In 1977 Abraham Zaleznik penned an article that was still being debated in graduate schools 20 years later: that, in spite of the challenges imposed by changing markets, organizations persisted in perpetuating the development of managers over leaders, who are different in basic personality, as well as in attitudes toward goals, conceptions of work and people relationships.^[1] More than 10 years later John Kotter argued that leadership and management are two distinctive and complimentary systems of action—a focus on change versus complexity, respectively, and that most corporations were “over-managed and underled.”^[2]

The Need for Leadership

Today, few if any organizations are protected from the forces of change, and have recognized the importance of leadership (witness how quickly management teams became leadership teams), and the need to develop leaders. From our work with teams, however, we have found that most team leaders are really managing, not leading. Changing the language doesn’t work, and in fact exacerbates the problem.

The first question of course is whether the team leader should be managing, leading, or both. That depends on whether the competitive environment is peaceful, moderately hostile, or engaged in full combat. As Kotter noted, “no one has yet figured out how to manage people into battle.“ The business strategy also matters.

The Challenge of Leadership

The greater the threat and/or need for flexibility, the more leadership is required. While strategies are easy to change, the most difficult challenge lies within the organization, embedded in the assumptions, the structures, the mindsets—the fear of risk which managers were created to eliminate—in all of the beliefs and values that take root in the hierarchical, control-centered cultures of so many complex organizations.

The problem is not that markets are changing, but that organizations are not inherently flexible. No wonder Zaleznik questioned the ability of organizations to develop leaders. It requires internal conflict within structures designed to maintain stability, order and to avoid risk. Organizational leaders are the trustees of the culture, and ensuring continuous alignment with the business strategy requires creative intervention to avoid the downward pull of fragmentation and ossification. It is their most critical mission. Structures should not trump leadership.

Leading Change is a Team Sport

Cultural change is a team sport—it cannot be won by individuals playing different games. Effective team leadership requires both strong leaders and cohesive, complementary teams of leaders at all levels. But the buck stops with the team leader, and those who appoint them. While everyone has the capacity for leadership, though different in type and scope, effective team leadership requires unique capabilities both in terms of character and capability. The skills that characterize effective producers in most organizations—e.g., technical acumen, reliable execution and strategic thinking, are not sufficient to lead and connect others. This is critical, as only leaders can develop the leadership potential in others, which is why the return on leadership development initiatives in most organizations is scant, at best, and why these investments are too quickly cut when short-term profits or share prices are falling—i.e., when leadership is most desperately needed.

The Good News!

1. People can change: Effective team leadership is one part innate or core level, and one part skill-based, but the learning is iterative and reciprocal. While the learning is quick for some, and more difficult and painful for others, the good news is that, contrary to the orthodox thinking that prevailed until a few years ago, we are not hardwired. What differentiates “learners” from non-learners is willingness catalyzed by the awareness of need. It starts within the leader but is most efficiently realized through the team.
   
   What we have found through our assessments of team leaders is that high-impact team leaders combine two sets of diametrically opposed qualities: 1) emotion and reason, each contributing to the effectiveness of the other, and 2) courage and toughness combined with the ability to find the best solutions through constructive team conflict, as opposed to within themselves—the character of humility discovered through Collins’ research on Level 5 leaders.^[3]
   
   We have also found that learning best occurs in the context of the team, though targeted short-term team leadership coaching is often needed to accelerate the process. The end goal, ironically, is to diminish the presence of the leader, and strengthen the role of the team.
    
2. Effective leaders working through real teams can change culture: When leaders become effective team leaders and create real teams, powerful things happen: Trust is built, barriers are broken down, differences are leveraged rather than discouraged, and creative solutions overcome past limitations. This creative energy catalyzes other teams into high impact performance mode, and culture begins to empower rather than impair real leadership.^[4]

Suggested Action Plan

1. Implement an online feedback and development system for groups of leaders to measure their effectiveness as team leaders, provide developmental direction, and measure progress every six months.
   

   a. Identify those team leaders that are struggling. Where willingness or core capability is lacking, re-assign them to producer or management roles that play best to their talents.
   b. Use the data to identify common issues, and provide focused learning goals, leveraging the talents and experience of your best team leaders.
   c. Develop team cohesiveness throughout the organization by focusing first on those where the productive impact will be greatest.

