Leadership: Wily by Nature

VIEWPOINT: Successful senior leaders need the bounce-back resilience of a cartoon character, says Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, in this twelfth in his series of articles for IEDP:

I’ve just spent the weekend with my old friend Gary. I love Gary. He’s so delightfully old fashioned when it comes to business, and when we talk leadership there’s no one to touch him, he just seems to naturally know how to get everyone behind him - every time. As a leader, I may have had my moments, but for me Gary is the numero uno, the big banana - and he makes it look easy too, getting results and energising people in a way most of us can only dream of.

“How do you do that?” I asked him. “ How do you reach those people, who if they were honest would all like to see you fall, crash and burn, yet, perversely, seem contented to follow you anywhere?”

He paused for a second, then his eyes brightened and he leaned over to me. “You know what they call me in the markets, don’t you?” he asks with a grin on his non too handsome face. I shook my head, somewhat mystified by his attitude.

“Wile E Coyote!” he answered, triumphantly, “like the kid’s cartoon." slapping his hand down hard on his antique desk. “They know that whatever they throw at me. I’ll always be back for more.” I’m like the creature in the cartoon, they can’t kill me off, I’m always still going in the last reel. That’s why the other fella is always looking over his shoulder, because they know I’m out there somewhere and I’ll get that deal done one way or another.”

He adds, “They also know that like the cartoon character I’ll be back next week and the week after that. I can’t be killed off, they need me. I provide continuity, certainty. Sure, a few people may laugh, but I get the star billing. What’s a few bruises, when you always win long-term?”

That got me thinking. Is Gary a good definition of a leader - super hero style indestructibility, but one with real-life staying power?

In reality, although I’m sure Gary hasn’t sat down and analysed this (it’s not in his ‘can do’ DNA to do it), Gary is a real leader in every sense of the word. By his very nature of always being there no matter what happens, he is a rock, a permanent fixture people can relate to and rely on. He can shrug off setbacks, ignore bad news and the disapproval of his peers, and get on with the job in hand. Demonstrating single-minded purpose when all around have given up. He’s also inventive, but most of all, he’s THERE. Rain or shine you know that Gary, if he’s on your side, will be there to see things through whatever the odds are against him pulling it off.

In today’s mixed up and complex world, there are far too many so-called leaders who don’t inspire the confidence they should. No wonder shareholders and institutional investors run for cover, there’s no Gary out there to come to their aid. What we want is a real-life cartoon character who can be blown up in a market bubble, pushed off a fiscal cliff and stretched to the nth degree of credibility and still bounce back. 

For my money that’s my pal Gary. Sadly he’s so busy being there and being successful he doesn’t really see it that way and wouldn’t believe me if I told him. But while everyone is still pointing and laughing at Wile E. Coyote, who’s collecting the winnings?

This column on leadership and organizational development is written exclusively for the IEDP by Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, the Brussels-based development organization. Have a comment or a question? Engage direct with Rudi Plettinx here.

Think Digital Learning

Ben Emmens

Ben Emmens is a teacher and consultant, specializing in third-world and developing world issues by trying to inject leadership and management skills to create stable, strong institutions.  A former senior staffer at People in Aid, he brings a broad brush of on-the-ground experience to his work with national government international corporations and aid agencies worldwide. Here, he perfects on the uphill struggle to improve management teaching across the developing world.

MCE: We know the world’s a bit of a mess... any thoughts on education as an opportunity to bring more of the world together for a common purpose?

Ben Emmens (BE): ‘Always be learning’ is my motto, and learning has never been more accessible (think digital learning) or more engaging (gamification, the arts, technology) or more affordable (for those who have an internet connection).

When people come together they learn, but it requires first class facilitation and brokering skills, and, in the case of face-to face-learning, it requires access. And most of the fragile or war-torn countries I’m working in to try and broker learning and collaboration have all too real access and connectivity issues. Combine that with an uneven distribution of power (extreme inequality) and fear of change / contentment with how things are, then educators have their work cut out. So a new breed of educators are required with a very diverse skill set.   

MCE:  And at the same time we’re getting buried in a digital overload of mega proportions. What’s your view, Can we learn to switch off and chill out, or has it gone too far for that?

