CES Continuing Education for Senior Leaders Course

Transcription

1 CES Continuing Education for Senior Leaders Course Teaching Note: On Becoming an Enterprise Thinker March 20, 2016 Page1

2 On Becoming an Enterprise Thinker a Romuald Stone, DBA, Army Management Staff College The purpose of this teaching note is to provide Continuing Education for Senior Leaders course students with a greater recognition of the need for enterprise thinking and leadership. Many of us spend the initial stages of our career buried in departmental silos chasing functional objectives. The most important objectives, however, are enterprise objectives. Senior leaders must put the enterprise first. However, in high performing organizations, functional leaders do so as well. Enterprise leaders are enterprise people first and functional leaders second. They strive to breakdown silos, instead of building them to eliminate duplication, redundancies, etc. This in and of itself promotes enterprise thinking. While many of us will not become enterprise leaders, we can become enterprise thinkers by enabling senior or enterprise leaders through a better appreciation of the value of enterprise perspective, thinking, and enterprise leadership. For example, What is an Enterprise Perspective? Increasingly we face a growing flood of complex and enterprise-wide challenges. Enterprise perspective is an approach to adapt the culture, organizations, and processes so that leaders and professionals take a holistic approach to run or operate within the Army, your organization, or your office more effectively. We define an enterprise-wide perspective as having an appreciation and understanding of the big picture and acting in the best interests of the overall enterprise and Army, not just the organizational interest. Becoming an enterprise thinker connotes broadening at successive levels. A branch chief can be an enterprise thinker by thinking at the Division level, etc. Department of Defense Instruction further notes that the enterprise-wide perspective involves a broad point of view of the DoD mission and an understanding of individual or organizational responsibilities in relation to the large DoD strategic priorities. 1 DoDI further denotes enterprise-wide perspective as having two major driving forces Joint Perspective and National Security. Page2 a This teaching note is based on a talk by Mrs. Ellen Helmerson, TRADOC G-8, to Advance Class 17-1, November 2016.

3 Enterprise-Wide Perspective JOINT PERSPECTI VE Mission Orientation DoD Mission + Culture DoD Corporate Perspective Nat l Defense Integration NATIONAL SECURITY National Security Foundation National Security Environment National Security Strategy 1. Joint Perspective. Enterprise leaders increasingly operate in a complex joint environment. This requires leaders with an in-depth understanding of how DoD operates and how all components integrate towards mission accomplishment. This includes the following five components: a. Mission Orientation. Understanding his or her identity in the organization and where his or her job fits into the major organization and overall mission of DoD. b. DoD Mission and Culture. Understanding DoD mission b and the roles, missions, and command structure of the Military Services and Defense agencies. This includes identifying similarities and differences in the missions and cultures of the Services. Be able to identify members of the total force and articulate an understanding of how the Services work together to accomplish the DoD mission. Page3 b There are many views on what DoD mission entails. At least the Army has a by-law mission in Title 10, and that mission does not include the word war. U.S. Code Title In general, the Army, within the Department of the Army, includes land combat and service forces and such aviation and water transport as may be organic therein. It shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained combat incident to operations on land. It is responsible for the preparation of land forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war except as otherwise assigned and, in accordance with integrated joint mobilization plans, for the expansion of the peacetime components of the Army to meet the needs of war.

4 c. DOD Corporate Perspective. Consider how the Department of Defense operates and how DoD components, stakeholders, partners, and customers integrate toward mission accomplishment. d. National Defense Integration. Keeps current in joint doctrine and applicable studies. Formulates plans and policies with a broad view and implements programs that consider interoperability, joint basing, and other integration efforts to ensure effective solutions that maximize DoD goals and interests as well as the inter-relationships, resources, and capabilities of all related entities. e. Global Perspective. Effectively communicate the organization s commitment to the joint mission and leads staff to exert influence and execute solutions across the enterprise. Work collaboratively with other national security agencies to achieve U.S. goals and objectives. Foster supportive partnerships across organizational lines and within the international community to drive integration and translate long-term goals into action. 2. National Security. Understands the role of military leaders and the armed forces in the development of national security and foreign policies, military civilian relations, impact of rapid technological change and weaponry in international politics, and the role of the military in the shaping of war and peace. This requires competencies in the following three domains: a. National Security Foundation. Understand the DoD role, responsibilities, and organizational framework as it applies to the national security mission. Comprehend the relationship between all elements of power and can articulate the interagency and multinational cooperation in the use of power. b. National Security Environment. Keep current and regularly examine key national security and international issues, to include military, economic, political, and societal trends that affect the Department of Defense. Use knowledge of national security policy to shape broader strategies, policy objectives, interagency partnerships, and other initiatives beyond the organizational level in support of DoD national security goals. c. National Security Strategy. Systematically apply an in-depth understanding of national security policy, goals, objectives to the development, deployment, employment, and sustainment of DoD resources in support of national objectives. Coordinate issues with national security implications across all layers of government. Constructively influence policy toward the attainment of national security goals and objectives. Why an Enterprise Perspective Competency? Now that we ve defined what enterprise perspective looks like, let s zero in on why this an important competency for us to develop and grow? Consider these six reasons why enterprise thinking is important to us: Page4

