The Changing Face of Leadership
Posted on: July 20, 2012
Social and economic circumstances in today’s business environment have redefined what it takes to lead and who is considered a leader. These often opposing forces are disrupting organizations at all levels and are challenging the established roles, responsibilities and competencies leaders require.
Empowered by technology, employees have changed the traditional corporate workflow. Now individuals are free to structure their work around their lives rather than the other way around. According to the 2011 “Cisco Connected World Technology Report,” 56 percent of workers feel most productive away from their office. While three out of 10 college students view working remotely as a right rather than a privilege, this newfound freedom may not really be free. Trust is earned, not given. If learning leaders ask managers of mobile workers off the record whether they believe their employees are actually working eight hours a day, they will likely get a few blank stares.
The mobile workforce is just one example of a growing gap between workers’ expectations and organizational requirements, and this impacts leadership and leadership development.
Front-line leaders’ competencies are changing. According to the same Cisco study, cyber-security is another growing gap between younger and older workers. Three out of five young professionals surveyed claimed they do not consider themselves responsible for protecting corporate information and devices. Front-line leaders are caught in the middle of this growing divide and will need skills and support to reconcile the imbalance.
Social media also may have a role in driving a wedge between the manager and his or her team. Though it has not necessarily found a home in corporate boardrooms, social media is influencing how workers think about involvement. Social technologies have given the individual a voice, allowing thoughts and ideas to flow without qualification or restriction. In the traditional workplace, opinions were tapered, but the expectations of social-savvy workers may not be. Front-line leaders will be asked to balance the competing expectations of their teams and the business. Learning leaders have to equip them to meet the challenge, and this is central to the competency discussion moving forward.
Use collaboration to align team expectations and organizational requirements. Coaching and collaboration are key tools to engage social-savvy workers, according to Hallie Janssen, CEO of Anvil Media, a social media marketing firm.
“Leading social-savvy workers is about creating appropriate expectations and establishing boundaries,” she said. “Front-line leaders need to help employees translate their expectations from their online interactions into the workplace.”
Janssen recommends that managers use the collaborative process to help workers understand their span of credibility and get to the right result. “Validation in the social media world occurs through the recognition of peers. A blog post, for example, is validated when it is shared, liked or retweeted.” In social media, interactions and opinions are shaped through the informal peer-review process. Janssen suggests using the same technique at work to engage ideas, validate opinions and vet solutions.
Use focused response to meet market demands. Changing social expectations, however, is not confined to workers; expectations extend to the marketplace as well. Consumers are at home and at work, and they expect immediate, direct and appropriate responses to their needs.
The market is engaged in dialogue. Customers and would-be buyers have infinite opportunity to rate products and services, blog their opinions or seek advice from peers as they engage in the buying process. Consequently, market expectations are growing, and customer-facing teams and their managers must be prepared to respond.
So how do organizations cultivate front-line leaders who can meet expectations? The answer lies in the timing and training, according to Sharon Daniels, CEO of AchieveGlobal, a leadership, sales and service development firm.
“The key for highly effective sales and service associates is to have them uncover and meet customers’ needs at crucial defining moments, the times when a current customer or prospective buyer has the opportunity to judge an organization,” Daniels said. “Activities that lead to successful service outcomes involve both strategy and skills that add value at every defining moment. This takes a focus on leadership.”
Daniels said that front-line leaders should be developed through coaching and training programs that elevate skills from transaction-based client interactions to experience-focused service.
Informal leaders are important. Just as prevailing social forces have expanded the expectations for both worker and customer, the harsh economic realities of scarcity may make them equal. Time will tell whether the worst has passed, but either way it is unlikely that corporate coffers will open anytime soon. Many leaders are just getting comfortable with the new economic reality and starting to understand how it affects the organization and how they need to adapt their business strategy accordingly.