BE: I think platforms such as Slack are innovating with their do not disturb or postpone notification functions but ultimately it requires immense courage on the part of each individual (to switch off) plus the (earned or offered) trust of their manager and directors. This takes us into the realm of organisational culture which as we know is a very difficult thing to change. So  I think that for as long as we have colleagues and managers working across time zones, sending messages at all hours, and expecting instant responses, then all individuals will struggle to switch off.

MCE: There’s another trend – the caring corporation, operating with mindfulness for their employees. Is that a workable, doable model, or does economics get in the way, when the going gets tough?

BE: I think many organisations are realising they need to retain their best people, and that talent shortages are a very real issue. So I am encouraged by the fact that many organisations are taking tangible steps towards flexible working, and towards improving staff care and wellbeing. Some organisations have been able to demonstrate a business case for being more socially and/or environmentally caring and that helps too! Ultimately, treating staff unfairly, or with contempt, and that includes in the supply chain too, is not sustainable in human or financial terms, and we have seen the market ‘punish’ corporations that have supply chain labour issues or that have failed to pay a minimum wage or offer basic benefits.

MCE: Finally, what’s the other work trend you can see emerging? 

BE: It’s getting harder and harder to be geographically mobile as countries tighten immigration laws and entry requirements so whether we like it or not we are having to localise, engage with mono-cultural teams and strengthen local capacity… We’re also having to do much more work remotely / at a distance. 
Add to that the slow automation of more and more lower level jobs and we are likely to see a continued ‘hollowing out’ of the workforce and that will require a different kind of leadership, arguably with more than one specialism and towards that of a more expert generalist... 

Is LEAD - a four-letter word?

VIEWPOINT: ‘Leadership’ is an overused term, too often used as a lazy catchall. Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, calls for a focus on what it means to be a real leader, in this ninth in his series of articles for IEDP: Four-letter words are no-no’s and often none seems to come much bigger than the simple, single syllable statement LEAD. For instance, attach the “L” word to practically anything and you instil in it some kind of supernatural power. “He’s a business leader” is expressed in hushed tones as though we should all be impressed. “Sign up for our seminar on business Leadership and you’ll never look back” is a frequent favourite, hinting at practically guaranteed success. It seems to me that in today’s world the word LEAD is being used in a LAZY way. Users, it would seem, reckon that that the simple evocation of the “L” word conveys mystical powers (allowing those that use it to charge a good 50 percent premium on the services they are offering). Consequently every consultant manages to work the L-word into their product and services. Therefore, it is not surprising that practically every conference, seminar book and research project is based on the thoughts of business leaders which will give you the magical insight to being a real Leader yourself. But isn’t it time we stopped over-using leadership as an all-purpose, over-contrived superlative - an unnecessary and distracting adjectival device? Come on think about it please. Sure we know that most of us would rather be seen as leaders, but surely we have to earn it and be recognised for our abilities before it can be applied to us mere mortals. Calling ourselves a leader does not really work if no-one believes, or has day-to-day confidence, in our talents and abilities. Certainly, we can all read the right books attend the best programs and employ the best coaches, but none of that will make us a leader not for one nano-second. There is a very old saying that you can fool most of the people most of the time. But you just can’t fool your people by proclaiming you are a leader when you are not. All the certificates in the world won’t be of any use when you are in charge and another “L” word appears in you working vocabulary – a- LONE; because that is where you will be -on your own. And that is when we all get to find out how good we really are. Also there is another old adage that suggests that you can get away with not being a very good leader as a Number 2 but never as a Number 1. You can fake it , practically forever, as number 2 but take it from me - and  the many examples I’ve seen time and time again -  if  you have faked it, if you are not really what it says on the box, you will LOSE – big time.  Because, I can guarantee that circumstances will always conspire to make sure you meet that other “word and LOSE.  I have been around the business a long time and I have never seen a fake Number 2 ever succeed as a successful Number 1 – it just does not happen, and I don’t think it ever will. So, yes, I do think the word LEAD and its bigger brother Leadership is overused and badly misunderstood. I think we spray the “L” word around without much thought. But tell you what.  When it all happens one day, you will personally know (deep inside) if you are really a leader or not. And, more important, your people will know that too right from day one– oh yes, indeed they will!! I have been scanning the world’s media and it is amazing how many just do not make it. And all too often they may get to Lead for a while but they don’t last LONG either. In our dumbing- down on LEAD as a word we have managed to reduce the average CEO tenure to less  than five years- so much for another Word victim –LONG evity ! But there is even more of a twist to this when you bother to stop and think about it. What worries me most of all is that we could end-up mistaking that simple, yet highly evocative word Lead for the similarly spelt LEAD. Otherwise known as a very heavy metal……. Chances are you get it all terribly wrong and the people you have come to lead will - if you don’t have it… sink out of sight like a lead balloon…….  In the Periodic Table of corporate life LEAD is most certainly a downer, not what naturally springs to mind when we think of ourselves as all conquering heroes saving the organizational universe. This column on leadership and organizational development is written exclusively for the IEDP by Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, the Brussels-based development organization. Have a comment or a question? Engage direct with Rudi Plettinx here

