Artistry, Choice, and Leadership ONE Introduction: The Power of Reframing
Bob
Nardelli – The Home Depot
Toe-the-line Command and control Discipline “deep, lasting culture change”
At first… Profits improved: “thriving” Hailed as “remarkable set of tools…” …but…
Bad
News for Bob:
Pummeled
Home Depot to last place in its industry for customer satisfaction Unaware or unconcerned: Bob doesn’t look at the whole picture Common afflictions for leaders: seeing an incomplete or distorted pictures as a result of overlooking or misinterpreting important signals Bob resigns.
-> Did Bob Nardelli fail at Home Depot? Or was Home Depot’s originating culture a bad fit for Nardelli’s leadership style? Article: Home Unimprovement: Was Nardelli's Tenure at Home Depot a Blueprint for Failure?
Kenneth
W. Lay/Jeffrey K. Shilling – Enron
America’s Most Admired Companies (Fortune) Most innovative Profitable Fast-growing BIG Sterling reputation…
…but…
The “ultimate control freak” Severe micromanagement style of leadership Resigned 3 months before Enron implosion
Personal reasons “no idea…anything but excellent shape” Jeffrey K. Shilling
Lacked personal accountability for fall of Enron Out-of-touch at a deeper level Misread cues and clues
Believed himself to be a victim, not villian
Kenneth W. Lay
…but…but…it wasn’t OUR fault!!
Several
governmental failures: local, state, and federal
Local: unaware of outdated levee system, poor attempts to vacate high flood prone areas, neglect of the extreme poor population State: inadequate preparation for aftermath, failure to communicate properly with federal government, general mismanagement and lack of focus Federal: slow, ineffective, aimless
Cluelessness is a fact of life, even for very smart people Ignorance or misinterpretation Flawed decision making
Reframing: an ability to think about situations in more way than one Capture a more comprehensive picture of what’s really going on
Advancements in technology created an integrated society Increasing complexity required organization Information revolution Globalization of economies Arrival of the CNN society Turned yesterday’s organizations into antiques
Complex organizations have made most human activities collective endeavors Organizations can frustrate and exploit Corporate greed and insensitivity cause massive problems in society: why?
Even
the best leaders do really dumb things
Too smart for their own good??? Personality flaws??? DUH???
Sometimes,
sense-making efforts fail!!
People can fool themselves into being right when they are severely wrong!! Construct our own psychic prisons and can’t get out!!
“the
most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage – management”
Hogan, Curphy, and Hogan (1994) ½ - ¾ of American managers are inadequate and most probably don’t realize it About ½ of high-profile senior executives hired fail within 2 years (Burns & Kelly, 2007) Managerial error: 2003 US world’s strongest economy but corporations set new record for failure Read More
What Is The Dilbert Principle
Most
common improvement strategy: upgrading management
Managers are suppose to have the big picture
The
role of the consultant
When managers can’t figure it out $$$ Consultants: help or hindrance
Here
comes the government to save the day
Legislation Policy Regulation
Read about Dr. Goran Carstedt Dr. Goran Carstedt
Goran Carstedt: “The world simply can’t be made sense of, facts can’t be organized, unless you have a mental model to begin with…you can’t begin without some concept…” Frames: we deliberately mix metaphors to capture part of an idea we want to convey.
Mental model Help you understand and negotiate Managers need to develop and carry accurate maps in their heads
Rapid cognition: “a gift that makes it possible to read deeply into the narrowest slivers of experience”
Blink Malcolm Gladwell, 2005. • WATCH: Goran Carstedt - TEDxAthens Leadership for a Sustainable Future
Dane and Pratt (2007): 4 key characteristics Nonconscious: without thinking, without knowing Fast: almost instantly Holistic: coherent, meaningful pattern Affective judgments: thoughts & feelings work together
Ultimate goal is fluid expertiese
Make decisions quickly and automatically
No shortcut Time consuming Effort required Practice makes perfect
Only effective if practiced and utilized
Reframing
requires frame breaking.
