The document discusses leadership challenges during difficult times. It provides examples of leadership challenges faced by CEOs such as downsizing, dealing with uncooperative employees, and leading organizational transformations. The document emphasizes that leadership requires setting a vision, communicating effectively, inspiring people and adapting to change, not just managing tasks. Leaders discussed learning from facing challenges themselves and the importance of relentlessly communicating vision during change.

1. Leadership in Focus: Leading in Difficult Times October 7, 2009 change lives · change organizations · change the world Charles O’Reilly Frank E. Buck Professor of Management Hank McKinnell-Pfizer Director of the Center for Leadership Development and Research [email_address]

2. In the past year… … and more to come?

5. “ There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are people who have tried to define it” Ralph Stogdill (1974) “ In the past 50 years, there have been as many as 65 different classification systems developed to define the dimensions of leadership” E.A. Fleischman, et al. (1991) “ Leadership has been the subject of an extraordinary amount of amount of dogmatically stated nonsense.” “ Leadership is a process whereby one person influences a group of individuals to willingly achieve a common goal.” Your success, and the success of your firm, depends on your ability to get others aligned with your strategy and vision. This raises an important but non-obvious question: Why should anyone want to follow you? What is “leadership” really? Chester Barnard (1948) If your answer to this question is: “ I’m smart or I’m the boss or I control the rewards” you might want to think a bit more about the question

8. Give your employees the definitions of management and leadership and ask them to place you on the following grid: Leadership Management 0 0 + + ++ ++ A Thought Experiment:

10. Give your employees the definitions of management and leadership and ask them to place you on the following grid: Leadership Management 0 0 + + ++ ++ A Thought Experiment: CEO “A”

12. Give your employees the definitions of management and leadership and ask them to place you on the following grid: Leadership Management 0 0 + + ++ ++ A Thought Experiment: CEO “B”

13. Give your employees the definitions of management and leadership and ask them to place you on the following grid: Leadership Management 0 0 + + ++ ++ A Thought Experiment: CEO “B” CEO “A” Given where you believe your subordinates would place you: What are the implications for the future of your business—and your ability to lead it?

14. “ Many writers on leadership take considerable pains to distinguish between leaders and managers. In the process, leaders generally end up looking like a cross between Napoleon and the Pied Piper. This troubles me. ” John W. Gardner On Leadership (1990) Leadership versus Management

19. Brian NeSmith , CEO of Blue Coat Systems, assumes his position when the firm is in danger of failing. He must deal with a critical but disruptive technical prima donna who is essential for the turnaround. Difficult Conversations -- Four Examples Bill Campbell , Chairman of Intuit and a widely respected leader in Silicon Valley, describes a pivotal investment decision Intuit had to make in 2000. One of his key managers is not on board. Campbell describes how he resolved the issue. Allison Hickey , a general in the Air Force, describes the challenge in trying to transform F-16 fighter squadrons to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) units. The fighter pilots are not enthused about this change. Kent Thiry , CEO of DaVita, a $5 billion healthcare firm, describes how he dealt with a new senior hire who was not fitting in and disrupting the dynamics of the senior team.

20. Allison Hickey is a general in the United States Air Force. Listen as she describes the challenge she faced when changing the mission of a fighter squadron What would you do? Why? Organizational transformation

21. KC 135 Hickey was in the first class to have women at the U.S. Air Force Academy. She has more than 1,500 hours as a pilot of KC 135 and DC 10 tankers. She currently is the Director of Future Plans Directorate in the Pentagon and respon- sible for shifting capabilities of the Air Force

22. From this… … to this As a pilot, how do you feel? F - 16 UAV General Hickey’s challenge

24. “ The first rule is get rid of the troublemakers. Get rid of the people who are the disruptors because they’re just not doing their own job, they are keeping other people from doing their job. You have to go through and move those people along and then communicate to the other people a clear vision of what the game plan is.” Richard Parsons CEO Time Warner Feb. 17, 2006 Lessons?

25. “ Too many leaders don’t spend enough time making the case for change.” Lou Gerstner Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? Harper Business, 2002, Lessons?

26. A FINAL THOUGHT: By virtue of your positions as CEOs, you are all in the business of not only being leaders but also teaching leadership to those in your organization.

27. “ The man who tries to carry a cat home by the tail learns 10X as much as the man who simply watches.” Mark Twain FACULTY HAVE THE EASY JOB…