NEW LEADERSHIP THINKING IN PLAY
by Catherine J. Rezak and Kathleen Hurson
Simulation Develops Leadership Accountability LEADERSHIP IN THE NEW ECONOMY “I am completely convinced that most organizations today lack the leadership they need. This is not to say that untalented, unenergetic people occupy managerial positions … just the opposite, with bright, experienced and hardworking individuals, some quite extraordinary, almost all trying to do what they believe is right. The problem is that far too few of them are providing the leadership that is needed … . Without that leadership, organizations stagnate, lose their way, and eventually suffer the consequences.” ~ John Kotter, What Leaders Really Do
Catherine J. Rezak is President of Paradigm Learning, a dynamic training and communications organization specializing in the design of discovery learning games, simulations and Discovery Maps®. Kathleen Hurson is an authority on leadership development and research, and has authored multiple books on the topic of effective organizational leadership.
Your managers are being challenged like never before. The people who are in the offices, on the factory floors, and in the field managing the customer relationships are being told to lead with vision, insight and candor – and still drive the bottom line numbers that must go up every year. They struggle to reconcile the ideal with the reality, a process that seems to be chewing up some of the best managers – not for want of trying, but precisely because they are trying so hard. Our question as a developer of management training was, “What can we do about it?” Is the expectation unrealistic, or is the process of preparing leaders simply not keeping up? Are the “tactical” skills of managing – setting goals, communicating expectations, providing feedback – falling short in helping managers use the “strategic” skills of critical thinking, motivating, energizing and providing vision? In Fall 2002, Paradigm Learning conducted a research study to find some answers to those critical questions. The study took an in-depth look at how organizations were developing leaders and asked these basic questions:
Is there a new leadership reality, and what does that look like? What do organizations really need from their managers regarding leadership? What are the key leadership development challenges? What are organizations and thought leaders doing to address those challenges?
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A NEW LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE As organizations maneuver and mobilize to adapt to their changing environments, it’s only natural to require different leadership behaviors from their managers. The Conference Board Study, Developing Business Leaders for 2010, surveyed 150 companies and interviewed more than 80 thought leaders to get a reading on what organizations saw as the characteristics of leadership in the future. The results pointed to “An environment of extreme cognitive complexity in many industries, requiring extraordinary strategic thinking skills and the ability to make high-quality decisions quickly in the face of competitive pressures and uncertainty.” While this may have described the requirements of leaders under any circumstances, the differentiating factor for today’s organizations is scope. To succeed, an organization must have leadership of the highest caliber across the entire enterprise. Paradigm Learning researched the state of leadership today by reviewing current books and articles to get a broader picture of what organizational pundits were saying. Surveying and interviewing senior HR, training and OD professionals from a broad spectrum of industries1 about leadership in their industries provided us with a reality check. The outcome of the research showed that organizations see a strong link between critical leadership accountabilities and the organization’s success. When leaders take action in each of five critical areas in balanced, productive ways, their actions have a positive, consistent impact on the organization, its customers and its financial results. The “Business Impact Accountabilities” represent key leadership development opportunities 2
New Leadership Thinking In Play
for organizations now and in the future. Based on our research, these include: EXECUTING FOR RESULTS. Companies need their leaders to “get it done,” producing measurable results in both the short- and longterm that are aligned with organizational goals. This perspective raises the bar for managers, making them accountable for building this alignment, communicating it clearly and ensuring high performance from their teams. MANAGING CHANGE. Leaders need to have the flexibility and resiliency to adapt quickly to changing conditions so they can mobilize employees to move forward with confidence. It’s not enough to “manage” activity and processes as change occurs. Leaders need to develop their own keen understanding of change, build a shared vision with employees and establish clear, measurable objectives. DEVELOPING TALENT. Managers must be highly effective at using disciplined recruiting processes, keeping employees “engaged” and motivated, and supporting employee development. But that’s not enough. They also need to take true ownership of talent development … not just for their own department, but for the organization. INFLUENCING THE BUSINESS. Managers today must have a much broader understanding of the business so they can and will influence success beyond their own “silos” of work. Their demonstrated ability to balance personal and/or departmental success with organization-wide success plays a critical role in an organization’s future. BUILDING PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS. To successfully fulfill the other Business Impact Accountabilities, leaders have to develop and demonstrate a high level of personal effectiveness. This requires a commitment to expanding self-awareness, cultivating exceptional communication skills, building trust and engaging in continual learning. Managers who take responsibility for their own success will best contribute to the organization’s success.
