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Black has been in the consulting business for eight years and worked with housing providers for six. Although he is doing a PhD in change management for housing associations, Black does not claim to be an expert on the sector: "I've never been a chief executive in my life, but I bring lots of common sense and an ability to see the wood for the trees." His no-holds-barred take on the "initiative-itis", "whingers and moaners" and leadership failings he believes blight the sector went down a storm at the National Housing Federation board members' conference in February.

A full day's training and consulting by Black would cost in the region of £2500.

Steve McDermott spent 15 years in advertising before being promoted to his "level of incompetence" and joining the motivational circuit, speaking to a range of organisations including housing associations. An avid reader of books about corporate "values, vision, purpose and goals", he has written his own, entitled How to be a Complete and Utter Failure in Life, Work and Everything.

He says what he wants most out of a job is fun, and he won't do anything he doesn't enjoy. "I haven't done a day's work in years," he says.

McDermott will deliver a motivational speech for £4000, some of which evidently goes towards his party piece where he smashes up a laptop computer in a rather expensive revolt against boring PowerPoint presentations.

Nigel Risner bills himself as an "irritational speaker" because "motivational speakers always say the same thing: that if you have a positive attitude, things are fine. I believe people should do things differently, then they'll achieve a different result."

At 26, Risner became one of the youngest chief executives in the City. He now offers advice to a range of organisations, including housing associations. He believes social landlords are so busy looking after tenants that they forget about their staff and is a fan of using analogies to get his point across: "It's like on aeroplanes when stewardesses tell you to put on your own oxygen mask before helping anyone else."

Rates for Risner's services vary. He will spend a full day looking at your organisation for about £3500, but says readers who mention Housing Today will get a discount. He will be "turning people limitless" at Harrogate on 18 June.

Q1: Our housing officers get bogged down dealing with intractable problems, day in, day out. How do we get them to see that there's light at the end of the tunnel?

Michael Black
Housing officers and housing managers become so good at firefighting that that's what they do. It keeps them busy, active and they go home not only tired, but with a fantastic sense of accomplishment. But if they take time to think about what they do and how they do it, they will be more effective and have to spend less time putting fires out. Some people in housing management are under so much stress and say they are under-resourced, and this is true in many cases. But they're not taking the time to think how to organise themselves better or to put together a proposal to get more resources.

There's a leadership issue here as well. When we allow ourselves to get so bogged down in mundane issues there's a need for the leader in an organisation to help people reconnect with their purpose – why are they doing it in the first place?

Steve McDermott
None of us can manage our time because there's stuff you can't predict, but we can recognise how we spend it. Housing officers spend much of their time fighting fires, and a small percentage of people enjoy the chaos and bedlam. If you keep having problems, it could be because your best firefighters are also your best arsonists – they're addicted to the adrenaline.

Spending time preventing these fires doesn't seem as urgent, but it is really important. Communication and training are easily put off until it is too late but, if you take time to do them, problems start to seem less intractable.

Also, the word "intractable" is quite interesting – if you call a problem intractable, what do you think it's going to be?

Nigel Risner
The first question they need to ask themselves is, are they bogged down with daft things or is what they're doing important to the business – because if it is, then they're not bogged down.

Second, housing officers dealing with angry tenants need to remember that it's not you they're angry with, it's the process. People only get angry because they feel they're not being listened to or because they've asked for something to be done and it hasn't. When people feel they're not being listened to, they shout. Officers need to ask exactly what the real issue is and what the tenant would like you to do about it.

People don't expect a four-bedroom house to be available immediately but they do expect you to do what you said you'd do about getting them somewhere to stay.

Reader's verdict
"I particularly like Michael Black's response. I agree with Nigel Risner's first point, but I think people sometimes are personally angry with housing officers, and there really are some people who believe that there is a secret supply of four-bedroom houses being hidden by devious housing officers.

"I especially like Steve McDermott's line about firefighters sometimes being arsonists – very true.

"You can sometimes come up with the answers on your own, but motivational speakers certainly have their uses and this made me think again about what people are doing – sometimes hard when you've got your nose to the grindstone."

