LEADERSHIP

The new driversof leadershipPierre Casse sets out what leaders must do tomake a difference in today's "turnaround world"

"The luorld we are getting into isnew. What's new?"

Anonymous

"Turnaround world? It hasalways been a turnaround world!"Anonymous – i.: • > .- – • .

As a result of my dealings with hundreds ofexecutives from many different sectors, I concludethat, in order to perform and enjoy in today's fastchanging business world, leaders must considerthree critical requirements.

Firstly, they must have a good grasp of theleadership fundamentals. In other words, theymust understand the basic requirements ofleadership practice, such as the ability to:• provide a clear direction to those with whom

they collaborate• mobilise their people by focusing on selected

key priorities• transform ideas into actions• co-ordinate appropriate actions to generate

tangible results.

Furthermore, they must also appreciate thefollowing three key dimensions of leadership:• leading oneself- the ability to be an effective

role model• leading the team – the ability to help people

in a team to achieve together what they wouldhave been unable to achieve alone

• leading the organisation – the ability tomove the organisation forward while makingsure continued performance improvement isbeneficial to all those involved, as well as to thewider society.

Secondly, leaders must understand that differentroles within the organisation require differentways of thinking and behaving. For instance,the leadership requirements at the top of theorganisation are not the same as those required inthe field. Leaders at board level will need to takea more strategic perspective and focus more onthe long term, whereas leaders in the field mustnecessarily be more short-term focused.

Moreover, the leadership requirements willdiffer from one function to another and this willinevitably be a determining factor in how peopleperform as leaders. To illustrate, leaders in thefinance function wül arguably require greaterproficiency in their analytical and computationalskills than those leaders in marketing, who willneed a level of intuition more finely tuned totrends in customer preference. The point is that,while there wUl be overlap in some leadershiprequirements, there will also be function-specificones to consider.

Thirdly, my research shows clearly that theleadership fundamentals also comprise thefollowing four key drivers:• idea The ability to project oneself into the

future and anticipate what would be necessaryto improve on what currently exists

The nature of thesituation in whichleaders find themselvestoday requires a stepbeyond the traditional

February 2014 TJ

LEADERSHIP

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Stimulating others' views and actions

Setting up clear objectives

Avoiding procrastination or delay

Questioning the way things are done

Not taking anything for granted

Being selective in choosing my options

Moving things around

Adapting myself to evolving situations

Concentrating my actions on what can makethe difference

Communicating with passion

Checking my assumptions from time to time

Responding quickly to opportunities

Avoiding being side-tracked

Appreciating healthy competition

Exploring new ways to get things done

Overriding others in implementation

Looking for quick wins

Getting people excited about new projects

Acting first and thinking next

Disagreeing with others openly and,when needed, forcefully

• process The abihty to organise scarce resourcesso that ideas can be released effectivelyand efficiently

• people The ability to generate commitmentand engagement among others around ideas,strategies and action plans

• action The ability to transform ideas, strategiesand plans into concrete results.

The point that I am trying to make is thatthe traditional leadership fundamentals are nolonger sufficient. Tbe nature of the situation inwhich leaders find themselves today requires astep beyond the traditional. There are specificleadership requirements more appropriate for themodern era that we must not ignore.

Driver 1

Driver 2

Driver 3

Driver 4

1

2

3

4

7

6

8

5

10

9

12

11

14

13

16

15

18

22

17

20

23

27

19

24

26

29

21

30

28

31

25

32

33

34

37

36

35

38

39

40

=

=

=

=

Before highlighting some of the 'new' leadershipdrivers, I would like you to go through the self-assessment exercise set out on the left, tabulatethe results as advised and consider the de-brief,which will explain the potential implications ofthe results.

A leadersbip self-assessment exercisePlease choose in each pair of items, in the boxesabove left and right, the one that you think isquite typical of you at work (ie which one youprefer whue working). You will decide at the endwhether or not the outcome makes sense for you.

Then, in the table bottom left, circle thenumbers you have chosen, add up the number ofcircles for each driver and record this in the box inthe column on the right. The higher the score, themore comfortable you are with that driver.

De-briefDriver one – energy"The energy of the minaAristotle

is the essence of life"

The rationale underlying the 'energy' driver isthat dealing with the challenges that abound intoday's world requires a high level of energy. Thisdriver is all about the ability to cope with adverseconditions. It suggests the ability to stand up andfight for one's ideas and values. It is an indicationof the extent of one's stamina and the ability tomobilise one's own personal resources in order topersevere and overcome resistance in the pursuit ofone's beliefs.

Reflect on your score for driver one. Doyou think it is a fair reflection of your currentpredisposition with respect to the 'energy' driver?

Driver two – focus"The sun's rays do not burn until brought to focus"A G B e U

The second driver is about 'focus'. In a turnaroundworld full of unexpected surprises and demands,leaders must be able to prioritise and, in so doing,focus on what is important at the moment inquestion. Since leaders must allocate resources thatare scarce, they must focus their attention on thepertinent and avoid inhibiting distractions.

Reflect on your score for driver two and askyourself how good you are at selecting andfocusing on that which is critical for success.

Driver three – speed"In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed"R W Emerson

TJ February 2014 vvww.trainingiournal.com

The third driver is 'speed'. In a world in whichchange is rapid and accelerating, leaders must beable to implement key actions quickly. This is notto say that leaders must be able to get everythingdone at break-neck speed but, certainly, the abilityto make progress in vital areas without delay is akey leadership success factor.

