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INFLUENCE, NETWORKS AND STRATEGIC
LEADERSHIP
Audrey J. Murrell, Ph.D.Associate Professor of Business Administration,
Psychology, Public and International Affairs and
Director of the David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership
University of Pittsburgh, School of [email protected]
Our Objectives
Understand the role of strategic leadership in complex and dynamic organizations
Discuss the connection between leadership and effective organizational change
Examine key concepts such “Tipping Point” and “Level 5” leadership in organizations
Enhance self-awareness of one’s own leadership strengths and opportunities for improvement
Prairie Health Services (PHS) What are some of the key issues
described in this case? Who are the key people that we need to
understand and discuss? What aspects of leadership effectiveness
or ineffectiveness are evident in the case?
What other issues should be identified and discussed?
The Myths of Effective Leadership
“If I have the authority, I can get things done.”
“It’s important for me to have direct control over the things that I am responsible for in the organization.”
“A key factor in my success is being given the power to direct the work of others.”
“Change does not happen here unless the person with the title says so.”
What Effective Managers Do
Effective managers (Kotter): Develop and utilize both technical and
relational competenciesDevote significant time agenda building
within the organizationRecognize that power and influence are
often gain without formal title or authority
Spend significant time cultivating diverse relationships within the organization
What It Really Means to Effectively Manage & Lead
Myth Authority Formal Position Dependency
only on subordinates
Control and compliance are goals
Use of technical skills
Reality Interdependency Informal
relationships Peers and others
outside formal lines
Commitment and empowerment are goals
Use of technical and social skills
Leadership Framework
Sensemaking
Process of coming to understand the context in which you (and others) are operating within
Must seek many types and sources of data
Involve others in the process Avoid overuse of personal schema/biases Learn from small experiments Use images, metaphors and stories to
help communicate
Tipping Point Leadership
“In many turnarounds, the hardest battle is simply getting people to agree on the causes of current problems and need for change”
~ Kim and Mauborgne
Tipping Point Leadership
How do we get the key message or issue to stick?
Overcoming Hurdles: Cognitive Hurdle
Put people face-to-face with problems and customers; finding new ways to communicate
Resource Hurdle Focus on the hot spots and negotiation with key
partners Motivational Hurdle
Highlight commons interests/identities and frame the challenge to match organizational goals/mission
Political Hurdle Address internal and external opponents
Tipping Point Leadership
Key Action Steps: Cognitive Hurdle
Develop and execute an internal communication strategy
Resource Hurdle Refocus resources – pay attention to
organizational currency Motivational Hurdle
Engage key influencers Political Hurdle
Focus on the “80-20” rule
Sensemaking at PHS
For group discussion: What is the key issue at PHS that
needs to become “sticky” What hurdles should be the focus in
order to help make the key issue “tip”?
What are some specific steps that should be take here and who is key to their success?
Relating
Creating relationships, managing the relationship aspects of the organization thru building social capital and trust in leadership
Spend time understanding the perspective of others
Encourage real participation Develop connections and important
advice networks Develop social capital inside and
outside the organization
Level 5 Leadership
“Level 5 refers to the highest level in a hierarchy of executive capabilities that we identified during our research. Leaders at the other four levels in the hierarchy can produce high degrees of success but not enough to elevate companies from mediocrity to sustained excellence. Good-to-great transformation don’t happen without Level 5 leaders at the helm. They just don’t.”
~ Jim Collins
“From Good to Great”
Collins and research team studied companies that “made the leap from good results to great results and sustained those results for at least 15 years”
Firms studied outperformed the market over the 15 year period
Key question asked was “Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?”
Level 5 Leadership
Level 1: Makes productive contribution thru knowledge, skills & hard work
Level 2: Contributes to achievement of common goals
Level 3: Organizes people and resources toward key objectives
Level 4: Catalyzes commitment to clear and compelling vision
Level 5: Builds enduring greatness thru personal will and humility
Level 5 Leadership
Professional Will Ferocious resolve, stoic determination Demonstrates an unwavering resolve to do
whatever much be done Sets the standards of building an enduring
company – inspired standards Never blames other people or external factors or
bad luck for negative outcome “Yes, leadership is about vision. But leadership is
equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted. There’s a huge difference between the opportunity to “have your say” and the opportunity to be heard. The good-to-great leaders understood this distinction, creating a culture wherein people had a tremendous opportunity to be heard and ultimately, for the truth to be heard.”
