Focal Leadership

Leadership

Emotional Leadership

By

Leader_resize

Emotional leadership probably triggers many different images in your mind. Enthusiastic? Unhinged? Tears? Mood swings? Passionate? Oppressive? Authentic?

Reflecting on leaders in the public eye, there are many different emotional styles of leadership. There are leaders who do not display much emotion, those who are known for demonstrating a lot of emotion, and those who control the emotional content and style of their leadership.

Why consider emotional leadership as a topic in the broader consideration of leadership? There is already a lot of commentary on emotional intelligence, executive presence, and leadership impact.  Leaders with high or low emotional content in their leadership have an impact on others with varying degrees of significance. Emotions in leaders are critical as they are a major influence on the emotional response of those they lead.  And the importance of emotions is well noted – in addition to impacting mental health (commitment, stability, feelings), emotions also have a profound impact on the immune system. Scientists have found that negative emotions reduce antibody levels and lower the ability of the immune system to ward-off sickness and disease. Hence, poor leadership that invokes a negative emotional response results in lower engagement and lower employee well-being.

A leader who exhibits a lot of emotion as part of their leadership, either arising from their personality or convictions, should expect different reactions. Some people may be inspired, energized, and motivated. Others may be switched off, unimpressed, or unconvinced. But is there anything wrong with showing emotions as part of being an authentic leader? No! In an increasingly virtual world, connecting on an emotional level has never been more important. Engaging hearts as well as minds is so important. Having to lead through a laptop screen instead of in-person, is stretching leaders more than ever. People need to feel valued, inspired, and connected. When the laptop screen reverts back to an email or document following an interaction with a leader, what are employees meant to feel? If they are not self-motivated, they need regular emotional sustenance from their leaders to connect them with the wider world and infuse them with energy and purpose. Now more than ever leaders need to discover the power of emotions in leadership.

Building and maintaining positive emotions is like a drug for many – a supply needs to keep on coming. Leaders are in the floodlit zone of providing emotional sustenance. A leader who just turns up without consciously or sub-consciously doing a self-inventory of personal motivation and emotional health, needs to reflect on the impact they are having. Being indifferent to the emotional legacy a leader delivers is poor leadership. Turning up with a positive mindset, a buoyant attitude, and credit in your own emotional bank account will leave a positive legacy.

What about controlled emotional leadership? In my opinion, this can go two ways. First, a leader who knows how to control their emotions, how to accentuate them, and how to suppress them appropriately, is a skilled leader. A skilled leader knows how to use emotions to motivate, communicate, and liberate others. They know how to keep disappointment or frustration in check – sharing if it is appropriate, and with a sensitivity for how it might impact others. But leaders who control their emotions so much that they come across as void of feeling, empathy, or authenticity, need to understand the lack-luster impact they are having.

Emotional leadership does not mean over-the-top exhibition of random emotions. It is the appropriate demonstration of emotions as part of communicating, connecting, and changing. Emotional leadership is above all the mark of character in a leader – appreciating that people need an emotional connection as well as cognitive. It is an aspect of leadership that has never been more critical.

Culture change is more than an event!

By

dnaChanging an organizational culture is never achieved by only designing a creative event or workshop to inspire leadership of the desired change.

For some, the temptation of designing a culture change workshop and hoping that this carries momentum, is too enticing to resist. Effort is placed into designing innovative and high-impact activities that it is hoped will bring about transformation. Only too often, these high-cost and high-profile events deliver hype and not culture change.

In essence there is nothing wrong with culture change workshops, but these need to be considered as part of an integrated program that impacts the DNA of the organization for change to be lasting.

The model of changing culture provided by Connors and Smith in Change the Culture shows the deeply embedded activities that need to be considered, i.e. results, actions, beliefs, experiences.

When planning a culture change program, attention needs to be given to all parts of the organization. These include leadership, processes, and day-to-day practices. Starting from the top is always the most appropriate first step, given that leaders are ultimately accountable for the culture of the organization.

Leaders need to know “why” the culture needs to change. Without this beacon of purpose, culture change lacks meaning and impact. Embracing the reason for culture change is often triggered by the need for greater competitiveness, differentiation, diversification, or integration. Sometimes this occurs post-merger, or frequently to build cohesion following numerous acquisitions. It can be instigated to achieve business advantage or sometimes to address a high attrition rate. Whatever the reason, leaders need to have a passionate and authentic story to tell the organization and every stakeholder. Just to embark on a culture change program because it’s what many organizations are doing, is no reason to invest in this type of initiative.