Layers tend to fall off of organization charts during lean times. That affects how work gets done and how teams are managed. For instance, managers will have a greater span of control, and consequently, so do those beneath them. Informal leaders, who lack the title but shoulder the responsibility, spring up to meet the challenge, but they may not be prepared. Since they lead by default rather than selection, informal leaders are often overlooked and don’t receive training and coaching commensurate with their responsibilities. Skills training in business acumen, problem-solving and negotiation as well as learning to work and communicate in a matrix environment are recommended to ensure informal leaders can face, and meet, challenges.
“We should avoid the inevitable trial-by-fire and understand their strengths, weaknesses and career goals before we dump authority on them,” said Maggie Walsh, vice president of leadership practice at The Forum Corp., a learning and strategic business firm.
“The ability of an individual to step up and take on the characteristics of a leader is not merely an issue of will and skill; success depends on the commitment of their manager,” she said. “Managers need to coach informal leaders through the process. They need to be clear about expectations, let them know that they don’t have to be perfect, and most importantly guide them through any performance challenges they might encounter.”
In flattened organizational structures, roles and responsibilities tend to overlap as resources are load-balanced and matrix teams emerge. Walsh said communication is the key to avoid duplication of work and the friction that occurs when responsibilities blur.
“Managers must help formal and informal leaders understand how to communicate more effectively in a matrix environment,” she said. “Peers need to know how to contract with colleagues to clearly establish and communicate the alignment of terms, roles and responsibilities, and decision rights. Ambiguity creates friction and so formal, as well as informal, leaders need to invest in communication early and often.”
Commit senior management to efficiency. “When resources and work don’t reconcile, then something has got to give,” said J. LeRoy Ward, executive vice president of product strategy and management at ESI International, a project-focused training organization. Ward said efficient business processes and strong project and portfolio methodology are good places for senior managers to start. “With limited resources, business leaders cannot afford to continue performing the same functions in the same way if they are going to survive in an environment of scarcity,” he said. “They must be able to discern what is core to the needs of the business, what is secondary and what is non-essential, then redesign functional responsibilities and business processes accordingly.”
A focus on efficiency and steady-state processes is important – status quo does not tend to advance the organization. As marketplace complexity grows due to globalization and highly integrated solutions, today’s organizations are increasingly propelled forward by projects. “Research for a new product, development of a game-changing software application or construction of enabling infrastructure all require projects to make them happen, and business leaders have an important role to play,” Ward said.
Project sponsorship and portfolio management are two of the primary functions senior managers fulfill in the process, according to Ward. “As a project sponsor, leaders ensure that their projects are delivering on their stated objectives, and that project management best practices are being utilized from project planning to project closeout. As portfolio managers, senior leaders rank and prioritize projects based on the firm’s objectives and then ensure that resources are allocated accordingly.” Therefore, understanding and utilizing best practices in these areas is a critical competency for senior managers in today’s environment.
The L&D Response
Leaders at all levels are walking a thin line as they struggle to balance employees’ and customers’ growing expectations with the realities of constricted resources. Many of these challenges are not new to the organization, but they are often new to the leaders facing them. Learning and development organizations will play a critical role in supporting all levels of management as roles, responsibilities and competency requirements shift to meet these evolving challenges. L&D leaders need to assess their workforces more often and adapt their learning and development strategies to meet the changing requirements.
Front-line leaders are caught in the middle of competing expectations and need strong business acumen, communication skills and a collaborative mindset to understand organizational goals, communicate effectively with their teams and navigate expectations to reach desired business outcomes. Increasing market demands mean that client-facing teams and their front-line leaders will need to be situationally aware and capable of uncovering and meeting customer needs at the critical points of impact.
Informal leaders perhaps represent the greatest opportunity for L&D engagement. They often go unrecognized and are subjected to trial-by-fire development. Given their neglect and their growing importance in the organization, many will require foundational leadership development, a better understanding of how to communicate in a matrix environment and a broader understanding of the business.
Out of necessity, senior leaders are recommitting themselves to efficiency, and in many cases are revisiting their skill sets. Though leaders at this level tend to have strong business acumen and communication skills, many lack some of the higher-function competencies in process improvement, systems thinking and project and portfolio management. These areas represent a great opportunity for the L&D organization to re-engage with its senior leadership.
