Leadership Insights Spring 2017

ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

leadership i n s i g h ts

SPRING 2017

LEADERSHIP VIEWS

THIS ISSUE: BILL ALLISON

Our interviewee this month is Bill Allison.

Bill earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Illinois State University in 1979. Bill is the National Managing Principal of Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Sales and Pursuit Excellence organization.

As you reflect on your leadership roles and experiences, what events were critical in your development as a leader? In other words, how did you learn to be a leader?

I think three things were critical for me. First was being a student of my profession, continuously. There’s no substitute for real knowledge and expertise. Taking the ability to learn I honed at ISU and leveraging that over the years put me in a position to be able to speak intelligently in a variety of situations. Second, I benefitted from mentorship on three separate occasions in my 21 years at Deloitte. Getting guidance and perspective from others was incredibly valuable. Last, I learned something vital from a former Chair of our Board of Directors: always be “statesmanlike and intellectually curious” in my approach to difficult problems. People like that are fun and interesting to work with. Truer words were never spoken.

Who did you learn from? That is, did you model your leadership after others? How? As I mentioned I had three great mentors, in addition to the key advice I got from our Chairman. All were highly successful, respected, and durable/versatile enough to sustain their success through a variety of economic and social conditions. I did in fact modify my professional approach to reflect some of what I thought were the key attributes of my mentors. Some of those attributes were a sense of humor, personal energy, personal passion for the work, and that sense of statesmanlike curiosity I mentioned earlier. I might also add that an important aspect is self-understanding as well—in other words, really trying to define those things you are good at, and use those attributes to their fullest potential. Blending what I’m great at, with some teachings from other successful people, has been a pretty good formula for me. Sounds easy, and it is—if you take the time to do it.

What would you say are the most important attributes of an effective leader? That is, what makes a great leader?

I think there’s more than one model, but for me it’s been a combination of real subject matter expertise, truly caring about the people you work with (both inside and outside of your organization), devotion to excellence, and simply never giving up. Coupling all those things with being a great communicator—both written and verbal—makes for effective leadership in my book.

What are the most important “things” a leader does that contributes to the success of an organization?

I think first you need to master the fundamentals: be responsive, reliable, moral and fair. This means, making yourself available, being on time, executing without fail (time after time). Never cheat or lie—or advocate that.

People spot that personality trait quickly—and it’s crippling when they do.

Second, you need to master the context – people, personalities, politics, history, culture, style, competitive environment, capabilities. If your ideas and actions are tailored/adapted to the context you’re in, it makes you relevant and effective. Everyone knows a bore, or a “bull in a china shop”; you don’t want to be either of those.

Third, be an expert; that is, master the subject matter. Ever hear the term “empty suit”? There’s no substitute for knowing your stuff. While one person can’t know everything, or every detail, you can quickly spot those who have made an effort to be studied and prepared. And they’re the ones who make a difference, rather than those who lead by platitude.

continued on page 2

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LEADERSHIP VIEWS (continued from front page) What can organizations do to help develop future leaders?

I think large organization have to develop a culture that values leadership development (via top-down support), and puts the necessary time and money into the programs that make it happen. Small organizations have to do similar things, but don’t need to rely as heavily on programmatic/industrialized approaches. In any event, you have to make your leadership development efforts consistent, sustained, tangible and pervasive. Effective leadership development isn’t contained in a seminar, or an event—it’s more about what your organization does every day.

What are organizations not doing now (or enough of) that they should be doing more of?

I think you have to goal your existing leadership around developing other leaders, and materially influence performance ratings and compensation in that regard. Most organizations pay lip service to leadership development but don’t really commit in the way I’ve described.

What were some of the mistakes you made in leadership roles? What did you—or others—do to help you overcome and learn from those mistakes?

