Over the last three decades, the resources and energy devoted to leadership development in corporations has skyrocketed. You would be hard pressed to find a major corporation that has not invested millions in leadership initiatives for its executives and managers. But has the investment in these efforts paid off, however the return is measured? Perhaps more importantly, for a CEO evaluating the various levers to improve organisational performance, would we select leadership development versus the alternatives?
My colleague Trina Soske recently wrote about this subject on the Harvard Business Review website (
http://blogs.hbr.org/imagining-the-future-of-leadership/2010/06/time-to-shift-the-paradigm-of.html). Writing in partnership with Jay Conger, Chair of Leadership Studies at Claremont McKenna College, Trina contends that the return on investment in leadership development has fallen short of its potential.
Trina makes a strong case for a shift from a focus on developing individual leaders towards a more collective style of leadership development – after all, the exercise of leadership in organisations is not an individual act. Nobody leads in a vacuum and development programs need to take this into account. The complexity, interconnectedness and transparency of today's organisations mean that no one individual can get much accomplished by themselves. Most challenges and opportunities are systemic. Leadership is distributed and change now requires a collective sense and a coordinated set of actions.
This week, David Cameron warned of tough times ahead as the government plans to cut public sector pay, pensions and state benefits.
In business, as in politics, people are more likely to accept tough decisions if they understand the reasons behind them, the impact they’ll have, and the benefits they’ll bring.
Cameron doesn’t have to explain too much about the reasons for the planned cuts. Everyone in the UK has felt the impact of the recession in some way, and we’re looking at a £156bn budget deficit.
What people everywhere do want is for our leaders to be more accountable, and for their strategy and plans to be transparent. Cameron has promised “an unprecedented level of public and business consultation” and chancellor George Osborne is also considering creating a “star chamber” of officials and senior ministers to grill cabinet members on their proposed spending plans. These plans have the potential to help rebuild public trust in politicians. If the government takes a genuinely open and honest approach to what could be a painful process, people are more likely to be understanding. Cameron said, “As we deal with the debt crisis, we must take the whole country with us.” Pledging openness and accountability is a good first step.
Many business leaders have already faced the type of tough challenge that now confronts the government. They’ve had to make loyal employees redundant, cut budgets and close down failing companies. Leaders who explain the rationale behind tough decisions and engage employees in the process maintain trust and loyalty, and safeguard the reputation of their businesses. Those who don’t leave others feeling bitter and disappointed. In my next post, I’ll look at how leaders can successfully engage others in the decision-making process.
Although it is difficult to see a brighter future during bleak times, tough decisions can lead to dramatic and positive change. “Anyone who thinks the spending review is just about saving money is missing the point,” said a Treasury official. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the way that government works.”
Whether Cameron and the government are successful in engaging the public with the process of cutting public sector budgets remains to be seen. If they are, genuine transformation is a real possibility.
In the business world, partnerships between very different organisations often offer real opportunities for growth and entry into new markets. Many mergers start off with both organisations stating how delighted they are with their new partner, how they’re going to work together for the benefit of customers, and how together they will achieve so much more than they ever could apart. They don’t always continue quite so happily.
In reality, in most mergers there is a stronger partner, and the stronger partner often dominates. The bigger partner often starts out by claiming it will listen to and learn from the smaller partner, but as time passes, this is often forgotten.
Britain is now in the unusual situation of having a government made up of two political parties. The bigger party has assured us that it will work in partnership with the smaller party and make joint decisions. But how can both sides ensure this continues to happen, after the initial period of jubilation and happy, smiley faces has passed?
One of the most important aspects to consider in any partnership or merger is culture. In a successful partnership, a new culture is created by engaging with everyone involved. The leaders of both organisations (or parties) need to communicate clear and consistent objectives. They need to ensure that everyone involved can buy into and take ownership of these objectives. There will be many different and diverse views. Leaders need to listen to these views, encourage discussion and debate, and demonstrate a willingness to change.
If people feel they are not being listened to, they become disengaged. They are less likely to feel a part of the future of the new organisation, and less likely to commit. However, if people feel they are an integral part of the organisation’s future success, they are more likely to ‘go the extra mile’.
As the world of business has become more complex, collaboration has become more important. The skills of relationship building and team working have become highly prized. We now have a complex and unusual political situation in the UK, one which presents a tremendous opportunity for a completely new style of collaborative politics. Will our political leaders achieve much more together than they ever could apart? If they’re prepared to listen, they just might.
