Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe FBPsSProfessor of Leadership, University of Bradford School of Management& Chief Executive, Real World Group

The PPMA Annual ConferenceThe Hilton London MetropoleMarch 23rd 2010

The Public Sector Workforce Skills Challenge for the next decade –

Facing up to the public sector recession

The challenges…

To maximise the potential of the talent that resides within our organisation

To build leadership capacity

To create a culture in which supports learning, innovation, and constant improvement

To build highly resilient & adaptable teams with high ‘readiness for change’

To ensure high productivity will be sustained

Leadership is about creating cultures that liberate …

Intellectual capital

Emotional Capital

Social Capital

Our potential

Our

Potential

This will only happen if our approach to leadership…

• Increases every individual’s effectiveness

without damaging their..

• Motivation

• Well-being

Key to success?

Engaging staff!

Engagement Is…..

‘Engagement is a positive attitude held by the employee towards the organisation and its

values’

‘which affects the extent to which individuals put discretionary effort into their work’

IES (2004). The Drivers of Employee Engagement

Engagement is good for staff

Wellbeing and health (Sonnentag, 2003); reduced burnout (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)

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

Profitability (Towers Perrin, 2006; Watson Wyatt, 2006; Sirota Survey, 2005)

Safety (Harter et al., 2002)

Good news…

60% believe they can give more!2 barriers…

their boss

the culture

The role of leadership and culture in increasing engagement & performance

VISION

PerformanceOutputs

(High quality services)

Resources

PeopleKSA comp

Experience

Potential

+

Job Satisfaction

Motivation

Commitment

‘Engagement’

LEADERSHIP

Our Vision

CULTURE

The Engaging Transformational Leadership Model

ENGAGING INDIVIDUALS

ENGAGING ETHICAL VALUES

Being Honest & Consistent

Acting with Integrity

Showing Genuine Concern

Being Accessible

Enabling

Encouraging Questioning

ENGAGING THE ORGANISATION

Supporting a Developmental Culture

Inspiring Others

Focusing Team Effort

Being Decisive

ENGAGING ALL STAKEHOLDERS

Building Shared Vision

Networking

Resolving Complex Problems

Facilitating Change Sensitively

‘Engaging’ TLQ™ Dimensions

‘Engaging’ leadership principles

Leader as servant and partner

Leadership is a social process (‘ubuntu’)

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

The impact of TLQ engagement scales on staff in local government (N = 4,000)

Competencies & leadership

… being competent is necessary……but not sufficient, for effective leadership

Relationship between Competencies & Leadership

Degree of Competence

Degree to which Engaging

A

B C

Targets or engagement?

C.I.A.

Does engaging leadership work?

1 year

Time 1

Leadership Culture of teams (n=46)

Time 2

Productivity

Morale

Well-being

Controlled for contextual variables

=how competent

=how engaging

x

A Culture of ‘Engaging with Others’

• Feeling empowered by being trusted to take decisions

• Feeling actively supported in developing one’s strengths

• Believing people were willing to listen to ideas

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

• Feeling all staff were involved in developing the vision

• Feeling involved in determining how to achieve the vision

• High use of face-to-face communication

Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. (2008). ‘Engaging leadership: Creating organisations that maximise the potential of their people’. London: CIPD.

Lessons from High Performing Teams

• Engaged important stakeholders

• Shared vision of high quality customer-centred services

• Clarity of desired outcomes – stretch goals

• Leadership is distributed

• Learning organisation culture – innovative & adaptable

• Culture of high levels of social support

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.

Lessons from successful organisational transformations

• Clear and Informed Vision

• Planning for transformations: - Set clear and significant stretch goals

• Engaging for success: - Engage staff early - Create large-scale collaboration across the organisation - Ensure front-line staff own the change process

• Communicate, communicate, communicate

Creating organizational transformations: McKinsey Global Survey Results. MacKinsey Quarterly, September, 2008

Leadership for the future…• Ethical – ‘the greater good’

• Self-aware

• Comfortable with sharing power

• Make connections – meaning/emotions/people

• Leaders as ‘ideas brokers’

• ‘disruptive leadership’

• Create ‘communities of interest’ creating social capital

• ‘Leadership as collective genius’ by creating the conditions that encourage, facilitate, and sustain a high level of innovation & collective learning, and genuine partnership

10 Lessons from supporting cultural transformation

• Top management buy-in is crucial: build a strong evidence-based business case; provide data

• Only start if organisation is ready, and committed

• Transparency - Engage the whole organisation

• Diagnose what interventions required where

• Relate everything to the org’s objectives & the values

• Engage front-line early & support middle managers

• Build human capital & social capital

• Ensure all HR processes consistent with the aim

• Evaluate ROI – share learning

• Celebrate success & publicise it!

Finally…

If you want to change the culture…

Just change the conversations..

Contact

beverly.alimo-metcalfe@realworld-group.com

Real World GroupStewart House

St Andrew’s CourtLeeds LS3 1JY

UK

www.realworld-group.com