In this case the three surveys and peak performance analysis rein-forced the three levels of leaderships both from the moral foundation perspective and from the individual, team, and org
Trang 1reinforces the point that leaders can demonstrate excellence when they have to but also need to pay attention to what they do during normal times, when they tend to fall back into old habits
Lesson Six: Pick your instruments carefully and be sure to have enough data points to support change Surveys need to closely align with the overall construct
of the program In this case the three surveys and peak performance analysis rein-forced the three levels of leaderships both from the moral foundation perspective and from the individual, team, and organizational perspective Also, be sure the instruments can correlate so they reinforce what leaders may need to work on, and don’t allow leaders to walk away from the real issues.
Day two closes with Marshall Goldsmith’s coaching model that we have adapted (Goldsmith, 2001) At this point participants have enough data to select one item that they want to work on, and we apply Marshall’s coach-ing model so that they can get ideas about how they can improve from their colleagues This is a great end to the experiential part of the day because the participants learn that they all have similar issues that they are working on and that they can get very practical suggestions from each other for how they can improve Marshall’s model is very user friendly and easy to implement with busy executives There is an added benefit, as this sets the tone for peer coaching that will go on for the rest of the week Participants not only get individual one-on-one coaching but also an environment is created in which they are coaching and helping each other improve These relation-ships have lasted well beyond the program; teams often follow up with each and have “improvement calls” with each other In addition, many have used this model with their own staff to build more teamwork when they return to work
Days three and four focus on the leader-follower relationships and learning
an Organization Analysis (OA) model—a systems thinking model for organiza-tions that helps drive strategy The OA model is a tool used to analyze a business case specifically selected for the program that is typically around a new change initiative or a contemporary problem that needs to be addressed The case is not
a Harvard Case Study but rather a statement of facts written relative to the Orga-nization Analysis (OA) model—a type of orgaOrga-nizational 360 The model builds
on Six Sigma and enables a business leader or leadership team to diagnosis a business situation and determine the areas they will need to work on to improve the organization (See Chapter Seven for more information about the Six Sigma program.)
Participants are also put into intact teams to work on the case They contract with each other around the team behaviors and process to be used, and the coach plays the role of process observer and team feedback provider The coach
is empowered to point out when dysfunctional behavior or process is occurring, thus enabling the team to learn and self-correct Team behaviors tend to come
Trang 2out strongly because the teams are given a real business case to work on This provides another significant level of learning by doing
Organization Analysis Model
The case is typically twenty-five to thirty pages long and presents facts on each aspect of the OA model It provides sufficient data for a team to make reasoned judgments about the issues In addition, the business owner of the case attends the program and answers any questions that the teams may have about the case Associated with the OA are a series of questions that assist the teams in determining the component of the model they will have to attack first if they are to drive sustainable improvements Their recommendations are reported on the final day of the program to the business owner and to someone from the office of the CEO The teams learn the model and apply it to a real issue This approach helps them conceptualize how to drive change relative to a serious business concern that can be applied to their own organization
Lesson Seven: Driving team behavior and learning change is most effective around a real, pressing business issue This is not a game or group exercise but something that is important to the success of the company Also, team behaviors tend to come out in a more pronounced way when people are working on issues they really care about The lessons of how they affect others and potentially affect followers are even more poignant They can take a look at their values and see how their behavior in action is or is not consistent with the values that they profess—another very significant learning point They get a bird’s eye view of the impact they have on their followers.
Business strategy and planning
Human resource development and management
Process design and management
Customer focus
Management system
Information and analysis
Customer and employee satisfaction
Human resources Supplier
Performance results
Operational
Figure 6.3 Organizational Culture.
Trang 3The program ends on day five with pulling all the experiences together into a cohesive whole Participants finalize their personal development plans and their group recommendations on the business issue, and do one last round of team coaching to determine what could they have done better as a team and as indi-vidual team players They also define their leadership lessons learned The pro-gram concludes with a report and dialogue conducted with typically the president
or CEO or someone very senior from the office of the CEO The concluding reports are significant in that they lay the groundwork for what recommendations will be adopted by the organization going forward For the record, many of the sugges-tions have gone on to be implemented within the company with great success A week at a glance is provided so the readers can get a flavor of the actual flow of the program (Exhibit 6.4)
FOLLOW-UP AND RESULTS
Even though the formal program ends, there is considerable follow-up that takes place Participants are surveyed for actions they have taken at the individual, team, and organizational levels to drive change—following the original construct
of the program around the three levels of leadership By all accounts significant improvements have been noted Also, participants are queried relative to addi-tional support they might need in order to continue to grow as leaders These data are used as the basis for one-day follow-up sessions around specific lead-ership issues These “Best Practice” forums are events for which we bring in experts on specific key topics Marshall Goldsmith did an intensive session on coaching, and Jay Conger did an in-depth session on strategic communication, to name just two This keeps the learning going
Three months and six months after the initial program we also conduct a mini-360 around each person’s specific development need We have found that
in 95 percent of the situations participants have improved on the job as viewed
by their original feedback givers This is a very important statistic We know for
a fact that the program has significant impact because the business has been changed as a result of the participants’ recommendations, and participants themselves have noted significant personal change, but most important the people they deal with have seen sustained change We think the results speak for themselves
Of course we do program evaluations to make sure that the design and con-tent remain relevant and adapt to a global audience The program consiscon-tently gets a 4 out of 4 rating, indicating that we have perfected an approach that is repeatable and reliable no matter where it is conducted The real proof of success, though, is in the quantifiable results that come from the effort
Trang 4Lesson Eight: Follow-up is absolutely key to demonstrating improvement and change An intervention without follow-up is just another intervention that cannot document real business impact beyond the smile sheets.