5 1. Reinforces and emphasizes our scope/environment that we operate in, rely on, serve, and support. 2. Helps you lead, act and communicate with an understanding of how all areas of an enterprise interrelate and how different cultural contexts affect business operations 3. Provides a helicopter view of the organizations, processes, and operating environment. 4. It helps put issues, problems, challenges into a broader perspective--a means to expedite critical solutions. 5. Provides you an avenue to better understand what is good for the Nation and Army vice just your organization or yourself. 6. Helps us be influential to our senior leaders when we understand their perspectives, issues, challenges, and environment. Why do we need to develop and grow managers to become Enterprise Leaders? We need leaders and professionals "who see the enterprise as a whole and act for its greater good." 2 We need leaders who understand that tackling wicked government problems requires building and drawing upon a network of critical organizational and individual actors, no matter where they may reside. 3 Someone who, at any level, sees the issues and analyzes them, and then acts with the interests and perspectives of the total enterprise in mind to create value. This requires the ability to "decide the relative importance of urgent problems versus long-term challenges and, in the process, figure out how to allocate time and effort among them." 4 Someone who avoids narrow business unit, functional or geographical interests in favor of doing the right thing for the enterprise, even if compensation or other reward systems suggest something different. A leader with an enterprise perspective builds a set of competencies, skills and attitudes that can enable a culture of change, innovation, creativity, risk-taking, opportunism, etc. that underpins employability, enables entre- and intra-preneurship, and facilitates knowledge transfer. In our Army we need leaders who can work effectively across unit, functional, enterprise, and geographic boundaries who can enable closure on strategy-capabilities gaps. 5 What an Enterprise Thinker or Leader Delivers 1. Enterprise leaders appeal to a desire to be part of something "more." c "They clearly explain how functional, and individual, efforts support the greater good of the enterprise. 2. Enterprise leaders see the enterprise as a whole and act for its greater good. 3. Enterprise leaders have the ability to operate across functional and organizational lines; the ability to align local organizations with the enterprise perspective; expertise to exert influence and make decisions crossing disciplines and diverse environments; and 4. This enterprise perspective grows adaptive leadership skills tested and proven in circumstances of discontinuous, disorienting, disruptive change where the rules of the Page5 c See Simon Sinek video that conveys this in a short and meaningful way: Understand WHY at

6 game are completely invalidated and new rules must be invented, applied, and modified continuously. 5. Enterprise leaders deliver new insights, proven approaches, shortcomings in ideas, talents of different organizations. 6. Enterprise perspective and associated competencies will help improve your individual performance, by modeling the behaviors that make high performing employees successful in their jobs growing from analysts to managers to Enterprise leaders. Are Enterprise Thinkers and Leaders Born or Made? 6 The answer is both. There is no doubt that enterprise perspective can be improved with education, training and experiences acquired through opportunities in the institutional, operational, and self-development domains. 7 But the ability to shift through different levels of analysis, recognize patterns, and construct mental models requires some natural propensity. This is not to suggest that if an individual does not have an inclination or natural tendency that he or she won t be able to develop into an effective enterprise leader. Michael D. Watkins reports on a study in a Harvard Business Review article, How Managers Become Leaders, where he looked at functional leaders who moved into leading an enterprise. What he found to make this transition successfully, executives must navigate a tricky set of changes in their leadership focus and scope. 8 Borrowing from Watkin s study, each of the seven seismic shifts necessary to become enterprise thinkers are discussed next. 1. Specialist to Generalist: The challenge here becomes shifting from leading a single function to leading a full set of functions. Rather than staying in one s functional comfort zone, enterprise leaders must take on a broader role. Enterprise perspective turns specialists into generalists who know enough about all aspects of the functions to run business with a broader perspective. How do you take this step? For starters, step out of your functional area to help you grow from a functional specialist to more of a generalist. This would help with building more breadth and depth in your experience base. Consider volunteering for taskings, requirements, or areas that are outside of your current comfort zone. Seek out broadening assignments and perspectives. 2. Analyst to Integrator: Where functional leaders manage people who focus in analytical depth on specific problems, an enterprise leader s job is to manage and integrate the collective knowledge to solve important problems. This may also include the shift from personally being an analyst to one of an integrator moving from doer to synchronizer. How do you take this step? Having a general knowledge of various functions is a good start. The skill set needed involves understanding how to make trade-offs and explain the rationale for those decisions. The ability to collate knowledge and ideas is part of this process. A developmental assignment working with a senior leader would be helpful as well. Page6

