why should anyone be led by you

7/21/2019 Why Should Anyone Be Led by You

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Why should anyone be led by you?

What do effective leaders do?

• They selectively show their weaknesses. By exposing some vulnerability,

they reveal their approachability and humanity.

• They rely heavily on intuition to gauge the appropriate timing and course

of their actions. Their ability to collect and interpret soft data helps them

know just when and how to act.

• They manage employees with something we call tough empathy.

Inspirational leaders empathize passionatelyand realisticallywith

people, and they care intensely about the work employees do.

• They reveal their differences. They capitalize on what!s uni"ue about

themselves.

WHY SHOULD ANYONE BE LED BY YOU?

If you want to silence a room of executives, try this small trick. #sk them, $%hy

would anyone want to be led by you&' we(ve asked just that "uestion for the past

ten years while consulting for dozens of companies in )urope and the *+.

%ithout fail the response a sudden, stunned hush. #ll you can hear are knees

knocking.

)xecutives have good reason to be scared. ou can(t do anything in business

without followers, and followers in these -empowered( times are hard to find. +o

executives had better know what it takes to lead effectively they must find ways

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theories of the past century to develop our own working model of effective

leadership. 98or more on the history of leadership thinking, see the side bar

$leadership4 a small history of a big topic.': +econd, as consultants, we have

tested our theory with thousands of executives in workshops worldwide and

through observations with dozens of clients. #nd third, as executives ourselves,

we have vetted our theories in our own organizations.

+ome surprising results have emerged from our research. %e learned that

leaders need all four "ualities to be truly inspirational4 one or two "ualities are

rarely sufficient. /eaders who shamelessly promote their differences but who

conceal their weaknesses, for instances, are hugely ineffectivenobody wants a

perfect leader. %e also learned that the interplay between the four "ualities is

crucial. Inspirational leaders tend to mix and match the "ualities in order to find

the right style for the right moment. ;onsider humor, which can be very effective

as a difference. *sed properly, humor can communicate a leader(s charisma. But

when a leader(s sensing skills are not working, timing can be off and

inappropriate humor can make someone seem like a joker or worse a fool.

;learly in this case, being an effective leader means knowing what difference to

use and when. #nd that(s no mean feat, especially when the end results must be

authenticity.

%hen leaders reveal their weaknesses, they show us who they arewarts and all.

They may mean admitting that they are irritable on 2onday mornings, that they

are somewhat disorganized, or even rather shy. +uch admissions work because

people need to see leaders own up to some flaw before they participate willingly

in an endeavor. )xposing a weakness establishes trust and thus helps folks on

board. Indeed if executives try to communicate that they are perfect at everything

there will be no need for anyone to help them with anything. They wouldn(t need

followers. They(ll signal that they can do it all themselves.

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Beyond creating trust and the collaborative atmosphere, communicating a

weakness also builds solidarity between followers and leaders. ;onsider a senior

executive we know at a <lobal 2anagement ;onsultancy. =e agrees to give a

major presentation despite being badly affiliated by physical shaking caused by

medical condition. The otherwise highly critical audience greeted this courageous

display of weakness with a standing ovation. By giving the talk, he had dared to

say, $I am just like you imperfect.' +haring an imperfection is so effective

because it underscores a human beings authenticity. >ichard Branson, the

founder of ?irgin, is a brilliant businessman and a hero in the *nited @ingdom.

9Indeed, the virgin brand is so linked to him personally that succession is a

significant issue.: Branson is particularly effective at communicating his

vulnerability. =e is ill at ease and fumbles incessantly when interviewed in public.

It(s a weakness, but it(s >ichard Branson. That(s what revealing a weakness is all

about4 showing your followers that you are genuine and approachablehuman

and humane.

#nother advantage to exposing a weakness is that it offers a leader valuable

protection. =uman nature being what it is, if you don(t show some weakness then

observers invent one for you. ;elebrities and politicians have always known this.

6ften, they deliberately give the public something to talk about, knowing full well

that if they don(t, they newspapers will invent something even worse. Arincess

iana may have aired her eating disorder in public but she died with her

reputation intact. Indeed, even enhanced.

Sensin can create !roble"s# $n "a%in fine &ud"ents about ho' far they

can o leaders ris% losin their follo'ers#

That said, the most effective leaders know that exposing a weakness must be

done carefully. They own up to selective weaknesses. @nowing which weakness

to disclose is a highly honed art. The golden rule is never to expose a weakness

that will be seen as a fatal flawand perhaps even several of them. Aaradoxically,

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this admission will help divert attention away from major weaknesses.

#nother wellknown strategy is to pick a weakness that can in some ways be

considered strength, such as being a workaholic. %hen leaders expose these

limited flaws, people won(t see much of anything and little harm will come to

them. There is an important caveat, however3 if the leader(s vulnerability is not

perceived to be genuine, he won(t gain anyone(s support. Instead he will open

himself up to derision and scorn. 6ne scenario we saw repeatedly in our

research was one in which a ;)6 feigns absentmindedness to conceal his

inconsistency or even dishonesty. This is a sure way to alienate followers who

will remember accurately what happened or what was said.

Beco"e a Sensor

Inspirational leaders rely heavily on their instincts to know when to reveal a

weakness or a difference. %e call them good situation sensors, and by that we

mean that they can collect and interpret soft data. They can sniff out the signals

in the environment and sense what(s going on without having anything spelled

out for them

8ranz =umer, the ;)6 of >oche, is a classic sensor. =e is highly accomplished

in detecting shifts in climate and ambience4 he can read subtle cues and sense

underline currents of opinion that elude less perceptive people. =umer says he

developed this skill as a tour guide in his midtwenties when he was responsible

for groups of C11 or more. $There was no salary, only tips,' he explains. $Aretty

soon, I knew how to hone in on particular groups. )ventually I could predict

within C1D how much I could earn from any particular group.' Indeed, great

sensors can easily gauge unexpressed feelings4 they can very accurately judge

whether relationships are working or not. The process is complex, and as anyone

who has ever encountered it knows, the results are impressive.

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;onsider a human resources executive we worked with in a multinational

entertainment company. 6ne day he got news of a distribution problem in Italy

that had the potential to affect the company(s worldwide operations. #s he was

thinking about how to hide the information temporarily from thee Aaris;)6 while

he worked on a solution, the phone rang. It was the ;)6 saying $Tell me,

>oberto, %hat the hell(s going on 2ilan& The ;)6 was already aware that

something was wrong. =ow& =e had his networks, of ;ourse. But in large part,

he was gifted at detecting information that wasn(t aimed at him. =e could read

the silences and pick up on non verbal cues in the organization.

Eot surprisingly, the most impressive business leaders we have worked with are

all very refined sensors,

(our )o!ular *yths of Leadershi!

E+E,YONE -AN BE LEADE,. Eot true. 2any executives don(t have the self

knowledge or the authenticity necessary for /eadership. #nd +elf @nowledge

and authenticity are only part of the e"uation. Individuals must also want to be

leaders, and many talented employees are not interested in shouldering that

responsibility. 6thers prefer to devote more time to their private lives than to their

work, after all, there is more to life than work, and work, after all, there is mote to

life than work, and more to work than being a boss.

)EO)LE WHO /E0 0O 0HE 0O) A,E LEADE,S. Eot Eecessarily. 6ne of the

most persistent misperceptions is that people in leadership positions are leaders.

But people who make it to the top may have done so because political acumen,

not necessarily because of true leadership "uality. %hat(s more, real leaders are

found all over the organization, from the executive suite to the shop floor. By

definition, leaders are simply people who have followers, and rank doesn(t have

much to do with that. )ffective military organization like the *.+ navy has long

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realized the importance of developing leaders throughout the organization.