[About the Author: Mark Bashrum is vice president of corporate marketing and strategic intelligence at ESI International.]
How to build and Maintain Trust
Posted on: July 17, 2012
Whether it’s the world of business, politics or sports, there is no shortage of leadership failures to illustrate the effects of broken trust on a personal and organizational level.
Consider these recent, well-known examples of prominent leaders breaking trust where the damage extended beyond the individuals:
Tony Hayward, former CEO of BP, left the company after his series of trust-eroding gaffes and missteps following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. BP received significant public criticism and damage to its brand image as a result of Hayward’s seemingly uncaring response to the environmental disaster.
Jim Tressel, former head football coach at The Ohio State University, resigned under pressure in May 2011 after admitting he knew some of his players had violated NCAA rules but chose not to alert his superiors about the infractions. Between self-imposed penalties and those handed down by the NCAA, Ohio State stands to lose millions of dollars in football revenue.
New York Congressman Anthony Weiner resigned under pressure last year after initially denying, then later admitting, he sent a lewd picture from his Twitter account and engaged in “sexting” with numerous women over a period of years. Weiner’s actions seem to reinforce a growing lack of trust in politicians and their integrity.
Trust or Consequences
Prominent breaches of trust such as these garner the news headlines, yet it’s leaders’ everyday actions that determine the level of trust in organizations. Most employees have experienced broken promises, unfulfilled commitments and leaders withholding information, have been treated unfairly or heard blatant lies and dishonesty in the workplace. Repeated occurrences of these kinds of trust-busting behaviors by leaders foster low-trust environments resulting in employees who are demoralized, afraid to take risks, disengaged, unproductive and ultimately at a higher risk to leave the organization.
According to “Trust Matters: New Links to Employee Retention and Well-Being,” a 2011 Kenexa High Performance Institute WorkTrends report, 50 percent of employees who distrust their senior leaders are seriously considering leaving their organization, compared to 14 percent of those who do trust their leaders. Deloitte’s 2010 “Ethics and Workplace Survey” reports that 48 percent of employed Americans who plan to look for a new job as the economy improves are doing so because of a lack of trust in their employer and a lack of transparent communication from senior leadership.
Distrust in leaders and organizations has health and well-being implications for employees as well. According to the “Trust Matters” report, employees who distrust their leaders are seven times more likely to report they are mentally and physically unwell, and 62 percent of employees who lack trust in their leaders report unreasonable levels of stress compared to 13 percent of those who do trust their leaders.
Trust Improves the Bottom Line
Organizations are increasingly taking proactive steps to build high-trust cultures because it helps improve the bottom line. Lowe’s, the second largest home improvement retailer in the world with more than 1,750 stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico and nearly 235,000 employees, emphasizes the importance of trust in its leadership development practices and has seen the benefits.
Greg Nell, vice president of learning and development and a 22-year veteran of Lowe’s, said, “My personal experience at Lowe’s, as well as the results from our employee engagement surveys, has shown that when there is a high level of trust and engagement in teams or stores, people costs around accidents, turnover, sick hours and inventory shrink are less, customer satisfaction is higher, and sales and profits are higher. Conversely, in stores or teams that have a lack of trust, the engagement results are lower and the people costs are up.”
Nell’s experience at Lowe’s has been mirrored in several studies and reports that show the benefit of trust in the workplace. Research by the Great Places to Work Institute, publisher of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, has shown that between 1997 and 2011, high-trust companies outperformed the Russell 3000 and S&P 500, posting annualized returns of 10.32 percent versus 4.02 percent and 3.71 percent, respectively. Further, those best companies provide four times the returns as market average for comparative low-trust companies and typically experience a 50 percent lower turnover rate.
