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11. Thought Leaders
FOUNTAINHEAD OF EXCELLENCE
DEVELOPING RESULTS-BASED
LEADERSHIP
Prof Sattar Bawany
Senior Advisor of EduquestIndia Institute Pvt Ltd and CEO of Centre for Executive Education
“Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that
he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization.When that happens people feel centered and that
gives their work meaning”. - Warren G. Bennis, an American scholar, and Author of ‘On Becoming
a Leader’ and widely regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership studies.
I
n essence, the heart of the leadership challenge that confronts
today’s leaders is learning how to lead in situations of ever
greater volatility and uncertainty in a globalised business
environment, allied with the needs to deal with scale, complexity
and new organisational forms that often break with the traditional
organisational models and structures within which many have
learned their ‘leadership trade’. So the basic assumption that past
experience is the key for future leadership success is more open
to scrutiny than ever.
Leadership is an art and a science. It is an art because it
continually evolves, changes form, and requires creativity. It
is a science because there are certain essential principles and
techniques required. A good leader knows when it is time to
change shape because they are highly attentive to those around
them. Coming from a position of strength, a great leader takes
risks by freeing up the creative genius in their followers to build
their capability and multiply the talents of the organization. This
leads to community and greatness. By powerfully communicating
a vision that animates, motivates, and inspires followers, a great
leader is able to transform his or her organization.
The New Realities: Results-Based Leadership
We are operating in a hypercompetitive business environment.
The world moves faster today when compared to 10 years ago.
Companies feel the pressure to decrease time to market and
improve the quality of products while delivering on ever-changing
customer expectations to maintain competitive posture – that
is, be adaptive and nimble. Driving results is difficult even for
companies who have the benefit of dedicated and knowledgeable
employees and business leaders to leverage.
In the early years leadership studies, the so-called “trait theory”
took the view that there is a set of traits that separates the
leader from the pack. Traits purported to be characteristic of
leaders included intelligence, a drive to dominate others, being
extroverted and having charisma. Today, people often point to
the importance of emotional intelligence in achieving leadership
effectiveness.
There is growing evidence that the range of abilities that constitute
what is now commonly known as emotional intelligence plays
a key role in determining success in life and in the workplace.
Recent research has uncovered links between specific elements
of emotional intelligence and specific behaviors associated with
leadership effectiveness and ineffectiveness.
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BUSINESS MANDATE | SEP-OCT 2013
Flexible leadership, however, involves being able to adapt your
leadership style according to the situation and the state of the
team - e.g.: taking charge when a team is forming but playing the
role of coach when a team is managing itself well. This is critical
in developing and sustaining employee engagement. There are
six distinct leadership styles, each one springing from different
components of emotional intelligence.
Organizations need leaders to visualize the future, motivate
and inspire employees, and adapt to changing needs. On-going
research indicates that, with the right leadership development
support including executive coaching, those with leadership
potential can be developed into outstanding leaders. Emotional
Intelligence competencies are perhaps the most challenging for
leaders to develop effectively and yet it is the one that often has
the most impact. As emotionally intelligent leaders rise through
the ranks of an organization, their profile becomes more visible
to employees and their increased power can have greater impact.
Conclusion: Connecting leadership and communication
A leader must be able to communicate effectively. When CEOs
and other senior executives in all industries and countries are
asked to list the most important skills a manager must possess,
the answer consistently includes good communication skills.
Effective communication is an essential element of leadership.
Leaders are communication champions who inspire and unite
people around a common sense of purpose and identity. They
lead strategic conversations that get people talking across
boundaries about the vision, key strategic themes, and the values
that can help the group or organization achieve desired outcomes.
Leader communication is purpose-directed, and an important
element is persuading others to act in ways that achieve goals
and accomplish vision. Four steps for practicing the art of
persuasion are to establish credibility, build goals on common
ground, make your position compelling, and connect with others
on an emotional level.
As an effective leader, communication is the primary and most
important tool. There is no substitute for good judgement, and
change leaders need to be reflective and thoughtful about the
ways they communicate. There is also no substitute for ‘Active
Listening’, and receiving feedback from the staff and colleagues
about how the leader communicates.
The Author can be contacted at sattar@eduquest.com.sg
12. FOUNTAINHEAD OF EXCELLENCE
HARNESSING THE POTENTIAL
OF TODAY’S MULTI GENERATIONAL WORKFORCE IN INDIA
The New Realities
diverse needs, expectations and priorities. Simultaneously, the
composition of the workforce is also changing significantly
across the Globe.
After World War II, the Traditionalist generation, born 1922 to
1945, tended to work at the same employer for an entire career.
Beginning with the Boomers, born 1946–64, women and ethnic
Changes in the demographic characteristics of the Indian
workforce deserve more attention from academics, employers,
employees, and policy makers. Today many organisations have
four generations worked side by-side in the workplace.
