Leading Leaders: Tools for Cultural Change

Transcription

1 Leading Leaders: Tools for Cultural Change Barry Dornfeld, PhD Principal at CFAR PHILADELPHIA / BOSTON

2 Today s agenda: Leading Leaders 1 2 Motivation in the Workplace is Changing: Your Leadership Challenge Three Tools: Tool 1. Use Influence to Accelerate Change Tool 2. Move From Push to Pull Tool 3. Sweep People In to Build Your Coalition 2

3 Motivation in the Workplace is Changing 3

4 because the social contract has changed Shifts: Increased turbulence leads to reorganization, downsizing, and overload. Organizations become much more lean spans of control increase, resulting in more reliance on employees to manage themselves. Length of time in one job, in one company, averages 4.6 years (Bureau of Labor Statistics). The Response: Work shifting to collaborators and volunteers Loyalty is redefined loyal first to myself and my career I have to take care of myself You are the CEO of your life. The leadership challenge: How to motivate others who you don t have authority over. 4

5 Get comfortable with disruption I m not big into organizational charts because they can put people in silos. People have roles, but they should be porous One of the things I always look for in people is whether they re comfortable with disruption and comfortable with a degree of confusion. If somebody wants total clarity, they re not the person for me. Michael J. Dowling, chief executive of Northwell Health (formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System) Source: Michael J. Dowling, quoted in Adam Bryant, Michael J. Dowling: If It Can t Be Done, You Haven t Tried, The New York Times, Corner Office, February 12,

6 Authority has limits When you run General Electric, there are seven to 12 times a year when you have to say, you re doing it my way. If you do it 18 times, the good people will leave. If you do it three times, the company falls apart. One study showed that big decisions required, on average, consultation with 20 people. Little decisions require consultation with eight. Source: Jeff Immelt quoted in Joe Nocera, Running G.E., Comfortable In His Skin, The New York Times, C1, June 9,

7 We are often in a position of leading leaders Using influence and connecting to the interests of others. Using pull. People are more effective when they are self-motivated and engaged rather than compliant. Getting work done through others often through coalitions. 7

8 What is one leadership challenge you face? What challenges do you face around motivating others without authority, and getting work done through volunteers? Identify a specific challenge, and turn to your colleague to share each other s challenge. 8

9 Tool 1. Use Influence to Accelerate Change 9

10 Use influence to get others to help do the work of change Influence and persuasion are communication processes and core skills for leading in complex organizations. Good leaders use them as tools to navigate in a shifting landscape of authority and it takes constant practice. It s through influence and persuasion that leaders can collaborate effectively and achieve their goals. 10

11 A core skill in influence and persuasion: perspective-taking If there is any secret to success, it lies in the ability to get the other person s point of view and see things from that person s angle as well as your own. Henry Ford We don t persuade others; they can only persuade themselves. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa, The Art of Woo Source: Shell, G. Richard, and Mario Moussa. The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas. New York: Portfolio,

12 We tend to get stuck on positions We get stuck here: Positions Issues Look beneath the surface! Interests Use issues and interests to explore the value that you can create for yourself and for your partners. 12

13 Understand their interests 1. Why might it be in the other party s interests to support my idea? When you can, avoid conflicting interests and build on shared interests. 2. What do other parties want that I can give them to gain their support? Look for low-cost ways to give others what they want. 3. Why might they say no? Try to find shared interests that outweigh conflicting interests. 13

14 Tool 2. Move from Push to Pull 14

15 Pull is stronger than push If you create pull, others will do the work of change for you. New behaviors can t be legislated. They begin to show up when an organization knows how to create pull for them. 15

16 Motivation works differently in twenty-first century organizations Push leads to compliance: You have to manage compliance to make sure it s happening, and it takes a lot of time and effort. Pull leads to commitment: People manage themselves because they re motivated by their own interests. To be committed followers, people need: Autonomy Opportunities to develop new skills A sense of purpose that comes from knowing how their part connects to the larger whole Source: Pink, Daniel H. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books,

17 A few ways to create pull 1 2 Borrow the urgency of windows of opportunity. Can you take advantage of windows of opportunity like a new hire, a new building, or a budget crisis that have focused people s attention? Attach to something bigger that will pull the changes along. Are there larger efforts that will pull the changes through the system? For example, does your industry have any public campaigns whose themes you could use for your organization? 3 Infiltrate existing groups, events, processes. People s time and attention are limited. Can you piggyback on existing committees and events or on processes like budget and planning cycles, training, or deployment of new technologies? 17

18 Triangulate: aim around the target Can you triangulate? Pull in others to influence your target? People with relationships, credibility, or authority? Handwashing in hospitals triangulating to create pull The problem. Failure of hospital workers to wash their hands between patients is by far the biggest cause of infections that patients pick up in hospitals. The intervention. Patients were taught the risks and instructed to ask doctors, nurses and others: Did you wash your hands? They received stickers and buttons as prompting aids. The result. 57% asked caregivers (90% asked nurses; 32% physicians.) Compliance rose by 34%. Source: LDI Issue Brief, Volume 7, No. 3, Nov

19 Tool 3. Sweep People in to Build Your Coalition 19

20 Collaboration is a strategic imperative Organizations that collaborate well are more adaptable to change Effective in Collaboration Those very adaptable to change All other companies Source: IBM, Unlocking the DNA of the Adaptable Workforce, The Global Human Capital Study 2008, September When individuals sharing a common pool of resources organize locally, they create their own rules for communicating with, and for monitoring each other. If they don t, they are usually not successful. Elinor Ostrom, first woman to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences 20

21 Engage stakeholders systematically More Powerful Less Powerful For Build coalitions among members of this group Connect with those who are more powerful Link them with others Keep them informed Against Listen carefully to sources of resistance Convert, if possible, or ignore Find common interests Reframe where possible (e.g., through a strategic theme) Prepare to manage and respond to road blocks 21

22 STAKEHOLDER MAP: Building Your Coalition for Change State the Change You Are Trying to Create List of Stakeholders Stakeholder s Interest in Your Change Project Stakeholder s Power Coalitions Use Pull Stakeholders Behaviors that help you understand their interests Their ability to support or resist the change you are trying to create (+/-) Who influences them? Whom do they influence? What pull strategies can you use? 22

23 Return to your leadership challenge Consider your Stakeholder Map to establish your coalition. 1. Who are your key stakeholders? Pick two or three to think about strategically. 2. What is their interest in your effort? 3. What is their level of power? 4. Who influences them, and who do they influence? 5. How can you use pull techniques to engage them Return to your pairs to share your thinking. 23

24 Summary The leadership task: To lead leaders, create conditions in which others can motivate themselves. Use influence to connect your interests to the interest of others. Use pull, it s stronger than push. Build your coalition strategically. 24

25 Questions and Comments 25

26 For more on strategy and change Book website: 26

27 About CFAR CFAR is a private management consulting firm that helps leaders create superconducting organizations in which talent and innovation flow freely across the enterprise. People own the changes they need to make, and behavior is aligned with strategy. CFAR spun off from the Wharton School in We leverage our academic roots in strategy, finance and the social sciences to help clients manage complex organizational issues. Lead Engage Our clients are mission-driven organizations including health systems, academic medical centers, family enterprises, life science companies, universities, foundations and associations. We partner with our clients to understand obstacles to their success and offer ideas, tools and approaches that improve outcomes and performance. Act 27