Visionary Leadership - Pikay Richardson, Manchester Business School

Legacy & Legacy Festival of Ideas

Visionary/Strategic Leadership

Prof. Pikay Richardson, Visiting Senior Fellow

Manchester Business School

Prof Pikay Richardson * Degrees in Engineering and Management. * 17 years: Snr. Fellow, Manchester Business School

(now Visiting Senior Fellow). * 2 years: Professor and Academic Director, NJIT,

Newark, NJ, USA. * Teaching Expertise: Economics; Strategy; OB;

Leadership; Marketing; Int. Business * International experience: UK, US, France, Germany,

China, India, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, Jamaica, Barbados, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana

Organisational Success and National Progress

• Luck

• Chance

• Magic

Creating Competitive Advantage

The key to CA in the 21st Century • The capacity of Leadership to create a social

architecture capable of generating intellectual capital – ideas, know-how, innovation, knowledge and expertise

• Aligning relevant people behind the ideas to achieve market-driven results, ie providing

Strategic/Visionary Leadership

In Search of Excellence?

The Cream of American Business

1984 43

1994 8

Today 6

Leadership and the Status Quo Every system is perfectly designed to get the

results that it is getting today (simply put, you keep getting ….)

For a different of better results, the system needs

to change. This requires Leadership

An Environment of Fast Change

• Policy Reforms, Deregulation/Liberalisation • Globalisation/RTAs • Technological developments • Industry collision • New entrants • Customer sophistication

Leading/Managing Organisations Successfully Today depends on:

- Integration of People in a Common Venture - Setting Clear Objectives, Values and Goals - Commitment to Common Goals and Share Values - Harnessing the Skills and Knowledge of the Firm - Recognising That Success Does Not Relate Only to

the Bottom Line - Recognising the Importance of all stakeholders - Creating and fostering a good Corporate Governance

regime

…. and all this derive from..

Good or Effective Leadership

Good Management is No Longer Enough

Leadership Skills

Management Skills

Hi

Lo

Lo

Hi

…so then…

What is Leadership???

What is Leadership? Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Leadership: • is a process • involves influence • occurs within a group context • involves a common goal

..hence all-pervasive relevance..

• Public Leadership - National - State - Community/district levels

• Corporate Leadership - CEO/MD - Sector Directors - Heads of Departments - Supervisors - Unions

Leadership, Power and Influence

Position/Authority confers Power and Influence (Management)

Leadership is an Activity (not a person) Effective Leadership may not derive from

Position or Power

Levels of Leadership

• Front-line or Team Leadership – to deal with a specific task.

• Operational Leadership – to do with day-to-day operations within the organisation.

• Strategic Leadership – about the big picture; process not position; and focuses on the future and orientation towards change.

Seven Attributes of Successful Leaders

1. Sound Ethical/Moral Compass 2. Ability to take unpleasant decisions 3. Ambition, Clarity and Focus 4. Effective Communication Skills 5. A knack for developing talent 6. Emotional self-confidence 7. Charm - charisma

Forces that Drive Leadership

• Passion • Vision • Self-confidence • Tolerance for ambiguity and paradox • Intuition • Empathy

…semantics???…

How Does this Differ from Management?

Management v/s Leadership

Management is about what “Authority” demands, ie involves “Meeting Expectations”,

- Direction - Protection - Order It may have nothing to do with Leadership, and is

fairly easy to accomplish, and we can be so good at it.

Functions of Management

Planning Select goals and ways to

obtain them

Directing Motivate and coordinate

employees

Staffing Recruit and obtain

employees

Controlling Monitor activities and

make corrections

Organising Assign authority and

responsibility for task accomplishment

Leadership v/s Management

Leadership involves Change, and is about “Challenging Expectations”, different things - Observation - Interpretation - Intervention, It is about thinking “out of the box”, moving out of the

“status quo”, doing something different. This can disappoint, hurt, even be risky and dangerous,

eg, attacking Corruption, dealing with expired drugs etc (Jesus, Ghandi, Mandela, Luther King, Welch, etc)

Management is NOT Leadership

Management • Planning/Budgeting • Organising/Staffing • Controlling/Problem

Solving

Leadership • Vision

building/Strategising • Aligning

People/Communicating

• Motivating/Inspiring

Leaders and Managers Managers manage Structures/Things Leaders lead People Managers do Things Right Leaders do the Right Things

Leadership Context and Styles

• Charismatic Leadership

• Transactional Leadership

• Strategic, Visionary or Transformational Leadership

Corporate Leadership at the Top

Corporate Direction - Vision (Mission) - Objectives - Strategy - Design of appropriate structures - Alignment of people

…hence….. Visionary or Strategic Leadership

“the development of vision and strategies, the alignment of relevant people behind those strategies, and the empowerment of individuals to make the vision happen despite obstacles”

- Kotter

Strategic Leaders

Strategic or Visionary Leaders – those able to

Think Strategically, envision a better future,

develop strategies to match and align people

behind to achieve the vision.

What is Vision? Vision is an attractive future idea that is credible yet not readily attainable. It is an ambitious view of the future that everyone in the organisation can believe in; one that can realistically be achieved, yet offers a future that is better than what now exists.

The Nature of the Vision

Source: Based on Willian D. Hitt, The Leader-Manager, Guidelines for Action (Colombus, OH: Battelle Press, 1988)

Vision

Current reality Staying the course

Moving toward a desired future

What Vision Does 1. Vision links the Present to the Future 2. Vision energises people and gains

commitment 3. Vision gives meaning to work 4. Vision establishes a standard of

excellence

Strategic Leaders Hall of Fame

• Sir Ian Flanagan and Emirates Airlines

• Sam Walton and Wal Mart

• Steve Jobs and Apple Ipod, Ipad

• Jorma Ollila and Nokia

• Bill Gates and Microsoft

• Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore

Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore

• Three main concerns – National security – Economic development – Social issues and harmony Results: pc Income 1960 1995 2003 Nigeria 329 355 461 SA 1800 2100 3230 India 206 425 559 Singapore 405 21000 28000

Becoming a Strategic Leader

• General intelligence • Technical or professional knowledge and

competence • Personality • Ability to inspire • Listening, sharing and delegating skills • Self-knowledge • Ability to think strategically

The Leaders’ Contribution – Set the Agenda for Progress

Leaders are dealers in hope – Napoleon Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present. Life without Vision is hopeless; Vision without action is empty; action guided by Vision is joy and the hope of the earth. Leaders establish direction by carving a Vision and formulating Strategies and aligning people to achieve the Vision