A Common Language of Trust
For leaders and organizations to realize the benefits of high levels of trust, they should establish a common definition and framework of how to build it. Many people don’t give much thought to intentionally building trust; they just assume it happens over time.Yet the reality is that trust is built or eroded by the use of specific behaviors that people perceive as either trustworthy or untrustworthy. For leaders to be successful in developing high-trust relationships and organizational cultures, they need to focus on using behaviors that align with the four core elements of trust. To represent the four elements in the language of trust, The Ken Blanchard Cos. created the ABCD Trust Model – Able, Believable, Connected and Dependable.
1. Able:
Being able is about demonstrating competence. One way leaders demonstrate their competence is by having the expertise needed to do their jobs. Expertise comes from possessing the right skills, education or credentials to establish credibility with others. Leaders also demonstrate their competence by achieving results. Consistently achieving goals and having a track record of success builds trust with others and inspires confidence in one’s ability. Able leaders are also skilled at facilitating work getting done. They develop credible project plans, systems and processes to help team members accomplish their goals.
2. Believable:
A believable leader acts with integrity. Dealing with people honestly by keeping promises, not lying or stretching the truth and not gossiping are ways to demonstrate integrity. Believable leaders also have clear values that have been articulated to their followers, and they behave consistently with those values – they walk the talk. A 2010 Maritz Research survey reported that 11 percent of respondents strongly agreed that their managers showed consistency between their words and actions. Treating people fairly and equitably are also key components to being a believable leader. Being fair doesn’t necessarily mean treating people the same in all circumstances; it means people are treated appropriately and justly based on their own situations.
3. Connected:
Showing care and concern for people builds trust and helps to create an engaging work environment. Connectedness with leader and connectedness with colleague are two key factors involved in creating employee work passion, and trust is a necessary ingredient in those relationships. Leaders create a sense of connectedness by openly sharing information about themselves and the organization and trusting employees to use that information responsibly.
Leaders also build trust by having a people-first mentality and building rapport with those they lead. Taking an interest in people as individuals and not just as nameless workers shows that leaders value and respect their team members. Recognition is a vital component of being a connected leader, and praising and rewarding employees’ contributions and their work builds trust and goodwill.
4. Dependable:
Being dependable and reliable is the fourth element that builds trust. One of the quickest ways to erode trust is by not following through on commitments. Conversely, leaders who do what they say they’re going to do earn a reputation as being consistent and trustworthy. Maintaining reliability requires leaders to be organized so that they are able to follow through on commitments, be on time for appointments and meetings, and get back to people in a timely fashion. Dependable leaders also hold themselves and others accountable for following through on commitments and taking responsibility for their work outcomes.
By using the ABCD Trust Model, leaders can focus on the behaviors that build trust, and by sharing this model with those they lead, create a common framework and language to discuss trust issues in the workplace.
Rebuilding Damaged Trust
Despite their best intentions, there will be times when leaders break trust with those they lead. Although trust can take a long time to build and just a moment to destroy, there is hope for recovery if the parties involved are willing to put in the time and effort necessary to restore a healthy level of trust to the relationship. Leaders can follow this five-step process to rebuild broken trust:
1. Acknowledge:
The success of the 12-step recovery process shows that the first thing that has to be done is acknowledge that a problem exists. Depending on its severity, a breach of trust can have difficult and emotional consequences that many leaders would rather avoid. Yet to begin the rebuilding process, leaders must acknowledge a situation exists and needs to be addressed.
2. Admit:
Second, leaders have to admit their part in causing the breach of trust. They need to own up to their actions and take responsibility for whatever harm was caused. This is a crucial step that leaders shouldn’t overlook. Refusing to admit mistakes reflects negatively on a leader’s believability and can let a mistake in judgment turn into an indictment of character.
3. Apologize:
The next step in repairing damaged trust is for leaders to apologize for their role in the situation. A good apology incorporates steps one and two – acknowledging the mistake and admitting involvement – and expresses regret for the harm caused and assurances that the offense won’t be repeated. The apology needs to be motivated by sincerity and remorse, not be contrived or forced. Avoid making excuses, shifting blame or using qualifying statements that detract from the apology.
