interpersonal skills: vital tools for today's senior leader

Senior leaders are responsible for translating strate-gic focus and direction into day-to-day operations.

These leaders must possess technical competenceand enterprise-specific knowledge. Of greaterimportance, however, is their ability to worksuccessfully with people. Often leaders arerequired to produce results through others, and toaccomplish their desired objectives, leaders mustbe able to manage people. Contemporary execu-tive leadership research suggests that interpersonalskills have become increasingly more important toachieving business results as individuals advancethrough organizational ranks of responsibility.1

STRATEGY TO RESULTS THROUGH PEOPLE

AchieveGlobal believes that people are the key tobusiness success. Until people take action, goalsand strategies are nothing but words on a sheet ofpaper. Results come from people equipped withthe appropriate skills and energized to do the rightthings at the right time. Any seasoned businessleader knows that even the most brilliant of strate-gies will collapse if an organization fails to invig-orate, invest in, and support the people responsi-ble for implementing it.

To better understand the link between businessresults and individuals, as well as to illustratehow an organization may produce results inan efficient manner, AchieveGlobal has

developed the model “Strategy to ResultsThrough People” (Figure 1).

First, strategy owners define the result they wantto achieve. Then they ask, “What needs to happento bring about this result?” The response is theplan of action to bring about the defined endresult: the strategy.

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INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:VITAL TOOLS FOR TODAY’S SENIOR LEADER

By Keith Malo, Research Manager and Chris Blauth, Senior Product Manager

Figure 1Strategy to Results Through People

1. AchieveGlobal draws this conclusion based on an extensive literary review of works related to executive development and training. Some suggested reading on this topicmay include. “Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance,“ (December 2001) and “The Young and the Clueless,” (December 2002) each in HarvardBusiness Review, along with selected works by Daniel Goleman and Stephen J. Zaccaro.

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Resources to transform the vision to action

Senior Managers

Strategy

Managers

Leaders

Individual Contributors

Organizational Results

Executives

Strategy to Results Through People

Next, senior managers direct the resources andprocesses to transform that vision into reality. Itis critical that this group is successful, as they arethe bridge that unites the organization’s visionwith the organization’s producers, resulting inthe end product.

Thereafter, it is the responsibility of frontlinesupervisors and managers to develop the capa-bilities within the individuals, processes, andsystems of the organization to execute andimplement the strategy.

Finally, individuals deliver the results throughproductive behaviors. They take appropriate andtimely actions – supported by knowledge,commitment, and ability – and get things done.

Once again, organizations get results when indi-viduals are equipped with the appropriate skillsand are energized to do the right things at theright time.

People deliver results.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Supported by a vast library of literature andAchieveGlobal’s own collective experiences ofover 30 years of working with organizations todevelop leaders, it is apparent that the mostsuccessful organizations have senior leaders withsolid interpersonal skills. It makes sense to relyless on technical competencies the further oneadvances from the delivery line.

Despite intense “management training,” manystudies over the years have shown that mostsenior managers are less effective because theydon’t know how to motivate and coach staff,solve conflicts, or relate to other people. Thisdeficit poses a major challenge to meeting orga-nizational goals, as leaders are required toproduce results through others. To realize thedesired objectives, these leaders must effectivelybe able to relate interpersonally.

Today’s senior leaders continue to be charged

with bridging the gap between strategic goalsand daily operations. In a world with constantlychanging landscapes and backdrops, this is nosimple task.

Moreover, each day leaders are pulled in multipledirections as they address various businessissues, implement the objectives of strategyowners, and balance the needs and expectationsof their clients, direct reports, and frontline staff.

Research clearly shows us that individuals whoadvance through corporate leadership ranksoften do so as a result of their proven commit-ment to the organization, or because of theirmastery of profession-specific or technical skillsand not because of their ability as effectivepeople managers. Once promoted, however,these managers are not always successful.

To survive and thrive in today’s global work-place, leaders need to be more than book smartand friendly. They need to know how to bringout the best in others. Today’s leaders must beequipped with the people skills that will bringoptimal efficiency, productivity, and profitabilityto their organizations.

In a series of focus groups conducted by Achieve-Global with senior and mid-level managersacross the United States and the UnitedKingdom, one director succinctly described hisview on the popular system that promotesmanagers as a “double whammy.” Citing thecommon occurrence of the “best salespersonbeing promoted to sales manager,” he stated:“First you lose your strongest producer on thedelivery side and then realize conflicts and chal-lenges on the management side.” He further

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“Success is painting the vision and havingpeople really know how they impact that vision on a day-to-day basis.”

