Why Leadership Matters for the Best Jobs of the 21st Century

Leadership is hard to define.  It is a concept, much like acceleration, which is only theoretical until it is applied to an actual set of tangible circumstances.  While leadership a hot topic these days, with books on the subject selling briskly and degree programs opening up worldwide to address the interest, many people feel that it is important without really being able to explain why.

As a concept, leadership can be thought of as an accelerant, something that increases the velocity of that upon which it acts.  Is your career stagnating?  Learning what it is to be a leader, and the nuts and bolts of how effective leaders work through traits, behaviors, and relationships, will help boost you from where you are to where you want to be.  Are you an entrepreneur?  Leadership studies will help you learn how to attract and gain the loyalty of followers, who will in turn elevate you and your ideas.  You will learn how groups select a leader from amongst peers, and learn how to maximize the chances that you will be that leader chosen.  If you already lead others, you can learn about how a leader creates meaning for others and shapes the reality they see, so that others decide on a course of action that the leader desires.  You can study how leaders align the efforts of others towards a common goal by shaping and perfecting that goal (through storytelling, charisma, and emotional intelligence) and motivating followers to come along.

Leadership as a topic is not one to be kept in books.  It provides value by being taken out, tested, and wrestled with every day.

Recently a book was published which highlighted the best jobs for the 21st century.  In the midst of financial crises, increasing unemployment, and globalization, many of us are happy to just have a job, and are not worrying about if ours is the best.  But these negative factors define the reality in which we operate, and the best jobs are a reflection of these conditions.

In short, the best jobs are those which cannot be outsourced: high-touch, on-site jobs.  But these are not the only factors.  After all, you can't get your car repaired overseas that easily, so it would seem that being a car mechanic would be a safe job.  But it isn't, because you are highly replaceable, and when this is the case, wages are driven down and you don't make that much (because everyone competes on price).

The key is to not be a commodity.  Be unique.  Be hard to replace.  Here I'll quote directly from an article that discusses the book:

Therefore, the best jobs for the 21st century--the high-growth, high-paying, job-creating occupations--will be in services that require some combination of creativity, sophisticated decision making, interpersonal sensitivity, and adaptability to a changing environment. This last factor, adaptability, means the ability to learn new skills and the flexibility to change work roles and possibly employers as opportunities emerge. It also means that a college degree, while serving as the entry ticket to one of these highly rewarding jobs, does not free the worker from the need for additional education or training. Continuing education is a legal requirement for many of these jobs and a practical necessity for the others.

Two points above are critical.  First, the highlighted skills- those which make you unique and valuable- are all direct aspects of leadership development.  They ARE leadership.  Second, it isn't ever too late to go back to school and further develop your skill set.  This is the beauty of a leadership graduate program: it is applicable to everyone.  


Every year we watch students advance their skill sets and become more valuable in the workplace with our Masters in Leadership degree.  Where they take those skills, how they apply them, and how far they go is up to them.  What's certain is that as we head further into the 21st century, more and more indicators are showing that becoming a better leader in your field is the path to more stability, satisfaction, and apparently a shot at the "best jobs" the century has to offer.

Differentiate yourself.  Consider BU Brussels.

The BUB Newsletter - Dec / Jan

For the holidays, we are combining two months' of newsletter into one.  Click on the image below for the full pdf version of the December / January newsletter for Boston University - Brussels:

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Communicating as a Leader with today's Electronic Media

As a leader, you have many options for communication at your disposal.  Traditional (now called "rich forms") of communication remain the best option for sensitive or confidential matters, or arenas where the style of delivery (such as tone of voice) are important.  Rule of thumb: no sarcasm in email!  It doesn't translate.  In addition to the context of the message, it's important not to over-rely on electronic communications in general.  Psychologists have noted that there are several hidden problems that result- people need human interaction to remain connected, motivated, and stimulated.  Simply turning to the computer or smart phone for every message won't do. 