Level 5 Leadership
Personal Humility Compelling modesty Acts with calm, quiet determination Relies on inspired standards rather than inspired
charisma Channels ambition into the company Focuses on leadership and management
succession to surpass their own success Leading from good to great does not mean coming
up with the answers and then motivating everyone to follow your messianic vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers and then to ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights”.
Key Findings
Larger-than-life, celebrity leaders negatively correlated with taking a company from good to great
No systematic pattern linking specific forms of executive compensation to going from good to great
Neither strategy, technology or mergers per se predicted who was identified as a “good to great” firm
Good to great companies were not in “great” industries, but terrible industries
“Those who build great companies understand that the ultimate throttle on growth for any great company is not markets, or technology or competition, or products. It is one thing above all others: the ability to get and keep enough of the right people.”
Level 5 Leadership produces a irony in that personal ambition that drives people to positions of power conflict with the qualities of success at this level
Boards of Directors frequently operate under the false belief that a “larger than life” charismatic leader is what will make the company successful – this may be why there is a “dearth” of this type of leader
Level 5 Strategies
Attend to people first, strategy second Confront the most brutal facts of the
current reality Focus on executing consistent and
sustained approaches for transformation Focus people’s attention on 3 keys
concerns: What our company can be the best in the
world at How our economies work best What best ignites the passion of our people
Relating at PHS
For group discussion: Evaluate the CEO at PHS in terms of the
concepts of Level 5 Leadership How might “professional will” be a positive
or negative factor in this case? What role might “personal humility” play
in the overall effectiveness of the CEO as a leader?
What advice might you give to Carl on how to improve his overall effectiveness as a leader based on these concepts?
Inventing
Capability to change the way people work together and think about their work
Involves key aspects of team design, building and leading
Focuses on executing, change and implementation of vision
Captures the ability to create innovative and creating solutions, processes and outcomes
Why Change Fails
Not establishing a great enough sense of urgency
Not creating a powerful enough guiding coalition
Lacking a vision Under-communicating the vision by a
factor of ten Not removing obstacles to the new vision Not systemically planning for, and
creating short-term wins Declaring victory too soon Not anchoring changes in the
corporation’s culture
Kotter’s Change Process
8. Anchor new approaches in the culture
7. Communicate gains; produce more change
6. Generate short-term wins
5. Empower broad-based action
4. Communicate the change vision
3. Develop a vision and strategy
2. Create the guiding coalition
1. Establish a sense of urgency
Telling
AssertingExplaining
Asking
ClarifyingInterviewing
Observing
BystandingSensing
INQUIRY Low High
AD
VO
CA
CY
Low
High
Change Requires Communication
Peter M. Senge et al., The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook
DIALOGUE
Exploring eachother’s assumptions to generate meaning
Change Requires Collaboration
Customers
Networks in OtherDepartments
YOUR INNER CIRCLE
NGOs
Government Agencies
Senior ExecutiveNetwork
Suppliers
Change Requires Commitments
Change Requires “Currency”
Task-related Resources Assistance Information
Position-related Advancement Visibility Reputation Networks
Relationship-related Personal support Understanding Validation
Personal-related Learning Ownership Expertise identity
Key Action Steps for Creating Change
Establish a sense of urgency Identify specific threats, “smoldering crises or
major opportunities Form a powerful guiding coalition
Assemble a group with power and “currency” to lead and implement change effort
Create and communicate a vision Understand how to “meet people where they are”
Plan for and create short-term wins Use evidence and data on outcomes to make a
case for change
Can change be too slow?
Karl Weick: “Emergent changes can be slow to
cumulate; too small to affect outputs or outcomes; less well suited for responding to threats than for exploiting opportunities; limited by pre-existing culture and technology; deficient when competitors are wedded to transformation; better suited to implementation in operations, plants and stores than to strategy, firm-level or corporate change….”