PREPARING LEADERS TO SUCCEED The five Business Impact Accountabilities define a complex role with deep and more demanding responsibilities. To succeed, a leader needs an understanding of the broader picture, critical thinking skills, creativity, and the ability to experiment with new beliefs, assumptions and behaviors. Traditional management training falls short in providing the opportunity to develop true leadership. These demanding requirements call for new learning methodologies. Paradigm Learning responded to the research results with the development of Impact5: The Business of Leadership Game™, that focuses on the five critical Business Impact Accountabilities. In a classroom simulation format, participants experience the impact of their decisions and those of other leaders on a fictitious business, discuss the issues, and make the connection to their jobs. Through the process, participants change. Leadership “thinking” and critical leadership behaviors emerge. While skills training clearly has a role in management development, it cannot accomplish the desired transformation of managers to leaders.
FROM THEORY TO RESULTS To ensure that Impact5 was both relevant and effective, Paradigm Learning partnered with six organizations – Lockheed Martin, Wachovia, Capital One, Motorola, Siemens Westinghouse and HCA Healthcare – to conduct one-day training sessions. In all, 72 managers participated in these pilot sessions. Participants’ job functions ranged from first-line supervisor to vice president. Management experience ranged from less than two years to more than 20. 1 Industries surveyed included technology, utilities, finance, manufacturing, healthcare, automotive, aerospace, telecommunications, consumer products, education, consulting, government and the military.
At the end of each of the pilot sessions, participants were asked to comment on the experience. ■ More than 94% of the participants indicated that as a result of the program they felt better equipped to: – Take ownership for continually improving their own personal effectiveness as a leader. – Evaluate the impact they have on organizational and business results. Fully 96% of the participants committed to a specific, broad-based action they would take as a result of attending the program. Some typical commitments included: ■
– “Be more cognizant of the ‘big picture’ and not overly focused on today’s problems. The program also demonstrated to me that it is important to be proactive.” – “Go back and re-evaluate my department / team objectives.” – “Be more aware of the effects of actions on all departments instead of just my own.” – “Develop my team and refocus my goals with the business strategy.” – “Continuously check myself and my accountability; I realize it starts with me.” – “Understand how my input, actions and decisions affect the overall picture and bottom line of the company. We all play a part and need to consider our roles as leaders in shaping the future of the business.” ■ More than 80% rated the learning approach using a simulation as “good” to “exceptional.” Typical comments included:
– “Quick-paced. Kept your attention / focus.” – “The game simulation allows the individual to see an
encapsulated version of a realworld environment – the process holds your attention.” – “Learning about leadership/ management techniques via a game was very interesting, and an enjoyable twist on a subject (management) covered by many.” While reactions to the seminar were important, equally important was knowing how the learning transfers to the job. The Success Case Method2 was employed to evaluate effectiveness. Used to test new or innovative approaches or tools, the Success Case Method assumes that any new approach will work quite well with some people and not at all with others. Therefore, this method doesn’t examine the average, but looks at the impact on the extremes – the most successful and least successful participants. Thirty days after the one-day pilot sessions, Paradigm Learning went back to all participants and asked them to choose the statement that most closely matched their experience of applying what they had learned in the workshop to their jobs. The choices were: ■
I have applied what I learned and I have already seen positive results.
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I have applied what I learned and I expect to see results soon.
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I have not applied what I learned, but I expect to soon.
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I have no plans for applying what I learned.