FINAL OBSERVATIONS
Constructing powerful leadership interventions with lasting impact requires a lot of planning up front Of particular importance is a thorough understanding
of the business challenges going forward This provides the context for leader-ship development that is essential Leaderleader-ship development is not about skill building; it is about getting in touch with your values and principles and acting
in ways that are consistent with those values and principles
In constructing global leadership development, understand that organization culture and leadership values are different from country cultures and values (Hofestede, 1997) At the leadership and organization level, we discovered that there was remarkable consistency relative to the organization cultures and per-sonal values that leaders and their teams felt were optimum for excellent busi-ness performance The data collected from around the world support this assertion
Trang 5Exhibit 6.1 Executive Leadership Development Symposium: Personal Challenges
Reflect upon the following questions about your personal leadership challenges and bring your written responses to the Symposium.
What has been your greatest leadership challenge?
1 What was the situation?
2 What made it a challenge?
3 How did you handle the situation?
4 What did you learn?
Trang 6Exhibit 6.2 Executive Leadership Development Symposium: Organizational Challenges
1 What do you see as the biggest strategic challenge facing the company in the next two or three years?
2 What leadership skills and capabilities do you consider to be key development priorities for me in order to meet these challenges?
Trang 7Exhibit 6.3 Executive Leadership Development Symposium: Additional Personal Challenges
Reflect upon the following questions about your personal leadership challenges and bring your written responses to the symposium.
When you look at your career, what do you see as the critical decision points? How do you feel about the choices you’ve made over the years?
What were your critical success factors?
Describe a time when you were at your best as a leader.
1 What was the situation?
2 What were you doing that made this a defining moment?
3 What do you value most from this experience?
4 What characteristics of effective leadership did you demonstrate?
Trang 8Exhibit 6.4.
The Challenges of Leading a Ne
P & Effect R
Model and Individual Analy
T sis of Case
— Business Case — GE Capital — Leader
Morning
Trang 912:3
Trang 10Last, but perhaps most important, involve your business leaders directly in your effort Make them your partner in the design, delivery, and follow-up This
is how you all win in the end
REFERENCES
Andersen Consulting (1999) The Evolving Role of Executive Leadership Wellesley, Mass.: Andersen Consulting Institute for Strategic Change.
Argyris, C (1976) Increasing Leadership Effectiveness New York: Wiley.
Bass, B M (1990) Bass and Stoghill’s Handbook of Leadership: A Survey of Theory
and Research New York: Free Press.
Clark, K E., Clark, M B., and Campbell, D P (1992) Impact of Leadership.
Greensboro, N.C.: Center for Creative Leadership.
Clawson, J (1999) Level Three Leadership Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Conger, J A (1993) “The Brave New World of Leadership Training.” Organizational
Dynamics, 21 (3), 46–58.
Cooperrider, D L (1997–1998) “Appreciative Inquiry.” (Class lecture: Benedictine University Ph.D program, Lisle, Ill.)
Deal, T E., and Kennedy, A A (1982) Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of
Corporate Life Reading, Mass.: Addison Wesley.
Finkelstein, S., and Hambrick, D C (1996) Strategic Leadership: Top Executives and
Their Effects on Organizations St Paul, Minn.: West.
Goldsmith, M (2001) “Helping Successful People Get Even Better.” Leading for
Innovation San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Hofestede, G (1997) Cultures and Organizations New York: McGraw Hill.
Senge, P M (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning
Organization New York: Doubleday.
Tichy, N., and Cohen, E (1997) Leadership Engine San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Linda Sharkey is currently vice president of organization development and
staffing (O&S) for GE Commercial Equipment Finance (CEF), a billion-dollar net income business, part of GE Commercial Finance In this role Linda is respon-sible for the identification, development, and succession planning of CEF’s leadership talent and leads the Session C and performance management processes She also spearheads CEF’s strategic staffing initiatives and works closely with the leadership team on organizational design, restructuring, and acquisition integration Linda joined CEF from GE Equity, where she served as senior vice president of human resources Previously, she held the position of