A major point of feedback I’ve gotten in this area has to do with becoming too busy to pay attention to people. When that happens you come off as uncaring, unapproachable, and disengaged. Organizing your workday (and workload) in a way that allows you to have enough time to take care of your people is incredibly important. I would also say that putting in process, controls and reporting (especially in large organizations) that allows you to monitor your key metrics continuously is incredibly important. Nothing drives strategy like great execution. I was in a meeting where the late Sam Walton (founder of Walmart) said that and I never forgot it.

What are the biggest mistakes people make that “derail” them in their leadership roles?

I think you have to recognize that for most people, leadership is a skill you acquire, rather than being something you’re just born with. If you don’t recognize that you’ll never learn enough, and be good enough to be successful in a sustained way. I worked with a very smart person who once said to me “Bill, flashes of brilliance are not sufficient.” There’s also an old quote that says “success is where opportunity meets preparation.” So, prepare yourself for leadership in advance by studying the topic, observing those who have been successful, and seeking their guidance. That way when your opportunity comes, you’ll make the most of it.

What mistakes do people make that keep them from being noticed as “potential leaders” earlier in their careers?

I think you have to act like a leader, and carry yourself like a leader in advance of actually becoming one.

Start doing the things we’ve talked about in this discussion today- I guarantee you will be noticed.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out - assuming they want to have leadership responsibilities at some point?

As I’ve mentioned, start working on it today. Be a student of leadership, acquire and master the skill consciously.

What advice would you give to someone who is already in a leadership role, but wants to continue to move up?

I’d say two things may be important. First, you’re probably pretty good at the fundamentals if you’re already in leadership. That might mean you should spend time on mastering the complexities of the context you’re operating in – people, personalities, politics, style, history, etc. Second, find the right mentor/sponsor in your organization. Just getting your name in the hat for leadership positions can sometimes be half the battle.

Some of the readers will be college students. What advice would you give them (not necessarily related to leadership)?

I get this question a lot – “how to be a success.” I think the keys are being responsive/enthusiastic/flexible, being reliable, being a great communicator, and, lastly, being a student of your profession.

Looking forward, how might the roles and responsibilities of leaders change?

I think about globalization, digitization, and the rate of innovation as key influencers. Tomorrow’s leader will have to be skilled in all these areas to be successful and relevant.

The time demands on leaders is significant—especially as one takes on more and broader organizational responsibilities. But, are leaders always using their time well? That is, are leaders spending too much time on issues where the marginal gain is quite small? How should they be spending their time?

This is a massive, continuous problem. Time and energy are your most precious assets. Using them wisely

continued on back page

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E THIC S

VERSUS

ETHICS With Dr. Jeri Beggs, Professor of Marketing

You note in your research that, whenever a major corporate scandal breaks, many “fingers” are pointed at universities—especially Colleges of Business. Why do you think that is and is it fair?

It is probably not fair because the school or university could have provided their students high quality ethics training, and their alums still choose to engage in unethical behavior. On the other hand, you can see why it is especially tempting to point the finger when the perpetrator attended a big name university. What are they teaching their MBAs at the Wharton School of Business? Those well-known schools have reputations for turning out the best and brightest, and the tuition they charge their students in in line with that reputation. If they get credit for what they do, they should also take some responsibility for the product.

Much of your research focuses on questions regarding the teaching of ethics in a College of Business. One key question that emerges in your research is whether “ethics” can be taught in college—primarily because students arrive with already-formed ethical frameworks. Could you offer some insight on that issue? What is your personal viewpoint?

That students arrive on campus fully formed has been a long-standing view of some faculty. I don’t personally believe that to be true. It is well-established that education makes students more liberal on social issues such as tolerance and diversity. If they can change their ideology in that area, why couldn’t they develop increased moral awareness and courage? Yes, they arrive at our door with values instilled by their families and their religions, and with experiences that influence their decisions, but I do not think that means that can’t learn and change. Actually, I think it’s easy to create higher levels of moral awareness. The hard part is moral action and moral courage.

Knowing the right thing to do is different from having the courage to do it.