Of the participants responding to the survey, 85% said they had applied what they had learned and had seen results or expected to see results soon. This shows a high transfer rate of the learning and is particularly impressive because the program was a “pilot.” Participants were not required to use what they learned on the job, nor was
there any additional reinforcement or support as there would have been in a normal rollout. From those that responded to the survey, we selected the participants who had the most success and those who had the least success – the people who had no plans to apply the program learning. What we learned from those managers who chose not to apply the program was surprising and extremely valuable. We expected them to report that it was too hard to apply the accountabilities on the job. What we heard instead was that the accountability focus was logical and similar to the approach they already had been taking. For these very few participants, the program provided reinforcement for what they had been doing. From those participants who had applied the learning, the message that came through most consistently was that they now saw a clear connection between their actions and the bottom line. One participant clearly connected the dots like this: “Better communication leads to more informed employee teams, which leads to a more efficient organization, which contributes to lower contract pricing, which makes for a more competitive company, which garners more business for the company, ultimately resulting in higher earnings-per-share for all shareholders.” Another mentioned the effectiveness of the five Business Impact Accountabilities as a tool for evaluating a new company acquisition. This project “included reviewing current personnel and processes, making recommendations for the future organization, and also identifying key employees to oversee the transition. The report was submitted to management and initial reports indicate an 2 The Success Case Method; Dr. Robert Brinkerhoff, Published 2002; Berrett-Koehler Publications
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acceptance of our recommendations … the five Business Impact Accountabilities represent a common-sense way to lead the organization to success.” A manufacturing supervisor commented that, “In the past, when I was doing the scheduling for all three shifts, I just thought of how to make my shift look the best. You worry about what happens on your shift, not about problems the other shifts had. Now I schedule the work to be best for the whole operation. Since doing the schedule this way, I have improved the production cycle time by 10 – 20%; we are not seeing as much backlog and are carrying less inventory.” Another participant focused on “developing talent” and stated, “After the class, I decided I wasn’t managing the talent in my team the
way I should. So we got together and reset our goals. I decided to try to help the team feel very creative. We talked about our strengths and how we could use those strengths … . We know that we are now helping build the communication between the doctors and nurses that will ultimately impact patient safety in this hospital.” Improving personal effectiveness was a common thread in several stories. “I think about what I can do, how I can take responsibility. There was a project I was working on that would save the company three million per year. There was resistance to the project and we had to fight to make it happen. Before the course, I would have just given up, but instead I helped move it along. Now I realize that when I have a good idea, I need
to build a business case. I just would have not bothered before and would have let the idea die. I feel like I am contributing more now … . You don’t have to stay in that box.” And this comment from a senior manager: “Since the course, I have taken a different approach to delegating work. I ask people what it would take for them to feel truly accountable. I talk about no excuses, no-hands-tied accountability. I recently had great success delegating an assignment this way. It was a key hand-off between two departments, and it was tricky. It went smoothly, with no drop in customer satisfaction, because the person I assigned this project to told me he felt truly accountable.”
CONCLUSIONS These results and comments from the pilot sessions of Impact5: The Business of Leadership Game are preliminary, and very promising. The comments show that the program works well in changing managers’ perceptions of their roles and improves their effectiveness as leaders. Even with just a one-day training session and no follow-up, managers took what they learned and “ran with it.” They came away from the training feeling accountable and empowered to take action. More importantly, managers were able to take the experience and adapt it to their own personal applications. Can leadership be learned? From our results, it appears that the answer is “yes.” Will all organizations experience the same outcomes? Probably not. Since the simulation leads to very personal outcomes and results, organizations will see applications that are as unique as their managers. Yet, the overall impact will be strongly positive. Of course, the organization needs to be ready to support individual leadership. According to Weber and Rezak in Leadership Beyond the Baseline, “Now comes the hard part, encouraging learners in experimentation, reflection, personal growth and – potentially – wildly divergent thinking and acting. Are you up to the challenge?” In today’s competitive environment, managers must do more than “manage.” They need to take initiative and lead – and lead in the right direction. Alignment with organizational goals and accountability for results go beyond skills and knowledge. To function as true leaders, managers need to understand the impact of their decisions on the organization as well as on their departments. Developing the power of leaders who are fully engaged and focused on the right things may be the single most important action an organization can take. Not playing is simply not an option.
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