LEADE,S DEL$+E, BUS$NESS ,ESUL0S. Eot always. If results were always

a matter of good leadership, picking leaders would be easy. In every case, the

best strategy would be to go after people in companies with the best results. But

clearly, things are not that simple. Businesses in "uasi2onopolistic industries

can often do very well with competent management rather than great leadership.

)"ually, some wellled businesses do not necessarily produce results,

particularly in the short term.

LEADE,S A,E /,EA0 -OA-HES. >arely. # whole cottage industry has grown

up around the teaching that good leaders ought to be good coaches. But that

thinking assumes that a single person can both inspire the troops and impart

technical skills. 6f course, it(s possible that great leaders may also be great

coaches. But we see that only occasionally. 2ore typical are leaders whose

distinctive strengths lie in their ability to excite others through their vision rather

than through their coaching talents.

0,U0H

),A-0$-E 0OU/H E*)A0HY

*nfortunately there(s altogether too much hype nowadays about the idea that

leaders must show concern for their teams. There(s nothing worse than seeing a

manager return from the latest interpersonalskills training program with

$;oncern' for others. >eal leaders don(t need a training program to convince

their employees that they care. >eal leaders empathize fiercely with the people

they lead. They also care intensely about the work their employees do. %e do

not believe that the empathy of inspirational leaders is the soft kind described in

so much of the management literature. 6n the contrary, we feel that real leaders

manage through a uni"ue approach we call tough empathy. Tough empathy

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means giving people what they need and not want they want. #t its best, tough

empathy balances respect for the individual and for the task at hand. #ttending to

both however isn(t easy, especially when the business is in survival mode. #t

such times, caring leaders have to give selflessly to the people and know when

to pull back.

6ne final point about though empathy3 those more apt to use it are people who

really care about something. #nd when people care deeply about somethingany

thingthey(re more likely to show their true selves. They will not only

communicate authenticity, which is the precondition for leadership, but they will

show that they are doing more than just playing a role. Aeople do not commit to

executives who merely live up to the obligation of their jobs. They want more.

They want someone who cares passionately about the people and the workFust

as they do.

DA,E 0O BE D$((E,EN0

#nother "uality of inspirational leaders is that they capitalize on what-s uni"ue

about themselves. In fact, using this difference to great advantage is the most

important "uality of the four we have mentioned. The most effective leaders

deliberately used differences to keep a social distance. )ven as they are drawing

their followers close to them, inspirational leaders signal their separateness.

6ften, leader will show his difference by having a distinctly different dress style or

physical appearance but typical he will move on to distinguish himself through

"ualities like imagination, loyalty, expertise, or even a handshake. #nything can

be a difference, but it is important to communicate it. 2ost people, however, are

hesitant to communicate what(s uni"ue about them, and it can take years for

them to be fully aware of what sets them apart. This is a serious disadvantage in

a world where networking is so critical and teams need to be formed overnight.

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+ome leaders know exactly how to talk advantage of their differences. There are

other people who aren(t as aware of their difference but still use them to great

effect. It also emerge in an interview that most leaders start off not knowing what

their difference are but eventually come to knowand use G them more effectively

over time. 2ost of the differences we have described are those that tend to be

apparent, either to the leader himself or to the colleagues around him. But there

are differences that are more subtle but still have very powerful effects.

Inspirational leaders use separateness to motivate others to perform better. They

recognize the fact that followers will push themselves if their leader just a little

aloof. /eadership, afterall, is not a popularity contest. 6ne danger, of course, is

that executives can over differentiate themselves in their determination to

express their separateness. Indeed some leaders loose contact with their

followers and doing so is fatal. 6nce they create too much distance, they stop

being good sensors and they loose they ability to identify and care.

LEADE,SH$) AND A-0$ON

#ll four of the "ualities described here are necessary for inspirational leadership,

but they cannot be used mechanically. They must become or must already be

part of an executive(s personality. That(s why they $receipe' business books often

fail. Eo one can imitate another leader. +o the challenge facing prospective

leaders is for them to be themselves, but with more skills. That can be done by

making yourself increasingly aware of the four leadership "ualities we described

and by manipulating these "ualities to come up with a personal style that works

for you. >emember, there is no universal formula, and what(s needed will vary

from context to context.

But of all the facets of leadership that one might investigate there are few as

difficult as understanding what it takes to develop leaders. The four leadership

are necessary first step. Taken together, they tell executives to be authentic. #s

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we counsel the executives we coach $be yourselvesmore G with skill'. There can

be no advice more difficult to follow than that.

E6T)+

0a%e Action.

If you simply ask yourself 9without any selfjudgment:, H%hy should anyone be

led by me&H, it!s a powerful "uestion that forces you to find some authentic

answers. #nd the answers you find must hold enough substance to command the

attention of a group of people in an organization or community group who are

placing their trust in you as the leader. %hat are your answers&

-haracter 1

• %ho am I& If I were to look in the dictionary under my name, what would it

say&

• %hat do I value& %hat do I believe in& Identify J key values that

represent what is most important to you in life

Strenths 2 Areas of -o"!etence1

• %hat makes me an effective leader& %hat are my areas of strength&

• =ow do I work best&

Wea%nesses 1

• %here do I need to grow&

Differences 1

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• %hat honestly sets me apart& %hat can I sincerely say I am uni"uely

good at&

• %hat can I contribute&

• %hat results can I deliver&

8aced with an avalanche of books and articles on leadership, how should an>5 manager make sense of them& #re there any principles of effectiveleadership worth learning, or are there merely some good stories about leadersthat you might adapt to your own situation& I believe the answer is that bothprinciples and stories can be useful, provided you have a framework ofinterpretation. %ithout that, the leadership literature is confusing and evencontradictory. The framework I use has two dimensions. They are the context andthe logic of leadership.

0he -onte3t of Leadershi!;ontext has to do with who is being led for what kind of work and in what kind oforganization. ;onsider the difference between a foreman of craftsmen on aconstruction job and an >5 project manager. I once asked a group ofbricklayers and masonry contractors to describe the ideal foreman. They allagreed that he demands high standards, and he can do the job himself. =eknows what each craftsman does best and puts people where they will be mosteffective. =e is clear about what he re"uires, and he listens and responds toworkers( ideas for improving productivity or making the workplace safer. If he hasa problem with someone, he takes that person aside and the criticism remainsprivate. =e is trusted because he keeps his word and trusts people until proved

wrong. Bricklayers follow this kind of foreman, he is therefore a leader. ;raftsmenwill come and work for him rather than someone who lacks these "ualities. Theywill work harder and smarter, which explains why his jobs are completed at alower cost and higher "uality than the average.

This same kind of leadership also works for foremen in most manufacturingplants, provided that the workers( jobs are clearly individualized. =owever, wherethe organization of work re"uires collaboration or teamwork, leaders needadditional skills. This is where organizational context makes a difference. #tToyota, team leaders are chosen because they create harmony in the group.They resolve conflicts as well as teach.

These skills get closer to what is re"uired from an >5 leader. But they are notenough. %hen I first studied technical companies in the K1s, >5 managerswere judged mostly on their technical competence. In the L1s, they had toimplement project management. In the M1s, teambuilding skills became essential.Eow, >5 leaders at companies like +hell or #T5T must also demonstratebusiness competence. Arojects have become business ventures. 8urthermore,unlike the craft or manufacturing foreman, there is no way that a project leader

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can do all the jobs as well as the teammembers who may come together fromdifferent disciplines. =e or she has to be able to integrate knowledge as well asresolve conflict and facilitate dialogue.

=owever, even an ideal mix of skills does not guarantee effective leadership. The

organizational context, its structure, reward systems and work processes caneither support or undermine leadership. 8or example, if teammembers arerewarded for their individual productivity and not team contribution, it becomesmuch harder for even the most skilled project leader to create teamwork.