The Leadership Grand Gesture

VIEWPOINT: Just occasionally leaders need to make a grand gesture to get their message across, Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, offers valuable insight on when and how to do it, in this eighth in his series of articles for IEDP:Newly appointed leaders often have a shrinking window of opportunity to get the team they’ve been given to manage on their side. My view is that you need to get their attention from day one, the first hour if at all possible. I think it is vitally important to send a message that will make the organization know you are serious about getting things done. This is particularly true if you are being parachuted into a situation where there is low morale, high turnover or some similar corporate malaise. But getting people to sit up and pay attention sometimes calls for a grand gesture. Something truly memorable. The stuff of leadership legend that will be talked about whenever the business ‘war stories’ are recalled and retold. Just in case you need to make a grand leadership gesture one of these days, here are three real-life examples that might just get you thinking the next time you feel you need to make some instant impact: A newly appointed general manager was sent into an organization where communications had broken down and employees were all suffering from low morale. Day one the manager arrived with a tool box in his hand. As headquarters staff watched open-mouthed, he took out a wrench and a screwdriver and removed the door to his office and had it taken away. The message was crystal clear. “My door is always open, don’t hesitate to come and talk to me.” This dramatic gesture achieved its goal. Within seconds (thanks to the power of email) the whole company knew what had happened at headquarters. This no nonsense, hands-on approach was the beginning of a spectacular turn-around in the organization’s fortunes. Not quite so dramatic, but equally successful, was the manager sent as the new leader of an ailing division of a software provider just before the Christmas period. The day she arrived top management sent a memo to the whole company saying that – due to budget restrictions – there would be no Christmas parties that year. The newly appointed manager tacked up a memo on the notice board inviting everyone in her new division to her Christmas party – which she paid for! Again, it sent an instant message to everyone and was the starting point of a turnaround: which, of course, resulted in a nice, fat bonus for the ‘generous’ manager. Or how’s this for total leadership chutzpah? Sent in to shake things up by his U.S. electronics firm, the new head of Europe sent a very definite message just hours after his plane landed in Brussels. Taken to a Michelin starred restaurant in the city as a ‘welcome to Europe’ gesture by his top 50 managers he came up with a bigger, bolder gesture of his own! He only stayed for the soup, saying, “well guys you may have time for lunch, but I haven’t.” There was more to come. A keen skier, the new boss started each day running up the 20 plus floors to his office as part of his keep-fit regime. His personal team was ‘encouraged’ to do the same. The message, “we are here to do a job and we can’t do that wasting time eating lunch or even waiting for elevators.” For leaders, grand gestures have their place. Only you can’t do them too often. So my advice is save them for when you really need to strike a chord, sending a message that won’t, ever, be forgotten. You’ll also have fun doing it too. Whoever said that leadership shouldn’t be fun? Not me.  Do you have a story about a CEO, or senior manager who made the grand gesture to get a point across ? If so we’d like to hear it. This column on leadership and organizational development is written exclusively for the IEDP by Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, the Brussels-based development organization. Have a comment or a question? Connect with him via Linkedin.

How to re-establish leadership balance in a boundary less world?

Gone are the ‘good old days’ where we could list on the right hand side of our screen or page what “defines” a manager and on the left hand side of the page the “features” defining a leader.

In today’s busy business and work world, we are continuously bombarded with information through all sorts of channels & technology, on an ongoing 24/7 basis. As a result, our jobs need our constant attention. We need to be able to solve problems, make decisions, strategize, and support our virtual and non-virtual teams and all of this at the speed of light. It can be really difficult to keep any kind of boundaries and sometimes nearly impossible.

Managers need to be leaders and leaders need to be managers. Referring to leading and managing as ‘either or’ won’t help us to navigate the complex realities of our work environment nor those of the global economic, social, political or business landscape.