So tip #1 is: Combine new methods of communication with old "human interaction."  Take a walk around your office to chat with people.  See what comes up.  Often when this unstructured space for communication is available, simmering issues can come up and be addressed before turning into big problems.  If you have virtual workers, try to organize periodic events where you can all meet in person.

Next, consider the existing level of relationship in your communications.  Do you all know each other well in person?  Have you been working together for some time and "gelled" as a group?  If so, you probably have existing communication patterns, which can then be supplemented with electronic communications.  In other words, if you've known each other for a while, you can read "between the lines" of emails and text to understand what is meant over and above what is simply said.  If you are new to working together, try not to rely too much on emails or texts at first.  You may not know the other well enough to know what they truly mean in these short communications.

It's also important to READ AND RE-READ your messages before yous send them off!  This applies both to emails and to texts.  Simple errors in emails can lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings.  These days the autocorrect feature on your smartphone can turn a regular text into an embarrassing missive.  Typing "ok Bob I will call client now" quickly while driving (which you shouldn't be doing anyhow) can turn into a whole different message if call is autocorrected to kill.  It's happened!  A quick Google search shows innumerable examples.  Also be sure to check who you are replying to.  Many a career has been ended over hitting "Reply to All" instead of "Reply." 

Finally, know when it's in poor taste or tacky to use email or texts.  Some interactions just need to happen in person.  Important issues, the loss of a loved one (even a pet!), and other sensitive topics should be addressed in person, or if that is not possible due to distance, at least over the phone.  If you're not sure- ask!

BU Class Spotlight: Negotiations

Of the three "axes" of leadership optimization- Personal Traits, Interpersonal Skills, and Environment, perhaps one of the easiest to improve upon through training is Interpersonal Skills.  Similarly, Interpersonal Skills are a cornerstone of effective Diplomacy and International Relations.

For these reasons BU Brussels has long been offering negotiation classes as part of its curriculum.  In this months' blog, we had a chance to talk with one of BUB's current students, Noemie Civino.

During Noemie's studies of Applied Economics at the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium, she found her finance and logistic courses most interesting. She graduated in June 2010 and decided to continue her education with a Graduate Diploma in Finance at BU which would give her the opportunity to have a more practical education after my four years of theoretical education. Because these courses took place in the evenings she found it a good opportunity to have some real experience in the field and she started her internship at a start-up Be Park (www.bepark.be) in Brussels where she worked on the Business Plan, Financial plan and is currently doing business development for the Flemish part of Belgium.

Noemie, thanks for taking the time to talk with me.  Why did you decide to take the negotiations class?  What were your expectations of what you would learn (if you had any), and what value did you think you would take from it (before you actually began the class)? 

I decided to take the negotiations class it because I never had a class regarding the way of approaching situations, deals, negotiations and conflicts. This seemed the perfect opportunity for me to have a more interactive class with a lot of participation and "learning by doing". We "do" first, and afterwards we reflect on the negotiations, and the tactics used. The class met my expectations regarding the interactive part of it. Currently I'm doing an internship where I experienced that knowledge about how to approach discussions can be vital. I thought it would be a good idea to analyze the way I am negotiating and discussing with people. So what I really expected is to see which tactics I could use to improve my way of handling situations in relation to people.

Had you found the need for negotiation skills previously in your work or academic life?  If so, in what context?  

Not so in my academic life, but I did have many groups at work.  However, I didn't recognize that approaching my discussions and negotiations in another way would change things. Now that I think about it, it could have been very helpful indeed. Currently, I recognize the need for these skills very much at my internship at a start-up in Brussels. I always want to keep my work relationships at its best and by actually learn more about how to approach these relationships it seems helpful in achieving that.

I know Professor Rancourt uses a lot of role-playing exercises in class to bring the concepts to life.  Walk me through one of your experiences of these.  What was the exercise?  How did you do?  How did the other side perform?  Were there any take-away lessons from the exercise?