– Assistant Vice President, Information Technology,Insurance Provider

explained that the new managers often lack thenecessary human skills to manage conflicts withother managers and the skills to coach andmentor direct reports.

To build on this theme, another senior managerrecalled her organization’s recent downsizingexperience and stated, “It was the only layoff wehave had since [incorporating in] 1991. In allhonesty, I personally don’t believe it wasmanaged as well as it could have [been]. MostlyI think it was due to the newness of it all to themanagers.” She went on to recall how poorly themanagers executed the layoff notifications andhow unsuccessfully they managed the morale andproductivity declines of the remaining employees.This manager later disclosed that their managerswere not equipped to handle the human sensitiv-ities related to downsizing or stabilizing and re-invigorating the remaining work force. To makematters worse, at a crucial moment in the orga-nization’s quest for survival, these managerslacked critical interpersonal skills.

These situations are not unique.

In another research study2, AchieveGlobal askedrespondents to assess the presence of leadershipbehaviors within their organizations. The care-fully recruited online sample of executives,managers, and non-managers across the UnitedStates and the United Kingdom replied that themost observed behaviors were more operationsrelated, such as self-motivation, commitment,and competence.

From our most recent primary research2, it isevident that today’s global workplace, from theperspective of managers and non-managers alike,continues to be managed by technically compe-tent individuals who lack the required interper-sonal skills to bring an organization to greatness.

Historically, it was believed that as one moves tohigher levels within an organization the need forinterpersonal skills remained relativelyunchanged. This previous generation of executivedevelopment thought leadership placed greater

emphasis on possessing more technical andstrategic qualities. However, some have arguedthat the appropriate balance was a third each ofstrategic, technical, and leadership or interper-sonal skills. Consider the idea that “middle levelmanagers need the same one-third of the skillmix in interpersonal skills. These managers aresandwiched between the lower level managersand the top managers – requiring finely tunedpeople skills to survive.”3

The viewpoint has shifted. More recent litera-ture, in particular some works by Stephen J.Zaccaro on the nature of executive leadership,suggests a greater need for interpersonal skills thehigher one progresses in organizationallevel.(Figure 2)

Again, as leaders advance within an organiza-tion, interpersonal skills become increasinglyimportant to achieving success. Whether it ismanaging a small group of managers, leading anorganization-wide initiative, or working with anexternal party such as a client or vendor, theability to communicate a plan successfully andmanage the human interactions throughoutexecution is crucial to accomplishing businessobjectives.

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2. AchieveGlobal primary research includes (a) focus groups conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom with director-level and above audiences and (b) an on-line leadership survey across the United States and the United Kingdom in which 32 percent of the total sample represented an executive management position or a posi-tion of vice president to CEO.

3. Buhler, Patricia. “Managers: Out with the Old and In with the New – Skills That Is.” Supervision, June, 1998. 4 Stephen J. Zaccaro, Ph.D, The Nature of Executive Leader-ship: A Conceptual and Empirical Analysis of Success, American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., 2001.

4. Stephen J. Zaccaro, Ph.D., The Nature of Executive Leadership: A Conceptual and Empirical Analysis of Success, December 2000.

“I think it is showing that you are human. You can be all of that – decision maker, problem solver, strategic – but you could be a robot. If your team doesn’t feel you are approachable, it won’t work. It’s having a ‘human side.’”

– Head of Direct Marketing, Mobile Telephone Retailer

Figure 24

TOP BUSINESS ISSUES THROUGH THE EYES OFSENIOR LEADERS

To better understand the priorities of themodern-day global workplace, AchieveGlobalconducted a research study to identify the keybusiness issues of senior business leaders in theUnited States and the United Kingdom. The focusgroup participants represented a cross-section ofindustries and company sizes, including govern-ment and military, and all were director-level andabove in their positions.

The top five global business issues that emergedfrom this effort may be found in Table 1.

In a separate AchieveGlobal online survey withbusiness leaders in the United States, four of thetop five business issues listed in Table 1 (thoseshaded) were also top priorities of that sample.

The business climate of the twenty-first centurywill undoubtedly be classified as a time of greatchallenge. The future, analysts and opinionleaders report, will bring even more uncertaintyas we all adapt to this “new world.”

