When Leadership Development Fails Managers

Transcription

1 When Leadership Development Fails Managers Addressing the Right Gaps when developing Leadership Skipton Leonard, Ph.D. SIOP Presentation April 4, 2004 A Client Request Wants to convince internal Senior management to invest in leadership development Who benefits and who doesn t? What process enables people to benefit from leadership development How should leadership development be different for high potentials vs. underperforming leaders? Supportive metrics, statistics, or case studies What is the ROI on leadership development 1

2 Client s View of Critical Issues What the Client is Asking Does it work? If so who for? How do you determine who it will work for? Is it worth it? Prove it to me What the Client is Assuming There is one solution to leadership development This solution works for some and not for others (implied) We may not need to invest in leadership development? An Alternate View The Questions to Consider Does the organization have effective leadership? Are there any gaps in leadership? Who needs to learn? How do people learn complex skills like leadership best? What is the evidence? How to we evaluate the success of leadership development efforts? Assumptions Organizations need effective leadership Different gaps and learning needs require different solutions The solutions must be based upon a valid model of human development 2

3 The Five Pathways and Four Crossroads (Freedman, 1998 [based on Mahler & Wrightnour, 1973]) IV Institutional Leader II ENTRY Executive Manager of Several Businesses Single Business Manager Supervising Manager Individual Contributor III I At Each Crossroad perspectives, priorities, beliefs, attitudes, practices, and routines ADD ON PRESERVE LET GO The Transformation Trilogy 3

4 Transactional & Transformational Leadership Transactional Leadership Factors Contingent reward -- positively reward desired behavior, punishing or sanctioning undesirable behavior Management by exception -- intervening only when something goes wrong (Bass 1985) Transactional & Transformational Leadership Transformational Leadership Factors Charisma -- idealized influence -- followers perceive leader as trustworthy and capable of achieving an important vision Inspirational motivation -- ability to communicate an inspiring vision Intellectual stimulation -- challenges past ideas and supports independent thinking and creativity Individualized consideration -- treats followers fairly but recognizes individuality and treats accordingly (Bass 1985) 4

5 Meta-analyses of Bass Leadership Factors and Leadership Effectiveness Private Sector Transformational Factors Charisma.69 Intellectual stimulation.56 Individual consideration.62 Public Sector Transformational Factors Charisma.74 Intellectual stimulation.65 Individual consideration.63 Transactional Factors Contingent reward.41 Mgmt-by-exception -.02 Transactional Factors Contingent reward.41 Mgmt-by-exception.10 (Lowe, Kroeck, and Sivasubramanian, 1996) Distinctions Between Leadership & Management Manager as Administrator Does things right Promotes dependency Addicted to Quick Fixes Focuses on bottom line Concerned about short-term profits The head buffalo Uses a map CONTROL Manager as Leader Does the right thing Promotes self-reliance Understands The Law of the Farm Focuses on top line Concerned about long-term viability A flock of geese Uses a compass CHANGE 5

6 Transformational Leadership Augments Transactional Leadership Transactional leadership [e.g. House s Path-Goal Theory, 1971], particularly contingent reward, provides a broad basis for effective leadership, but a greater amount of effort, effectiveness, and satisfaction is possible from transactional leadership if augmented by transformational leadership. (Bass, 1998) A proposal for a valid model of human development PDI Development Pipeline Real Insight Motivation Capabilities World Account Practice -ability The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Development (Hicks & Peterson, 1999) Insight Do people know what to develop? Motivation Are people willing to invest the time and energy it takes to achieve ongoing and sustained development? Capabilities Do people have the skills and knowledge they need? Real World Practice Do people have opportunities to practice their new skills at work? Accountability - Do people internalize their new capabilities to improve performance and results? 6

7 A Case Example Leadership development program (Leonard & Goff, 2003) entry and mid-level managers non-profit research organization Demonstrated significant improvement at the organizational level Complaints that didn t provide sufficient practical management training Next class will include more emphasis on practical transactional leadership skills Towards Better Conversations with Clients In conversations with clients about leadership development, encourage a dialogue about the following issues Are they satisfied with the current talent pool of leadership? If not, where are the gaps? What leadership skills are required at various levels of the organization? Will any proposed solutions be consistent with the way people actually learn and grow? 7