The exercise was about a company, Eurotechnologies, who's primary product is an elaborate bioelectronic detection system. To get a contract, the company was in the need for cost cutting so it was trying to keep its employees but move them to another location so they could shut down a redundant site. 

I liked the exercise because it is a situation that is not uncommon and was a mix of emotional and rational (for the company) concerns. The company was in desperate need of saving money to get an important contract from the government. The most money would be saved by shutting the oldest plant. We wanted to keep the staff because it concerned the R&D staff, which was one of the most important resources for the company. 

To reach that goal we came up with a lot of suggestions to make the move easier for them. Because the savings of shutting down the plant was that substantial we offered things like investing in de infrastructure of the newer plant where they would move to like renovation of the laboratory and the cafeteria to maintain a positive spirit. The most important thing we offered were the scholars and seminars we offered, as well as the ability of some R&D employees to go sometimes to the current plant location to keep the contacts theu were having and invite stagiaires from university to come to the new plant so the level of knowledge would be maintained. 

We decided to let everyone speak, so addressing a topic to every person so there wouldn't be just one spokesperson and we could all respond best to the reaction of the other side, taking into account how our topic should be handled. For example, I stressed the ability of keeping their knowledge and contacts up-to-date, which was an important issue for them as well as for us. So I took a rational and collaborative position by doing this. My team members focused on the emotional issues like guidance for them moving, for example looking for good schools for their kids etc., and like the renovation of the plant they were moving to keep their working environment as it was before and even better with new equipment.

In the end we succeeded in them moving to the new plant and compromised on their learning and contacts which was also in our advantage since it benefits the performance of our product.

Do you feel that the material and approach of the class has better prepared you for negotiating outside of the classroom?  Are you using any of the techniques in your internship?

I was surprised that I actually started to use the tactics. I focus on keeping my voice low and show the person I'm listening to them and that I understand their position.

I recognized I did everything before to avoid conflicts but realized I just avoided discussion which can actually be good sometimes. Now I talk about how I would like to approach things and every time I had a good response. Now, when I'm getting advice I take it as something I can learn and not as critique. I knew before they were some guidelines and advice but always felt I had to justify why I did it different while it actually was better to change my way of approaching my task.

I know I like my internship a lot, the negotiations course maybe has contributed to that!

One final question: An assumption I've seen people hold is that negotiation is only for high-pressure office and career situations, and that no everyone needs to learn it.  Do you see applications in everyday life of your new skills?

Negotiations and discussions happen every day, with friends, parents, everyone does it daily. Do you like to avoid conflict with your friends or are you always honest? That's an example that can make you recognize it is good to know some skills. Everyone approaches most situations differently. In my case, and I guess for most people, I negotiate in another way to different persons. Most of the time I use the collaborative (win-win) strategy so I can make the other person feel good in pointing out his/her advantage of the solution. I also use an ingratiation tactic in many discussions so I can achieve a good atmosphere and make the other person feel good.

In the working environment I try to justify my approach to things using the rationality tactics by backing up my argumentation with explaining and argumenting the benefits of it for both parties.


Great.  Thank you for your time Noemie.

Join Noemie and the rest of the BU Brussels students in one of our high-impact classes offered as part of our Master of Science in Leadership, Master of Arts in International Relations, or many certificate programs.  Contact us today for more information.

November Newsletter

The Boston University in Brussels November Newsletter is out!  Click on the image below to access the full pdf:

 

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Basic Leadership Skills- Learning from Experience

One of the texts that MSL students use in class is Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy's Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience.  From this text is adapted this week's blog topic: Basic Leadership Skills in regards to Learning from Experience.

Create Opportunities to Get Feedback. Even for (especially for) the most powerful leaders, feedback is critical.  We all need to know not only how we're doing objectively (through performance metrics and goal achievement), but how we're doing subjectively (how do other see our performance).  A leader who loses his followers is no longer leading anyone.  Leadership is a function of the leader, the followers, and the situation, so that means two-thirds of leadership has to do with elements outside of the leader herself.  For this reason it is important to solicit feedback from multiple sources.