Can Change Be Too Radical?
Karl Weick: “The liabilities of planned change
include a high probability of relapse; uneven diffusion among units; large short-term losses that are difficult to recover; less suitability for opportunity-driven than for threat-driven alternations; unanticipated consequences due to limited foresight; temptations toward hypocrisy (when people talk the talk of revolution but walk the walk of resistance)….”
Inventing at PHS
For group discussion: Among Kotter’s reasons why change
fails, which ones are most relevant to PHS?
Examine Ann Smith’s role as an “change agent” within the case – in what ways is she effective or ineffective in this role?
What advice might you give to Ann on how to improve her overall effectiveness as an agent of change within PHS?
Visioning
Creating and communicating a compelling shared image of the future
Focus on framing of visions to reach key stakeholder groups
Visions must be shared, compelling and sincere
Issues selling strategies are important for communicating vision
Vision must be followed by action – “walking the talk” is key
Agenda Building
Agenda building involves reconciling diverse and conflicting expectations by developing one common agenda and course of action
Involves activities and competencies such as: Managing trade-offs across key
currencies Negotiating across diverse interests Analyzing the cultural and political
environment
Agenda Building Understanding who sets (and the process)
the organization’s agenda Agenda building involves reconciling diverse
and conflicting expectations by developing one common agenda and course of action
Involves activities and competencies such as: Managing trade-offs and conflict Negotiating across diverse interests Analyzing the cultural and political environment
Issue Selling
Critical pathways for managers to raise issues of importance
Reflects key tactics for effective agenda-building Illustrates the importance of change “from the middle” Includes attempts by lower level managers to influence
higher level members of organization Issue selling important to both organizations and
leaders: Today’s leaders are challenged to cope with complex
business world Issue selling allows many minds to contribute in
organization’s future These minds may be closer to problem areas and thus offer
important perspectives
Issue Selling – Strategic Choices
Bundling
Linkages of new issue to existing issues Requires understanding of how issues get
on firm’s agenda Can tap into resources and support based
on current issue Can “backfire” or become tainted because
of negative issue and/or perceived failure
Framing
Framing impacts how choices are evaluated Issues can be framed as an opportunity or a
threat Framing an issue as an opportunity can
induce greater participation, commitment to taking action versus framing an issue as a threat
Framing also makes a choice of: Responsibility vs. obligation Moral/ethical vs. business case Internal vs. external Idea focused vs. data driven Emotional vs. logical
Language
Related to issue framing Relies heavily on understanding of the
cultural lens Language is tailored to the focal target
group or groups Key issue is focusing on:
Purpose Audience Context Obstacles
Involvement Involves issue selling as a process Must identify critical stakeholders and
understand the role and impact of participation
Factors such as effective use of teams, negotiation, coalition building and networks are relevant
Focuses on the importance of change champions/sponsors and change implementers/agents
Approach
Individual skills and strategies for issue selling
Key choices involve: Formal vs. informal Individual vs. team Public vs. private
Must be able to communicate across function, interpersonal style and organizational role/position
Timing
Must understand both the political and cultural context of the organization
Key factors are momentum, windows of opportunities and social/organizational climate
Must understand the phases and cycles of change in organization
Issue Selling Challenges Understanding managers’ choice processes in deciding to sell
issues People more willing to sell issues in contexts where they perceive
management will listen and where context is experienced as supportive Context may enhance or inhibit issue selling
Issue sellers often worry about damaging their reputations Leaders plays important role in issue selling because they set
context for subordinates Issue selling is difficult in conflict avoiding organizational cultures Charged issues are tough, problematic, sensitive issues that
sellers may be reluctant to raise Examples of charged issues:
Outsourcing Restructuring Diversity/Inclusion Treatment of the natural environment
Visioning at PHS
For group discussion: You have just been informed by CEO Carl
Nord that the board has asked for a presentation from the team that reviewed the proposals for the new technology. You will have 5 minutes to make a “pitch” to them on your ideas/recommendations. Carl will be present during your presentation to the board. The board will meet again in 10 days to review/decide.
Taking the role of the evaluation team, outline your strategy for how you can begin to make change at PHS.