8urthermore, even within the right context, the leadership skills that produceresults for product development may not be the ones needed at the strategiclevel of the company. #s I have pointed out in other articles 9$The Eew EewBoss.' Research Technology Management, Fanuary 8ebruary, 011C and$+uccessful /eaders )mploy +trategic Intelligence', RTM, 2ayFune,011C:innovative technology leaders may be low in people skills but high in

foresight, systems thinking, visioning, motivating and partnering. The mosteffective ones like Bill <ates of 2icrosoft and #ndy <rove of Intel partner withoperational leaders who have the skills they lack.

Loic of Leadershi!

The second dimension I consider is the logic of leadership. By that I mean thereasons why certain leadership traits or "ualities should be effective. 8orexample, why should empathy on the part of a leader get people to follow him,particularly if he is demanding a high level of performance. +uppose, one of yourdirect reports says he hasn(t done his work and feels bad about it. If youempathize with his guilty conscience, will that make him perform better& 6r will

you just be legitimizing a corrosive selfpity which may be undermining his selfconfidence.

2ore than empathy, a leader needs to understand the people he leads in termsof what motivates peak performance. This will likely be a combination of intrinsicmotives challenge, learning, meaningful projects and extrinsic motives money,recognition, opportunity to advance. It may also include coaching,encouragement and tough love.

#n article by >obert <offee and <areth Fones in the Harvard Business Review, $%hy +hould #nyone Be /ed by ou&' 9+eptember6ctober, 0111: maintains that

besides vision and energy, inspirational leaders share four other "ualities.

• 0hey selectively sho' their 'ea%nesses# By exposing somevulnerability, they reveal their approachability and humanity.

• 0hey rely heavily on intuition to aue the a!!ro!riate ti"in and

course of their actions# Their ability to collect and interpret soft datahelps them know just when and how to act.

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• 0hey "anae e"!loyees 'ith so"ethin 'e call touh e"!athy# Inspirational leaders empathize passionately and realistically withpeople, and they care intensely about the work employees do.

• 0hey reveal their differences# They capitalize on what(s uni"ue aboutthemselves.

But why should these "ualities make a leader inspiring& Take showing aweakness. The authors hedge their recommendation by noting that the leadershould reveal only a tangential weakness which might also divert attention frommajor weaknesses. =owever, I haven(t noticed inspirational business leaders likeFack %elch pointing up a personal vulnerability. <eorge %. Bush, a graduate ofthe =arvard Business +chool must have read this article, since he has beenpoking fun at himself for mangling the )nglish language. This has made himmore likeable, but hardly inspirational.

The other "ualities of using intuition, tough empathy and being oneself may or

may not contribute to being inspirational. They seem like good "ualities to have,but the authors give us anecdotes, not a compelling logic of why they wouldinspire followers.

# problem with principles based on anecdote is that you can usually find ananecdote with a counter example. In his commentaries on /ivy(s history of >ome,2achiavelli writing in the CNth century asked whether it was better for a leader tobe harsh or caring. =e described two >oman generals, one a harsh type like<eorge ;. Aatton, the other a more caring type like wight . )isenhower, both%orld %ar II #merican generals. %hich >oman general was more successful& Infact, says 2achiavelli, both were e"ually good at winning battles and gaining the

loyalty of their troops. The key was their consistency. They walked the talk andpeople knew what to expect from them.

0raits and Success

6ther theories of leadership are based on correlations between traits and somemeasure of success. These correlations can be statistically $significant', meaningthat there is only one chance in 01 that the correlation is due to chance alone,and yet explain only ten to 01 percent of the variance. 9To calculate the percentof the variance explained by a correlation, you s"uare the correlation, e.g. .J 0 O .CN or CND: In other words, the correlations may show there is some relationshipbetween, say, emotional intelligence and a particular measure of success, but

other factors such as context may provide much more of the explanation.

The correlation between certain traits and success may be strong in oneorganizational context but not in another. +omeone who is empathic and caringmay be effective managing a service organization like a hotel, restaurant, orsupermarket but not an innovative development team with a tight schedule thatmay re"uire someone more like <eneral Aatton who moved his troops day andnight through wintry weather to rescue a trapped army in the %orld %ar II Battle

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of the Bulge. Typically studies on leadership do not differentiate companiesaccording to the type of leader needed and whether they are referring to strategicor operational leadership.

0he Level 4 Leader

This is the case with Fim ;ollins( recent study called $/evel 7 /eadership '9Harvard Business Review, Fanuary 011C:. ;ollins maintains that the /evel 7leader who blends $extreme personal humility with intense personal will ' is thetype who best succeeds in leading a good company to greatness. These leadersput people before strategy. They create a culture of discipline, and ;ollinsmaintains that $when you have disciplined people, you don(t need hierarchy. ' Butnone of the examples ;ollins offers are highly innovative technology companies.They are companies that need discipline to cut costs, maintain efficiency, investin profitable products, and get rid of the unprofitable ones. Typically, they produceconsumer products like bathroom tissue and razor blades.

;ollins( /evel 7 leaders seem to be admirable individuals but none of them hasled companies like 2icrosoft, 6racle or #6/ which have been inspired by brilliantproductive narcissists. 9see my article $Earcissistic /eaders3 The Incredible Aros,the Inevitable ;ons, ' Harvard Business Review, Fanuary8ebruary 0111.: /evel7 leaders are more like %arren Buffet who has brilliantly invested in and runcompanies that re"uire a disciplined approach to value creation. 8urthermore,;ollins does not look for humble seeming ;)6s who have failed to transformtheir companies. I have seen a few. I(ve also seen some egotistic leaders whoare effective at presenting a humble face.

)erson and -onte3t

In selecting leaders, companies should be advised to focus on the whole personwithin a particular context. They should ask3 %hat kind of individual or team ofleaders are needed to fill roles in different parts of the organization& +ometimes,you find a gifted leader who does not "uite fit the role re"uirements as they havebeen designed. It may prove beneficial for everyone to build the role around theexceptional person. Aersonality "ualities such as humility and will power shouldalways be viewed not as isolated traits but as parts of a personality system thatshapes behavior in relation to values, type of intelligence and energy level. Butremember, the personality system is fully understood only within a larger contextincluding company culture, type of product and market conditions.

%ith this in mind, ask yourself what leadership role you should be performing.%hat do you need to develop in yourself to better fit that role& #nd does theorganizational system, including its structure, measurements and incentivessupport that role& #nd if not, initiate a dialogue about how to create greatersupport for your leadership effectiveness.

Can the leadership literature help? Yes, if you filter it through your organiational !onte"t

and !olle!t the nuggets# $ut %e&are of !orrelations that !lai' to %e s!ientifi!#

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(sy!hology, unli)e physi!s and !he'istry, is %ased on e"perien!e as &ell as o%ser*ation,

and 'easure'ents !an %e elusi*e# You !an learn %est fro' des!riptions and first person

a!!ounts if you understand their !onte"t and !an tra!e a !lear logi! %et&een prin!iplesand out!o'es# (sy!hology !an help to des!ri%e and understand leadership styles, %ut %y

itself, it does not e"plain leadership effe!ti*eness, and if follo&ed un!riti!ally, it !an %e

seriously 'isleading#

Issue M 9emailed version:, %eds 0K +eptember, 0111Made in New Zealand - twice winners of the America's u!

$I!m on the board of the Eew Pealand >ugby 8ootball *nion team, the All Blac%s. Iknow for a fact that there is no opposition as intimidating as your opponent!slegacy. %hen you play against the #Bs, you!re going up against a team that has aKJD win record over the past C1J years, the most sensational winning percentagein all of global sport. ou!re not just playing against the players on the current team

G you!re playing against all of the guys who ever put on that jersey.