   
    
2. Measure the productivity impact of high-performing versus normal teams so that development remains a top priority, especially in times of crisis.

Knowing how effective your team leaders are leading will enable organizations to act before good talent is lost. Today’s future leaders are increasingly impatient with traditional managerial style leadership. As the Gallup organization has noted, people join companies but leave managers.

Downsizing, cutbacks, outplacement, terminations - all words describing bad times for all levels of an organization suffering economic downturns.

Lately, much has been written on how to “recession-proof” your career. However if you know you are going to lose your job or have already lost your job, we would like to offer a check list for selecting an outplacement counselor and/or company.

Selection criteria:

1. Career counseling vs. job counseling.
Always inquire if the outplacement firm or individual career counselor offers “career guidance” in addition to assisting you in finding another job. Often, outplacement companies and career placement counselors are very keen on getting you a job, yet because your particular industry may be struggling as a whole, there may not be many other jobs available at your level. Find out how they approach career counseling as opposed to just finding another position. Career counselors often ask what you would “dream” of doing or have strong passion for, rather than only contemplating staying in the same field, job and level.

2. Find out who is responsible
Find out exactly who is responsible for assisting you with your job search. Often outplacement firms or counselors may act as if they are going to be heavily involved with you, yet may in fact not interact with you very often during the process. It can feel like a “bait and switch” and is quite common among outplacement firms. Sometimes, outplacement firms and even individual counselors have systems for assisting you and leading your job search. But, when it comes down to the practical applications of career guidance, you need one individual who is going to see you through the entire process and that individual should be someone with whom you are comfortable with and trust.

3. Reputation, Reputation, Reputation
Organizations and individuals are only as good as their reputation. Ask for references and check them out. Don’t get caught believing that an organization is going to have a magical process that is going to get you a job within a short period of time. A good rule of thumb is that it may take six months to one year to find the right position if you’re targeting above the $150,000 salary level.

4. Services
Be sure to ask about all the services that will be provided. Make sure search firm and corporate mailing lists are regularly updated. Connection to online job listings and websites should be provided. Your counselor should facilitate the creation of different types of resumes for different job searches. Ask whether on-board coaching will be provided once you’ve landed a job, or whether your counselor will help negotiate your new job package.

Most of us have not been through the interviewing process in a long time and therefore, could use some assistance getting into “fighting shape”. Outplacement firms and individual counselors should have video production capability so that you can record and observe yourself while role-playing various types of interviews. If this service is not provided you may want to think twice about the firm.

Another example is resume writing. The outplacement firm should offer examples and the framework for a proper resume, and to help fine tune the final product. However it should be up to you to craft the real substance of the document. This way, you will be more prepared to talk about yourself having gone through this therapeutic process of writing down your experience, achievements and position titles, etc., than if someone else wrote your resume for you.

5. Fees and Guarantees
It is a general rule of thumb, never to pay personally out-of-pocket for your outplacement services. Most outplacement firms are paid for by the company who is doing the downsizing or termination. Most companies that charge you directly have great difficulty in ever living up to your expectation of finding a new job. For example, the firm or counselor cannot go with you on the interview, and therefore when talking about guaranteeing you a job, they are usually “stretching the truth”.

We hope that these suggestions are helpful as you embark on the next chapter of your career!

“Just-in-Time” Development

Today’s rapidly evolving business environment sometimes calls for a focused intervention in order to assist an executive in quickly adjusting behavior to accommodate a shift in role, culture or strategy.

WJM’s new High-Impact Coaching program offers a concentrated approach to development, delivered individually and “just-in-time” to strengthen under-developed skills or address critical deficiencies in current performance in a very time-sensitive fashion. High-Impact Coaching was designed for critical situations where the executive is looking to change a core behavior over a short period of time, and to sustain the change over the long term.

High-Impact Coaching involves an intensive offsite experience with the client and two highly skilled WJM Executive Coaches. Various assessment instruments, 360º feedback, role playing and scenario planning are used to dramatically increase the executive’s self-awareness and rapidly empower him or her to enact the changes desired by the executive and the sponsoring organization. Following the offsite, the executive receives ongoing coaching for several months to sustain gains, continue new behaviors and develop additional skills.

Please contact WJM at 212-972-7400 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information.