For many organisations, the impact of the ash cloud has made them realise just how global the world of business has become. It’s been a bit of a wake-up call. Because so many of us rely on flying staff around the world or on using air transport to import and export goods, we’ve seen some major disruptions to UK businesses.
This is an extreme example of the kind of uncertainty facing us in business today. It is difficult to predict and plan for every eventuality. This is why leaders and managers need to be creative and agile – they need the ability to respond very quickly to unexpected challenges, and to make decisions based on gut feeling. Challenges like this are unprecedented, and require swift solutions.
This has also been a particularly difficult challenge for many who have lost millions of pounds worth of business and seen their share price fall. So leaders also need the ability to make tough decisions to minimise the impact this has had.
This also presents great learning opportunities for leaders and businesses. For example, some employees may have the opportunity to extend their skills and experience to cover the roles of colleagues stranded overseas. Virtual team working can be deployed and improved when it’s not physically possible to get people together. Employees can work with others they wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to work with. Those organisations who already use technology such as videoconferencing, elearning and online collaboration tools are well placed to face many of the problems we’ve faced over the past week.
For some, this has also been an opportunity to examine whether they need to rely on air travel quite as much as they do. When they look closely at the resources needed to complete a job or deliver a contract, many are available locally. Do we really need to fly expert colleagues around the world when often they could be utilised closer to home?
Some businesses have had to quickly diversify and adapt the services they offer, to meet the needs of their customers in order to survive. Many have seen a bit of Dunkirk spirit emerge, where employees are working together increasingly closely and creatively to triumph in the face of adversity. The ash fallout is a good example of a situation where the strongest, fittest and crucially, the most adaptable, will thrive.
How have you and your organisation coped with the ash cloud challenge? Has it been tough, and what have you learned?
The green shoots of recovery are appearing. But when the current recession finally ends, and things return to 'normal', what will the new ‘normal’ look like? Will things ever be ‘normal’ again?
Business has become more complex, diverse and uncertain. This will only continue. In fact, it is likely to become a lot more complex, diverse and uncertain. Don’t believe it? Consider how global our economy has become. More players from around the world will be entering markets and competing successfully. We’ll see new technological breakthroughs which could alter everything. We’re running out of valuable natural resources. I could go on.
And even when the economy does recover, there are other critical areas which may take a bit longer to get back to 'normal'. One key area is trust in organisations – will employees, customers and other stakeholders ever trust again?
Uncertain times call for whole leadership. Whole leaders use their head to set strategy, their heart to connect with the world and their guts to make instinctive and intuitive decisions based on clear values. The smart leaders who successfully combine these skills are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities the new, volatile normalcy presents.
A successful leader needs followers, and our political leaders don’t have as many as they used to. Major issues such as the banking crisis, the recession, the MPs’ expenses scandal and the UK’s involvement in overseas conflicts has undermined many people’s trust in political leaders. In 2007, the British Social Attitudes survey found that 29% of people trusted the government to put the needs of the country above those of their party ‘all’ or ‘most’ of the time – not a great percentage. However, the most recent survey found this figure had plummeted to just 16%.
Many people – particularly young people – simply feel that political leaders do not speak to them. They cannot relate to what politicians have to say. Recently-published research from The Electoral Commission found that more than half of young people in the UK are not registered to vote: a staggering 56% of 17-25 year olds.
Some of the decisions our political leaders have made, and some of the behaviour they have displayed, have caused an erosion of trust. Even the greatest, most skilled political leader would not be able to rebuild a climate of trust before election day. However, there are steps the leaders can take to try and encourage a few more people to enter a polling station when election day does come around.
What political leaders choose to talk about is important. What is also important is how they choose to say it. Communication is key. What the public want is political leaders who are open and honest, who genuinely mean what they say, and act as role models for what they believe in. Authenticity is an increasingly important leadership quality. People do not want to hear bland optimism and smiling generalities, and are more likely to accept tough policies and decisions if they are clearly and honestly explained. They also want leaders who’ll listen and have genuine two-way conversations with the public. There are many opportunities to do this, particularly through social media - something Obama utilised so skillfully during his election campaign, and one of the things that particularly helped him to engage with young voters. It’s up to our political leaders to take these opportunities to genuinely engage with the public. Only by being open, honest and authentic, and addressing issues that people genuinely care about can political leaders get what they need more than anything else – followers.