$%e!ve just done a QC11 million deal with #didas to sponsor the #ll Blacks. #didasis doing the deal not because it wants to be associated with rugby but becauseusing the #ll Blacks builds its brand value by being associated with the team!slegacy, its tradition, and its history. #didas wants to be about authentic, competitivewarriors.

$These days, if you don!t have a past, then you need to create your own legendsand myths very fast. %e live in Internet years, so your culture can become alegendary, mythical thing in six months.'

"evin Ro#erts, "iwi $% of &aatchi &aatchi(rom Trust in the Future #y Alan M) *e##er

in (ast om!any no +, &e!tem#er ...

%elcome to issue nine of ED/E ($,S0, an email magazine dedicated to makingyou a better leader, by providing3 provocative thinking about what it means to be a leader the tools, techni"ues and bestpractices that drive leadership improvement

$n this issueWhy should anyone be led by you? /ey leadershi! s/illsNarrative 0ohn "otter tal/s to MB's &arah 1owell 5uic% case study to grow your com!any, leverage your leaders)ointers ma!!ing strategy, from the !eo!le who #rought you the #alancedscorecard2 disru!tive innovation in health care.,esources identifying and cultivating tomorrow's leaders, from A132 four

articles of the month, from MB 1ress)

This and all future issues only available by paid subscription. =ere are all the bac% issues on the su#scri#ersonly private page. =ere are our 'eb resources one of the world!s best completely free business excellenceweb sites. ;lick here to send us an email. To access Aortable ocument 8ormat 9.pdf: files you!ll need #dobe!sR free Acrobat6 ,eader .

Start In the +ep6ct 0111 Harvard Business ,evie', authors >obert <offee and<areth Fones asked !Why should anyone be led by you&! <reat way to still a

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room full of executives, apparently. #ll you can hear are the knees knocking. %hy&Eothing happens in business without followers, and followers in these empoweredtimes are hard to find.

+o if you!re a leader, or aspire to be 9or G hey, go easy on yourself G are failing tobe: you!d better know what it takes to lead effectively. 2ost don!t, <offee andFones say, and who can blame them. 8or one thing, they!re drowning in goodadvice G last year, more than 0,111 books on leadership were published.

+ure, everyone knows leaders need vision, energy, authority and strategicdirection, they say, but we!ve discovered that inspirational leaders also share fourunexpected "ualities3

0hey selectively sho' their 'ea%nesses G by revealing their humanity leadersinspire trust and collaboration. 6wning up to faults and failings means yourenemies are less likely to invent worse ones. But beware G don!t expose anythingthat will be seen as a fatal flaw. =ow about 9these guys are cynics: exposing aweakness that may also be a strength G like, you!re a workaholic& Be true tho Gmaking things up will sink your credibility. Aorkies always find you out.

0hey rely heavily on intuition for ti"in and the best course of action Gcollecting and interpreting soft data, inspirational leaders can sniff out the signals inthe environment and sense what!s going on without having anything spelled out forthem. 8ranz =umer, >oche ;)6 and onetime tour guide who learned his skillswhile surviving solely on tips4 >ay van +haik, =eineken ;)6 in the early M1s whocould read major shareholder 8reddie =eineken like a book, are two examples.Fust don!t get carried away G always test your intuition with a trusted advisor orteam member.

0hey "anae 'ith touh e"!athy G the soft stuff is hard, especially if it!s not thereal thing, <offee and Fones say, and there!s altogether too much hype aboutinterpersonalskills training and !concern! for others. Inspirational leaders practicetough empathy G giving people what they need, not what they want. The 2arine

;orps, 2c@insey G grow or go. But it!s tough to be tough, and choosing betweenthe best interests of the team and the corporation 9or the team and the customer: isnot always an easy call. But tough also means committed, and people respectcommitment and authenticity.

0hey reveal their differences G and capitalise on what!s uni"ue aboutthemselves. It may be as obvious as dress, style or an affectation, or a subtle asclass, culture or nationality. In your face, or rarely seen. 4ifference sets leadersapart.

#ll four "ualities are necessary for inspirational leadership, but must be a part ofhis or her personality. That!s why the leadership cook books fail, <offee and Fonessay. /eadership can!t be copied, it has to be learned, and it!s situational. Be

yourself, they say, but with great skill.

Sidebar 7 G four popular myths about leadership39C: everyone can #e a leader) Eot true G many executives don!t have the selfknowledge or authenticity. 2any don!t want to be. 2any don!t choose to be90: !eo!le who get to the to! are leaders) Eot necessarily G not everyone in aleadership position is a leader. They may be there for !political! reasons. #nd not allleaders are at the top. If they!re defined by followers, leaders can be anywhere9: leaders deliver results) Eot always G if results to leadership was a C to Crelationship, picking leaders would be easy. +ometimes, results are down to luck or

16



monopoly. +ometimes, organisations suffer for reasons that have nothing to dowith leadership9J: leaders are great coaches. >arely G even though there!s a cottage industrybased on this teaching. ;an happen, but it!s not common

Sidebar 8 G can female leaders be true to themselves&<ender can be a good or a bad, <offee and Fones say. %omen are prone tostereotyping G because they!re a minority in most management suites. 2any try toavoid labelling by disappearing G dressing and talking like men G but that!scounterproductive because it also masks leadership characteristics. 6rganising isanother tactic G campaigning for rights, opportunities, relativities. But most have towork too hard just to survive to have spare capacity G or the will G to fight otherbattles. # third response is to leverage the stereotypes G but with such wit and skillthat they confer benefits.

Narrative =arvard Business +chool!s @onosuke 2atsushita Arofessor of/eadership, 9ohn ) :otter has carved out his own niche in the business andorganisation literature as a change specialist. +even of his books have receivedawards or honours and a number have been business best sellers, including5eading hange, or!orate ulture and 1erformance, and A (orce for hange6How 5eadershi! 4iffers from Management)

Fohn @otter is this month!s 2;B Aress star turn, subject of an interview by editor+arah Aowell on issues of organizational change, the speed of change, andresistance to it, leadership and management. >ead the full interview here. =ere!s asevere summary3

0ell us about your ne' boo% The Leading Change Fieldbook :otter G just about finished, to be published in summer 011C. It!s organized justlike 5eading hange 9CMMN: and looks at largescale change in companies, rangingfrom creating or shifting strategy, to mergers and ac"uisitions, to incorporating bigIT systems, to leaping into ecommerce.

#s the name suggests, it!s based on interviews with people in the field, for staff andmanagers at all levels G the people who introduce change. 2ostly it!s stories frompeople who are trying to make change happen4 lessons they have learned,techni"ues that they have tried that have worked, or not worked.

#ll are short and tothepoint and concern the creation of a vision, or the building of a guiding coalition, or the injection of a sense of urgency into a company.

Aeople often go about major change using the Hdecide and implement modelH,somebody studies something and then gets the goahead from somebody else Gthat!s the decide. $"!le"ent involves assigning responsibility, coming up withtimetables and resources, following up with paperwork and meetings. #n approach

that works $terribly poorly.' oesn!t set the stage well enough, doesn!t followthrough well enough. esigned for small changes in a steady state, yet usedconstantly to try to create major change.

$n !ast boo%s; you<ve dra'n a line bet'een leadershi! and "anae"ent#Why the distinction?:otter G because it gives people useful insights about what they are or are notdoing. /argescale organizations G in a slower moving world, with strong marketpositions or the buffers of monopolies or national protectionism G are easy tomanage S they got away without much leadership. #s the world speeds up, more

17

http://www.mcb.co.uk/emrld/now/spotlight.htm





and more change is needed4 you need more leadership from more people.;ompanies that are overmanaged and underled are going under.