7 3. Tactician to Strategist: The challenge here is letting go of the comfortable role of a tactician in the trenches every day getting results. Tactically strong leaders develop a strategic mindset by cultivating four skills: Level shifting--the ability to move fluidly amongst levels of analysis to know when to focus on details and when to focus on the big picture and how they relate Strategic focus the ability to understand how your current position or department s mission is nested with higher headquarters and strategic-level goals. Pattern recognition--the ability to discern important relationships and patters in the business and environment. Mental simulation--the ability to anticipate how others will respond to what you do and to predict reactions. How do you take this step? Key here will be securing developmental assignments and/or positions that expose the leader to cross-functional projects and positions of greater responsibility. Advanced educational opportunities like the senior service college, Senior Enterprise Talent Management programs, and others can contribute to developing your skill set. 4. Bricklayer to Architect: As you move up to the enterprise level, you now become responsible for designing the architecture of your organization its strategy, structure, and processes. To be an effective organizational architect, enterprise leaders need to practice systems thinking by avoiding simple linear cause and effect reasoning. 9 The Army Organizational Life Cycle Model (AOLCM) is a good example that depicts the linkage of systems for acquiring, developing, employing and then retiring resources a system composed of systems within a system. In addition, enterprise leaders need to know the principles of managing and leading organizational change, including the mechanics of organizational design, business process improvement, and developing strategy. How do you take this step? Few leaders rising to the enterprise level get formal training in these disciplines, thus leaving most ill equipped to be the architects of their organizations. Leaders are advised to consider formal education programs or courses that teach organizational change for example to be better prepared for this shift. 5. Warrior to Diplomat d : As an enterprise leader, you now must also face the challenge of being a diplomat for the enterprise. This involves using the tools of diplomacy, such as negotiation, persuasion, conflict management, and building coalitions to shape the environment to support their strategic objectives. Enterprise leaders find ways that interests can or do align, understand how decisions are made in different kinds of Page7 d Not to be confused with the fact that we will always need soldiers to be Warriors (and sometimes simultaneously diplomats).

8 organizations, and develop effective strategies for influencing others. How you take this step? By first understanding these skills and competencies, the aspiring enterprise leader can begin to lay out a development plan through formal education, developmental assignments, and positions of increasing responsibility throughout his or her career. 6. Problem Solver to Agenda Setter: Many managers are promoted to senior levels on the strength of their ability to fix problems and get results. When they become enterprise leaders, however, they must focus less on solving problems and more on defining which problems the organization should be tackling. How you take this step? The skills honed as a functional leader are not enough. The skills required as an agenda setter requires the leader to be able to navigate a far more uncertain and ambiguous operating environment than used to. The leader needs to be able to help frame the environment, frame the problem, and frame the broad operational approach. 7. Cast Member to Lead Role: Becoming an enterprise leader means moving to center stage under the bright lights. You serve as a role model by defining a compelling vision and sharing it in an inspiring way. Your leadership shall promote a culture that encourages and rewards creativity, innovation, intelligent risk-taking and critical thinking throughout the Enterprise. How you take this step? This shift requires a greater awareness of and impact enterprise leaders have as role models. Your influence is greatly magnified. Everyone looks to the leader for vision, inspiration, and cues about the right behaviors and attitudes. You are on stage every day. Everyone is watching. You learn to become an enterprise leader and thinker by developing your competencies in the following areas: Strategizing understanding the bigger picture. Thinking big and broadly. Seeing possibilities beyond the present Knowing the right questions to ask. Being open minded and flexible Challenging current process (and have a solution) Be able to deal with complexity Be able to communicate and negotiate Performing leading the charge; be honest, ethical and a leader of integrity Empower and build trust Be able to forecast. Reading the environment of today and anticipating the environment of tomorrow Zoom-in, Zoom-out: looking beyond the picture you see from where you stand Taking into account Dubik s principles on becoming a strategic leader. See Appendix C. How Do We Develop and Grow Leaders Page8