When launching a project, leaders must bedecisive and have a clear idea of the pace withwhich the plan should be executed.

Looking to tbe leadersbip researcb, tbefollowing findings are clear:• time pressure can be a condition for ensuring

high quality results provided the pressure is notunmanageable and becomes counter-productive

• high achievers are people who enjoy working totight deadlines provided they have freedom overthe way in which they design and organisetheir work

• everything cannot be urgent! Leaders mustdecide on what is critical. Leaders who claimthat aU projects and actions are critical, andshould be implemented at bigb speed, soon losetheir credibility.

Reflect on your score for driver three. Is it in linewith the perception that you have of yourself?What could it mean for you as a leader?

Driver 4 – cballenge"A powerful idea communicates some of its strength tohim who challenges it" . .M Proust

The fourth driver is 'challenge'. Leaders whomake a real impact are usually those who refuse toaccept the status quo. Such leaders are careful notto take anything for granted; they challenge ourassumptions and provoke us out ofour complacency.

Challenging leaders are those who can usedifferent reference points when looking at asituation. They continually question and probe togenerate numerous potential options to problemsat hand.

Reflect on your score for driver four. As you doso, consider the following questions. How good areyou at:• accepting new and innovative ways of looking at

the problems with which you are faced?• recruiting people who think very differently

to you?• taking risks by listening to tbose proposals tbat

may, at first sigbt, look esoteric and unsound?

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

Enjoying moving at a fast pace

Mobilising people around some key tasks

Initiating lively discussions

Always iooking for better ways to get things done

Being quick at solving problems

Accepting and exploiting conflicts

Achieving and then moving on

inspiring people's imagination

investing time and effort in well-selected actions

Avoiding consensus and compromise

Leading by objectives

Getting bored with repetitive actions

Leading with stamina

Separating what's critical from what's trivial

Getting people to take initiative

Criticising traditional ways of performing

Avoiding the wait-and-see position

Making critical choices

Enjoying work pressure (up to a point)

Resenting any form of conditioning

Some leadership implicationsThe four drivers that I have outlined in tbis articleimply that, in order to prove effective, leaders mustmake special efforts in the management of theirteams, organisations and even countries. In doingso, they must bear in mind some implicationswben deciding on what they must do toensure success.

Create a top team able to activate the fourdrivers, in the right way and at the right timeLeaders in close collaboration with the executivein charge must prove complementary. They musthave the ability to look at any situation from theperspective of the four drivers and ask:

ders who make a realact are usually thoserefuse to accept the^ quo

February 2014 TJ

LEADERSHIP

ProfessorPierreCasseis professor ofleadership atthe MoscowSchool ofManagement-Skolkovo.He can becontactedvia www.skolkovo.ru

• do we have the required stamina to face theproblems at hand or to take advantage of theexisting opportunities?

• are we able to choose from all the options theones that will really make a difference?

• how good are we at moving fast in some keyareas and making it happen before anybodyelse does?

• do we have the courage to question our ownperceptions and decisions while everything istelling us that we are right?

The organisational leader will also have to managethe top team in such a way that the confrontationsand contradictions between the drivers are a sourceof synergy, not destruction.

Create a corporate culture that is conduciveto using the four drivers This implies that theorganisation's value system must support andpromote the application of the four drivers. Peopleshould feel comfortable with ambiguity, paradoxand contradiction. Corporate key players willhave to understand that the traditional decisionmaking based on 'either/or' is over. They wiUhave to accept that the right way to decide is nowcharacterised by an 'either/and' approach!

This is not going to be easy to do. Many peoplewill resist the use of the four drivers and feelextremely iU at ease with the new behaviours.

However, generating buy-in will require asystematic approach from top leaders of which themost important component wiU be acting as arole model.

Assess the validity of the four drivers as wellas their effectiveness overall and in specificsituations There is also a need for leaders tocontinually review and assess the validity andeffectiveness of the four drivers. In fact, in somesituations there is a good chance that the reverseof what is recommended in this article could bemore relevant and effective. For instance:• to shoot for different objectives simultaneously

to increase the probability that one will prove tobe the right one

• to let others take the big risk may prove wiser insome highly competitive situations

• to decrease the energy level and releasecollaborators so that they get the chance togrow from their own experiences

• to stop challenging the existing situation andjust move with what we have can be the bestway to succeed in some circumstances.

ConclusionsThe best leadership models are those that leadersthemselves invent. Having said that, leaders can,of course, find inspiration from other executives,academics and from the results of research in thefield. Nevertheless, the best route to success forany person in a leadership position is to comeup with the mind-sets and behaviours that willprovide a good match between the individualleader and the requirements of the situation inwhich he may find himself

This implies that the leader will need theability to:• know himself in terms of strengths

and weaknesses• make a diagnosis of the situation in which he

finds himself, in terms of the requirementsfor success

• understand and measure the impact of his ownbehaviours on the situation at hand.

Any diagnosis should then ideally lead to somedecisions regarding the leadership behaviour thathas been employed. The leader must determinewhether the behaviour is effective and, if not, howit might be improved. TJ

TJ February 2014 ..trainingjournal.com

Copyright of Training Journal is the property of Fenman Ltd. and its content may not becopied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder'sexpress written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles forindividual use.