+uccessful change is K1D leadership31D management. But most organizationsgo about it the other way, trying to drive change K1D with a managerial process,and 1D leadership. oesn!t work.

$s there a feelin that e"!loyees in the "iddle or lo'er do'n the chain; 'hotraditionally "iht have reacted aainst chane; "ay be beinnin to acce!tchane; or at least reet it "ore !ositively?:otter G possibly. )mployees are certainly more receptive to change because theysee the inevitability of it. But, when it comes to resistance, don!t just assume thatit!s the troops. )verybody, at one time or another, resists. I have seen manycompany presidents resist. ;)6s and executive vicepresidents were the biggestforce in dragging their feet in some companies.

+ometimes it!s middle management, not the bottom of the hierarchy4 the bottom ofthe hierarchy has often understood the need for change G they are being pressuredby customers or information technology4 they are sinking into a black hole and theywant change G the problem isn!t them, it!s this HlumpH in the middle.

The reason we sometimes focus on the middle is because very often that is whereyou need many fewer people and of course people, "uite legitimately, feel verythreatened by that4 they become anchors, rather than being in front, trying to leadthe change.

$n What Leaders Really Do; you have e3!lored such situations and ho' toco"bat the"# $s there a for"ula for this? :otter G it helps enormously if you realize people don!t resist for a single reason,but for many reasons. The better your understanding of why they are dragging their feet, the better the chances of success.

some people resist because they think the world is just fine G so why do we need

to change it& some because they are scared to death4 they are paralysed some resist because they have no confidence in the people who are trying todrive the change others because they look at the vision that is promoted to describe the changeand it makes no sense to them yet others resist because they never hear about the vision4 it looks to those at thetop as if they are resisting but, in fact, they just don!t know what to do then there are people who resist because they are so boxedin by various thingsthat they can!t move4 they don!t have the information or the training that they needto be able to do something, or they have a boss who is pressuring them, or there isa performance appraisal system that will penalize them if they do what is needed some people resist because they see this change effort going along and they

don!t see any real, concrete signs of success. )ven if they were enthusiasticsupporters at the beginning, they waver.

To combat such different areas of resistance, you need to adopt differingapproaches.

What do you see as the "a&or challenes for leaders in the future? :otter 3 It is the same big trend. They are just going to play themselves out, forcingmore and more companies that have had relatively safe harbours to leap furtherand faster to be able to compete, to win, to serve. That is the most fundamental

18



trend. ;ompanies have to leap further, faster, and in the right direction. If theycan!t, they!re in trouble.

5uic% -ase Study 1 to ro' your co"!any; leverae your leaders4u!ont's Leadership for Growth !rogram leverages talent and ideas #y ta/ingthe chemical com!any's to! e7ecutives out of their element and teaming them u!with colleagues from other divisions) 8rom an article by Betsy %iesendanger in(ast -o"!any issue M, page NL

Beer in a plastic bottle& Aurists might choke on their +peights at the thought. But;raig Binetti, vice president and general manager of polyester resins andintermediates at uAont, saw the promise of a brave new market 6@, we knowthis is a *+ story, and +peights is a +outh Island EP beer, but we can!t resistadding a local flavorU. >esearchers, packaging experts, and 2c@insey consultantshad been dissecting the idea for a year. uAont chemists had con"uered plastic!sporousness, which lets air in and makes beer go flat. 8ocus groups indicated thatbeer drinkers were willing to give plastic a try.

Binetti was ready to leap. But where and how, exactly& +hould he approach

brewers& Bottlers& %holesalers& >etailers& #nd were diehard beer lovers reallyready to raise a plastic bottle to their lips&

2anagers in Binetti!s position he has the resources of a Q0Nb, MJ,111personcompany behind him might be tempted to call in more consultants. Instead, heturned to uAont!s 5eadershi! for 8rowth program, which culls the company!s topJ11 executives to form teams that can swoop into any of uAont!s 010 productgroups.

8or three weeks, each team focuses its collective brainpower on the "uestion athand anything from H%hat are new uses for @evlar&H to H=ow can we sellpolyester resins online&H The program is both a training tool participants areassigned a coach and get refresher courses on decision making and conflict

resolution and an intelligence unit, a way of leveraging team members! expertiseto flush out products and strategies that might be worth millions of dollars in newrevenues.

The program is an answer to something that!s often said about operations as bigas uAont3 HIf only they knew what they knew.H The company is divided into 0Cbusiness units, some of which would "ualify for (ortune 9.. status on their own./eadership for <rowth is a way of tapping the enormous knowledge base that lurkswithin uAont.

HThe recommendations that come out of these groups are as good as, if not betterthan, anything we get from external consultants,H says program manager ;hor=uat /im.

The first rule of the program is this3 Throw everybody into the deep end. Eo teammember is assigned to a project within his or her division, and each person bringsdifferent skills and a different background to the effort.

H%hen I heard that I was going to be working on A)T, I thought, %hat!s that&H saysTom @een, who manages a nylonyarn plant in ;hattanooga, Tennessee. A)T, orpolyethylene terephthalate, is the material that would be used to make plastic beerbottles. Eot that A)T!s promise mattered much to @een and his team at first. H%ewere a bunch of people who didn!t know a plastic beer bottle from a 8risbee,H he

19



says. +till, uAont gave them all of the tools that they needed3 threeinch K7mmUbinders crammed with product data and market research, and funding to jet off toanywhere in the world to dig up additional intelligence.

8or >ajeev ?aidya, a business manager in uAont!s fluoropolymers division,/eadership for <rowth was a chance to Hstep out of the swampH for three weekslast 2ay, he says. =is mission3 )xplore ebusiness opportunities for a uAontcountertop material called ;orian. =e and his cohorts fanned out across the *+and talked to fabricators, contractors, and retailers. 6ne person spied on shoppersin a =ome epot.

H%e were talking to people who!d worn out the soles of their shoes walking thispath,H says ?aidya. #mong his team!s recommendations3 ;reate an Internetsystem to track orders online, and put kiosks in stores to help consumers designtheir kitchens.

The beerbottle team, meanwhile, uncapped its own unorthodox ideas. ;oulduAont make its own ale and call it Hu BrewH& 9Eot likely:. =ow about a bottleshaped like a sportsteam mascot& 9+orry, no:.

iscussions with brewers, however, proved enlightening. %ith beer consumptionflat in the *nited +tates, brewers want to set their brands apart. # plastic bottlewould appeal to 0Cto0Myearold males, the demographic that drinks the mostbeer in the *+, brewers said. #nd venues such as sports stadiums were a suremarket. Team members concluded that the best next step was to partner with abrewer they even knew of one that was ready to sign on. HThat was incrediblyvaluable information,H says Binetti, who is now doing a test run with the brewernamed by the team.

Sidebar. -he"ical ,eaction=ow does an industry giant become more nimble& uAont gets fast answers onnew business opportunities by training its executives to think outside theirdivisions. =ere!s the program!s 26.

-all in the troo!s for three 'ee%s at "ost /eadership for <rowth used to be aneightweek assignment, but Hit wore people down,H says ;hor=uat /im, programmanager of /eadership for <rowth.Ensure that tea" "e"bers can fully co""it the"selves HThis isn!t somethingthat can be done parttime,H says >ajeev ?aidya, a business manager in uAont!sfluoropolymers division, who participated in a team last year. Hou!d dilute thepower of the whole thing.H Arovide information on what!s been done on the issueso far, so that team members don!t tread old territory. 2arket research, competitiveinformation, product literature, and a list of pertinent %eb sites are good choices./ive tea"s latitude and a travel budet %hile exploring ecommerceapplications for ;orian countertop material, one elawarebased team sent amember to ell ;omputer!s Texas head"uarters in order to bone up on ebusinessbest practices.