For instance, a small business owner may measure his own performance on year end profitability and sales numbers.  But he should casually gather feedback from employees on their satisfaction, customer comments and interactions, and ways the organization might be run more smoothly.  It's usually the front-line people that have the best ideas for how to improve the customer experience and reduce redundancies, because they have to deal with both every day.

He could also discuss the business with his spouse (whether she works there or not) and see what her observations are on how it's run and how it might be improved.  She might be ready to tell him his own areas for improvement as well (as husbands and wives usually like to do).

A third way to solicit advice is from a Trusted Advisor.  Much like the "in the family but not of the family" idea in the Concigliere role, the Trusted Advisor is one who is close enough to see the inner workings of the organization and personalities involved, experienced enough to know how to improve it, and trusted enough to speak plainly and truthfully to the owner (without fear of bias).  Many leaders benefit from the incorporation of a Trusted Advisor.

Take a 10 percent stretch.  No matter where you are today, and in what direction you want to head, the journey begins with taking a step forward.  As much change is daunting, keep in mind that you don't have to change everything at once.  Shoot for a 10% change, define it in real, measurable goals (so that you can hold yourself accountable later), and start working towards it.

Maybe you want to increase gross sales from $10M to $11M next year.  Say you want to reach 10% more customers, or expand your network by 10% (say from 200 to 220 connections on LinkedIn).  This can be as simple as wanting to post five more posts for the weekly food blogger or as complex as wanting to rate 10% better on your annual 360 degree review. 

Keep a Journal.  Now this one I think can be taken literally (have a journal that you write in regularly to reflect upon- and get perspective on- issues that you are dealing with), or it can be taken figuratively (remember to take time regularly to look back and think about your progress, issues with the organization, challenges, and successes).

The key to either approach is to revisit events so that you can (a) get a better perspective on them and (b) learn from them so that you are better prepared for the next time around.  Too often busy business owners rush from one crisis to another simply putting out fires without any chance to look back and consider events, performance, and meaning.

Create a Development Plan.  This is simply a matter of asking "Where am I going with all of this?"  It may seem obvious to say you need to know where you want to go before you try to get there, but many times we rush towards a vague notion of "better" without having clear, articulated, and measurable goals along the way.  This isn't to say that a plan can't change along the way, just that having it written down will help focus efforts towards real results.

This can be applied on many levels:

• personal (I am going to master these skills this year); 
• organizational (a plan to increase employee satisfaction by 25% and reduce turnover by 10%); 
• performance-driven (a monthly detailed budget to plan for $40M in sales and $500K in profit by fiscal year end).

To conclude, learning from experience takes some effort.  Although most people learn lessons passively as they go through life, what distinguishes you as a leader will be your ability to actively- and assertively- use the techniques above to accelerate your performance and the performance of those around you.

An Interview with Theodore Trefon

This month we sat down with Dr. Theodore Trefon.  He a Congo expert specializing in the politics of state-society relations and has devoted the past 25 years to Congo as a researcher, lecturer, author, project manager and consultant. He heads the Contemporary History Section of the Belgian Royal Museum for Central Africa and is Adjunct Professor of International Relations at Boston University Brussels.

Dr. Trefon

 Dr. Trefon, thank you for spending some time with me.  One of the topics that BU students in the MSL program tackle is the definition of the term "leadership." It is a concept that seems simple at first, yet grows more complex the more you probe it.  You have spent the past 25 years studying the politics and anthropology of state/society relations in Congo/Zaire.  With that breadth of experience, how have you come to understand what it means to be an effective leader?