A related issue concerns whether ethics should be taught. Some of the faculty in your research express some level of discomfort in addressing ethical issues, suggesting that doing so might be viewed

as the faculty “imposing” their own ethical views on students as the “correct” views. Your thoughts?

I believe that faculty members need to be careful not to force their beliefs on students or even represent their beliefs/opinions as correct, but I think you can teach ethical awareness and basic ethical frameworks without doing that.

I teach six basic frameworks to show my students that in any given ethical dilemma, Kant’s categorical imperative might give you a different answer than the utilitarian approach. All the frameworks are useful but some are better suited to a particular situation. I also don’t think it’s a bad idea for faculty members to express their personal opinions to students, but they must make it clear that “this is my personal opinion” and explain why. That is not forcing or imposing your opinion on your students. In addition, I wouldn’t grade the student wrong if their opinion differed from mine on an assignment.

I don’t think there are any frameworks that completely eliminate the problem of faculty imposing their viewpoints on students. The closest would be government requirements, which means is it legal or not. The other frameworks are not as clear cut.

One of the really fascinating viewpoints that emerges in your research concerns the approach that a college of business might take in addressing ethics in the curriculum. This perspective suggests that the issue is not what a college should “start” doing, but rather what it should “stop” doing. Specially, this viewpoint argues that a business college education tends to promote “the hardball or cowboy culture of business”, a “winner take all mentality”, and “ideologically inspired amoral theories.” The result is that students can lose a sense of their own moral responsibility and that “stopping” this would have an enormous impact on the ethical understandings of students. If valid, how should a college of business curriculum change?

Research results range from 50-80% of business students admitting that they have cheated. That is higher than self-reported results from education students and liberal arts students. Why it that? I think it’s continued on next page

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ETHICS (continued from page 3) two-fold. First, the environment within business schools is very competitive. Second, the type of students that are attracted to a competitive environment in school and in the corporate world are different from education majors.

Recent studies of self-reported cheating behavior indicate that the number is decreasing slightly. I don’t think the behavior is decreasing. I think that the millennials that fill our classrooms today do not define cheating in the same way you and I do. They have been raised in education settings where group work is the norm and the internet has clouded their sense of ownership in terms of information.

The answer is to talk about ethics and the fallout from unethical decisions more. Students need to be reminded on a regular basis that cheating, lying, manipulating have consequences for themselves, the company, consumers and sometimes society at large. Most of our ethics cases are about Fortune 500 companies, but we should also discuss cheating in our classrooms and the possible penalties if caught. I think we need to do more to integrate ethics education in to our classes, not just one module in one or two classes.

signs that remind employees to act with integrity. This can be actual signs on the walls or it could be as simple as asking employees to sign their names to their work (documents), verifying that the content is truthful.

You’ve also conducted research with managers regarding their ethical encounters. Your research clearly points to the importance of culture as a predictor of both ethical and unethical behavior in organizations. Could you comment further on that issue?

You asked me earlier if it is fair to blame business schools when their alums engage in unethical behavior. My colleagues and I believe that corporate culture is the most salient of three factors: ethics training, legislated ethics such as Sarbanes-Oxley, and corporate culture. It is hard for an employee to remember their ethics training, whether it’s from school or the corporation itself, when their boss is telling them to do something unethical because everyone is doing it and/or it is the only way to be successful in this job.

Much of your research does allude to a fundamental issue in for-profit organizations: competing solutions to a problem can all be viewed as “ethical” depending on the perspectives of the individuals asking the question. For example, returning value to the shareholders is an ethical/ fiduciary responsibility of an organization. Selling a product or service at the lowest possible price is also a “good” thing to do. Treating employees well—good salaries, benefits, and working conditions—is also ethical.

So, a firm needs to lower its costs in order to maintain both shareholder and customer satisfaction. However, to do so requires moving facilities to a location with lower labor costs. Shareholders and customers win. Employees lose. What’s the “most” ethical decision? Is it even possible to determine that? What guidance can we provide managers who face these types of ethical dilemmas?