At MCE, we believe that Management and Leadership is not only expressed and best applied alongside a ‘continuum’ (see below graph #1) but it is also 360 degree and holistic.

#1 like this:

  

Getting the right balance between knowing and managing yourself, knowing how to lead others and knowing the business is key in being a successful manager today. As a manager there are times when you need to manage functional tasks and others times when you are required to take important strategic decisions, have a vision, and to inspire others to outperform. The ability to demonstrate and apply both is critical.

Many other boundaries or limits are also being effected by the fast moving world we live in. For example a clear separation between work life and private life is becoming more difficult to achieve. There are many ongoing contradictions that make it more difficult to define a clear identity and clear roles. Technology is no longer a ‘means’ to an end or a channel of communication for example, but it defines who we are and blurs the lines between private life and business life. We are always connected. So, knowing yourself (Leading Self) and ‘being in balance with yourself’ is even more critical than it ever has been.

But how can you know if you are in balance if you don’t know what your boundaries should be? How do you know what is right and what is wrong? When should you stop responding to emails that come to your mailbox 24 hours a day?

So let us review some quick tips to help you focus on what matters and to set the boundaries that we need to be better leaders, managers, partners, individuals, parents…:

• Set boundaries: start with defining what these are for you. It starts with you and managing yourself: stop and reflect.  What does life balance mean for me? What do I need to be in balance?
• Define the most important areas: Which areas of my life are important to me and which out of these do I personally rank as my top three: (e.g.. spending quality time with my family, doing outdoor sports, seeing friends, contributing to society or to the community, travelling, time to reflect etc.)
•  Reflect: To what extent I am honouring these or neglecting these areas? What’s the possible negative impact this lack of balance is having on myself, my environment and the way I manage and lead?
•  Act: What behaviours and habits am I willing to change to re-establish my personal balance and by when and how will I do this?
•  Measure: How do I know I have succeeded to get my balance back? (E.g. more time for myself, more energy, more helpful to my team members, less stress etc.)

To be great managers and leaders in today’s demanding world where little boundaries exist, our first job is to be conscious of the boundaries we need to set to enable us to act as great leaders. These can be different for different people. Once we are aware of these, we need to assess whether they are being challenged by outside demands and if so, how we can get back our control over the way we manage our environment, not the other way around. The best leaders are those who are versatile. This means they can manage and lead whenever it is needed and they can adapt and be holistic in their way of leading (self, others, business). However the most important aspect is to get a good balance. Being out of balance will lead to stress, low energy, lower productivity and ultimately less good people & business leadership.

In the next post we will explore further, the impact of your lack of balance on your personal health, your team’s engagement, and your creativity.

About the author: 

Natalie Schurmann

Natalie Schurmann supports MCE with the design and quality of the open enrolment programmes. Natalie Schurmann has over 15 years’ experience in leadership development, executive coaching, leadership training and design and psychometric assessments. Natalie’s global delivery has impacted numerous regions including Europe, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, India, Russia, and Africa.

Leader! Get Those Priorities Carved in Stone!