The main problem facing Congo today is precisely the lack of responsible leadership. In a country where political authorities do very little for their constituents, when officials do just a little, they are venerated. But this is populism and not real leadership. There are few outstanding figures on the political landscape with vision, those who are able to bring an end to corrupt government, reduce poverty, solve the country’s security problems or improve the well-being of ordinary people. This would require the talent of being able to mobilize people around shared objectives, the power to deal forcefully and pragmatically with regional and international partners and the capacity to manage the macro-economic challenges facing what has unfortunately become one of Africa’s notoriously failed states. President Kabila does not have these leadership credentials; ex-dictator Mobutu had the charisma and flair of what is sometimes expected of an African ‘big man’ but he used it against the interest of the people; the first democratically elected prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, was assassinated before having the chance to deploy his leadership skills.

 

The situational model of leadership focuses not only on the leader personally but also the context in which the leader operates.  In Congo Masquerade, you focus on the ingrained political culture of corruption among the Congolese elite.  What situational challenges do leaders (both within and external to the Congo) face in trying to improve the quality of life of the ordinary Congolese?  In other words, besides being a strong leader in and of himself, what must a politician know about the Congolese system in order to be effective?

After 32 years of dictatorship, violent conflict and machinations orchestrated by Rwanda and a very difficult – but still unsuccessful political transition towards democracy, everything on the state-building agenda is priority. Public health, education, road infrastructure, providing people with water and electricity, re-engineering public service provision, creating the enabling conditions for political participation, etc. are all priorities. But there is no master plan shared by the Congolese authorities and their international partners. While many programs appear to make sense at the theoretical level, implementation is a real problem. The country is also vast (the size of Western Europe) and diverse (in terms of distribution of natural wealth, ethnicity and population density). Managing a country that is fragmented in this way is an additional challenge. Probably the most important thing for a Congolese politician or international partner to bear in mind is the only thing that is predictable in Congo is the unpredictable.

How does the ordinary, everyday Congolese citizen view the leadership of his or her country? 

Congo is one, but plural at the same time. Again, the country is diverse and fragmented so it is impossible to expect a consensus on anything, let alone on leadership. This is a very hot question because presidential and legislative elections will take place at the end of November. Perceptions of political leadership in Congo have to be understood in terms of social issues. People are very frustrated by the lack of progress in the government’s development program known as ‘cinq chantiers’. There is a lot of justifiable grumbling about lack of water, electricity, roads and access to health services. Kabila has strong support in some provinces but faces heavy opposition in others. The fact that he was able to amend the constitution, to have a single round of voting instead of the two-round system is a distinct advantage for him so he is likely to win the elections. Winning the elections is one step, transforming it into legitimate authority based on respect and transparent negotiation is something else. People have become very skeptical about how much government can really do for them and have consequently come to rely on their own home-grown systems to survive. 
 

Students learn in class at BU about leader emergence, or how one individual rises out of the crowd and assumes a meaningful leadership role.  Often this emergence is due not only to the individual's traits, but to the perception of the individual by the others in the group.  Have you witnessed any instances where an otherwise ordinary individual rises up from the ranks and assumes a leadership role, no matter how small?

As people expect relatively little from government, new forms of social organization emerge. Congo, however, remains a very hierarchical society, perhaps something that is a spillover from Belgian colonialism. Religious leaders, civil society activists, traditional chiefs, diaspora representatives, successful businessmen and women and even musicians are leaders and opinion formers that political authorities have to deal with.

I know that everyone at BU Brussels is very happy to have you join the team.  Turning to your role at BU, what do you feel are the most important lessons that students can learn about leadership?  What new understanding and knowledge do you hope to pass on to them in your class?

I’ve devoted the past twenty-five years to Congo/Zaire as a researcher, project manager, professor and consultant. My approach is policy oriented and I have tried to narrow the conceptual gap between political science theories on development and state-building and a grassroots, anthropological understanding of very local-level social dynamics.

My course at BUB accordingly focuses on international development. Specifically, the discourses, practices, strategies, pitfalls, challenges - and when relevant - success stories of this vast agenda. I try to avoid over conceptualizing or theorizing about these issues because at the Master’s level, students seem to be more motivated by pragmatic examples and case studies. Are the Millennium Developments Goals attainable? How does micro-finance work? How do you carry out stakeholder analysis in the field? What are the links between access to natural resources and well-being? The main messages that I try to convey are one, development is a very complex issue so we have to be culturally sensitive and humble, two, be open-minded – bringing in the private sector in development strategies, for example, is something that I explore with students and three, be prepared for the unexpected – the role of social media in the Arab spring is a good case in point.

