NE Leading Improvement for Health & Well-Being Programme 2011

Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe CPsychol. FBPsSEmeritus Professor of Leadership Studies, University of LeedsProfessor of Leadership, University of Bradford School of ManagementChief Executive, Real World Group

September 7th 2011

© Real World Group 2011www.realworld-group.com

Leadership, culture, and transformation

The implications for senior managers

Content

What form of leadership is needed in Public Services to deal with the changes they are facing?

What’s the research evidence of its validity?

How do we combine this form of leadership with achieving targets/goals, while being true to our values?

How can we embed this in the culture of our organisation and ensure sustainability?

What are the implications for us as senior leaders?

Key people / organisational challenges

Need to achieve more with less Increase effectiveness Sustain motivation Maintain wellbeing Cope with constant change Continually adapt & innovate to maintain quality

A few words about…

Stress

The bad news…

The good news…

Leadership is changing direction…

Visionary

Charismatic

Transformational

Engagement is key

‘Engagement is a positive attitude held by theIndividual towards the organisation and its vision &values’

‘which affects the extent to which individuals putdiscretionary effort into their work… for the benefit of the organisation’

‘...which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee’

Based on: Robinson, D., Parryman, S. & Hayday, S. (2004). The Drivers of Employee Engagement. Sussex: Institute for Employment Studies.

Engagement is good for people

Wellbeing and health (Maslach et al., 2001; Bakker et al., 2005)

Reduced depressive symptoms, somatic complaints and sleep disturbances(Hallberg & Schaufeli, 2006)

Higher self efficacy and commitment(Salanova, Agut & Peiro, 2005; Schaufeli et al., 2002)

Engagement is good for organisations

Customer satisfaction (Corrigan et al., 2000; Harter et al., 2002)

Retention/turnover(CIPD, 2004; Gallup,2004; Watson Wyatt, 2005)

Profitability (Watson Wyatt, 2006; Sirota Survey Intelligence, 2005)

Productivity (Alimo-Metcalfe et al., 2009; Judge et al., 2001; Harter et al., Geyery, 1998)

Safety (Harter et al., 2002)

The Model of Engaging Transformational Leadership

ENGAGING ETHICAL VALUES

Being Honest & Consistent

Acting with Integrity

TLQ™ Dimensions

LEADING INDIVIDUALS

PERSONAL QUALITIES &

VALUES

Being Honest & Consistent

Acting with Integrity

Showing Genuine Concern

Being Accessible

Enabling

Encouraging Questioning

LEADING THE ORGANISATION

Supporting a Developmental Culture

Inspiring Others

Focusing Team Effort

Being Decisive

MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER

Building Shared Vision

Networking

Resolving Complex Problems

Facilitating Change Sensitively

© Real World Group 2011

‘Engaging’ leadership principles

Leader as servant and partner

Leadership is a social process and is distributed

Leadership is about connecting people and ideas - through a shared vision - co-ownership - co- design, and - empowering partners in implementation

The impact of engaging leadership on staff in the public sector (n = 5,100)

Leadership, culture and changeBuilding capacity for sustainability

Embedding a culture of engaging Leadership

Leadership & Culture: the inextricable link

The single most important responsibility of a

leader…

Schein, E.H. (2010). Organisational Culture & Leadership. London, Wiley

Does engaging leadership predict productivity?

Controlled for contextual variables

Alimo-Metcalfe et al., (2007) ‘The impact of leadership factors in implementing change`. SDO, Project 22/2002.

1 yearTime 1

Leadership Culture of teams (n=46)

Time 2

Productivity

Morale

Well-being= how competent

= how engaging

x

A longitudinal study…

The Culture of High Performing Teams

Clear roles, responsibilities, and goals All felt involved in developing the vision All contributed to determining how to achieve the

vision High degree of autonomy & self-efficacy – feeling

empowered; trusted to take decisions

People felt actively supported in their development

People experienced high levels of social support

Time was made to discuss problems & issues, despite the busy schedule

High use of face-to-face communication

Source: Alimo-Metcalfe et al., (2008). ‘The impact of engaging leadership on performance, attitudes to work and well-being at work: a longitudinal study’. The Journal of Health Organization & Management, 22, 6, 586-598.

Lessons from high-performing teams…

Engaged key stakeholders from the outset

Built a shared vision of a high quality service

Everyone involved in identifying clear outcomes – ‘stretch goals’

Practised distributed, non-hierarchical leadership

‘Learning’ culture – innovative & adaptive; high RfC

Created a supportive, appreciative, psychologically ‘safe’ culture

Shared ownership of challenges & successes

Source: Alimo-Metcalfe et al., (2007) ‘The impact of leadership factors in implementing change in complex health and social care environments: Department of Health NHS SDO, Project 22/2002..

Implications for leading change

Change initiatives: Clarify the reasons and desired outcomes, not the detailed instructions as to how it should be achieved – be honest with non-negotiables

Build a shared vision and engage all critical stakeholders

Engage all in identifying how the change will be achieved in a way that is consistent with the values

Celebrate success; maximise learning; disseminate this knowledge; value contributions

Organisations need…

To foster a culture in which learning is maximised

Leaders with exceptional relationship skills, to form effective teams, managing diverse teams collaboratively; build more effective genuine partnerships

To recognise that leadership is a shared process

To be comfortable with replacing rules and regulations with common purpose, values and principles

Experiences of culture differ…

Summary of data collected from the ‘Leadership Culture & Change Inventory (LCCi)’™

© Real World Group

Commitment to actionWhat am I going to do?

Some final reflections…

How engaging am I?

What can I do to support my colleagues and the rest of the organisation to create a culture of engagement?

What will I do differently today to be more effective?

How will I know I am making an effective and sustainable difference?

Who will do this if we don’t?

Background reading:Research Insight report for CIPD

Authors:

Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. (2008)

Available free from www.realworld-group.com

Other suggested readings

Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, Juliette. (2011). 'Leadership in public and 3 rd sector organisations'. In J. Storey (ed.).(2nd edn) Leadership in Organisations: Current Issues & Key Trends, . London: Routledge.

Alimo-Metcalfe, B., Alban-Metcalfe, J., Bradley, M., Mariathasan, J. & Samele, C. (2008). ‘The impact of engaging leadership on performance, attitudes to work and well-being at work: a longitudinal study’. The Journal of Health Organization & Management, 22, 6, 586-598.

Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Bradley, M. (2009). ‘Darzi and leadership – it’s too important to get wrong this time’. In Clinical Leadership Journal, 2, 1, 3-11.

Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Bradley, M. (2008). ‘Cast in a new light’. People Management, January 24th, 38-41.