VIEWPOINT: Agreeing the ground rules is key to leading change, according to Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, in this seventh in his series of articles for IEDP: I had a call from my old friend Charlotte the other day. She’s one of those corporate trouble-shooters who get sent to problem parts of an organization when the going gets too hot for everyone else. Is she a leader? You bet. But talking to her about her last challenge made me think just how poorly prepared many of us are when we take on one of those tricky assignments. Here’s what Charlotte told me about her recent experiences. “Often the problem for me is that I’m only called in when others have failed to do their job. So the number one issue, especially if you are sent to clear up a mess, is to be certain that the firm has given you all the tools you need to turn things around.” “don’t ever let the initial euphoria stop them from getting some very basic rules agreed” She went on to say, “If you aren’t sure just how far you can go (and don’t have it in writing) then you’ll never achieve anything. My belief – based on a great deal of ‘combat’ missions – is that you need maximum autonomy (and authority) to get a job like that done well. You can’t build respect and develop and engage employees if you – as the leader – are unsure of what you can and cannot do. Hesitation and prevarication aren’t options out there on the battle front.” Charlotte’s belief is that the biggest trap any manager moving into a new job can fall into is letting the initial euphoria (of their so-called promotion) stop them from getting some very basic rules agreed between them and their boss. As she explains, “time and again I hear of newly appointed managers who were so excited by their new promotion they forgot all the basics – that’s a recipe for disaster.” She continues, “sure, have that bottle of celebratory champagne, but next morning sit down with your boss and get the rules agreed. AND get them in writing. If they aren’t carved in stone they aren’t rules at all.” She adds, “without that you can’t do the job you are being asked to do.” So what are Charlotte’s rules ? “Any manager heading into a new assignment needs to have at least these clear from day one,” she stresses. “Not just clear, but agreed in writing before they begin.” What are my short-term goals? What are my long-term goals? What is the time frame for reviewing, correcting and revising these goals? What is the report-back relationship and how and when does this happen (weekly, monthly etc)? If my personal compensation is related to performance, what are the parameters? Is the budget for my group agreed and what autonomy do I have in using it? What is my expense approval threshold? What are my limits on hiring new personnel? What are my limits on dismissing existing personnel? She concludes, “There are more than this, but get these basic ground rules agreed and you will at least know where your limitations are. This saves a lot of grief and hand-wringing later on.” Charlotte tells me that she is consistently successful because she and her boss both know the rules. “This way there are no ambiguities, nosurprises. I know where I stand and the company knows what it has asked me to do and the parameters that have been set.” My question: Is that how the rest of us work ? This column on leadership and organizational development is written exclusively for the IEDP by Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, the Brussels-based development organization. Have a comment or a question? Connect with him via Linkedin.

Leadership in an Age of Convergence

Jens Maier is Lecturer at the University of St. Gallen, Fellow at London Business School (Centre for Management Development) and the Founder of CE Convergence Engineers.

He is the author of “The ambidextrous Organization-exploring the new while exploiting the now”; Palgrave Macmillan; 2015 and will be presenting a keynote session at #MCE55 Event in April (19-20 April 2016). 

Convergence between markets and technologies happens around us. The perfect Storm of ubiquitous Technologies (smartphones, cloud computing, big data, social media and the internet of everything), often characterized as „digitization” is by itself challenging enough. When coupled with a megatrend such as aging population, the implications are felt across most industries.

MCE: You’ve introduced "the ambidextrous leader” as a viable concept and a “must- have” for today’s successful corporation. But doesn’t the evidence indicate that a lot of senior managers can’t use even one hand effectively to steer the corporate boat?

Jens Maier (JM): Sure, there are always exceptions: that individual leaders fail at running the existing business smoothly. However, years of benchmarking, continuous improvement, black belts etc. have helped to raise the professionalism in most industries. Therefore, I have observed that senior managers have become quite proficient at using the hand of “exploiting” the current business.

Now, the perfect storm of technologies such as smartphones, cloud computing, big data, social media and the internet of everything has a huge impact on the future of most existing industries.

This current phenomenon, often summarized as digitalization, creates new competitors in the existing business and is simultaneously offering opportunities for new businesses. Therefore, organizations are challenged to develop the capability of exploration. It is no longer just about playing existing game better, shaping game is now required. In shaping game organizations are fighting for relevance in the next phase of their industry. Witness Nokia and Blackberry fresh in our minds as examples for organizations struggling to move beyond efficiency to stay relevant.

Relevance therefore is the result for an organization’s capability to reconcile exploitation (efficiency in the existing busing business) and successful exploration of new opportunities beyond today’s core business. Organizations have to develop the organizational “bandwidth” to reconcile exploitation and exploration.

MCE: What’s your recipe for getting respect as a leader? What would you mandate/demand that CEOs-in waiting MUST experience, learn, adopt or get enthused about on their way to the top.

JM: Respect is earned and due when a leader can demonstrate both authenticity and adaptability. In the book I use the analogy of the T-model. We find that initially first time team or project leaders tend to repeat the leadership behaviour that brought them success in the previous assignment. If the “hammer” was successful, in the next, larger assignment a bigger “hammer” is being used. This brings leaders success in their functional area of expertise or to stay with the analogy, as long as the challenge presents itself in the shape of a nail... However, we have learned about the high levels of de-railment that take place at the transition from the vertical line of the T-model to the horizontal line, the transition from functional specialist to general manager.

At the level of general management, the CEO role is just the broadest version of general management, a leader has to demonstrate additional competencies such as “influencing”.

This means that the leader has to develop the necessary “bandwidth” of behaviors over and beyond the preference for the “hammer”.