A generation of employees, according to Kupperschmidt
(2000), consists of individuals born
Table 1: The Multi-Generational Workforce
approximately within the same time span
of two decades each. He explains that a Generation
Years Born
Work Perspectives
generation is an, “…identifiable group Traditionalists
1922 - 1945
“Company loyalty” - Believed they’d work for
that shares birth, years, age, location,
the same company their entire career.
and significant life events at critical
Boomers
1946 - 1964
“Live to work” - Believe in putting in face
developmental stages” (p. 66). Others
time
at the office. Women enter the workforce in
believe that when individuals from the
large numbers.
same generation share similar historical,
Gen Xers
1965 - 1980
“Work to live” - Believe that work should not
economic, and social experiences, they
define their lives. Dual-earner couples
would also have similar work values,
become the norm.
attitudes, and behaviours (Smola and
Sutton, 2002; Zemke et al., 2000).
Gen Yers (Millennials) 1981 - 1994
“Work my way” - Devoted to their own
careers, not to their companies. Desire
The business world is becoming
meaningful work.
progressively more global. Services and
products offered by businesses are also Gen Zers (Linksters) 1995 to present “Living and Working their way” - Their
becoming more focused and targeted at
struggles in the work environment are tied to
specific demographic segments. Besides
their youth and inexperience. Desire for
many organizations today have customers
change, stimulation, learning and promotion
all over the world who demand excellent
that will conflict with traditional
services and products that meet up their
organisational hierarchies.
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13. FOUNTAINHEAD OF EXCELLENCE
groups began entering the workforce in increasing numbers,
bringing different needs and perspectives to the workplace. As
the Gen Xers entered the workforce, they increased job hopping
in an effort to increase their income and/or to balance their
lifestyle. Although some employers made accommodations in
response to the demographic shifts, the basic work model — top
down, command and control, one size fits all, 8–5 workday —
did not radically change. Now, the emergence of the digital-savvy
Millennials or Gen Yers has the potential to change the face of
work to be more collaborative, to use virtual teams, to use social
media, and to offer more flexible work hours.
The Fifth Generation, Gen Zers or The Linksters.
Employers must be prepared for a new breed of employee which
is poised to enter the workforce. A whole generation of them
indeed known as Generation Z, the highly connected generation
who’ve grown up with high-speed internet, smartphones and
online shopping.
Gen Z are defined as having been born from the mid-1990s
onwards, and in the next five years they will enter the workforce.
This is a generation that has never known a life without superfast
communication and unlimited access to media technologies.
The five generations and their birth years are depicted in Table 1.
Challenges in Managing a Multigenerational
Workforce
A major challenge for today’s Traditionalist and Baby Boomer
managers is to figure out how to develop younger workers into
tomorrow’s managers under a new business environment. A
pivotal question for managers is, “Do we want our legacy to be of
mentoring and empowering the next generations, or of fighting
them tooth and nail?” Organizations that embrace generational
differences in values, ways of getting things done, and ways of
communicating will thrive.
Demographic and social trends will have a significant impact
on the workforce in the coming years. In today’s struggling
global economy, it is more important than ever for organisations
leverage the knowledge, skills and abilities of all workers, from
all generations. By capitalising on the strengths and values of
different generations, business leaders can create a sustainable
competitive advantage for their organisations.
Organisations struggle with the challenges of effectively
managing a more diverse workforce. These challenges often relate
to variation in perspective, values and belief systems as a result of
generational differences and are further complicated due to the
age differences between managers and employees. The assumption
- that people of varying ages will understand each other or have
the same perspective and goals, is far from true. In order to be
successful, managers need to understand and value the diversity
resulting from generational differences, varying perspectives and
differing goals.
Each generation brings different experiences, perspectives,
1 5 BUSINESS MANDATE | JULY-AUGUST 2013
expectations, work styles and strengths to the workplace. Despite
the perceived “generation gap” from differing views and potential
conflict, organisations have the opportunity to capitalise on the
assets of each generation to achieve competitive advantage.
Each brings unique assumptions to the job. As a result, events
in the workplace are often interpreted differently by individuals
in different generations. What may seem like good news to a
Boomer might well be an unsettling and unwelcome development
to a member of Generation X. Things that members of Gen
Y love often seem unappealing or frivolous to those in older
generations.
Like any other generation, Gen Z or the Linksters it brings its
own mind-set into the workforce. They are called Linksters
because no other generation has ever been so linked to each
other and to the world through technology. Their struggles in
the work environment are tied to their youth and inexperience.
They are complete digital natives and cannot function without
communicating through social media. They desire for change,
stimulation, learning and promotion that will conflict with
traditional organisational hierarchies.