Conducting assessments and reviewing organizational analytics are often part of a culture change program. These activities can be very helpful in understanding the data that lies at the root of why changes are necessary. They are possibly the easiest part of a culture change program. It’s not hard to inspect data. It is however much more challenging knowing what to do about it.

Leaders often need to change the way they communicate and lead in general. Most of all, leaders need to coach and engage employees in a manner that gains their trust, discretionary effort, and belief. When leaders lead well, employees are engaged. When employees are valued, rewarded, and empowered, the energy in an organization is palpable.

The best culture change programs are well thought out initiatives that span the whole organization and which also address the processes that underpin the operating model. The best laid plans need to be defined from the get-go, not incrementally defined as the process gathers momentum. Engaging employees from the inception of a culture change program, communicating openly, and investing in actions that do indeed speak louder than words, is a great combination for achieving culture change.

Culture is often defined as “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization”. The emphasis of “shared” sets the tone for an integrated culture change program where everyone is involved, impacted, and inspired.

Why character always matters in leadership

By

characterCharacter is a much-debated aspect of leadership. There are many who consider exemplary character to be important for good leadership. There are also many who don’t care, as long as a leader is delivering results.

Let us consider the trajectory of each argument:

• Important: Leadership with an integral moral code based on integrity, honesty and transparency will develop a culture that reflects this. In fact, the whole argument concerning the importance of character is about outcomes. Leadership with these character traits requires followers to consider values, standards, and behavior as significant in the way results are achieved.

• Not important: Leadership that considers a good and upright character as optional, will encourage followers who regard the end as always justifying the means. Values, morals, or methods do not matter. By definition, this type of leadership will develop an “anything goes” type of culture.

An interesting case study is the recent scandal consuming the Australian cricket team. Leaders decided that cheating is ok in the pursuit of success. A culture of spitefulness, abuse, and aggression develops in that sort of environment, or maybe this culture spawned cheating as an acceptable strategy. Not that all other national teams are paragons of virtue – far from it! Has the need to win at all costs resulted in the death of good sporting behavior? Thankfully there are still leaders in the sporting world who maintain a virtuous character.

Politics is a murky world that I’d rather not delve into too much. But leaders who lie, deceive, and besmirch, rather than show a passion for truth, integrity, and praise, do not endear themselves to many. Maybe that’s why voting often seems to be either, (a) the lesser of evils, or (b) policy regardless of leader.

In the business world, the character of leaders has the potential to impact many. Not only members of the leadership team, but all employees, customers, and suppliers. Leaders of good character will encourage a good culture. These leaders develop a way of working and relating that has a moral foundation. Those who interact with these leaders get to know and understand their basis of operating. Recruitment of new employees requires a standard based on good character, not just competence.

Character isn’t just a moral consideration. Character is also defined by how people serve, speak, and show-up. Character can be described as personality, pedigree, or practice. It is the “whole person”, not just what a leader does or achieves. Character is rarely aligned with charisma but is often associated with caliber.

There are many examples of leadership character being excused when results are good. It takes a lot of courage to challenge character even when results are outstanding. Thankfully, there are also examples of organizations where character is paramount in the way results are achieved.

Bringing the spotlight onto character cannot simply be achieved by adopting a competency model or defining a set of organizational values. Although both are excellent. When leaders of character are promoted, honored, and rewarded, organizations and everyone connected with them benefit. Keeping the focus on character will ensure high caliber leaders in the 21st century.

Building diversity into cultures

By

diversityThere are many examples of well-defined organizational cultures that bring significant clarity to brands, values, and behavioral expectations. There are also examples of organizations where the culture has been defined extremely well, but where this has in fact led to stagnation and homogeneity rather than rich diversity.

Edgar Schein points out in his book Organizational Culture and Leadership that, “culture is deep, wide and complex. Leaders should avoid the temptation to stereotype organizational phenomena in terms of one or two salient dimensions, and they should be sensitive to the power they have to influence the groups with which they work.”

This specific case study illustrates this:
A successful financial services company was facing the challenge of diversifying its products to remain competitive. The company was over 100 years old and had a deeply embedded culture of financial rigor (thankfully!), pragmatic decision-making, and pride in robust legacy products. The challenge of innovating and diversifying did not come easily to the senior leadership team. A comprehensive profiling of this senior team revealed some of the reasons why. For example, using the Myers Briggs profiling framework, everyone was an ST. For those unfamiliar with this vernacular, everyone was focused on solid facts and data, thoroughly analyzed in consistent and logical ways. Not a bad thing for a financial services company one might think! But there was very little customer understanding, creativity, interest in trends, or inspiration. The leadership group had become so consistent in their narrow cultural and behavioral alignment, that they had squeezed out diversity and innovation.

