Post Meeting Review Notes - Leadership Development by Corporate Research Forum

Leadership Development – is it fit for purpose? addressing the dilemmas MAIN PRESENTERS: Nigel Nicholson, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, London Business School Gillian Pillans, CRF Research Director Stephen Bungay, Director, Ashridge Strategic Management Centre Nigel Paine, MD, nigelpaine.com Eve Poole, Associate, Ashridge Business School

A CRF report by Gillian Pillans was circulated online in advance of the meeting. High spend, low results (so far)  Investment in leadership development continues to rise, now over $50bn annually.  Surveys show leadership talent to be a high and rising concern among CEOs.  Only 31% of CRF survey respondents rated ability to develop leaders as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.  50% report ‘very important’ leadership shortfalls, just 6% are very ready (Deloitte).  Level of trust in CEOs is just 43%, and lower in developed countries (Edelman).  Only 15% of organisations rate their bench strength well, down from 3 years ago (DDI).  63% of leaders rate their development programmes as ‘average’ or below (DDI).  18% of UK leaders are able to create high-performance environments, and 53% are generating de-motivating ones (Hay Group). Yet when effective development, leadership capability and positive leadership experience come together, organisations are estimated to outperform competitors 2.3 times (DDI). This and other data make the business case for investment, but the question remains why the outcomes are poor. Address the future, not the past  The ultimate purpose of developing leaders should be to deliver strategy over the longer term. Failure to create a lasting legacy represents poor governance.  Yet too often organisations and their leaders reflect historic concepts of power, hierarchy and status. Also, many strategies are tentative beyond three years out.  A VUCA (volatile, complex, uncertain, ambiguous) world requires rather different capabilities – more enabler and educator than commander and controller; winning not demanding loyalty.  Some requirements do not change – envisioning, strategic insight, decisive, ethics, resilience.  However the future requires more systems thinking, continuous learning, innovation, coaching and collaborative style, networking, self-awareness, agility/adaptability.  It is not just a matter of better EQ and ‘soft’ skills’, but prioritising greater knowledge about enabling successful change, developing organisations, psychology and technology. The list might seem daunting, and many of the current generation of leaders struggle with requirements for more transparency, and of devolution of power but not responsibility. This underlines the need to start growing leadership qualities early rather than just concentrating on the ‘top’. Clarity about ‘leadership’  An essential starting point is a robust assessment of needs, current and future.  Some organisations clearly struggle with a multiplicity of leadership definitions, and succumb to over-complex competency models that are backward looking and more idealised than practical.

Leadership Development – is it fit for purpose? addressing the dilemmas Stephen Bungay points out how perspectives on ‘good’ leadership have shifted over time, culminating in Jim Collins’ Level 5 concept, and downplaying the ‘heroic’ model of yesteryear.   

He offers the following model to resolve long-standing wrangles about how leadership differs (or not) from management, by adding a third dimension – ‘direction’. Important points to note are that leadership and management take place at every level, but direction is a ‘senior’ role and set of capabilities. Each is developed in different ways. Individuals that master all three are rare. Top teams should at least possess them in combination.

Better design One explanation for leadership development investment under-achieving is that core approaches have altered little in the past 15 years, despite changes in the operating environment. Drawing from examples of more progressive companies, these are hallmarks of effective, forward-facing design.       

Recognise leadership development as an ongoing process rather than just a programme. Expecting definitive results from short interventions is unrealistic. Start young – build orientation early. It takes years and much practice to achieve mastery. Pay attention to how adults learn – more through experience than formal learning; also through reflection, and through high quality coaching, mentoring and feedback. Recognise that individuals learn in different ways – reflect this in the push and pull of learning processes, i.e. respectively ‘tailoring’ what is provided and fostering self-driven learning. Relevance and value – from content to projects, ensure that learning processes match the challenges individuals must overcome both to progress and to address real organisational needs. Motivation is a critical factor in embedding learning in both individuals and organisations. Smart use of technology – from individualised and just-in-time support to simulations and gaming. What works is both relevant and engaging technology – intuitive, inspiring, making work and learning faster, better and more convenient, but not just snazzy or fashionable tools. Integration – the range of learning processes and assessments should blend in the service of development objectives, and also different actors in HR should integrate their efforts with L&D – for example recruitment, resourcing, talent management, performance and reward.

Culture and workplace support A culture of learning, continual improvement and achievement is essential for healthy leadership development. The 70/20/10 concept, though developed in 1996, is ever more pertinent – given the media revolution fuelling informal learning – as it focuses attention on managers as people developers. However this requires organisations to overcome significant challenges.  

Enhancing line managers’ orientation and ability to develop leadership potential at all levels of the organisation is a perennial struggle – getting this right starts with selection. The CEO and top team in particular need to set an example if talent and positive leadership characteristics are to flourish. How many are rated as great ‘teachers’ and role models?