This week it was announced that the CEOs of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group are waiving their bonuses, and the CEOs of HSBC and Standard Chartered will donate theirs to charity. While some media commentators have welcomed these moves, others have criticised them as the banks involved will still pay out many millions in bonuses to other employees.
There is no doubt that these leaders are taking a bold step. Their public statements of personal commitment demonstrate their willingness to listen to others and act on feedback. With the industry still reeling from the banking crisis, the actions of these leaders are scrutinised on a daily basis and their decisions have an impact not only on their own organisations, but also across society.
The recession has changed the way people feel about leaders. It has particularly changed how people feel about leaders of major banks. Trust in leaders has been eroded. It’s time to rebuild that trust through clear, open and honest communication. Time to really listen to others, and to take their views into account when building the organisations of the future. This is what these banking leaders have tried to do this week. Some may argue that it’s a very small step – but it’s a step in the right direction.
There’s been a lot in the media this week about bullying in the workplace – particularly concerning allegations of bullying in one particular workplace.
Bullying is an abuse of power. It is intimidating, unwarranted and damaging. However, it’s worth remembering that sometimes leaders do need to be tough. A tough leadership stance is something entirely different from bullying. An effective leader needs to be tough at times. Tough doesn’t mean nasty or threatening. It simply means that leaders need the guts to make difficult decisions and to communicate these decisions clearly.
Being a tough leader is just one facet of being a ‘whole’ leader. Whole leaders use their head to set strategy, their heart to connect with the world and their guts to make tough decisions based on instinct, intuition and clear values. Whole leaders also have the guts to tell the truth, even when it is inconvenient. Guts leadership is necessary to make and communicate difficult decisions which may be unpopular. Some leaders shy away from communicating tough decisions. There is nothing more soul-destroying for employees than to hear platitudes such as ‘We’re all family’ or ‘Each and every one of you is essential to our business’ the week before a mass redundancy programme which leaders knew about but didn’t communicate. Ultimately, employees would rather hear the truth, no matter how difficult the truth may be.
As long as tough decisions are clearly communicated and explained, employees will find them easier to understand and accept. We are still experiencing economic uncertainty so tough decisions are very much a part of day-to-day working life. In an uncertain world, we want our leaders to be straightforward and real. People want to hear it straight. Employees today want authentic leaders who are open and honest, who mean what they say and live what they believe. These leaders can engage employees and inspire them to take ownership of organisational change and to build a successful future – even when what they’re saying is not always what others want to hear.
A major study on leadership was published recently by The Work Foundation. The two-year study, Exceeding Expectation: the principles of outstanding leadership, provides evidence that a people-centred approach to leadership results in outstanding performance.
The study is based on over 250 interviews with leaders in major organisations including Tesco and Unilever. For me, one of the most interesting elements to emerge from the research was the difference between good leadership and outstanding leadership.
The Work Foundation found that while good leaders seek to engage employees with their vision, outstanding leaders seek to co-create vision and strategy with their teams, and communicate with a powerful sense of purpose and meaning which deeply engages others.
Good leaders understand the need for trust, respect and honesty. Outstanding leaders go beyond this. They understand their role in creating a culture of trust, respect and honesty, and the importance of maintaining this culture to drive exceptional performance.
Researchers also found that outstanding leaders manage performance holistically. They are focused on performance and they see people as the key to great performance. They are enablers and motivators who challenge and champion others. They are aware of their strengths and influence, and use these for the benefit of their organisation and its people.
In light of this research, I’d be interested to know what others think. What makes an outstanding leader? Do you agree with the findings of The Work Foundation’s research, or have you observed other aspects of outstanding leadership?
It’s a year to the day since Barack Obama became president of the United States. His election and inauguration were momentous occasions which caused outpourings of emotion not only across the US but also around the world. It would be hard for any leader to live up to the kind of expectations so many had of Obama. He landed what is arguably the most powerful job in the world at a time when his country was at war and in the middle of an economic crisis – never mind all the other ongoing issues such as climate change, terrorism and nuclear threats.