Leading and Engaging a Multigenerational
Workforce
When employees join an organization, they’re usually enthusiastic,
committed, and ready to be advocates for their new employer.
Simply put, they’re engaged. But often, that first year on the job
is their best. Gallup Organization research reveals that the longer
an employee stays with a company, the less engaged he or she
becomes. And that drop costs businesses big in lost profit and
sales, and in lower customer satisfaction. In fact, Gallup estimates
that actively disengaged employees -- the least productive -- cost
the American economy up to US$350 billion per year in lost
productivity.
Managers who harness this unprecedented opportunity for
growth, development, and collaboration, and build bridges
between generations, will thrive in particular in today’s turbulent
economic landscape.
For managers who have four generations of employees sitting in a
meeting or working on a project, it can seem like each generation
has its own worldviews, priorities, career models, motives and
values. They need to enhance their understanding of generational
characteristics and the impact of their own management practices
on each of these groups, so that they can leverage on the strengths
of each generation. Taking full advantage of the multi-generational
workforce will enable employers to effectively attract and retain
employees, build teams, deal with change, and increase employee
engagement.
Impact of leadership effectiveness on employee
engagement and organisational success
Organisations need to deliver service value and build good
customer relationships in order to generate sustainable results
14. FOUNTAINHEAD OF EXCELLENCE
through their satisfied and loyal customers. Employees being
at the forefront of the service delivery chain hold the key to
building this satisfied and loyal customer base (See Figure 1).
Employees who are engaged and motivated are instrumental in
delivering the service experience for the client which will result
in customer engagement. The level of employee engagement
is dependent on the “Organisational Climate” (sometimes
known as Corporate Climate), which here simply refers to “how
employees feel about working in the organisation/business unit/
department/division.” Organisational climate is the process
of quantifying the “culture” of an organisation. It is a set
of properties of the work environment, perceived directly or
indirectly by the employees, that is assumed to be a major force
in influencing employee behaviour and engagement.
We know that leaders create, transform and manage organisational
cultures. The leader’s values, beliefs and leadership styles will
impact the organisation’s climate. We need “Level 5 Leaders”
who demonstrate ontological humility and possess emotional
mastery. They also need to possess essential integrity in
discharging their day to day role and responsibilities towards
engaging the employees.
In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins examines how a good
company becomes an exceptional company. The book introduces
a new term to the leadership lexicon – Level 5 leadership. Level 5
refers to the highest level in a hierarchy of executive capabilities.
Leaders at the other four levels may be successful, but are unable
to elevate companies from mediocrity to sustained excellence.
Level 5 leadership challenges the assumption that transforming
companies from good to great requires larger-than-life-leaders.
The leaders that came out on top in Collins’ five-year study were
relatively unknown outside their industries. The findings appear
to signal a shift of emphasis away from the hero to the anti-hero.
According to Collins, humility is a key ingredient of Level 5
leadership. His simple formula is Humility + Will = Level 5.
“Level 5 leaders are a study in duality”, notes Collins, “modest
and wilful, shy and fearless.”
Conclusion
Managers who harness this unprecedented opportunity for
growth, development, and collaboration, and build bridges
between generations, will thrive. For managers who have four or
five generations of employees sitting in a meeting or working on
a project, it can seem like each generation has its own worldviews,
priorities, career models and motives. Managers need to develop
an understanding of generational characteristics and the impact
of their own management practices on these groups. They
also need to leverage the strengths of each generation. Taking
full advantage of the multi-generational workforce will enable
employers to effectively attract and retain employees, build teams,
deal with change, and increase employee engagement.
Although it may seem like a monumental task for management to
ensure that employees understand and accept the idiosyncrasies
of each multi-generational group, it is not an impossible mission.
Management must be the first to acknowledge and accept the
unique characteristics and expectations of employees from
different generational groups. They should also identify the
strengths and weaknesses of each group and adopt judicious
measures to accommodate their mixed expectations and
perceptions.
Although every generation of employees is unique, valuable, and
special, in reality, each tend to view the other differently based on
their own life experiences and expectations. Management should
ensure that individuals from different generations perceive each
other more positively to avoid any intergenerational disharmony.
It is not good enough to know what divides them but it is
necessary to correct their misperceptions of each other so that
together they can make a big difference in their organisations
and industry. Like members of large and happy family, both
the older and younger employees should support and build on
the strengths of one another. The sooner employees from all
the existing generational groups learn to respect and accept one
another the easier it would be for them to welcome generation Z
employees to the new workforce after the year 2020! (Tay, 2011)
Prof Sattar Bawany
Senior Advisor of Eduquestindia
Institute Pvt Ltd and CEO of Centre
for Executive Education (CEE)
1 6 BUSINESS MANDATE | JULY-AUGUST 2013