Assin a coach to each tea" ;oaches don!t participate in field work, but theydo act as facilitators who can help members work on their management skills, andwho can intervene when meltdown seems imminent.

8or more about /eadership for <rowth, email /ee =offman 9lee.c.hoffmanVusa.dupont.com:.

== )ointers/ots of the material we know you!d find useful doesn!t lend itself to ePine treatment,but we!d really like G at the very least G to point you towards it. =ence, !ointers.=undredword signposts to stuff we think is worth your time.

20



== *a!!in stratey. >obert + @aplan and avid A Eorton are the originators ofthe balanced scorecard, a strategic approach to organisational management that!balances! all key performance indicators. Balanced scorecards tell you theknowledge, skills and systems that your employees will need to innovate and buildthe right strategic capabilities and efficiencies that deliver specific value to themarket, eventually leading to higher shareholder value. There!s a summary andsome examples in the baldrigeplus.com e3hibits collection. In the +ep6ct 0111=B>, @aplan and Eorton extend and develop the idea to !mapping! strategy. Ifyou!ve got any strategic responsibilities or interests, this article is re>uiredreadin.

== -urin health care. ;layton ;hristensen, >ichard Bohmer and Fohn @enagy9=B>, +ep6ct, 0111: argue that the 9*+: health care system is in crisis, and oneessential prescription is disruptive innovation. The present system is directed toomuch at high cost, resourceintensive care, overshooting the everyday needs ofmost people. They!ve got a solution. If your interests include healthcare, managingscarcity 9or any public resource:, or innovation, this is an article you should try toread.

,esources== $DEN0$(Y$N/ AND -UL0$+A0$N/ 0O*O,,OW<S LEADE,S;ompanies face an impending crisis as they struggle to fill gaps appearing in their leadership ranks as babyboomers seek early retirement. Because of corporate restructuring, the roster of middle managers who couldhave risen to upper leadership positions has been depleted. ;ompanies are redefining what constitutesoptimal leadership by creating competencies for anticipated future needs and building them within theirleadership pipeline. #AW; is conducting a consortium learning forum to uncover best practices in successionmanagement. This multiclient benchmarking project will explore how innovative organizations createsuccession management programs that identify and cultivate potential leaders for a sustainable businessadvantage. To find out more about this project, visit http3X Xwww.ap"c.orgXproposalXN7JNlead.

YY Leadershi! in chane and the 'isdo" of a entle"an Fohn 6. Burdett Aarticipation 5 )mpowerment3 #n International Fournal4 1K3 C CMMM4pp.7CJYY Oraniational !olitics. the "issin disci!line of "anae"ent? avid Butcher, 2artin ;larke Industrial5 ;ommercial Training4 C3 C CMMM4 pp.MC0YY E"!loyee involve"ent. o!enin the diversity )andora<s Bo3? <illian +hapiro Aersonnel >eview4 0M3

01114 pp. 1J0YY -ladistics. a ta3ono"y for "anufacturin oraniations Ian 2c;arthy, @eith >idgway Integrated2anufacturing +ystems4 CC3 C 01114 pp.CN0M8ull text at http3XXwww.mcb.co.ukXemrldXnowXarticles.htm

== 0he $nc#co" Ne'sletter 1 E3ecutive ,ecruitin http3XXwww.inc.comXguideXitemX1,,<)KN,11.html

8ile size 07kb. 8ormatted in html)mailed version published CJ11hrs, 0K +eptember

2anagement has always been thought of as a !hard! discipline. The higher amanager rises, the greater his or her powers of command and the larger numberof people who must obey the orders.

The hard managers have the mandate and the duty to discipline theirsubordinates, close redundant activities, dispose of whole businesses, movepeople from job to job, and so on. This kind of authority can easily create anatmosphere of fear and trembling.

21

http://www.baldrigeplus.com/Exhibits/Exhibit%20-%20Balanced%20scorecards.pdf

http://www.baldrigeplus.com/Exhibits/Exhibit%20-%20Balanced%20scorecards.pdf



=owever, the true hardness began to soften some time ago and the change isaccelerating.

It!s speeded up to the point where the =arvard Business >eview can declare !It!s=ard Being +oft!, describing !the hard work of being a soft manager! and asking

!why should anyone be led by you&!

;learly a major shift in attitudes is taking place. =ow far have you succumbed tothe soft trend& o you agree or disagree with these statements&

C: +oft leadership is more effective than armourplated commandandcontrolling.

0: *ppermost among the "ualities needed to be a strong leader are sensitivity,vulnerability and honesty about your weakness.

: Aeople start wanting to work with you when you "uit pretending to be perfect.

J: )mployees will eventually respect and support you when you let them knowthat you!re flesh and blood.

7: %hen you!ve established empathy you can give people what they need inorder to excel G which is perhaps what they want.

N: ou encourage others to share responsibility by relin"uishing the idea that thefate of the firm rests completely on you.

If you do agree with all or any of these, then you face a hard "uestion3 are you

putting your soft principles into practice& If not, you are unlikely to work for anorganisation that has time for such ideas.

The above 8eelgood 8ormula enshrines the familiar philosophy that the betteryou treat people, the better they will work. The problem for most organisations isthat the ends outrank the means.

-o"!anies need their innovators "ore than ever# 0hese brains need the

reatest !ossible s!ace to de!loy and share their thouhts# 0his is 'here

soft "anae"ent holds the reins

The soft ways of the 8eelgood 8ormula are just good behaviour3 you manage inhuman and humane ways because that!s the correct way to treat your people.The fact that it!s also more effective is a bonus, albeit possibly a highly valuableone.

But effectiveness depends, not on the degree of loving kindness brought to bear,but on the competitive "uality of the decisions taken, the processes installed, themethods applied, the technologies developed G and so on.

22



These are the !hardest! areas of management G in both senses of the term. Takea false step in any of these matters today, and it might take years rather thanmonths to recover.

The pressures are so powerful that the experts polled in the latest survey

undertaken by the <lobal 8uture 8orum predict some radical changes inmanagement G and these tend towards a !softhard! future.

# lot of larger companies will become networks of outsourced resources,partnerships, alliances and contractors in order to become 9soft: more responsiveto market demands.

*nderstanding the customer 9soft: and superior retailing skills will prevail over9hard: straight manufacturing capabilities as the primary drivers of success. #lso,organisational adaptability and flexibility 9soft: are becoming more important tosuccess than operational performance and other traditional 9hard: metrics.

;ompanies need their innovators more than ever. These brains need thegreatest possible space to deploy and share their thoughts. This is where softmanagement holds the reins. 8reedom of thought should flourish. ou need selfmanaged bands of brothers and sisters who set their own goals.

our model should be the university, not the military camp. =owever, in this softhabitat, paradoxically, you re"uire a focus of the hardest military intensity.

Culture and Leadership in Residential Treatment

by )rnest ;ampagnone, )d..

2any new mangers assume their positions in residential treatment and begin a

journey into understanding, selfawareness and growth unprepared for the

challenges of a new and diverse world. The challenge of $leadership' can create

a crisis of identity and performance for these new managers4 for the $the

thoughts, beliefs and knowledge that had been ac"uired over those years enter a

shambled construct of confusion and fear. #t the same time, strong beliefs that

had become characteristic of a leadership style had already become crystallized

into a set of values and beliefs that have grown over the years for theseindividuals.

Today, numerous nationwide programs are designed to teach managers how to

manage, coach, direct, or otherwise interact with their staff in new and different

ways. The older, topdown management style has given way to a new work

23



environment where employees are re"uired to perform higherlevel tasks in an

everchanging environment. #s the structure of organization changes, so do the

roles and tasks of and within the organization. The importance of management

and leadership become critical components of an organizations success.

#s individuals, each member of the organization brings uni"ue and diverse skills

and limitations into the group. The interplay of individuals toward achievement of

specific goals and objectives remain critical to the success of the organization.

