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2014 Confederation of Danish Industry
DI – Dansk Industri
Leadership paradoxes in a global world
Face contradictions and balance managerial tensions
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY,
PANIC INTERNALLY
Workshop objectives and goals
Objectives:
• Introduce paradox thinking as a framework for exploring and understanding
organizational and managerial tensions
• Expand managers’ tool box to deal more constructively with increasing
complexity
Goals:
• Aid understanding of and ability to deal with divergent perspectives and
disruptive experiences created by the complexity of organizational life
• Provide a mindset and tools for identifying, making sense of, and
managing paradoxes
• Discuss leadership paradoxes in own context and gain new perspectives
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Program
3
Andrea Straub-Bauer Bente Toftkær
• Introduction
• What is paradox?
• 3 levels of paradox
• Paradox in own context I
What is paradox?
• Working through paradox
• Paradox in own context II
Understanding paradox? • Ways of dealing
with paradox
• Paradox in own context III
Dealing with paradox?
4
Think long-term Innovate Think global Collaborate Individual performance Decentralize Directive
Deliver short-term results
Improve efficiency
Act local
Compete
Team excellence
Standardize
Democratic
Global leadership requires balancing contradictory needs and requirements
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John is the VP for Health and Safety of a globally operating technical equipment provider. He is in charge of rolling out corporate health and safety standards across the organization’s production facilities located in 10 different countries, incl. North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Aligning processes and procedures across Europe and the USA has been challenging, but nothing compared to the implementation of standardized procedures in Asia and South America. Time and time again, John experiences tensions created between HQs corporate CSR strategy and its global commitment to high safety standards and its low-cost production focus in emerging market locations. What is at stake here? What types of tensions can be identified?
Global roll-out of corporate health and safety standards
Paradox – what is it?
Paradox
• Contradictory yet interrelated elements (dualities) that exist simultaneously and persist over time
• a “both-and” situation between two or more contradictions where a synthesis or choice is not possible or necessarily desirable
Dilemma
• Competing choices, each with advantages and disadvantages
• an “either-or” situation where one alternative must be selected over other attractive alternatives
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A
B
Paradox in own context I
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Group activity:
Discuss briefly what type of tensions or divergent pressures you experience in your organization right now. How does that affect you?
Three levels of paradox
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Leadership role Competing demands/behaviors expected from managers in their leadership roles
Individual Personal pressure experienced between individual and collective identity and/or values
Organizational Nature of organizational life with competing organizational designs and processes
Source: Inspired by L. Lüscher (2012) “Ledelse gennem Paradokset”
.
. . .
INDIVIDUAL
ROLE
ORGANIZATIONAL
1. Organizational paradox
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internal external
flexible
focused
Source: Model based on
Competing Values Framework, L.
Lüscher (2012) “Ledelse gennem
Paradokset”
2. Role paradox
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Source: Model based on
Competing Values Framework, L.
Lüscher (2012) “Ledelse gennem
Paradokset”
3. Individual paradox Individual paradox has a personal
dimension
• Relates to relationship of individual managers
with the organization, management, and peers
as well as the task
• Often experienced as contradictory dynamics,
e.g. disconnect between words and deeds
• Involves emotions, personal experiences, and
values between the individual and the group
• Personal paradoxes include e.g.
• trust vs. control
• being popular vs. being unpopular
• job security vs. new challenges
• personal interests vs. company interests
• optimism vs. problem focus
• competing vs. collaborating
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Source: L. Lüscher (2012) “Ledelse gennem
Paradokset”
INDIVIDUAL
Program
12
Andrea Straub-Bauer Bente Toftkær
• Introduction
• What is paradox?
• 3 levels of paradox
• Paradox in own context I
What is paradox?
• Working through paradox
• Paradox in own context II
Understanding paradox? • Ways of dealing
with paradox
• Paradox in own context III
Dealing with paradox?
Working through paradox
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Source: Lüscher, L. & M.W. Lewis (2008). Organizational Change and Managerial Sensemaking: Working Through Paradox. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 51, No. 2, 221-240.
A process of helping to make sense of tenuous demands to reduce anxiety, escape paralysis, and enable action
MESS
Problem
either or Dilemma
Paradox: both-and
Workable Certainty
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Facts Action
Behavior Vision
MESS
Problem
either or Dilemma
Paradox: both-and
Workable Certainty
Identifying the mess and extracting the problem: A questioning strategy for analyzing the problem
Source: Attractor Model inspired by Karl Tomm’s Framework for distinguishing 4 groups of questioning (1988)
• What was the situation about?
• Who was involved?
• For how long?
• What did it mean to you?
• What did you do to deal with it?
• What worked out well?
• What was the hardest lesson learned?
• What was the prize?
• What did you win?
Facts Action
Beha-vior
Vision
Discovering the FACTS
Source: Attractor Model inspired by Karl Tomm’s Framework for distinguishing 4 groups of questioning (1988)
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• How did your stakeholders play their
part in the dilemma/paradox?
• Who had risked the most?
• Where in the process did you feel the
strongest need to choose between the
competing values?
• What did you learn about the
”either/ors”?
• What did you learn about the possibility
of ”both/and”?