Artistic managers frame and reframe experience fluidly, sometimes with extraordinary results Find new ways to shit points of view when needed
The
wise manager wants a diverse collection of high-quality implements readily available and accessible
Experienced managers know the difference between possessing a tool and knowing when and how to use it Experience and practice bring confidence and skill Fun: Michael Scott on Leadership
STRUCTURAL HUMAN RESOURCE
POLITICAL
SYMBOLIC
Metaphorical
Factory/ machine
Family
Jungle
Carnival Temple Theatre
Central concepts
Rules, roles, Goals, policies
Needs, skills, relationships
Power, conflict, money
Culture, meaning, ritual
Image of leadership
Social architecture
Empowerment
Advocacy, Political savvy
Inspiration
Basic leadership challenge
Technology environment
Align human & organizational needs
Develop agenda and power base
Create faith, beauty/meaning
• Multiframe Thinking: Drawn to some, repelled by others Some perspectives are clear, others puzzling • Learning to apply all 4 frames deepens appreciation and understanding of organization
Dunford & Palmer (1995) management courses teaching multiple frames had significant positive effects short-term and long-term
98% rated reframing as helpful or very helpful 90% stated reframing gives a competitive advantage
Requires moving beyond narrow approaches
More than one way to resolve problems
Effective managers need multiple tools, skills to use the tools, wisdom to match frames to situations Shortfalls: Lack of imagination
WATCH: Managers need to “Most important failure was one of imagination” – be creative Be G.W. Bush on 9/11 attacks Creative - Don't Imagination leads to artistry in management be Afraid of Your Flexibility, subtlety, ambiguity Inner Creative Self
Review
the photos provided on slide 7. What do these photos represent to you as they relate to the topic of leadership cluelessness? Based on the information provided in this section, how can the multiframe approach be used to avoid leadership cluelessness in represented by the photos on slide 7? Watch the following TED Talks video. How do you think the information in this video relates to the information provided in this section? How to learn? From mistakes.
Artistry, Choice, and Leadership TWO Simple Ideas, Complex Organizations
American flight 11 From Boston 8:00am, on time <15 minutes into flight, pilots stopped responding to air traffic controllers
United flight 175 Departed 8:15am, 10 minutes late Aircraft changed beacon codes, deviated from assigned altitude, failed to respond to New York air traffic controllers
American flight 77 From Dulles 8:20am, 20 minutes late Departed from assigned flight pattern at 8:54am, failed attempts to communicate with air traffic controllers
United flight 93 From Newark 8:42am, 40 minutes late Followed routine trajectory then dropped precipitously; captain radioed “Mayday,” struggles heard from cockpit by air traffic controllers
Hijackers boarded the planes
Failed security checkpoint system
Failure to foresee by government 1993 – security experts envisioned WTC destroyed by airplanes 1994 – Suicidal pilot crashed small private plane into White House lawn Previous hijackings ended in negotiations; no suicide missions
Homeland air defense was conflicted
FAA & NORAD: confusion at headquarters, botched communication efforts with NORAD, poor interagency coordination, mixed protocols
Organizational breakdown and human error are systemic causes of human failure
Albert Einstein: a thing should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler In organizational problems there are three misleading concepts
Blaming people: individual blunders
Blaming the bureaucracy: too many rules and red tape OR a lack of goals and creation of chaos
Bad attitudes, abrasive personalities, neurotic tendencies, stupidity, incompetence Pinpointing the culprit is comforting
Call to legislators/rule makers to fix the problem Seeking explanations
Thirsting for power: selfish motives from greed and power instead of overall goals for the wellbeing of all
Jungles teeming with predators and prey CYA (cover your ***) – why care about anyone else??
READ: Additional Information About Organizational Problems
The three most common fallacies contain a little truth, but are just too simplistic Yes. People can cause conflict and problems
Blaming individuals blocks from seeing system weaknesses Offers few workable options
Yes. Bureaucracy is most effective when goals and policies are clear
Bureaucracies are not utopias Excessive or ineffective, constricting, oppressive…or not
Yes. Thirst-for-power can be enduring Dog-eat-dog logic offers a plausible analysis People both seek and despise power Becomes a scapegoat
Organizational problems are complex…
Human
organizations can be exciting and challenging places
Depicted in texts, corporate annual reports, & fanciful managerial thinking Truth: organizations can be deceptive, confusing and demoralizing
Managers
need to recognize the characteristics of life at work
Opportunities for the wise, traps for the unwary
FUN: Watch Interview With The Bobs
The first step: recognize key characteristics of organizations
Avoid being surprised and caught off guard
Organizations are complex: Populated by humans with unpredictable behavior Various elements: human, departmental, technological, goals Intertwined: one event can cause a chain reaction through the entire organization
Organizations are surprising: What you expect is not always what you get Enron example: everything appeared to be going well…what could possibly go wrong?!