9 The following section outlines the core skills we are trying to grow as an enterprise leader and thinker. A leader who can reach across organizational boundaries, unify the efforts of multiple agencies, and drive them to achieve results Learning: Acquiring new knowledge, enhancing awareness, watching others inside and outside of government. Broader perspective--being able to see the big picture Know the right questions to ask Know when to ask probing questions Open-minded and flexible in thought and tactics Be a good listener Practice intellectual humility 2. Strategizing: Developing plans, creating new products/services, establishing alliances, leveraging technology. See the big picture identify and understand missions, structures, budgets, and bureaucratic process of all relevant enterprise actors. Understand the implications of an operating environment that is unknown, unknowable, and constantly changing Challenge current processes, practices and strategy Conceptualize complexity--be able to deal with complexity Unearth alternative approaches, solutions or methods Clear and effective communication--negotiation capacity Engage the relevant network of actors relevant to the problem 3. Performing: Leading the charge, empowering others, innovating everywhere. Honesty and full of integrity Building Trust Networking and managing relationships Initiate innovative ideas Value-added technical or business skills Resilient, resourceful, optimistic and energetic Intuitive decision making with limited information Serve as a champion for the core elements of the organization and Army culture 4. Forecasting: Forecasting the future. Think horizontally and simultaneously Integrate concepts, however disparate Apply lateral thinking to different situations Awareness of entrepreneurial context How Do We Do It? Here are some ideas of how to set yourself up for success as an enterprise thinker. Page9

10 Broaden understanding of DoD, Joint, Army and other Services organizational roles, purposes, business processes, and relationships. Understand the Enterprise perspective is shaped by experience and education and characterized by a strategic, top-level focus on broad requirements, joint experiences, fusion of information, collaboration, and vertical and horizontal integration of information. Leverage professional reading and references (see Appendix A for some recommendations). Read and study doctrine and issues of national security Continue to build your skills as a strategic thinker (see Appendix B) Find a role model broaden your network. Solicit a developmental assignment outside your organization, agency, location (could be local or not). But find something that will help you grow and learn. These broadening and learning opportunities will help continue to grow your perspective and provide a greater understanding of the enterprise as a core goal, and expand your network. Find time to reflect. Practice double-loop learning. Where single-loop learning involves thinking in depth about a situation and the problems inherent in it, double-loop leaning involves studying your own thinking about the situation your biases and assumptions you have, and the undiscussables that are too difficult to raise. 11 Probably most importantly, continue to learn and grow. CES Continuing Education for Senior Leaders Course is an entry point. What will you do with that knowledge when you return to your duty station? How will you advocate for others to gain that insight? What s next for you? Harvard Senior Executive Fellows, Federal Executive Institute, Senior Enterprise Talent Management, Defense Senior Leader Development Program, Army War College, Senior Service College, Continuing Education for Senior Leaders Course, and other leader development programs. Never stop learning. Have the humility and intelligence to realize your learning and development is never done. You don t have all the answers. So many choices and so much time what is your plan? Leverage your supervisor, career program offices, formal and informal mentors, peers to help you see yourself and see what is next. Conclusion An enterprise perspective provides: Broader view and vantage point More collaboration Increased speed e Page10 e This may not always be true. Collaboration and teaming takes time time to build the team; time to share information; and time to close loops, etc.

11 Better planning Greater transparency Eliminates duplicate efforts, and Fosters a culture that provides incentives for good stewardship You can use the enterprise perspective competency to further your professional development. It helps lay out a road map to superior performance, but does not ensure it. Only your personal commitment to excellence, motivation, and actual consistent performance determines your performance level. "We need experience, critical thinking and creativity in our US Army, but most importantly we need teams of people who think differently from one another and yet are connected though unity of mission" Are you ready for that challenge? ~ Army Secretary Fanning Page11

12 APPENDIX A Professional Reading and References President s National Security Strategy National Defense Strategy (now Defense Strategic Review) National Military Strategy Theatre Strategy ( Combatant Commanders) Defense Budget Request (DoD Comptroller) Defense Planning Guidance Defense Budget Overview Annual Army Posture Statement The Army Plan (TAP) Army Vision Army Operating Concept Daily Army Stand To Army Business Strategy Army Strategic Planning Guidance Army Equipment Modernization Strategy Army Talent Management Strategy The Army Leader Development Strategy The Human Dimension Strategy Army Doctrine ADP series (all) Page12

