Before I start this newsletter, I will declare that the source is an article in the May-June 2023 edition of Harvard Business Review. The authors are Herminia Ibarra, Professor of Organisational Behavior, London Business School, Claudius Hildebrand, CEO Analytics Leaders at Spender Stuart, and Sabine Vinck, Leadership Advisor and Professional Services Leader at Spencer Stuart.

You can read the article entitled The Leadership Odyssey for yourself.

I wanted to write about the article in this week’s newsletter for several reasons. On reading it there was a lot of head nodding and agreement based on my experience with leadership development and capability uplift which I want to share. I also could see an image of the emerging journey, which I captured in this infographic.

 Inspiration: https://hbr.org/2023/05/the-leadership-odyssey

Image: Karen Ferris 2023

The premise of the article is that it is not easy for leaders to become less directive and more empowering. As the authors write:

“No leader who has built a career on making expert contributions and exercising hands-on control can be expected to make the leap overnight to a people-centric style.”

The people-centric skills referred to are:

     Asking good questions, listening, empathising and empowering (in small groups and one-on-one interactions)

     Collaborating and influencing (across networks).

     Culture-shaping and aligning (across the organization).

To understand how leaders can successfully make this shift, the authors studied 75 CEO successions, involving 235 candidates. They discovered that the transformation is not a single event but unfolds over time and takes many twists and turns. It’s a long journey with three stages: the departure, during which leaders recognise the need to change and leave behind their old ways of working; the voyage, during which they encounter obstacles and trials that teach them important lessons; and the return, when they arrive at a new understanding of what kind of leader they need to be.

It's a process

I am a firm believer that the ability to embark on this journey is within the capability of every leader. The challenge they have is that most of them have moved into people leader roles in their late 20’s or early 30’s and the first leadership development they receive is in their early 40s. This means that in some cases they have spent decades leading people without having any learning, development or support.

No wonder we have a leadership crisis right now.

Leadership crisis – identifying and developing talent

Leadership crisis – the fallout

Leadership crisis – managing successful change

The only role model these leaders have are the bad bosses who have gone before them, who modelled the bad bosses who went before them. A self-perpetuating prophecy.

I do not believe that leaders get out of bed in the morning determined to be a ‘bad boss.’ They want to do the best they can. They want to do a good job, feel competent, in control, have a sense of purpose, and engage in rewarding activities that feed their intrinsic motivation.

In working with leadership teams, I firmly believe that most intellectually know that they need to change and recognise that the current leadership style is not best suited to the needs of the organisation.

I believe that true leadership can be unlocked, and new pathways forged when there is intent and commitment to invest in leadership.

The way in which leaders acquire the human-centric skills needed to empower and enable the workforce does not happen overnight. It is an involved process that takes place over time. There will be wrong turns and bumps in the road but those that embark on the journey and stick to it will reap the benefits.

Transformation is a long journey with three stages. In this newsletter, I will explore Departure and in subsequent issues, I will explore Voyage and Return.

1. DEPARTURE

To embark on the journey, leaders must not only intellectually know that they need to change but have recognised the impediment their current behaviours are to not only their success but that of their teams and the organisation.

LIGHT BULB MOMENT

There is often a light bulb moment that triggers the start of the journey. The authors state this could be a particular event or feedback from colleagues or coaches.

I have seen that light bulb moment when I am running leadership workshops on empowerment and accountability. When I talk about the empowerment of staff to leaders who have always led from the front and made the decisions, I see the rabbit caught in the headlights. They receive the word ‘empowerment’ but hear the word ‘erosion.’ They receive the word ‘autonomy’ but hear the word ‘anarchy.’

I suggest they select a small and low-risk task with which they could empower a trusted employee and allow them the autonomy to undertake the task as they see fit, and I ask, “What is the worst thing that could happen?” When I suggest they try it and prepare for the overwhelming difference it makes in engagement and motivation, I can see the lights going on. When they do it, the light bulb moment occurs, and the journey begins. They have the ah-ha moment about how much time they have freed up. There is the realisation that this is a journey and there is no expectation that they will move from a position of command and control to empowerment and trust overnight. They will be given the support to embark on the journey.

PACK

You must pack for the journey intentionally. By that I mean, be prepared. Accept that there will be twists and turns, setbacks and delays, wrong turns and obstacles to be overcome. The authors call this “know what you’re in for.”

Be honest with yourself acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses. Do not start on the journey unless you are truly committed to it and prepared to make a concerted effort.

When working to uplift leadership capability, I tell my participants to “Pack a good dose of self-awareness.” They must know and understand the things that make them who they are. Research shows a strong link between self-awareness and high performance in leaders. When you are aware of your own strengths and weaknesses, you have the power to build on the strengths and eliminate the weaknesses. As Dr, Phil said ‘You cannot change what you don’t acknowledge.”

“At the outset upping your people skills can seem simple enough. But people who lack knowledge or experience often overestimate their own competence—the notorious Dunning-Kruger effect. And even experienced managers tend to believe they’re better at coaching than they really are.“

EFFORT

It is imperative from the outset that leaders acknowledge the commitment and effort that will be needed to genuinely change their leadership style.

They will need resilience to keep on moving when the going gets tough, and it is likely that it will. There will be doubts and fears, uncertainty and wavering.

TIME

Leaders must be patient and recognise the time it will take to make the adjustment to their leadership style. Not managing expectations in this regard, can thwart the journey from the outset.

I have worked with leaders who look for a shortcut. “Just tell me what to do?” they say. Well, it doesn’t work like that. Take the critical skill of empathy. I can help people develop the capacity and capability to be empathetic through self-awareness, questioning and listening. But you cannot just DO empathy. You must FEEL empathy. It is about understanding and sharing the feelings of another. It cannot be forced, and it can take time.

MILESTONES

Know what milestones to look out for as you depart. These could be early wins or recovery from setbacks. Both are worthy of celebration. Setbacks present a learning opportunity and therefore should be lauded. Recognising the need for milestones can make what can seem like a long and arduous journey into one of more manageable stretches.

When I work with leaders on skills such as empowerment, before they leave the learning environment to utilise their learning back in the workplace, I ask them to identify their milestones. Often, the milestones are forgotten with the enthusiasm just to get on with the journey. Milestones are important to pause and reflect. When you appreciate the accomplishment of the smaller steps you are motivated to accomplish the bigger ones. Milestones for empowerment could be the first task delegated and empowerment and autonomy enabled. The second could be a larger task. The next one could be a group task and so on.

NEXT WEEK

Now that you have made your departure, you are ready to embark on the Voyage. I will explore the second part of the journey next week.