadership and management challenges
- Leaders and management teams to maintain a balance between imposing consistent standards of client service and retaining an inclusive organisational culture through collective agreement on priorities, sharing personal commitments, inviting reciprocity and transparent tracking of ensuing activity
- Leaders and management teams to use relevant messaging devised by marketing experts to manage internal and external expectations as their firms undergo the necessary changes before their clients gain the impression of them being well-managed.
Download a white paper on Implementing a coherent strategy that delivers the new client agenda
Management's trusty companion
Our member services reflect the three distinct roles that leaders and teams have to balance on a daily basis:
- As board members, we help our members to identify strategic advantage and areas for improvement through formal reports on the impact of future trends and on a firm's perceived management prowess based on confidential surveys of its clients and employees.
- As leaders of the firm, we help our members to understand how good a job they are doing, and which levers to pull, through leader-only events, public hubs, performance dashboards, 'ask-an-expert' services, and moderated peer groups.
- As the head or a member of the management team, we help our members and others on the team to collaborate and become more effective through tailored seminars, moderated peer groups, public and private hubs, 'ask-an-expert' services, systems for tracking personal goals, and curated insights from a wealth of articles and blogs.
Membership levels
MPF membership has just two levels - 'Network' and 'Insight'. Membership, which is individual, renews on 1 July with a sliding scale of dues applying in the first year.
- Network membership costs £750 pa. Benefits include: collaborative local seminars for leaders and management team members; peer-only local seminars for leaders and specialists; and an ability to contribute insights, create, share and work on documents, network with peers, and access an online knowledge portal of management excellence. MPF members on the management team can also enjoy a confidential private hub for their firm from HighQ combined with personal goal tracking from Objective Manager - awesome software products that would usually cost a firm at least £20k annually.
- Insight membership costs £1,500 pa. Enjoy all 'Network' benefits plus: moderated local private peer groups for the same six to eight members ('The Dream Board') helping each other with pressing strategic and execution challenges; on demand advice and support (resources guide; book/video of the month; management tools, tips, methods and practical information; and 'ask-an-expert' services); and distilled content from a wealth of articles and blogs, hard-wired to the needs of the individual team member, using intelligent curation and reading software from Attensa.
