Confronting a Crisis of Leadership

Like the good leaders we (think) we are, we’re hoping that whatever we write will be a timeless masterpiece. So I’ve always chosen to ignore passing fads and fancies, preferring to ignore, so-called news, that noisy rumble of history being made. These short (hopefully) to-the-point columns are about insights into the leader’s psyche (and those who have the burden of “serving” them), if that’s an allowable word in these days of hyper-political correctness (HPC to you).

What, I would like to think, is that many years from now you’ll pick up these columns on some leadership-linked search engine and it will still seem fresh, vital and relevant to the times in which we live. In a world where b-school professors can make a nice living writing and lecturing about the dubious leadership quirks of 12th century Mongolian warlords, stamping a date on a thought piece about the habits of 21st century CEOs might not be that bad after all.

So, after much soul searching – while sampling a glass or two of excellent Bordeaux - , I’ve decided to throw caution to the winds and mention the “T” word. To be honest, I swore I’d never do it, but just watching our leaders get it so wrong, so often and with such seemingly self-satisfied smugness, I felt I had no choice, but to take up the keyboard and get it out of my system.

In the months that have passed since Mr T (why do I still think of that big guy from the awful TV series the A-Team (*) when I write that ?), all I can say is that, ladies and gentlemen I am shocked.

I am shocked that :
- The pundits didn’t know, but now spend hours talking drivel of what went wrong
- The media didn’t know, never did, never will.
- The politicians didn’t know (but like to pretend they do). 
- The pollsters got it wrong again, and again, and again
- The big bucks-earning,heavy-hitter CEOs were as surprised as you were. Do you know ANYONE who has predicted anything correctly lately?

Ok, ok, it’s easy to mock and make fun, but this is serious guys. All my experience over many years says that the very first test of leadership is that you have a plan. And the second test is you have plan B (because every idiot knows plan A never, ever works – right?).
When plan B doesn’t work you show your true  leadership by having a plan C, at least  to the point that you exude enough confidence so people feel safer, more in control, having some direction in their lives (countless studies show what 99% of all employees want is to feel safe, and if they make money too that’s a bonus).

People didn’t vote to leave Europe; and they didn’t vote for Mr T. they voted because there is no leadership. They are rootless and rudderless.
This is the worst state of leaderless mania I have ever witnessed. There’s just no one to look up to. And, ultimately if you don’t have faith you create a vacuum in which no decisions get made. Currently our leaders have shown they never had a plan A to begin with, forgot what plan B was supposed to achieve  and their in-tray is on fire.

I’ve written extensively that people need direction and they need to believe that someone knows where the boat (be it an organisation or a nation) is going and how we are all going to get there. In 2016 we spent about $10billion on leadership training. For what ? CEOs still pull down huge millions, for leading our organisations on a rocky road to nowhere; Politicians get lauded and rewarded with honours, for making simple, stupid errors. Trouble is we have all forgotten what leadership is about.  Let me make it ever so simple. Leadership is about picking a direction, and getting a bunch of (hopefully) like-minded individuals to follow you and reap the rewards, possibly spreading a little inspirational stardust along the way. Maybe Mr T has that (or maybe we’d just better wish really, really hard that he has). 

Sorry to say folks, but leadership ain’t what it used to be and that’s the simple truth. My question to you is, are we going to do anything about it? Sadly there’s not much sign that our leaders are wonderfully equipped to put the esprit de corps back into the corpse, we’ve left lonely, lifeless and abandoned by the corporate highway as a sad legacy of our own failings. Aren’t we better than that ? Come on let’s go and seek out some inspirational leaders. I’ll be back with a route map soon. Promise.

(*) For those that need to know The A Team was a cult shoot’em up tv show  of the 1980s

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 directly with Rudi Plettinx here.

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.

"Women constitute half of the talent of the planet."

A series of interviews with experienced players and experts in human resources and organizational development. Here we ask the questions to Elisabeth Kelan, Professor of Leadership at Cranfield School of Management, and a world renowned expert on gender diversity and women in the workplace. She has just published a new study “Opening the Black Box” (*), that  examines the struggle women have to get into top jobs. 

MCE : 50% of the world’s working population are female. Are we ever going to recognize that fact and realize that we are talking about half the talent of the planet?

Elisabeth Kelan  (EK) : It is surprising that is has taken organizations so long to realise that women constitute half of the talent. Many organisations not only realise that they overlooked half of the talent but also that the talent they have been grooming as future leaders is changing dramatically. With the demographic and generational changes the 'Organization Man' who prioritises work over life is no longer a model that organizations can rely on when it comes to talent. This provides a strong impetus for change. 

MCE : Your new study is titled,“ Opening the Black Box”. (*)– We have to ask the question: “is it really worth the effort; isn’t there a better, more useful, contribution that talented females can make to organizations, without hankering after being the CEO” ?

EK : The study looks at how journeys to the boardroom differ for women and men. The research was conducted by Scarlett Brown, a PhD candidate at King's College London, who is funded by the ESRC and by Sapphire Partners an executive search firm specialising in diverse talent. There is currently a lot of focus on achieving at least 25 percent women in FTSE100 board rooms following the Davies review. The Cranfield Female FTSE report shows that we are on track to hit the 25 percent target. The effect on candidates is that it raised the ambition of many women and they now aim for a board seat. While women aim for a board seat, men are more likely to aim for the chair of the board. There is still a difference in ambition and it is important that women not only get a board seat but also take leadership roles on the board. We also found that women received a lot of advice on their way to the boardroom whereas men benefitted from sponsorship - they had power brokers who put them forward for roles. Women and men network in the same ways but get different things from their network. This shows that a lot of work needs to be done to achieve gender balance on boards and beyond.  

MCE :  Do you think, that women who choose a business career get a rough ride from the media and are all too easily stereotyped – any thoughts on how to avoid that?

EK : Women in the media in general get a rough ride. Women are more likely to appear as vox populi but much less likely to be featured as experts. The media thereby perpetuates gender stereotypes instead of providing an impetus for new societal possibilities. This of course affects women in business careers where the focus is often on their private life and their attire rather than their business contribution. Media organisations are waking up to this and some are changing the messages they put out. 

MCE : Do you have any female business women heroes – and why do you respect them ?

EK : We are really lucky today to have a good selection of senior women in business and beyond who are all very different. Just think of women leaders such as Angela Merkel, Ginni Rometty, Christine Lagarde, Hillary Clinton, Marissa Mayer to name but few. All of them have found ways to lead in their unique ways rather than complying with a template. I admire that.  We also should not forget that there are many men who practice leadership in such ways that allow gender equality to flourish. So rather than looking at women as leaders we also need to foster gender inclusive leadership practices in men as well as women. For instance I am currently engaged in a new research project that explores how middle managers practice inclusive leadership. 

(*) You can download the study at : http://www.openingtheblackbox.co.uk