A common term in ethics literature is the triple bottom line, which stands for people, profits and environment.

The most ethical decision is one that balances the needs of all three, but that is easier said than done and people from different perspectives might have different ideas about what that balance might look like. For example, maximizing profits is usually in conflict with taking care of people and the environment so companies must look for optimizing, not maximizing.

Most of us believe that if you take care of your employees (wages, benefits, etc.), they will be more productive.

On the other hand, if a company doesn’t make a profit then it will go out of business and where does that leave its employees? Many people would argue that moving facilities to a location with lower labor costs is good business and not unethical in any way.

What, then, can organizations do to create cultures in which ethical behavior—doing what is ethically right—is shared throughout the organization?

First, they can talk about the ethical dilemmas or situations that their employees face. I conducted a longitudinal study of MBA students and one of the common responses was that they wished their company would provide time and space to talk about the issues they were facing in terms of ethical decision-making.

Second, ethics starts at the top. Upper management needs to be sure they are sending the right messages regarding ethical behavior, reporting, how it will be punished, etc. One common problem is that companies will set up reward systems that encourage unethical behavior.

Finally, research indicates that there should be visible

One issue that emerges from your research is that “compliance” is a relatively ineffective mechanism to promote individual ethics. Help us understand what is meant by “compliance” and how organizations can move beyond that orientation.

Compliance is referring to rules and laws within the organization and outside the organization through our legal system or professional organizations such as the medical profession or accounting. I think every organization (or profession or society) needs a good compliance program, but that’s just a beginning. Based on past ethics scandals, you can see that rules are not enough. Arthur Anderson was not only known for its own internal ethics program, but also for educating thousands through their educational videos and case studies. (continued on page 5)

page 5

(ETHICS • continued from page 4) As I mentioned before, ethics needs to be more visible than a code of conduct that no one reads. The corporate culture, which includes upper management involvement, the reward system, and visible signs, must foster ethical behavior and sanction unethical behavior. From my research, I believe that corporate culture is far more salient and powerful than any ethics training, codes or compliance programs.

Michael Josephson, one of the great contemporary thinkers on ethics, has suggested that organizational ethics really is an issue of addressing “why good people do bad things” Is that a good way to look at the issue?

I agree if he means that we should be looking at the corporate culture to see if there are incentive programs or company policies that encourage people to act unethically. I also think we can list three to four primary reasons good people do bad things and try to limit that. For example, research has shown that the farther the “distance from money” the more likely people are to steal an item. Dan Ariely, a well-known consumer behavior researcher from Duke University, conducted an experiment in which he left sodas in one refrigerator that was open to the public and he left a plate with $1 bills in another refrigerator open to the public. All of the sodas were taken but no one took the money. The sodas had more “distance from money.” This term applies to the stock market, gambling chips and even to incentives that aren’t monetary such as trips, etc. People are more likely to lie, cheat and steal if they don’t view it as being actual money. This is just one example, but there are others.

Why do “good” people do bad things?

The researcher I mentioned above, Dan Ariely, has conducted experiments that show that most people are willing to cheat a little. The problem is that cheating a little can create an environment that leads to cheating a lot! We cannot know why any one individual cheats in any given situation so we have to focus on the primary reasons good people do bad things and try to eliminate or at least reduce the opportunities and reasons for cheating.

In his work, Josephson has suggested that the answer to why good people do bad things is really twofold. First, all of us, including good people, have an enormous ability to rationalize our behavior when our individual self-interest is at stake (or the self-interest of someone close to us, or even our organizations). Second, Josephson argues that, in many cases, “winning has become the moral imperative.” That is, winning is the ethical and moral thing. According to Josephson, winning—sales, profitability, market share, a promotion, a contract—is too often viewed as ethically more significant than any other outcome. Obviously, this is a variation of an ends-means argument. When I accept the “ends” as a moral imperative, then the means to that end are generally irrelevant.