Bob Garratt, in his book The Cultural Contexts, cites Argenti when he suggests the main reasons for corporate collapse are, “too many people of the same sex, age, education, and nationality at the top, with too little authentic information about the changing environment, and few managerial information systems.” Given that this insight is now over 40 years old, shouldn’t lessons have been learned?

Organizations who narrow their focus on cultural imperatives should also be mindful that cultural diversity can expand and not threaten the success of their business. Defining a differentiating culture does not mean that diversity is jettisoned. Culture is often about behavioral norms and not the rich tapestry of a diverse workforce. A well-known insurance company conducts an employee engagement survey every year. Comments such as, “run by old white men”, should cause the company to consider deeply the demographics of the senior leadership team and the implications for its culture.

The challenge of creating inclusive cultures that are also distinctive, can also be seen in organizations such as churches. A large suburban church defined by its all white and all male senior leadership team, faces a challenge of diversity. Organizations such as this can develop over many years with leaders who tend to see things in a similar way. Just by hiring a senior leader who may have a different background, doesn’t necessarily change the culture. In fact, changes arising from an external hire can be very unauthentic if not integrated in a very careful way. It is important to grow an organization authentically, develop leaders from a diverse spectrum, and foster a risk-comfortable environment of constantly growing a culture dynamically.

Cultures that embrace diversity are more likely to lead to long-term success and fulfilment than those that hold onto a narrow set of cultural principles.

When a leader’s behavior masks the culture

By

culture maskThere is a lot of focus these days on progressive and positive culture being a differentiator for organizations. And rightly so. But this sort of culture, without consistent and complementary behavior, can’t exist. Organizations can run all the education programs they like, place posters on walls, and talk about the great culture, but if leaders don’t exemplify the culture – it is like pouring water into a leaking vessel. If a leader’s behavior masks the culture in a negative way, this speaks louder than all the corporate messages about a healthy culture.

“She/he is a right b***h to work for”. A comment I heard about one of the senior executives in an organization. (I have kept it gender neutral, because this doesn’t matter). This organization has invested heavily in making culture a major reason for their raison d’être and prides itself on the efforts made to generate a climate of healthy and correct attitudes/behaviors. Many employees would speak commendably about the culture of the organization in open session, but the water cooler conversations tell a different story.

The difference between reciting cultural mantras and experiencing cultural application is massive. The old adage of leaders “walking the talk” springs to mind.

So, what is it like to work in an organization that parades a healthy culture, but where leaders demonstrate contradictory behavior. At best, hypocritical. At worst, demoralizing. Another old adage seems to apply in those organizations – “do what I say, not what I do”. There are the face-to-face conversations and completely different behind-the-back conversations. A culture with a sunny side and a dark side. Employment with a healthy front and a poisoned experience.

Why don’t leaders behave the way the culture advocates. Power is one reason. For some leaders, their power and position become a corrupting influence on their behavior. They are all smiles with their colleagues in the leadership team, but turn into witches or evil wizards when facing off to their subordinates. (A timely Halloween reference). Some leaders show absolute compliance and supportive behavior in certain settings, and yet behave like tyrants or dictators in others. Let me illustrate – “collaboration” is often held up as a virtuous behavior for positive culture. Leaders in the organization will wax lyrical about the virtues of collaboration. But when he or she becomes autocratic and uncollaborative, what has happened. Their personal behavior traits have over-ridden the aspired cultural traits.

Leadership behavior goes deep! It springs from personality, learned-traits, experiences, beliefs, family-norms, alternative cultures, and many other sources. When an organization espouses a culture that exemplifies the best behaviors, attitudes, and convictions, it needs to work hard on the leaders who must lead this culture. Perhaps more than anything an organization needs to promote an atmosphere of permission to call out counter-cultural behavior – led from the top. Employees also need to have courage to confront, with the backing and protection of the organization that this will not result in negative repercussions.

So, leaders – ask for feedback, listen to the good, bad, and ugly. Be honest with yourself. Hold a mirror up to your behavior frequently. Hold culture conversations regularly with your teams, encouraging everyone to be candid with positive and negative examples. Above all, ensure that you treat everyone with the respect and admiration that a positive culture advocates!