Yet, despite contemporary events, business leadersin the United States and the United Kingdomcontinue to be focused on core issues that drivebusiness survival and growth. Traditionalconcerns associated with remaining competitivesuch as shifting gears in a changing marketplace,attaining greater margins of profit with decliningrevenues, and the daily delivery of solid customerservice, along with maintaining quality controlcarry on as top concerns for many organizations.

CRITICAL SKILL SETS THROUGH THE EYES OFSENIOR LEADERS

In the business issue research study, AchieveG-lobal also asked the participating seniormanagers to think about critical skill sets orcompetencies they believed were most needed bythemselves and their peers to meet or overcomethe challenges of their top business issues. Thetop five skill sets that emerged from this effortare (Table 2):

In a time with rapidly changing markets, contin-uous movement of targets, and unforeseen obsta-cles appearing daily, leaders – now more thanever – need to have the skills necessary to maptheir way through a maze of issues and dilemmas.

The senior managers placed the highest emphasison the communication skill set and believedmany attributes were vital to success, including:

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TOP FIVE SKILL SETS

Communication skillsStrategic skills

Problem solving skillsTechnical skills5

Decision-making skills

5. An “umbrella” term that encompasses non-soft skills content areas such as personal computing, software and hardware; enterprise-specific (e.g., company policies,processes, procedures); profession-specific (e.g., CPA, engineer); financial (e.g., reading a P&L or U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 10K or other managementreport with financial data); project management; sales, and marketing.

Table 1

Table 2

“You have to know your environment.Our greatest denominator for successover the past 15 years was our willingness to change. If we hadn’t,we’d be like several of our competitorswho are no longer in business becausethey refused to change.”

– Director of Transportation, AutomotiveParts Manufacturer/ Distributor

TOP FIVE BUSINESS ISSUES

Surviving in a changing economy and marketplace

Operating at more profitable levels

Daily delivery of customer service

Meeting the demands of owners and stakeholders

Maintaining quality control

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■ Being perceptive to the audience and tailoringthe message accordingly, while simultane-ously remaining self-aware of one’s own bodylanguage and mannerisms in delivering themessage.

■ Listening to what the audience and othershave to say. Often, the senior managerssuggested, managers will hear, but fail tolisten to what peers, direct reports, superiors,and clients are saying, and that can hurtacross a number of lines, internally and exter-nally.

■ Sharing information to empower teams andto build credibility and loyalty. Openlysharing information, such as financialperformance, can make a significant differ-ence in creating high performance teams,especially during tentative or challengingtimes.

■ Equally important to sharing information, thesenior managers repeatedly stressed the needto share with teams and others the “why.”The senior managers believed that explainingthe reasons why a decision was made (or notmade) was critical to further building under-standing, credibility, and overall cultures oftrust.

Leader communication has long demonstrateditself as a critical factor in worker motivation andperformance and has great potential to aidorganizations in their quest for committed

employees. The need for committed employees iscritical due to our shifting business environment,which seems to be placing greater premiums onincreased productivity and profitability toachieve competitive advantage.6

High levels of employee loyalty have been linkedto an estimated 11 percent boost in productivity.Commitment issues also explain more than 34percent of employee turnover. And this outcomecan cost organizations an estimated 100 to 150percent of the departing worker’s annual salary.Furthermore, loyal workers enhance an organiza-tion’s reputation in the marketplace and this alsohelps to recruit better employees. Employeecommitment is one of the most important meas-ures of leader success. Worker commitment reapsbenefits far beyond improved organizationalperformance.7

Strategic skills, the managers believed, wereimportant not only in the visionary sense, butalso in a practical and tactical context. Theirprevailing opinion was that executives truly setthe organizational vision and mission. Seniormanagers, they believed, have to understandthose goals so they are able to develop their owndepartment or division-wide strategies to supportthe larger organization’s objectives. In addition,they believed their role was to continuouslyremind direct reports and delivery-line staff oftheir individual roles in meeting overall organiza-tional success.

“I’m in a position where I’m over the production staff, the mechanics, the electrical people, the instrument peopleand all of those folks have to give mefeedback. Communication is of the utmostimportance to solve problems expeditiously. Time is money if we have a machine down.”

– Production Manager, Juice Company

6. Mayfield, Jacqueline, and Mayfield, Milton. “Leader Communication Strategies Critical to Improving Employee Commitment.” American Business Review. June, 2002. 7. Ibid.

“When we were working on getting ourworkforce stabilized, we did employeesurveys and found that communicationwas our biggest animal. The more wecommunicated, the more engaged our employees became, and the higher theproductivity became, and believe it or not,the better our financials became.”