+taff members are re"uired to work in challenging, emotionally painful situations

with suicidal and abused children and adolescents daily. The skill and

interpersonal relationships the staff must bring to these environments every day

places tremendous pressure on the internal support systems of the program.

)ach member of the organization must have $task roles and personal roles'

9Bolman 5 eal, CMMK, p.C70C7: to ensure the successful functioning of the

unit for the ultimate consumer, the client and their families. 2anagers in these

organizations must master both the interpersonal skills and the group dynamic

skills to be effective. Belman and eal refer to this as $interpersonal

competenceS which is seen as a basic managerial skill re"uirement' 9p.CJ7:.

The difference between leadership and management has been a most striking

revelation. Fohn @otter provides the following definitions of management and

/eadership in his book, /eading ;hange 9CMMN:3 2anagement is a set of

processes that can keep a complicated system of people and technology running

smoothly. The most important aspects of management include planning,

budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling, and problem solving. /eadership is a

set of processes that creates organizations in the first place or adapts them to

significantly changing circumstances. /eadership defines what the future should

look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen

despite obstacles' 9p.07:. It is easy to confuse the two when you are blindly going

about your work and duties and no training or leadership is provided in executing

the necessary programmatic groundwork to create an environment whereleadership skills can flourish. It is another issue when one stops and reflects on

the events of the past and the realities of today. +everal years ago, being a good

manager seemed to be critical in managing the residential programs. $Task

orientation is so important to getting things done' 9). ;ampagnone, personal

communications, +eptember, 0111: seemed to make a great deal of sense.

24



Today, in some ways it still does, but for different reasons and different situations.

The difference between a leadership theory and a "anae"ent a!!roach is a

bright notion that has changed the landscape of residential work throughout the

*nited +tates.

In our current environment, values, motivation, focus, goals, culture and

imagination have become critical factors in a management approach. Terms such

as mission, vision, mental models, and leadership play an important role in the

structure of a strong functional program. It is clear that not only is there a struggle

for leadership at the unit level, but $the truest test of leadership is in the ability to

incorporate the styles and beliefs of those around you into a system of growth

and development, in spite of the forces working against this growth, both

internally and externally' 9). ;ampagnone, personal communication, 2arch,

0111:.

+ince leadership is more than just affecting the course of events, goals are

critical to the functioning of an organization. These goals must be obtainable and

correct. Fames 2ac<regor Burns has stated $ That socially useful goals not only

have to meet the needs of followers, they also should elevate followers to a

higher moral level. ;alling this transformational leadership, he posits that people

begin with the need for survival and security, and once those needs are meet,

concern themselves with -higher needs like affection, belonging, the common

good or serving others(. This approach has the benefit of provoking discussion

about how to construct a hierarchy of orienting values'. =eifetz, CMMM, p. 0C.:

Three years ago, a friend stated $ It is hard to identify the goals of my profession

in light of the things I am thinking about today. I know where I want to go, but do I

do a good job at getting others there with me'. This salient point has been a focal

point of understanding of highly successful programs and ones that fails to

provide leadership under the guise of intended success. It re"uires a hard

assessment of program goals and achievements at a foundational level to grasp

the cultural implication of treatment over growth. as defined in program goals and

objectives. #s the goals of the program became clearer and more defined, the

reality that the environment or milieu of the program can often be counter to

actualization. There often is no effort at understanding the culture of the program,

the impact of the staff or the reality of the children and their families in the

programs. The expectations of successful treatment were that upon completion

25



of the program, you were better. =owever, the "uestion now became $%hat the

hell is better and how do we get them there' 9). ;ampagnone, personal

communication, Fuly, 0111:.

This led to finding a definition of culture as3 $a pattern of shared basicassumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external

adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be

considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way

to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems' 9+chein, CMM0, p.C0:.

+ounds intriguing and intellectual, but it presents an interesting complex problem.

The culture of programs intreaditional development, was not ours, it was

someone else(s idea that had to be translated at all levels by everyone into one

culture or understanding. 6ften, the communication and interpersonalrelationships of the management, leadership and milieu staff was too fragmented

to be successful. Thus, what was on paper and what occurred in the units were

strikingly different. It is not uncommon, upon close examination to find vastly

different perception of treatment by management and milieu staff and clients in

the same unit. The concepts of culture and leadership has not been addressed.

In 6rganizational ;ulture and /eadership , +chein 9CMMK: states that $the product

of our human need for stability, consistency and meaning' 9p.CC: is manifested in

our culture.

The process of learning must ultimately be made part of the culture, not any

given solution to any given problem' 9p. NN:. #gain, the concept is intriguing but

here was the first great revelation of the translation of business concepts into

residential treatment. The therapeutic milieu is often defined as a learning

environment, based on values and standards and expectations. =ow close were

the values and standards lived by the staff and the children4 by the management

or by the leadership in the professed values of the milieu& %ho were the leaders

that were establishing our milieu and maintaining it&

In the book The 8ifth iscipline 8ieldbook, Aeter +enge, 9CMMJ: discusses the

concept of learning. In the chapter on $;ocreating'9p. 0:, the author presented

excellent examples in the development of a learning environment, team building

and program development. The role of the leader in this environment, beginning

with a $shared vision' 9p.00N: reinforced several essential ideas that should

26



be pondered durin the construction of a 'or% environ"ent based on the

"aterials presented. +enge(s guidelines established in this chapter are excellent

and certainly applicable across industry, human service, and educational

settings.

# deeper understanding of cultural issues in groups and organizations is

necessary to decipher what goes on in them but even more important, to identify

what may be the priority issues for leaders and leadership. 6rganizational

cultures are created by leaders, and $one of the most decisive functions of

leadership is the creation, the management, and sometimes even the destruction

of culture' 9+chein, p. 7:.

#s the concept of culture grew, the issue became one of focus. $# major

challenge of leadership therefore is to draw attention and then deflect it to the"uestion and issues that need to be faced. $To do so, one has to provide a

context for actionSneeds to readily comprehend the purpose of unusual

behavior or deviant behavior so that it focuses less on the behavior itself, or the

person, and more on its meaning' 9=eifetz, p.007:.

%hile management can give definition to a system and maintain it, leadership

gives the milieu its life, its energy, its thirst to take risks, and challenges others to

maintain a growth pattern over one of acceptance and compliance. This seemed

to be as important for the staff as it is for the children and their families.

This leads to the more provocative issue of motivations. +urrounded by the

pathologies of depressed adolescents and children, dealing with thoughts of

them wanting to hurt or kill themselves made the issue of motivation difficult to

grasp and understand in its complexities. Is the role of the leader to energize the

system, the role of management to maintain a safe structure and how does one

meld these two needs. In such an individualized work environment, each staff

member has to be able to feel the freedom of autonomy in action and decision

making with these clients. $I ask each staff every day to risk making decisions

that can result in the injury of a child or themselves and what do I give back, a

pat on the shoulder, or is that enough, them knowing that I see, understand, help

and do not criticize them' 9;ampagnone, personal communication, Fanuary 00,

011C:.

27



#t some point, the staff must understand that they are alone with these choices

and in many ways, they are the leaders of the moment in that child(s life, this

alone should provide a level of energy for staff members to be motivated on a

personal level. $2otivation is a power that arises within an individual to satisfy a

need' 9Bittel and Eewstrom, CMM1, p. 0NM:. The desire to complete and processis time consuming and arduous, it has to come from inside. It is fair to say that

one can manage easier than lead and motivate because of this internal drive of

the individual. $# person can have motivation without another person(s

leadership. /eadership cannot succeed without the motivation on the follower(s

part' 9p. 0NM:. In $8light of the Buffalo' 9CMM:, Belasco and +tayer identify four

leadership principles in their leadership paradigm3 /eaders transfer ownership for

work to those who execute the work. /eaders create an environment for

ownership where each person wants to be responsible. /eaders coach the

development of personal capabilities. /eaders learn fast themselves and

encourage others to learn "uickly 9p. CM:.

