In our September 2006 newsletter, we described WJM Associates’ Leadership Point-of-View by highlighting seven characteristics of effective leadership. To see the full article, as well as best practices for developing effective leaders within an organization, please click here.

The next several issues of the WJManagement Advisor will each include an article focusing on one of these characteristics. In this issue we address the fourth of these seven: Vision

“Some things have to be seen to be believed; some things have to be believed to be seen.”
--St. Exupery, The Little Prince.

One of the chief things we agree upon in leadership development is that we count upon our leaders to provide “vision.” This is reiterated so often that it is virtually a cliché of leadership, but what does it really mean? And how can we as coaches and executive guides help our clients fulfill this essential part of their role?

Many in organizations confuse “mission” and “vision.” They are related but not synonymous. Here is the difference: the mission of the organization is its purpose—what it is chartered to do and be. It answers the question “what are we here to do?” The mission is ideally built on corporate core values as well as culture, identity and knowledge of the business environment. A vision hypothesizes the future image of the organization, what the organization strives to become like creating a movie of the organization’s future state. The vision paints a picture of how the mission will be realized in the next era. It lays the groundwork to align and motivate the individual talents and energies so that the whole organization can move as one to achieve its greatest potential. It provides the glue for “e pluribus unum” making one out of many. And as such vision provides the means for a leadership cadre to “author” or architect the future.

Albert Einstein said that one of the most troubling dysfunctions in modern life was the inability to distinguish between means and ends. The vision provides the target, the result, the goal at the end of the journey (the end). Then, strategic planning provides the bridge for how to get from here to there (the means). Working with a coherent vision in mind, key decision-makers and those tasked with execution can work backwards from the goal to the present and then chart the course for how to get there, step by step, objective by objective. This works only when those throughout the organization “get” the vision and then create their own part of the design to make it happen.

“Envisioning” is a very visual word : most people need to “see” an image of the future before they can step into it and move forward step by step to create it. How can organizations, groups and whole cultures build a bridge to the future if employees and staff don’t “see” the future goal and hold a very palpable common image of what future they are mapping to? Visioning involves “creative visualization.” The vision must be grand enough to inspire energy and commitment, without being so ultra specific that it limits creativity and initiative in those who must carry it out. It must be mind-stretching, exciting and inspiring, without being overwhelming.

One essential component of this core leadership competence is seeing the big picture as well as having the imagination and the practical courage to “dream”. As one leader put it, visioning involves the courage and positive perspective to create the future, not just reacting to the “balls hit to you,” but playing offense—deciding where to play and what success looks like. Playing in the visioning business is certainly not for the feint of heart or the uncertain. It is risky business. It also involves a rather hard-headed ability to scan the environment and calculate the cost and benefits of attaching to this particular dream for the organization. The leaders hold responsibility for evaluating the likelihood of success of their goals.

As Max DePree, author of Leadership as Jazz, said, “the leader’s job is to create meaning for people.” By creating a meaningful vision and communicating it so others want to participate in its realization, the leader can inspire and energize employees, lifting them up beyond the details and silos of day to day life to see how their work results in something bigger than themselves. Experienced leaders take the time to communicate the vision with real clarity and allow for dialogue, discussion, debate and questioning as a means of getting commitment to it. The vision is a guide or a map; it gets people on the journey, but it is not written in stone. There are unknowns-- many things will change and affect it along the way. Leaders are careful not to inhibit others’ creativity: they delegate specific execution to those at many levels of responsibility, allowing them to participate in shaping it and thus to own it at their own level.

Once a vision is developed by the leader or leadership cadre, the next step is to make sure that key stakeholders within the organization are aligned on the vision. This means getting buy in and commitment, not just compliance. This means the leader takes time to communicate the vision, in terms that have real meaning and substance. Often once the vision is developed (often by the top team in a retreat or working with a consultant team) there is little attention paid to making sure that the vision is understood and cascaded across the organization horizontally and vertically. The top team has probably spent a great deal of time debating rival ideas and directions and has through process come up with the future vision. Often they neglect to take the employees through the same thought process and ask them to “buy in” without understanding the whys and wherefores which shaped the decision. It is an important part of the leader’s role to make sure that employees understand and commit to the vision and that they can participate in it by linking it to their own personal visions about the future. In this way, the leader’s vision becomes the organization’s vision, creating a common bond and cause among the workers. It becomes a story that is “co-authored” by leaders, managers and workers.

A word about personal vision: leaders symbolize and embody the culture and values of the organization. Although the organization vision is not the same as the leader’s personal values and vision, the leader’s own heart, mind and spirit should be resonant with the organization vision. A coach can do a great deal of work helping leader-clients clarify their vision and act in a manner consistent with the vision in everything they say and do. Walking the talk provides authenticity. People pay more attention to what you do than what you say. When the leader’s own actions are true to the vision he or she espouses, this creates trust and strengthens the leader’s ability to inspire and energize others to move into the common vision of the future.