Although few of us face challenges on this scale, most of us know what it’s like to feel overburdened by problems seemingly beyond our control. The speed of change in today’s world often demands that we take swift and decisive action. However, successful solutions to many challenges can only be reached given time – time to think, to research, to confer or to negotiate. In our fast-moving world, there is often so much pressure on all leaders to reach decisions and to demonstrate results quickly that the importance of time and space in leadership can be forgotten.
So as Obama reaches his first anniversary in office, he faces renewed pressure to deliver – and renewed criticism. However, if we look at the legacies of many other US presidents, and indeed successful business leaders, their most historic, lasting legacies were not formed in their first year at the helm. Many successful leaders take years to drive momentous and lasting change.
Today’s leaders do need to be agile and decisive. However they also need the time – and the confidence - to plan and deliver long-term success as well as short-term solutions.
Team development is a top priority for leaders in 2010. According to new research from the Chartered Management Institute, leaders and managers plan to focus on developing their teams ahead of other priorities such as networking or spending more time with customers and clients.
It is heartening that most leaders see team development is a top priority. However, how many leaders, when considering how best to develop ‘their’ teams, also think about developing their own team working skills, or about the impact of their behaviour on the teams in which they work?
As well as leading teams, most leaders today are part of a leadership team. Working effectively in teams has become critical for managing the complexity, diversity and uncertainty in organisational life.
However, teams present significant challenges for leaders. They introduce additional complexity and uncertainty. The complexity comes from the variety of skills and behaviours, and the interaction of different personalities. The uncertainty comes from the unpredictability of different behaviours and personalities.
For all the focus on team effectiveness today, many leaders find team working difficult. Leaders who prefer to be in control can find team working frustrating. The drive and competitive instinct that fuel the careers of so many leaders can be disruptive when it comes to team leadership and team working.
Leaders seeking to develop their teams need to also focus on their own team skills. High-performing teams are characterised by each member’s commitment to success and to the development of other team members.
Something that many leaders can benefit from, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty, is the ability to encourage feedback and act on this feedback. Creating a climate of openness and trust will help other team members contribute to the best of their abilities. Some leaders I’ve worked with feel they must always be strong and decisive. While there are times when strong, decisive leadership is required, this need not conflict with a culture of openness and honesty. Team leaders should be able to present a point of view without fear, and create an environment where others can do the same. After all, we’d all much prefer that others aired their views while we’re in the room – not after we’ve left.
Developing a culture of openness also helps turn the challenge of complex teams into a real advantage. Harnessing the diversity within one’s team can help form successful solutions to the myriad of problems facing organisations today.
Great team development starts by providing insight into our own individual style and preferences. This self-awareness helps us to understand the impact we have on others. It also helps us understand where our strengths lie and which areas we can improve.
For leaders, it’s important that we don’t just provide learning and development opportunities for our teams – it’s important that we also seek out these opportunities for ourselves.
Resolutions at this time of year are often well intended but not always of immense value. Having said that, I’m pleased with two that my kids suggested to me over the New Year.
The first we call ‘the eyebrow’. I will raise an eyebrow rather than overreact to their misdemeanors (or my frustrations). This will give me time to think rather than reacting in the moment.
The second they suggested was ‘the nod’. I will nod when they are suggesting things or coming up with ideas. This will help me avoid the normal frown that apparently comes across my face when I am thinking hard - sometimes interpreted by others as disapproval (sometimes correctly!).
So eyebrows and nods will prevail, at least as long as my boys remember to remind me! Through the eyes of children…
The New Year presents a great opportunity to ask the people around us, including the people we work with, to suggest how we might make some constructive changes, creating some positive momentum into 2010. Often it’s the little things, like the raising of an eyebrow, that can make all the difference.
Sitting in a traffic jam surrounded by snow, I took the opportunity to reflect on the past year. If 2009 has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t predict the future. However, as the early signs of recovery start to appear, let’s hope that we see the economy improve in 2010.
I hope that we emerge from 2009 wiser, stronger and more resilient. Most of us have had to deal with unprecedented challenges. We’ve been forced to make tough, unpopular decisions. We’ve seen some businesses collapse and others struggle as revenues fall and profit margins suffer. The impact on people – particularly as far as morale and motivation are concerned – has been great.