Can you comment on Josephson argument?

I agree with his first reason and the second reason is, in my opinion, just an extension of his first. We can rationalize anything we do because most of the time that action leads to the “winning” he mentions. I lie to my clients to get sales and I’m rewarded with a bonus and then a promotion. I win! I can rationalize that by telling myself everybody does it or I really need the money because I have kids in college. Walt Pavlo, author and national speaker, spent years in prison for his role in the WorldCom scandal. He explains that he was rewarded and promoted for his “creative” accounting instead of warned, demoted or punished in any way. He was making the company look good for potential sale and he claims multiple people at multiple levels knew what he and his group of “MBAs gone wild” were doing. The end justified the means for Pavlo and his co-workers, but the end did not justify the means for the federal government who prosecuted and imprisoned him.

Okay, what advice would you give readers on being more ethical? What should they do? What should they think about? How can leaders create an ethical culture?

I think two ideas would change people’s behavior. First, assume that whatever you do will be publicly known. Too many people have been caught doing bad things that assumed no one would ever find out. Assume that it will always be made public. The second is to figure out a set of questions you would ask yourself when faced with an ethical dilemma. Some common ones would be who gets hurt, what would I want someone else to do for me, and could I tell my mother/grandmother.

As I mentioned earlier, I think leaders need to take three steps. First, they can talk about the ethical dilemmas or situations that their employees face. Second, ethics starts at the top. Upper management needs to be sure they are sending the right messages regarding ethical behavior, reporting, how it will be punished, etc. Finally, research indicates that there should be visible signs that remind employees to act with integrity.

Jeri Beggs received her PhD from Saint Louis University. She is a Professor of Marketing in the College of Business at Illinois State University.

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www.fastcompany.com/3067232/what-happened-when-istopped-saying-sorry-at-work-for-a-week

Speaking Lessons from Martin Luther King, Jr.

www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/want-to-be-a-great-speaker-7key-lessons-from-martin-luther-king-jr.html

Tips to Manage Conflict at Work

www.forbes.com/sites/davidsturt/2017/01/23/how-to-useconflict-to-your-advantage-at-work/#64a2d8222e1e

Finding the Hidden Leaders in Your Organization

www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/finding-hidden-leaders

Is Transparency Always Good?

www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/the-dark-side-of-transparency

Poor Communication Could be a Symptom of Something Else

https://hbr.org/2017/02/poor-communication-is-often-a-symptom-of-a-different-problem

Communication Habits of Strong Leaders

www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/4-communication-habits-of-mentally-strong-leaders.html

Develop Drive and Desire

www.success.com/article/how-to-develop-aninsatiable-hunger

Psychological Insights on Public Speaking

https://michaelhyatt.com/public-speaking-psychology.html

How will you

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Lead?

The Leadership Certificate Program is a rigorous five-session series that will provide opportunities to not only explore the roles of leaders in contemporary organizations but also provide participants with significant opportunities to enhance and develop their own leadership skill set.

Each session in the program will engage participants in learning and developmental activities related to leadership. Content in each session will be in-depth and will require participants to engage fully in order to benefit from the program.

All sessions in the program will be held in State Farm Hall on the campus of Illinois State University. In addition, all sessions will be facilitated by full-time faculty of the College of Business. Each session will begin at 8:00am and end at 4:30pm (except for session five; see details below).

Sessions 1-4 will include a continental breakfast (beginning at 7:30am) and lunch.

Registration fees for the program are $875. Fees for Illinois State Alumni and Graduates of Leadership McLean County will be $750 ($125 discount). Registration fees cover all elements of the program, including meals, parking, and materials.

For more information, please visit: Business.IllinoisState.edu/OLI

L E A D E R S H I P C E R T I F I C AT E P R O G R A M I L L I N O I S S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L L E A D E R S H I P I N S T I T U T E

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 | SESSION 1 FOUNDATIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP | Dr. Rick Ringer

This session will provide participants with an in-depth background on the fundamentals of leadership in contemporary organizations and on the role and importance of leadership in those organizations.