Q2: Staff sometimes complain that they are constantly implementing policy and techniques that other people have dictated. This leads to very low motivation to actually do the work required. What can I do to encourage them?

Michael Black
Research over the past 30 years has consistently shown that what builds a strong organisation is where every individual can see the connection between what they do and the organisation achieving its goal. One of the problems in local government is that they seem to be providing services with no concept of why. Organisations that are able to reinforce the reasons will find people work harder and enjoy their work more.

It's a reality of life that the government will make changes to housing policy, and housing associations could have it a lot worse – they could have to compete for revenue or customers, for example. Housing culture needs to adapt to the environment in which it works. Stop complaining and get on with it.

Steve McDermott
In an ideal world, you'd want to get them involved in a debate about the values, vision, purpose and goals of the organisation at the start. Low motivation comes from not being consulted, so consult them. Don't demotivate staff by sticking stuff about empowering people in a gold frame and not doing it.

You can't always meet this ideal though. Constant government interference has led to a kind of "learned helplessness" in the sector and people do need to believe they have more control over the future. There are certain things you can't influence but you can decide how you respond. You either accept things or moan about them.

Nigel Risner
Before you start implementing new ideas, ask people how they feel they should be implemented and whether they have any ideas to make it work better. Give them the reasons why you're doing it and why you're not doing what you were doing before. If they don't suggest anything different, implement the policy for three months and then ask what could be done to make it even better. Don't ask them what went wrong – they love that one. The key thing is to listen. Most chief executives are not very good at that.

Reader's verdict
"I don't think Michael Black's advice helps at all. Saying 'that's just life' discounts the expertise and experience of the housing staff.

"I like Nigel Risner's idea of agreeing to review after three months – most people will see this as a reasonable compromise. I also agree that explaining a decision is a fundamental step that is often missed out. However, I am not convinced that asking what went wrong is 'bad' – it can be useful, as long as the questions invite positive responses.

"Steve McDermott's answer seems a very practical compromise. Ideally consult staff but recognise that some things are imposed. I guess the key is recognising which topic falls into which category."

Q3: Our association is trying to modernise and implementing a new pay and rewards scheme. Staff are confused and fear they will get a rougher deal as a result of the changes. What can we do to reassure them?

Michael Black
I was once working with a housing group going through a process where everyone had to reapply for their jobs except the chief executive and his team. They were saying to staff: "You will reapply but we're not going to do it ourselves." If the words you use are different from what you do, they will lose faith. Change comes about when people believe in their bosses, and that belief comes through integrity and trust, and treating people as people and not as objects.

Many of the problems come when senior managers think "consultation" means "we're going to tell you what we're doing", but it's about involvement not just communication – if people are involved in a transition, they're more likely to want to get there.

Steve McDermott
People feel insecure. If we leave a communication vacuum, they will fill it with the worst possible thoughts. You need a really strong communication policy. If you usually distribute information via a noticeboard or e-magazine, after a while people stop noticing. With bigger issues you need to be quite creative. Don't just think about the content, think about the channel. Just because you've sent something out, that doesn't mean it's been received.

Pay is an emotive issue and you need to be as transparent as possible. People know about what people on their level do, but often not on the level above them. You should say why the jobs exist and what you do, so they don't think you're out to lunch all the time.

Nigel Risner
People only feel they are getting a rougher deal if they are, or they've not been educated.

Let people know where the organisation is, where it needs to be and show them what's on offer. See people one-on-one and give them time to come back the next day so they can fully appreciate the information they're given. Often they will say it's OK when you ask, then bitch and moan afterwards.

Nine out of 10 chief executives want to do good by their staff, but they don't often share it. They say it in a roundabout way so they don't appear to be genuine and people feel they're being screwed.

Reader's verdict
"The experts have really got it right. Timely and open communication is essential when significant change is occurring and this has to be led from the top with the chief executive being involved.

"I think we would have come to this conclusion without the help of experts but reinforcement of messages by experts is great because it gives more credibility to what you are saying when you are trying to get 'buy-in' for a particular course of action."