The hardest challenge of new networks and systems in today(s corporate culture

is that the upper level management and leadership reflect an authoritative

leadership style 9p.CN:. The problem is that the newness of the network has not

allowed anyone to learn how to reach below themselves and trust. 2angers

assume that if we follow their mandates, things will be fine4 except that there are

a multitude of sites and managers who must try to understand what is going on

and it does not work.

+trong leadership is justifiably considered an essential ingredient of successful

companies, but when leadership is invested in only one person or a select few it

is only natural that the vast majority of employees feel less than personally

responsible for producing high"uality products and services 9+eifter and

)conomy, 011C, p.JC:.

This decisionmaking process and micromanagement can have noticeable effect

on the staff. Belman and eal discuss ouglas 2c<regor(s Theory Z and Theory

ideas of the manager(s assumptions of people. Theory Z is a $set of beliefs

advocating that subordinates are passive and lazy, have little ambition4 prefer to

be led, and resist change 9Bolman and eal, p.C17:'. Theory postulates, $the

essential task of management is to arrange organizational conditions so that

people can achieve their own goals best by directing their efforts toward

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organizational rewards' 9p. C1N:. #s can be seen, the extremes of reality and

theory exist at times together.

8or residential treatment programs, the challenge is to understand the Z(s and

(s of their management beliefs and leadership styles.

0heory @; 0heory Y

Theory Z is a traditional model for management thinking based on the following

assumptions3

Average human #eing has an inherent disli/e of wor/ and will avoid it if !ossi#le2 Because of this human characteristic of disli/e of wor/, most !eo!le must #ecoerced, controlled, directed or threatened with !unishment to get them to !ut

forth ade:uate effort toward the achievement of organi;ational o#<ectives2The average human #eing !refers to #e directed, wishes to avoid res!onsi#ility,has relatively little am#ition, and wants security a#ove all achievement 9Bittel andEewstrom, CMM1, p. 0K1:.

In his book, /eadership )nsemble, =arvey +eifter and Aeter )conomy 9011C:

comments $ #pparently, there are two principal downsides to the traditional model

of fixed organizational leadership. Eot only does the failure to take full advantage

of the skills and talents of every worker represent a high opportunity cost borne

by the entire company, but disenfranchised employees also tend to grow cynical

about the elite few who comprise a leadership nucleus. #s a result, organizationsthat restrict leadership to a small number of people, tend to suffer poor moral,

high turnover and the loss of competitive advantage 9p. LM:.

Theory finds it roots in recently accumulated knowledge about human

behavior3

The e7!enditure of !hysical and mental effort in wor/ is as natural as !lay orrest2$7ternal control and the threat of !unishment are not the only means for #ringing a#out effort toward organi;ational o#<ectives2 =ndividuals will e7ercise self-control in the service of o#<ectives to which they are committed2ommitment to o#<ectives de!ends on the rewards associated with theirachievement) The most im!ortant rewards are those that satisfy needs for self-res!ect and !ersonal2The average human #eing learns, under !ro!er conditions, not only to acce!t #ut also to see/ res!onsi#ility2

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The ca!acity to e7ercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity, andcreativity in the solution of organi;ational !ro#lems is widely, not narrowly,distri#uted in the !o!ulation among #oth men and woman2>nder the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual !otentialities of theaverage human #eings are only !artially reali;ed 9Bittel and Eewstrom, CMM1, p.

0KC:.

8ostering horizontal teamwork means encouraging employees to work together

to solve problems and ensuring that teams have the authority to put their

solutions into action 9+eifter and )conomy 011C, p. C1M:.

The "uestion becomes how to choice and implement this theory. In residential

treatment, task management is critical to a safe milieu. =ere the concept of

+ituational leadership has great merit as well. #s =ersey and Blanchard 9CMKN:

define +ituational /eadership, it is $based on the amount of direction 9task

behavior: and the amount of socioemotional support 9relationship behavior: a

leader must provide given the situation and the -the level of maturity of the

follower or group'.

It is evident in this setting that due to the high level of personal involvement in the

daily pathological issues of the client, direction and support are critical factors.

This has led to another important concept in the development of a leadership

style where no one styleXtheory need apply. There are times for strong,

authoritative leadership where the vision of the program represents the context of

the work being accomplished. This is due to the conflicting pressures the clients

and the administration present in caring for children. In /eadership That <ets

>esults, aniel <oldman 90111: states $the authoritative leader is a visionary4 he

motivates people by making clear to them how their work fits into a larger vision

of the organization'9p.L:.

#t the same time, the concept of democracy in our setting is important. The

therapeutic community model involves the inclusion of all participants in thedevelopment of the program milieu 92axwell Fones, Therapeutic ;ommunity,

CM7J, p J:. <oldman states, $By spending time getting people(s ideas and buyin,

a leader builds trust, respect, and commitment' 9p.L7:.

In bring in these concepts, it is also important to create an atmosphere where

leadership is open to positive challenges and review. In human service, this is the

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one clear obstacle to the creation of therapeutic milieus. In a profession that

verbalizes the concepts of personal growth and development, client autonomy

and problem solving, there is constant struggles with the inherit battle of egos

and ideological superiority of one belief system over another. 6ften, our leaders

exist on a different set of standards and norms than what is expected of others. Itseems contradictory to encourage staff to participate and then stop the process

by dictates. In $%hy +hould #nyone Be /ed By ou', <oeffe and Fones 90111:

make the point that selfdisclosure is an important characteristic of leadership.

$+uch admissions work because people need to see leaders own up to some

flaw before they participate willingly in an endeavor' 9p. N7:. 8or many, the issue

of congruency in belief and reality is key to positive program development. #

strong therapeutic community model encourages people to dare to be different.

<oeffe and Fones 90111: comment that $ 6ften, a leader will show his differences

by having a distinctly different dress style or physical appearance, but typically,

he will move on to distinguish himself through "ualities like imagination, loyalty,

expertise, or even a handshake' 9p. NM:.

Bolman and eal discuss #rgysis(s work. They present #rgysis six points of staff

response to frustration $They withdraw or "uit, they stay but psychologically

withdraw, resist by restricting output, deception or sabotage, they try to climb the

hierarchy to better jobs, they form groups to redress power, or they socialize their

children to believe that work is unrewarding and hopes for advancement are slim'

9p.C1M:.

;learly, most of these situations have become present over the past years in

residential treatment work. Those that remain have low investment, not

completing the little extra tasks necessary for a residential program to function

properly. They have, to some degree, done only what is expected of them and

then only under tight supervision and oversight. 2any have opted out for other

positions in the organization or outside of the organization or the profession itself.

In all, the most amazing factor of this journey of leadership discovery can be the

eclectical dynamics of the work environment and the many ways individuals can

affect upon it. In developing an understanding of the theory, methods, and roles

of a small system, the function of a sound mission and vision, role clarification,

personal growth and development, inclusion, and partnership emerges.

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2eg <reenfield, 9as cited in =esselbein, 8., <oldsmith, 2, and Beckard, >.,

CMMN: stated, $%e expect a human being who, to be successful, must combine in

the right way many seemingly contradictory "ualities3 worldliness and idealism,

toughness and charity, skepticism and belief, humility and selfconfidence,

enthusiasm and restraint' 9p. 0L1:. 8or some of us, the view that $True leadershipmust lead to changes that translate into social betterment' 9p.K7: is a benchmark

concept that should be a basic component of all treatment environments.

why should anyone be led by you

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