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 | SESSION 2 APPLIED ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP | Dr. Nathan Hartman

This session will explore more advanced topics in organizational leadership and the responsibilities that leaders have as they “move up” the organizational hierarchy.

FRIDAY | OCTOBER 6, 2017 | SESSION 3 Building High Performance Organizations | Dr. Joe Goodman

This session will focus on the common attributes of high-performing organizations and the role of leaders in creating and maintaining high-performance systems.

FRIDAY | OCTOBER 20, 2017 | SESSION 4 STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP | Dr. Peter Foreman

The fourth session will focus on the role of leaders as both strategy “developers” and strategy “implementers”, and explore the processes by which leaders create the strategic direction of the organization.

FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 10, 2017 | SESSION 5 Panel Discussion and Recognition Lunch

The final session will consist of a panel discussion and Q&A. This session will provide opportunities for participants to ask questions, as well as provide opportunities for the panel discussants to offer final insights into the totality of the content of the program. The panel will consist of the faculty involved in the program, as well as business and community leaders. Time and location TBA. Following the panel discussion: All participants (and a guest) will be invited to a recognition lunch. This session will be held in the Bone Student Center at Illinois State University in a room yet to be announced.

page 7

LEADERSHIP BOOK

RECOMMENDATIONS

from Illinois State University

FACULTY

Recommendations from Illinois State University Faculty

Pre-suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade

by Robert Chialdini

The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential

by John Maxwell

Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

by Liz Wiseman

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

by Brene Brown

Collaborative Intelligence: Thinking with People Who Think Differently

by Dawna Markoa & Angi McArthur

Quiet! The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t StopTalking

by Susan Cain

Predictably Irrational

by Dan Ariely

Hidden Figures

by Margot Lee Shetterly

The Road to Character

by David Brooks

d feedbackanns suggestio We really value your input.

have erview for a future issue, or Know a leader we should int dressed in a future issue? a topic that you would like ad

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LEADERSHIP VIEWS (continued from page 2)

is critical to success. I constantly examine what I’m spending time on and aligning what I do to our organizational strategy and tactics as well as my personal goals. My best advice is to constantly rationalize what you’re doing vs. those things because it’s so easy to get distracted, which causes you to work very hard in many cases of little or no positive outcome.

We hear a lot, and we talk a lot at the University, about the importance of interpersonal and communication skills in leadership roles. Could you share your insights about how and why those are—or are not—critical to successful leadership?

Communication might be the most important skill of all for a leader. It’s your window to the world around you and dictates how the world sees you. I’ve seen really smart people appear otherwise because of poor communication skills. You might be able to get away with that in “rank and file” positions, but not in leadership roles. Communication styles can certainly vary, but you have to be a great communicator to be a great leader.

A tough question: Can everyone be a leader? Are there some of us that just don’t have the skills? Are there some of us that just don’t have the “inclination”?

It’s hard for me to answer if “everyone can” be a leader. I’d say more importantly it’s about the desire and passion for being a leader. Sustained success is difficult unless you’re fascinated and energized by the work you do. If the things we’ve talked about do that for you, you’re probably cut out to be a leader. If not, I’d go another direction. There are so many ways to be successful and happy in this world. I know people in my own organization who are incredibly successful (and happy) but on the record as saying they want nothing to do with leadership roles, which is completely fine in my view.

What else? What question have I left out that you want to answer?

What I’d leave our readers with is a question that a former Deloitte CEO asked in many of his speeches – “I wonder if you know how good you are?” What he was saying is that our tendency is to be overly self-critical, and focus almost solely on “fixing our faults.”

All of the research we’ve ever done indicates that’s not as effective as truly understanding your strengths and capitalizing on them fully. Start on that today.

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