– HR Manager, Manufacturer

Daily decisions need to be made and problemsresolved. The participating managers stronglybelieved that decision-making skills andproblem-solving skills were also critical forsenior managers. And the managers were carefulto note that decision making and problem solvingare two unique skill sets.

With respect to problem-solving skills, themanagers believed that a model problem solvercan sift through information overload or anumber of issues and emotions to identify thebase issue and then develop solutions for poten-tial implementation. This skill, they agreed,requires taking the base problem down to smallerparts for more effective resolution and manage-ment. For the most part, it was held that problemsolving is more of a team oriented exercise thandecision making.

Decision-making skills were considered theability to choose an option with the bestoutcomes for all parties, including having thewherewithal to foresee the impact of a decisionon another party, directly or indirectly affected. Itwas agreed that most decisions are made onlimited information. Moreover, it was perceivedthat a good decision maker has the confidenceand self-esteem to assume an unpopular stancefor the greater good of the organization. Onesenior manager noted that her organizationwould call an effective decision maker a “truebeliever.” The prevailing opinion of the managerswas that senior managers are more apt to becharged with decision-making responsibilities asthe context of the decision may have widespreadimplications related to policy or strategy.

Research has shown that employee loyalty,morale, productivity, and satisfaction are greatlyinfluenced by a manager’s interpersonal skillsand technique. To remain competitively viable, itis crucial that senior managers adapt skills thatcommit to sharing, listening, and directing.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS AND TODAY'S BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

So what does this mean?

Consider the business issue, “surviving in achanging economy and marketplace,” which mayinclude a period marked by recession-like pres-sures such as reduced spending, labor reductions,increased costs, lower profits, and contractingand shifting markets.

To survive these conditions, organizations mustdevelop and execute any number of strategicalternatives. For example, some organizationsmay reposition themselves by promoting theircustomer service orientation and/or makingthemselves the lowest cost provider within themarket. Other organizations may send seniorleaders to the field to articulate a clear strategicvision that rallies the team around a commonfocus during tentative times – all in an effort tokeep employee commitment up and productionon track. Some organizations will focus onlowering and controlling the costs of customerand employee retention to weather the storm. Yetothers may promote teamwork and securesystems that support the people who interactwith customers.

Each of these strategic alternatives comes withsignificant human considerations and challenges.For example, effectively leveraging the contribu-tions of all team members in light of rightsizingactivities requires a number of critical leadershipskills.

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“The real skill is knowing when you haveenough information to make a decision because the chance of you having 100 percentis nil. Can you make it at 50 percent or do youneed 60 percent? Knowing when you haveenough information to make it is the skill.”

– Administrative Manager, Municipal Government

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Likewise, successfully meeting goals, financial orotherwise, in light of constant restructuring andorganization-wide changes, requires critical lead-ership skills that will maintain morale during thetough times, keep operations at peak level inspite of lower headcount, and facilitate theacceptance of change to remain competitive.

Consider another business issue, “maintainingquality control.” Customers and shareholders areonce again expressing a preference for qualitystandards and processes such as ISO 9000 regis-tration and Six Sigma.

To respond to this concern, organizations areexecuting a number of strategic alternatives. Forinstance, some organizations are attempting tounderstand and measure the value of qualitystandards. Others are establishing quality teamsfor analysis, planning, and implementation.Some organizations are establishing universalcorporate values, while others are participatingin formal registration or qualification programsand processes.

Once again each of these strategies comes withsome human considerations. For example, identi-fying and recognizing employees who identifyways to build quality at the source or achievequality goals may be an obstacle for leaders nottrained or experienced at delivering recognition.Additional challenges may arise in terms ofperformance development – specifically, in build-ing empowered teams to solve problems or devel-oping individuals to be effective problem solvers.

In each of these situations, senior leaders mustwork with other individuals and support teams.They must exhibit strong interpersonal skills.

Remember people deliver results. And to accom-plish the objectives, leaders must execute acombination of interpersonal skills that willdevelop and maintain employee buy-in to thegoals and incessantly improve morale andproductivity to remain with and ahead of thecompetition.

CONCLUSION

Regardless of the state of the economy or currentworld events, today’s business leaders continue tobe responsible for translating strategies to thetactical level. They must direct the practices andprocesses that support and develop competentand confident individuals. Development thatrecognizes and helps senior leaders shape andreinforce desirable individual behaviors trans-lates into measurable organizational advantagessuch as superior customer service, greaterproductivity and profitability, and uplifted teammorale.