4. Assess:
The fourth step is to assess which elements of the ABCD Trust Model were violated and create an action plan to improve in those areas. In their assessment, it’s important for leaders to narrow down the specific behaviors that cause the breach of trust. Repairing a breach of trust can seem like a daunting task, but if leaders identify the specific behaviors at the root of the issue, they can create a manageable and realistic plan to move forward.
5. Agree:
The final step in the trust rebuilding process is to agree on an action plan with the offended party on what will be done differently moving forward to help rebuild trust. This step is an ongoing process of evaluating the consistency of the leader’s behavior and its alignment with the action plan.
Leaders can afford many kinds of mistakes, but the one thing they can’t afford to lose is trust. The ability to build and sustain high levels of personal and organizational trust is a defining and critical competency for today’s leaders. By using behaviors that align with the four core elements of trust – able, believable, connected and dependable – leaders can effectively build trust and lead their teams to higher levels of productivity,engagement and success.
[About the Author: Randy Conley is the trust practice leader at The Ken Blanchard Cos., a leadership training organization.]
In the world of coffee houses and cafes, size matters. I can order my morning cup of java in about eight sizes, ranging from a single shot to a super large, foam-topped jug. Buyers get to select the size of their cups based on a range of factors, like what’s available, their daily rituals or how their stomachs handle the first tastes of the day. Some will order a medium-sized drink knowing they will follow up with another one after 20 minutes of sipping.
But in the world of learning, most of our cups have been one size. Learning professionals deal with a set of administrative realities, which have led to:
1. One-hour webinars:
Regardless of the content richness, 60 minutes fits the schedule neatly.
2. Two five-day residential courses:
If learners have to travel to a training destination, might as well add another day to leverage the transit costs and time.
3. Default e-learning module lengths:
Companies typically offer 15 minute e-learning segments, five to 13 minutes for a user-created video and 60 minutes for a regulatory offering.
4. Books of a certain length:
Length traditions even extend to the book world, where publishers want 130 to 280 pages of content to justify the production and retail price, even when a 35-page book would deliver higher impact.
We see these length defaults in large and small organizations. They are reinforced by our instructional designers, managers and even the regulatory agencies that drive much of our compliance-related learning. Learners have come to expect these default rituals as well.
Imagine if learners received a notice about a nine-minute webinar at 3 p.m. today. They would probably have a few immediate reactions:
a) “Can’t be that important if we are only spending nine minutes.”
b) “Why would they bother to gather us for only nine minutes?”
c) “Oh, no. They might be selling the company, and this will be a short shocker.”
But these same learners are deeply engaged in selecting their food sizes. They know how to pick a size that fits their real needs in that moment or to plan on taking the remainder home as leftovers for another round of consumption. Why not provide the same options for learning?
What if an organization rolled out a new process and offered learners a sizing menu?
1. Give me a venti module:
This would be the grand and deep tour of the content. It would be of longer length and would have detailed procedures, a rich framework overview and multiple levels of context to reflect its use in the workplace.
2. Can I have a grande lesson?
This would be a smaller version of the venti and would rely more on what the learner already knows or on other learning assets.
3. A shot of content, please:
The learner gets a strong and short shot of information, procedure and reference. Think of this as a just-in-time performance support element. The shot might be used as a stand-alone asset for a new learner or as a review component for an experienced worker.
4. Foam that module with user content:
Sometimes the worker knows the information but really needs to understand it from the perspective of others using it in actual work situations. We might take a small shot of content and foam it with video content from many different workers in diverse work settings.
I am not suggesting that we use the exact language of a coffee house or restaurant, but as learning professionals, we might start to devise some fresh and agile language to describe the size and depth of each content module. The language of learning choices should start K-12 education, continue to higher education and be leveraged in multiple workplaces.
Sizing content should start with education content managers and regulators. It should reflect organizationally assigned content but also deeply enable the learner to be actively and effectively engaged in the learning process.
[About the Author: Elliott Masie is the chairman and CLO of The Masie Center’s Learning Consortium.]
HR Malaysia 