Now, in the current age of “digitization” the need for developing bandwidth in leadership behavior has been added one important new dimension, the requirement to be able to do both “exploitation” and “exploration”.

In their role as leader, individuals are required to prepare their organizations for the future, in short to innovate. Now, as leaders progress in their careers they usually assemble a good track record around exploitation, the continuous improvement of processes and products. However, in the age of digitization, exploration as a key competence has to be acquired. Again the new dimension for increasing personal bandwidth is the competency to do both exploitation and exploration.

MCE: We keep hearing about phrases like soft skills and mindfulness, but it’s a tough, real-world out there. Doesn’t the ambidextrous leader need an iron fist in a velvet glove to gain respect? So how do you reconcile these opposites to be the real leader so many of us want to follow?

JM: This is where the idea of individual bandwidth comes in: There are times when a leader has to apply the iron-fist, or the hammer. This may be necessary to apply exploitation. However, during our times of digitization, when it is important to explore new approaches, the competence to develop a vision, a point of view is also critical. This exploration competence includes winning the hearts and minds of followers, includes influencing inside and outside the organization. This could be described as the velvet glove. This means that leaders have to develop their individual bandwidth to be adaptable to both exploitation and exploration requirements and to stay authentic.

MCE: If you could sum up your book’s message in one phrase that any would-be leaders should keep in mind everyday to repeat as a mantra as they start their day’s work, what would it be?

JM: Ambidexterity is about personal and organizational bandwidth – what do I do today to improve both my personal and our organizational bandwidth.

#MCE55 Event 19-20 April 2016: Accelerated solutions for building organizational relevance and connectivity in a disruptive world.

Read here more why you should come to this event.

The best way to ensure career success

Amrit Thind

A series of interviews with experienced players and experts in human resources and organizational development. Here we ask the questions to Amrit Thind, who is taking an MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at ESADE Business and Law School in Barcelona. He explains what he sees as the best way to ensure career success.

MCE : In your recent experiences as a student, what are business schools NOT putting into their curriculum that you think should be on the ”MUST teach them” list?

Amrit Thind (AT): Business Schools are increasingly moving away from standardized teachings; too often students tend to only enter the professional world with a strong understanding of management principles, financial fundamentals, and the basics of large industry to assist them in their job hunt. However, what students lack nowadays is a basic ability to solve problems.

For the past decades European educational systems have spoon-fed students problems and accordingly the right solutions. Students don’t tend to make many mistakes. This needs to change. For example, the MSc Innovation & Entrepreneurship program at ESADE Business & Law School has a different approach to educating their students: The course is very much built on practical principles, providing students with an array of different problems to solve: starting an innovative new venture from scratch, for instance. This gives students the freedom to identify problems and figure out how to solve them however they best see fit. More importantly, making mistakes is a crucial part of the process.

  

MCE: What life/work experiences do you think that you NEED to have to become an effective people manager and respected leader?

AT: Working in teams and taking on various roles with different people is absolutely key to becoming an effective people manager and respected leader. No matter where you work, people will always challenge you. The sooner you learn to manage individuals with different personalities, backgrounds, mindsets, and working styles, the better.

Moreover, if you want to become an effective people manager and respected leader, it is also crucial for you to allow yourself to be managed by someone else in order to identify how it would be working for yourself. Reflecting on who you are and what you do is often more revealing than anything else in developing strong managerial and leadership skills. 

  

MCE: If you could choose to spend 24 hours with any business/management guru/thinker what would be your choice and why? (Basically – who IS your hero?)

AT: I would love to spend 24 hours with the authors of Freakonomics, University of Chicago economist, Steven Levitt, and New York Times journalist, Stephen J. Dubner.

Whilst their infamous book is already a decade old, I try to listen to their podcasts on Freakonomics Radio as often as possible. They talk about incredibly interesting topics, often discussing every-day issues and unveiling unexpected results. For example, do you know what “temptation bundling” is? Or did you know that the ability to think like a child could be incredibly fruitful in idea generation and developing creativity? I would highly recommend Freakonomics Radio for anyone who is looking for some intellectual stimulation during the commute. If you don’t know where to get started pick up any of the podcast episodes. It will definitely hook you.

MCE: Despite the fact that it appears to be a young people’s world, it looks like we are going to have to work until our 70s. What’s your thinking about keeping yourself up-to-speed current and relevant in your personal career cycle?