13 APPENDIX B Strategic Thinking Competencies and Enablers While this teaching note focus is on an enterprise-wide perspective competency, we also cannot not ignore the related competency of strategic thinking. During the course we discussed the LTG James Dubik article on how one makes the transition from tactical to strategic leader. We also were asked to consider the Army Research Institute study on strategic thinking. Borrowing from work by the Strategic Education Sub-committee at the Army War College, we present a summary of strategic thinking competencies and strategic thinking enablers that are important to develop on your journey to becoming an enterprise thinker. Many of these elements relate closely to the competencies for enterprise thinkers. Strategic Thinking Competencies We have six strategic thinking competencies as depicted in the graphic below (six columns). The foundation for this framework is the six strategic thinking enablers listed in the base. As civilian leaders we gain and use our experience, education, and raining to develop as leaders. Page13

14 Comprehensive Information Gathering: A strategic thinker continually scans the environment, seeks information from disparate sources, suspends judgement and remains open-minded, considers other perspectives, and possesses listening and research skills. Learning: A strategic thinker is a lifelong learner who iteratively tests, reflects upon, conceptualizes, and manages knowledge to gain insights on the environment and continually examines one s own thinking. Critical Thinking: A strategic thinker identifies the essential aspects of a situation, questions assumptions, asks relevant questions, explains meaningful connections and distinctions, understands nuance, and considers the limits of data. Innovative Thinking: a strategic thinker generates creative and novel ideas, concepts, and approaches, independent of conventional norms. Thinking in Time: A strategic thinker understands historical and contemporary contexts, recognizes patterns, forecasts possible futures, anticipates second and third order effects and has a long-term perspective. Systems Thinking: A strategic thinker uses a holistic perspective of the dynamic and complex environment to identify interrelationships and integrate disparate factors into a comprehensive whole. Strategic Thinking Enablers Page14

15 Broad Knowledge: A strategic thinker has both a broad general knowledge of many disciplines (e.g., geo-politics, world religions/cultures, economics, technology, sociology) and knowledge specific to a strategic environment (e.g., local/regional customs, history, stakeholders) that provides a foundation for strategic thinking. Collaboration: A strategic thinker leverages the capabilities of others in a team or informal network (e.g., through cooperation, leadership, building trust, conflict management) to supplement one s own strategic thinking, given inherent individual limitations and time constraints. Communication: A strategic thinker must communicate candidly and effectively in multiple media (oral, written, visual) for their individual understanding to move to the shared understanding required for strategy implementation by diverse audiences that require tailored and persuasive messages. Moral Courage: A strategic thinker is principled, does what is best for the organization as a whole, and has the conviction and fortitude to speak truth to power regardless of any personal harm accrued from holding a given position. Emotional Regulation: A strategic thinker must be intellectually humble and account for his or her own natural limitations and biases related to emotion, perspective, and self-interest, while maintaining respect for differing values and priorities. Ethical Reasoning: A strategic thinker must comprehend moral challenges and apply ethical reasoning at the strategic level to empower virtuous service, wise decision making, and stewardship of the profession of arms according to its values and traditions. Additionally, they must examine and evaluate the importance of the character of the strategic leader, discretionary moral judgement within the profession, moral aspects of strategic choices, the just war tradition in the exercise of Land power, moral complexities in leading organizations at the strategic level, and other areas. Page15

16 Appendix C Self-Assessment Page16

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18 NOTES: 1 DoDi , Growing Civilian Leaders, dated November 19, Ready, D. A. (2004, Spring). Leading at the enterprise level. MIT Sloan Management Review, p Nickerson, J., & Sanders, R. (Eds.) Tackling wicked government problems. The Brookings Institution, pp Gates, R. M. (2016). A passion for leadership: Lessons on change and reform from fifty years of public service. Knopf, p Ready, D. A. (2004, Spring). Leading at the enterprise level. MIT Sloan Management Review, p. 91. Nickerson, J., & Sanders, R. (Eds.) Tackling wicked government problems. The Brookings Institution, p Much of this section extracted from Watkins, M. D. (2012, June). How managers become leaders. Harvard Business Review, p Army Leader Development Strategy, 2013, p Watkins, M. D. (2012, June). How managers become leaders. Harvard Business Review, p Allen, C. D., Cunningham, G. K., & Klinger, J. (2009, June). Systems thinking for strategic leaders. U.S. Army War College, available at 10 Nickerson, J., & Sanders, R. (Eds.) Tackling wicked government problems. The Brookings Institution, p Leitch, J., Lancefield, D., & Dawson,M. (2016, Autumn). 10 principles of strategic leadership. Strategy + Business, pp Page18