Maybe you’ve had to cut back operations or make people redundant. How did you handle it? Did you feel you dealt with it positively and communicated difficult decisions effectively so that others understood, even if they weren’t happy about the decisions? Or do you feel there were things you could have done differently? Either way, you can learn from your experiences. The chances are that over the past 12 months you’ve been forced to step outside your comfort zone. This has probably taught you quite a lot about yourself.
Many of the leadership and management lessons we learn during the tough times can teach us a lot about how to lead and manage more effectively in an upturn. For example, we may have learned to trust our gut feelings more to make instinctive and intuitive decisions. We may have learned how to inspire and engage others to follow our vision, even when following that vision may be difficult. We may have learned how to hold on to talent in our organisation through building trust in adversity and developing that talent even when resources are tight.
So as we prepare for the year ahead, take some time to think about the year gone by. What has gone well? What would we do differently next time? If you’re stuck on a train, or in traffic, or at an airport, stand back and reflect a little. I’m making a mental list which I’ll use to choose my new year’s resolution. Here’s to a good year ahead!
Find the source…
‘Energy is contagious’ I wrote in my last blog. But where can we get it from? How can we increase our natural reserves in order to improve our leadership effectiveness? The first step is to find the source of our own personal energy. Where does it come from? The second step is to express it well. How can we increase the flow? What’s stopping it come through into our daily interactions with others?
It’s all very well saying that there are some people who naturally have great energy and who are therefore more energising to be with. But the rest of us need to tap into our natural reserves and maximise the flow of energy on a day to day basis.
Our personalities provide some clues about where to look. If we tend to be extravert we will gain energy through interacting with other people, so we can make sure we create opportunities for this each day. If we are introverts, we are more likely to derive energy from ourselves, from time to recharge – so making time for this each day becomes more important.
If we are naturally confident we can gain energy from our natural optimism, and express it through our ‘can do’ beliefs. If we are non-conformists we will be energised by fresh ideas, so finding time to talk or think creatively will increase the energy flow.
One area of personality I think can be particularly helpful or unhelpful in our energy exploration is the trade-off between people and performance. If we are really benevolent, we will tend to find and create energy through other people, but it may end up as unfocused energy which can be wasteful. If however we are really tough-minded, we may well create energy through having a strong performance drive, but this may end in negative energy from the frustration and reduced self-esteem of others. So we need to find that careful positive balance between energy for people and energy for performance.
Express it well…
As important as finding and maximising our energy flow is the way we then express it. The business challenges we face daily can be a great way to focus this expression.
Energising leaders can see the issue and engage with others to take it on. We can create and express positive energy by enabling a group of people to come together as a team to understand the issue, to develop solutions, to implement them and to engage with the wider organisation in this success. We can generate tremendous energy from helping people to create a break through idea, or to implement a break through improvement. A client I’ve been working with recently turned a failed product launch into the positive spur to change the way they introduce new products, engaging with the teams involved to develop a new process, to help them to implement it and to focus it on the recent run up to the critical Christmas trading period. It has been a huge success and a re-energising experience for the whole business. The client turned frustration and fear of failure into positive energy by finding the small wins in the overwhelming problem and gradually building them up into a major change.
It’s so important how we express the energy. A colleague of mine is a source of great energy. She manages to find the positive in almost every situation without becoming unrealistic, she focuses on other people rather than herself, making the rest of us feel great, she focuses her energy through conversations about the few important matters at the time that need our attention, and she does it all with pace. Ironically, talking to her recently she said how she had become faster and more energetic when she stopped trying to be all things to all people. Instead she focused on the sources of energy that were natural to her – her extroversion, confidence and concern for people – and allowed them full expression. She is an inspiration. She creates a positive spiral around her.
The Financial Times asked me to contribute a thought to their ‘Business Wisdom’ spot. Could I share a useful insight with readers – in less than 20 words? I thought energy would be a good focus:
Energy is contagious: it drives performance and quality service, it inspires others to be energetic too, and it’s free.
Energy has always been important. To be innovative, agile, proactive and productive at work, we all need energy. Now more than ever, I see that energy drives business success. Energetic leaders transmit their energy to others in their organisations. This can really motivate and inspire others and help to create enthusiasm at work. This in turn boosts employee engagement and increases productivity in a positive spiral.
The real issue is that as leaders we can cause either a positive or a negative spiral, engendering enthusiasm or withdrawal in others. This is our choice, daily.
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