Organizations are deceptive: Camouflage mistakes and surprises When quality initiative fails, people can clam up or cover up
Organizations are ambiguous: A dense fog that covers the day-to-day Hard to get all the facts Information can be incomplete or vague
Please refer to page 33, Exhibit 2.1 for “Sources of Ambiguity”
READ: The Collapse of Enron: Managerial Aspect
Rapidly shifting situations require organizations to learn better and faster
Michael Dell: “In our business, the product cycle is six months, and if you miss the product cycle, you’ve missed the opportunity.”
Organizations must inherit capabilities far beyond individual knowledge Peter Senge – core learning dilemma:
“We learn best from our experience, but we never directly experience the consequences of many of our decisions.”
Complex systems sever the clarity of causeeffect relationships Solutions detached from problems Feedback delayed and misleading
For more on Peter Senge: Peter Senge and the Learning Organization
Senge emphasizes the use of “system maps” to clarify how a system works “Chainsaw” Al Dunlap, CEO – Scott Paper
Raised profits and market value Slashing head count and cutting frills Victim to system blindness: short-term strategies leads to a delay in the long-term effects Great short-term gains, poor long-term market effects
System blindness highlights causes rooted in troubled relationships between groups that have little grasp of what’s above/below their level
“Chainsaw” Al Dunlap: One of Top 10 of Worst Bosses (Time)
Lying? Or MOTIVATING?! Click on photo
Overwhelmed
Trapped
COMPLEXITY, RESPONSIBILITY
BETWEEN CONTRADICTORY EXPECTATIONS AND PRESSURES
Overworked LACK OF DELEGATION
Dissatisfied WITH SUBORDINATES LACK OF INITATIVE AND CREATIVITY
Pressures
WORKERS EXPECT IMPROVING CONDITIONS
Contradictions
SUPERIORS DEMAND RISK THEN PUNISH
Helpless LOUSY JOBS LOUSY PAY
Demoralized ORDER US AROUND
Unacknowledged NEVER TELL US WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON
Troubled Relationships Between Groups at Different Levels
The actions we take to promote productive organizational learning actually inhibit deeper learning
Lack of Accountability
Blaming
Defensive Thought Process
Our actions seem to work in the short run because we avoid conflict and discomfort, but we create a double bind. Deal with the hidden problems to avoid desperate maneuvers to prevent catastrophe.
Organizations
deal with a complicated and uncertain environment by trying to make it simpler
Better systems Technology improvements New problem solving techniques
Unanticipated
events still happen
Develop better mental mapping to anticipate complicated and unforeseeable problems
You see/envision what you expect Recall “blink” process of rapid cognition Match situational cues with a well-learned mental model
Making sense of what’s going on DeBecker (1997) “Many experts lose the creativity and imagination of the less informed. They are so intimately familiar with known patters that they may fail to recognize or respect the importance of a new wrinkle” Situations are almost never black & white – almost always in the gray Personal theories are essential to perception
Don’t be afraid of the change or conservation Gladwell “our snap judgments and first impressions can be educated and controlled to shift the odds in our favor” Dilemma: holding on to old patterns is ineffective, but developing new mental models is difficult and risky
FUN: Michael Scott hates Toby Flenderson
…so, to sum up this section…
Please
refer to the pictures on page 22. Explain how these pictures relate to organizational problems. How would you apply reframing techniques to the events pictured on page 22? How can you use artistry in management to shape your current leadership position? OPTIONAL: In the final scene of The Ides of March, what sticks out to you as the most important aspect?
The Ides of March Final Scene: Integrity Matters