Facts Action
Beha-vior
Vision
Discovering the BEHAVIOR
Source: Attractor Model inspired by Karl Tomm’s Framework for distinguishing 4 groups of questioning (1988)
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• Let us imagine that you are most
capable of managing this kind of
situation in the future, what would be
most characteristic for the situation?
• If you should see this situation from a
totally different point of view, what will
you see that you could not see before?
• What does the vision look like which
could encourage you to do more of
”both-and” and less of ”either-or”?
Facts Action
Beha-vior
Vision
Discovering the VISION
Source: Attractor Model inspired by Karl Tomm’s Framework for distinguishing 4 groups of questioning (1988)
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• What needs to be challenged in the
way of dealing with competing values
in the future?
• What needs to be directed in a more
decisive manner by you? By your
manager?
• If your stakeholders and you were to
achieve even better results the next
time, what would be the most
important thing to do a little different?
• What kind of positive difference would
that make to you? To others?
• If you should take one small step
towards an improved pay-off-balance
(”both-and”) what would that be?
• When will you do it?
Facts Action
Beha-vior
Vision
Discovering the ACTION
Source: Attractor Model inspired by Karl Tomm’s Framework for distinguishing 4 groups of questioning (1988)
Paradox in own context II
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Group activity:
Discuss the new insights that you have gained in relation to handling the tensions that you experience in your organization right now.
MESS
Problem
either or Dilemma
Paradox: both-and
Workable Certainty
Program
20
Andrea Straub-Bauer Bente Toftkær
• Introduction
• What is paradox?
• 3-levels of paradox
• Paradox in own context I
What is paradox?
• Working through paradox
• Paradox in own context II
Understanding paradox? • Ways of dealing
with paradox
• Paradox in own context III
Dealing with paradox?
Ways of dealing with paradox … requires exploring rather than suppressing tensions
1. Acceptance
2. Integrative thinking
3. Positioning
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In order to avoid paradox paralyses: Paradox must be solved through alternative ways of thinking
1. Acceptance
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• Embrace and live with paradox
• Regard paradox as a persistent and
unsolvable puzzle
• Engage anxiety and thereby face
challenges surfaced by tensions
• Discuss tensions to foster more
creative considerations
Paradox is a pre-condition of
organizational life, especially in a
global business world
2. Integrative thinking
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• Consider divergent ideas and/or
alternative poles simultaneously
• How can apparently opposing
views be brought together and
combined in new ways?
3rd solution through innovation
and creative thinking
MESS
Problem
either or Dilemma
Paradox: both-and
Workable Certainty
3. Positioning
Conscious positioning at
one pole and actively
distancing from another
based on strategic, human
or organizational
considerations.
Turning your back on one
alternative and accepting
the consequences
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internal external
flexible
focused
X
Critical skills sense making and giving
• Reflection – consider multiple dynamics and perspectives for spotting and dealing with paradox
• On the personal level
• On the organizational level (maturity)
• Courage and resilience
• Communication (what, how, who)
• Behavior – ”walk the talk”
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Paradox in own context III
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Share in your group the reflections that you’ve had in terms of “how to deal with your own paradox”?
Can you see an opening for 1) integrative thinking and/or 2) positioning? What are the consequences?
How will you communicate it:
1) to whom?
2) what is the key message?
Closing reflections What does it take from …?
Individual leader
• Ability to recognize and accept interrelated relationships of underlying tensions
• Emotional stability, courage, maturity, and integrity
• Communication skills in order to reduce anxiety in others
• Ability to self-reflect and embrace conflicting demands
Organization
• Collective tools that allow members of the organization to seek and integrate new information through distinct structures, cultures, learning processes, and managerial capabilities
• Maturity => Ability to make room for, balance, live with, and capitalize on conflicting and competing elements
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Global leader paradox navigator
… is an influential actor capable of thinking paradoxically, guiding social reflection, helping others examine tensions, and accommodate complexity rather than suppressing it.
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”
Further readings • Lüscher, Lotte (2012) “Ledelse gennem Paradokset – om ledelsesmæssig handlekraft
i organisatorisk kompleksitet”, Dansk Psykologisk Forlag.
• Smith, W.K. and M.W. Lewis (2011) ”Toward a theory of paradox: A dynamic equilibrium model of organizing”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 36, No. 2, 381-403.
• Lüscher, L. & M.W. Lewis (2008) ”Organizational Change and Managerial Sensemaking: Working Through Paradox”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 51, No. 2, 221-240.
• Cameron, K.S., Quinn, R.E., DeGraff, J., and A.V. Thakor (2006) “Competing Values leadership: Creating value in organizations”, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.
• Lewis, Marianne W. (2000) ”Exploring Paradox: Toward a more comprehensive guide”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 25, No. 4, 760-776.
• Lewis, M.W. and G.E. Dehler (2000) ”Learning through paradox: A pedagological strategy for exploring contradictions and complexity”, Journal of Management Education, Vol. 24: 708-725.
• Tomm, Karl (1988) “Interventive Interviewing: Part III. Intending to Ask Lineal, Circular, Strategic, or Reflexive Questions?” Family Process, Vol. 27, No. 1, 1-15.
• Quinn, Robert E. (1988) “Beyond rational management: Mastering the paradoxes and competing demands of high performance”, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, USA.
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More information about GLA www.globalleadershipacademy.dk
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