 AT: I believe there are two elements that are crucial in keeping yourself up-to-speed and relevant in your personal career: Innovation and the ability to sell - yourself and your product or service.

Innovation is key because it is what companies rely on to continually grow and stay differentiated. In fact, without innovation, corporations become arrogant and die. Therefore, staying innovative doesn’t only mean that you need to keep in touch with the modern world and technology – which is often overwhelming in and of itself. More importantly, never become arrogant and always listen to your customers. This is not just a lesson for your professional career; it is a lesson for life.

Sales are key because, ultimately, everything boils down to sales: You may have an impressive personality and skill set; you may have amazing work experience and a wonderful CV; you might have the most incredible product or service in the world. But if you don’t know how to quantify your value proposition, identify your customer, and understand their needs as well as match your solution to their needs, you will be forever stuck in the same place.

Whilst innovation and sales are important, I believe that, if we are going to have to work until our 70s, it is equally important to take a step back and breathe every once in a while. The world moves so fast nowadays. We are constantly bombarded with information and things we should do: Emails, LinkedIn, WhatsApp Messages, and Facebook notifications – it is easy to become overwhelmed. Step back and breathe – if you are going to work into your 70s, you better find a way to enjoy it. 

Leading Maverick Managers

VIEWPOINT: Innovative thinkers are often mavericks. Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, says we need them, in this fifth in a series of articles for IEDP: Maverick managers, off-the-wall employees, tortured geniuses – individuals that we have been taught, counselled and warned to leave well alone. Staff recruiters weed them out early in any selection process and any inherited non-conformists get sent packing to the outer limits of the corporate empire. “A new world of work where similarity breeds contempt” Until now, standard procedure seems to have been building organizational cultures filled with like-minded people, none of whom will ever rock the boat, much less capsize it. But, as I keep trying to impress upon my peers, we are leading and managing in a new era of work. A new world of work where similarity breeds contempt and the status quo needs a good shaking up. Why ? Simple. Talent is in ever shorter supply, meaning hiring our preferred people is harder than ever. At the same time, we need to innovate and invent to survive. This means that there is an urgent imperative to think new, radical thoughts about our businesses. And if you want radical thinking where else to go but to the source of all things different – the maverick executive. We’ve all met them, many of us have worked with them. They are the loose cannons of corporate life. Their travelling companions are chaos and confusion, but they may just offer new insights into how to boost a business, promote a product, or smarten up a service line. My argument is that in today’s business world we need these people who think and act differently to ourselves and our plain vanilla compatriots. Only problem with mavericks, you have to know how to lead them! As a leader, the first thing to recognise is that maverick employees need one thing above all else – freedom. Try and tie them down to the rules that the rest of us follow and they will quickly get frustrated and quit. Conversely, if you give them a totally free rein chaos can ensue and others will leave instead! Second thing to take on board is that these wonderful, wacky people need lots and lots of encouragement – amazingly they often have quite a low opinion of themselves and the more you praise their efforts the better they will be. Thirdly, you need to create a climate that can support them without turning off your run-of-the-mill corporate clones – the Bills, Bobs and Bettys, that your recruitment agency would much rather you were hiring. These employees need assurance too (most importantly that you haven’t gone crazy), but they also need to be told that these mavericks are not different; they are part of the team. So, if you want to put some maverick’s into your business, how should you deal with them ? Here’s a few thoughts to get you started. Make them part of the group you lead (be sure they feel valued) and make real efforts to integrate them. However, also spend a lot of face-time with the others in the group so they know what the score really is. Tell your maverick(s) that you welcome their ideas (however weird and wonderful they may be!) and you look forward to them. Above all you want them to make a contribution and feel that they can be as open and as innovative as possible. Set goals and challenges for them. This keeps them focused on what you want, not what they would like to do. Most mavericks have short attention spans and if not watched can wander off and get into trouble. Follow up quickly with their ideas and their actions. It’s all about encouragement. If an idea isn’t worth pursuing say so and move on. But rather than saying “no,” suggest they think about their idea in another way. What you want is positive reinforcement, not a series of turn-offs. However, never say, “It’s a great idea,” where it clearly isn’t. By trying to build up their credibility you will quickly lose your own. Don’t say, “I’ll get back to you,” and leave them waiting days for a response. Say you will consider their idea and get back to them in 24 hours and make sure you do it. And what about conflict ? Well it does happen. Most often because other members of the team can feel sidelined or ignored and take it out on your mavericks. If that happens, confront it. Make it clear what each member of your team is supposed to do – so everyone understands the responsibilities and the roles they play. Don’t play favourites. Properly led, mavericks can play a major role in organizational success. Is it worth the trouble ? If you know why they are there and you can keep them focused, yes it is. Otherwise stick with those cosy clones although that way corporate life will never be as much fun! This column on leadership and organizational development is written exclusively for IEDP by Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, the Brussels-based learning and development organization. Have a comment or a question? Connect with him via Linkedin.