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ABOUT THE RESEARCH

Between December 27, 2002 and January 6,2003, the AchieveGlobal research teamconducted an online survey on business issuesand skill sets with a random sample of businessleaders in the United States. A total of 373respondents completed the survey, of which 125were executive managers (e.g., vice president, C-level), while the balance represented othermanagement ranks. The margin of error is ± 5percentage points at the 95 percent confidencelevel.

Throughout November and December 2002, theAchieveGlobal research team conducted focusgroups in Omaha, Nebraska; Tampa, Florida;and London, United Kingdom. The audience foreach session was director level and above. Topicsincluded the identification and definition of keybusiness issues and the competencies required inmeeting or overcoming the challenges of thosebusiness issues. In total, nearly 60 individualsparticipated in the groups.

The AchieveGlobal research team conducted anonline leadership survey October 31 throughNovember 21, 2002 in which 747 personsresponded. The survey re-assessed the presenceof critical leadership behaviors in the globalworkplace. The survey effort included a randomsample of workers in the United States, asubsample of U.S. AchieveGlobalgovernment/military clients, and a randomsample of workers in the United Kingdom.Ninety-five (95) percent of the total sample wasemployed full-time, 40 or more hours per weekwhile five percent were employed part-time, 20hours or more per week. Thirty-two (32) percentof the total sample represented an executivemanagement position or a position of vice presi-dent to CEO. Survey results are ± 5 percentagepoints at the 95 percent confidence level.

Additionally a number of published articles,research reports, and books were reviewed andconsulted, including American Business Review,Government Executive, Harvard Business

Review, Personnel Psychology, Supervision, andassorted works by Stephen Zaccaro, includingThe Nature of Organizational Leadership:Understanding the Performance ImperativesConfronting Today’s Leaders and The Nature ofExecutive Leadership: A Conceptual and Empir-ical Analysis of Success.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Keith Malo is research manager with theAchieveGlobal research team. He brings 12 yearsof supplier-side research experience to AchieveG-lobal. Keith’s research career began with the full-service market research firm National ResearchCorporation. Over ten years with NationalResearch he held a number of operations andclient service positions, which included thedesign, management, and execution of variousresearch projects, quantitative and qualitative,utilizing an assortment of methodologies. Hiscareer continued with Sterling Research Group,Inc., a full-service market research firm, where heserved as a client services manager. In addition tohis management experience with both firms,Keith has been a research consultant to a numberof clients representing segments within thehealthcare, hospitality/lodging, and entertain-ment industries. With AchieveGlobal, Keithmanages a number of product and marketresearch projects. He has authored and co-authored a number of articles and has presentedresearch findings at professional conferences.Keith has a B.A. (political science) from theUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is a memberof the American Marketing Association and theMarketing Research Association. Keith is a direc-tor-at-large on the board of directors of theMRA’s Florida chapter.

Chris Blauth is senior product manager for lead-ership with AchieveGlobal. Since joining theAchieveGlobal product management team, Chrishas been responsible for maximizing revenue fornumerous products through the creation andexecution of product management strategy. Healso guides the organization to develop andmaintain products that meet the training

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industry’s current and future needs. Chris’ recentaccomplishments include launching an asynchro-nous Web-based tool, designed to reinforce skillstaught in AchieveGlobal’s flagship sales programProfessional Selling SkillsTM, and trainingprograms addressing competitive selling andsales presentations. Chris has also facilitatedAchieveGlobal’s popular sales performance andleadership courses. Prior to joining AchieveG-lobal, Chris spent seven years with LeicaMicrosystems, Inc., holding financial analyst andproduct manager positions. Chris earned a B.S.(accounting and finance) from the University atBuffalo and an M.B.A. in marketing from Cani-sius College. Chris is a member of Beta GammaSigma Honor Society and the American Manage-ment Association.

ABOUT ACHIEVEGLOBAL

AchieveGlobal is the world leader in helpingorganizations translate business strategies intobusiness results by developing the skills andperformance of their people. We are a singleresource for aligning employee performance withorganizational strategy through training andconsulting solutions in sales performance,customer service, leadership, and teamwork.

With offices throughout North America and apresence on every continent, we serve more than70 countries and offer programs and services inmore than 40 languages and dialects. We contin-ually adapt and translate our programs and serv-ices to meet the needs of global cultures.