Leadership Development – is it fit for purpose? addressing the dilemmas   

Peer coaching and support is highly valued by recipients, but inhibited where the culture is siloed, political or internally competitive. Leaders must address issues of ‘four generations in the workplace’, and learn about and from the Millennials who will increasingly succeed them. (Adopting upward mentoring helps.) Leaders should be accountable for the quality of their bench strength. “It’s a key part of my role”, says Andy Street, Managing Director, John Lewis. “”I’m judged on this.” But how widely does that apply?

HR/L&D’s responsibility CRF’s 2012 and 2015 reports on learning also point to areas for L&D functions to improve.     

Some tend to use the 70/20/10 model prescriptively, rather than as a guide. Others still focus overmuch on the 10% (i.e. formal training). Many in L&D need to become smarter about social learning and use of technology, so that future leaders – and all employees – can access great tools to manage their development. Impact and influence on managerial behaviour, and thence culture, is often limited. There are few powerful chief learning officers; much depends on the HR leader being OD/learning oriented. At question is L&D’s capability to understand both the strategy and organisation inside out, match that with knowledge of practice and developments elsewhere, and thence ensure that whatever they design, adapt and buy is truly fit-for-purpose.

When programme participants return to the workplace, they need to be able to put their learning into practice. Investment in learning is wasted if the environment is unhealthy. There’s no point putting clean fish back in a dirty tank. L&D and executives should collaborate to make work a learning experience, identifying great opportunities to test people positively. This can include taking risks, allowing people to make mistakes, and even let performance dip provided there is healthy learning. Potential leaders should learn how to fail in order to learn how to succeed. Current leaders need to enable all this to happen. Evaluate, evaluate...  Effectiveness of both inputs and outcomes should be robustly measured.  That requires clear setting and sharing of objectives, by both individual and the organisation (manager/leader and HR/L&D).  It also requires assessment throughout the learning process – not just individual interventions but addressed in reviewing performance in the round and re-setting objectives.  The focus should be on value generated, not just on what is spent, and thus where to invest next. Reflections from Nigel Paine  Leaders have the responsibility to provide the right conditions for learning. HR/L&D has the responsibility for providing great advice and support.  The confidence of executives trying to cope with dramatic change and VUCA conditions suffers badly if those responsibilities are neglected.  As with communication, listening is a core but under-recognised factor in the success of learning. There tends to be too much ‘telling’.  Few people talk about formal programmes as major learning influences. They refer to experiences and people.  Seth Godin teaches that we need to push towards ‘danger’ points to learn – we need stretching. However, don’t go overboard, or pack in too much content and action. Reflection is vital too.

Leadership Development – is it fit for purpose? addressing the dilemmas  

Neuroscience also shows how much more receptive humans are when exercising, and in stimulating environments and situations, including ageing brains and dementia sufferers. Guy Claxton (neuroscientist) urges managers to be ‘coaches of learning power’.

Reflections from Eve Poole From her research at Ashridge and elsewhere, these points stand out.      

‘Critical incidents’ occurring in an executive’s career represent points of maximal learning Thus understanding and reflecting on these is important. In designing interventions, consider three ‘Rs’ – receptiveness, retention and retrieval. Note that many top executives are insufficiently self-challenging about their leadership style, partly out of fear about entering into self-doubt. (Hence the importance of holding up the mirror.) Executives learn best under a degree of stress. ‘Enjoyable’ programmes may actually be poor value. Having a ‘rough time’ typically is more instructive and memorable. It is valuable to build ‘muscle memory’ about how to handle difficult challenges and stressful situations with aplomb, rather than freeze in indecision. This provides great strength in adversity. Realistically, mastery is reserved for the few. So ‘leadersmithing’ is a valuable concept, borrowing from how apprentices learn. Find ‘apprentice pieces’ of leadership activity to practice and seek excellence in, such as running great team meetings.

Reflections from Nigel Nicholson  Too many senior teams take it on trust that programmes they sign off on will work. The more they embrace an active role in developing others – as part of addressing their own development – the more likely they are to achieve successful outcomes for their organisation.  For some, leadership programmes are life-changing, for others not. This just underlines the need to tailor to needs and contexts.  Often do we hear from programme attendees “It’s my boss who should really be here!”  The tougher aspect of feedback for leaders is being good at receiving it, not just giving it. Closing thoughts... Mike Haffenden reflected that developing leaders would always be difficult work. The CRF report illustrated that there is a lot to know about and get right. He picked out three points.   

Observation – know what’s going on within and without the organisation, about its people and its potential leaders, and don’t just reach for off-the-shelf solutions. Reflection – both in designing the approach for the organisation, and individuals thinking hard about what they have experienced. Networking – learn from and with peers, and understand how learning across an organisation is an organic process. How do you make sure your networks help get the results you and the organisation want?

With special thanks to our partners for this event – DDI and Duke Corporate Education. As referenced within the meeting, Nigel Nicholson’s leadership book – The ‘I’ of Leadership - can be found online here. Meeting notes prepared by Andrew Lambert.