Just about every day another article or story pops up in the news on how important innovation is for organizational survival, growth, and success. Or a new book is published offering new techniques and strategies to make an organization more innovative. And just about every company, whether large or small, touts innovation as one of its key values.

While it is clear that innovation is not a management “fad du jour” and is vital for success, building and maintaining a sustainably innovative organization remain an elusive, although critical management challenge. Why is building an innovative organization so difficult? I believe there are two root causes: One is that too few recommendations focus on the complete picture so advice can often be confusing. Is innovation about product development? Disruptive technology? Building external alliances? Customer centricity? Ambidextrous organizations? The second root cause is that leading for innovation is both a science and an art and requires diagnostics, tools, as well as all of the attributes of effective leadership.

Sorting through the literature and advice is not an easy task. Based on my research and experience, I have identified four building blocks that in combination lead to sustainable innovation, defined as an organization’s ability to leverage the talents of its employees to create and successfully produce new and different results. Such results range from breakthroughs to incremental changes and improvements in products, services, business models, and operational and managerial processes.

The building blocks include: 1) a leadership style throughout the organization that encourages innovation; 2) a culture that supports innovation; 3) flexible processes that promote creative collaboration, problem-solving, decision-making, and product development; and 4) internal and external metrics that drive accountability and ensure progress and efficient use of resources. Focusing on all four areas will avoid compartmentalizing innovation and instead allow it to be embedded into the fabric of the organization, an absolutely essential step toward achieving sustainable innovation.

This month, I will focus on the first two and cover the last two in more depth in a subsequent article.

Building Block #1: Leadership Style

The roots of an innovative organization start at the top. Senior leaders must be able to balance the many complexities, tensions and trade-offs inherent in leading for innovation. Managing these dilemmas enables the organization to both tap into the imaginations and capacities of all stakeholders and continue to achieve organizational goals. To deal with these challenges leaders must be versatile and agile. They must be able to create the conditions for others in the organization to contribute, feel supported, and be engaged and at the same time exercise power and authority to push for performance. They must also position the organization to be competitive in the future and drive the organization in the near term to achieve results. They must have both strategic and operational acumen. Such leaders are curious, open to being challenged, patient, and adopt a learning approach to experimentation and risk. They must indeed be humble and admit that they don’t have, and don’t need to have, all the answers, but instead need to know the right questions to ask to encourage new ideas and solutions.

This type of leadership style, however, is not easy for leaders to adopt, especially if they have to fight, in one academic's words, "the very human tendency to cling to [different] formulas that worked well in the past." Thus leaders, now more than ever, need to know their limitations and their strengths, as well as when their strengths might become obstacles to success and organizational prosperity. Such knowledge requires self-examination, reflection, and constant feedback from customers, colleagues, superiors, subordinates and objective third parties.

Building Block #2 – A Supportive Culture

Leadership style is a major contributor to the organization’s innovation levels. However, there is more to building an innovative organization than just leadership style. The vision, mission, long-term objectives, and strategies need to be focused on innovation and creativity. Organizational norms and values must encourage teamwork and collaboration, maximum information flows, customer and market focus, talent development, and a comfort level with constant change and new ideas – the hallmarks of an innovative culture. Norms must also encourage constructive conflict, appreciation of differences, decentralized decision-making, and learning through mistakes and even failure. They must actively discourage the hidden agendas and political shenanigans that inhibit innovation. To ensure alignment, performance management systems must reward behaviors that demonstrate these norms.

Conclusion

Encouraging leadership styles and a supportive culture are critical components, but of course are not the whole story to building an organization where innovation thrives and is part of the organizational DNA. Processes and metrics that allow for the proper balance of creativity and control also matter, as we will learn in the next issue.

With economic pressures mounting, more executives are being asked to change roles or positions, move to new locations, or leave their organizations entirely. Many people facing termination or a reduction or change in power or position are asking for exit packages that include some kind of career or life coaching.

WJM Executive Transitions™ is a confidential and unique career/life management service through which we assist a senior executive in developing a vision that takes into account both personal and professional goals. Executive Transitions™ is designed for senior leaders who are strategizing the next phase in an already successful career.

Unlike typical, “cookie-cutter” outplacement services, Executive Transitions™ is delivered much in the same manner as an Executive Coaching engagement. The executive is assigned a personal career transition coach, or team of coaches depending on the need, who collaborate on a highly customized and highly personalized transition campaign. This process begins with assessment of the individual’s managerial and leadership competencies, which leads to the development of a strategy for self-marketing in order to manage career transition most effectively. Alternatively, the coach collaborates with the individual on a plan for retirement, including family issues, community involvement, Board memberships, etc.

The service doesn’t end once the job is landed. WJM works with the executive to negotiate the hiring package, mindful that an offer of employment is not only about money issues. Fit, culture, career objectives, and learning opportunities are some of the other essential success factors. WJM will assist the client to evaluate, compare, and then negotiate the best opportunity.

Finally, WJM stays with the newly hired executive to ensure their success in the new company and position. We emphasize assimilation into the culture, building winning relationships with other executives and direct reports, identifying critical objectives, and clearly defining expectations.

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information.