What makes now a great and successful leaders is not anymore the most important question.

Johan Beeckmans

Johan Beeckmans’s extensive international expertise in leadership, strategy and management development has been built over a 25 year career in key Human Resources roles and senior positions with international companies in the US and Europe. He is also Senior Associate at MCE and he talks about Leadership development. 

How to change the mindset?

What makes now a great and successful leaders is not anymore the most important question. It is about how to change the mindset? This can be done following the four step approach.

• Self-awareness

It is the basis of our knowledge about ourselves. With self-awareness we have a reasonable chance not only to develop good and solid social skills, but to start to change our mindset. Without it, there is unfortunately little chance to change the mindset. It is a journey that requires continuously building and refining a set of skills that allows people to guide, inspire, and work with others as well as making their plan for the “stages” they need to go through. It considers both horizontal and vertical development. 

Great managers have a wide range of competencies to draw on. They understand their strengths and weaknesses, their preferences, what makes them tick, what they avoid and how they learn. They know themselves well. Successful leaders learn from listening to others and from feedback. They are open to listen to feedback and make the necessary changes in their behaviors in order to plan their own stages of development.  And becoming a more complex thinker, they focus on vertical development i.e, the steps to become a more complex thinker.

•  Inspiring the Team 

Great managers and leaders know exactly what their role is in the team. They read the situation and understand what is needed from them. Great managers create a great atmosphere to work in. The manager – and their behaviors – has the biggest impact on team climate.  Team climate affects performance. It affects the amount of effort people in the team will contribute. The more they contribute, the more successful the team will be.  Positive climates encourage extra effort – negative climates inhibit it. High performance climates are characterized by individuals, who routinely do whatever it takes – who exceed expectations. Extended periods of poor climate may cause people to lose faith in the idea that things can improve, leading people to disengage from their jobs and the organization.  

•  Leading in a complex world

One of the things that matter, of course, is our capacity to hold and understand complexity. Leaders need to have the ability for each of us to hold the shades of grey complexity brings with it. Leadership is filled with so many shades of grey, so it matters that we can see those different shades. The complexity does not only comes fro the outside environment, but more so from the internal environment. Successful leader lead with mindfulness in their teams, organizations. This is the only way we can change happen in the organization. The reason that managers at higher levels of development are able to perform more effectively is that they can think in more complex ways.

•   Create your Personal Leadership Brand

Effective managers ask themselves: “What are the demands of my managerial situation?” Then they select the right leadership styles in response to the demands of the situation, considering:

ƒ. the experience and capability of team members

ƒ. the complexity of the task

ƒ. time pressures and resource availability

ƒ. the risks that result from under-performance

ƒ. the organization’s culture or norms.

Finally, they keep an open mind and observe their impact, watch out for changes in the situation that demand a different approach, and assess changes in the climate they are creating for their team.
Managing your personal brand requires leaders to be a great role model, mentor, and / or a voice that others can depend upon.

A major part of leadership development is helping people develop how they think.

How they get to an answer matters more than ever. The focus is on the individual’s responsibility for own development. And it starts with the self-awareness and the ability to change the mindset.  When people are confronted with increased complexity and challenge that can’t be reconciled with what they know and can do at their current level, people have to take the next step. Development accelerates when people are able to identify the assumptions that are holding them at their current level of development and find a way to do something about it.

Where to start? A starting point can come from redefining what is meant by the term leadership. It is not anymore the heroic leader with the 5, 7, 10 traits that makes them successful. Leadership is a process of mobilizing people to face difficult challenges, process of inspiring teams to high performance; process of leading in a complex world and above all to create a leadership brand. Who is the leader becomes less important than what is needed in the system and how we can produce it.

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