Thank you for your time, Dr. Trefon. 

The BUB Newsletter - October

Boston University in Brussels is pleased to introduce the second of our monthly newsletters.  Every month we will be taking an in-depth look at the events, people, and partner organizations that shape our BUB community.

This month we take a look at the book Congo Masquerade, by BU professor Theodore Trefon,  and discuss both transition from professional to student life and student to professional life (job hunting in today's economic environment).  Additionally you can find out more about our partnership with BeCommerce, e-commerce classes, and our entrepreneurial workshops series.

Contact us directly to be added to the newsletter distribution list, and be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

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note: this link will be active until November 5th, 2011.  To view older newsletters, contact us at brussels@bu.edu.

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Charisma and the Leader

Today Bank of America announced it will be cutting 30,000 jobs.  This is due, in large part, to a problem with charismatic leadership in the organization.  Not only has B.o.A. suffered from the result of over-charismatic leadership, it is now feeling the consequences of lack of charisma at the top levels.

During the 2008 US financial crisis, Bank of America was doing alright.  A history of strong organizational structure and leadership had positioned it so that the brunt of the mortgage fallout missed it.  But the then-CEO Ken Lewis decided - in an act of hubris that could be considered over-charismatic - decided to purchase Countrywide.  This horrible decision led to organizational complexity and inefficiency, millions in bad loans, Lewis's departure, and eventually the drastic 30,000 person cut announced today. 

Lewis's charisma had contributed to his ability to push through the Countrywide deal (and his desire to show Wall Street just how powerful B.o.A. could be).  It was arguably the worst decision in the company's history.

Ken Lewis

Now the bank is paying the price for a paucity of charisma at the top ranks.  The current CEO, Brian Moynihan, is not showing enough charisma to convince investors that he is in control of the company.  Stock prices are down 50%.  This latest move can be seen in part as a way to send a signal to Wall Street that Moynihan will, in fact, be able to do what is necessary to turn the bank around. 

But one wonders if the drastic cuts would have been needed if Moynihan had possessed enough charisma to be able to charm investors into confidence.  On the other hand, perhaps the ability to charm investors is exactly what we want to avoid as we seek to get a clear picture of a company's financial situation.  No one claims that Wall Street is rational, after all.

Charisma is one of the personal traits that is examined in the study of leadership.  It appears when discussing the characteristics of transformational leaders.  It has been suggested as a legitimate alternative to traditional power structures (there are those who lead because of their position, and others who are carried into power on the momentum of their charisma).  Students see its influence in the Five Factor Model of Personality, where it influences surgency, dependability, agreeableness, adjustment, and intelligence.  Charisma is even important in the follower, as it is in the followers' eyes that a leader is seen as charismatic.

As the Bank of America case shows, there are positives and negatives to the charismatic leader, and the trait is only one of many that all interact to determine leader effectiveness.

Join our students in the study of this and many other aspects of leadership in our Masters of Science in Leadership program.  Contact us today to learn more.

The BUB Newsletter - September

Boston University in Brussels is pleased to introduce the first of our monthly newsletters.  Every month we will be taking an in-depth look at the events, people, and partner organizations that shape our BUB community.  Contact us directly to be added to the newsletter distribution list, and be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Click on the image below to view the full newsletter:
note: this link will be active until October 8th, 2011.  To view older newsletters, contact us at brussels@bu.edu.

BU Brussels September Newsletter

Congratulations to the Class of '11!

Boston University Brussels's Class of 2011 graduated in style.  This marks the first class predominantly comprised of Masters of Science in Leadership graduates.  Others graduated with Masters of Science in Management and Masters of International Relations.

As we do not have room to post the dozens of happy pictures of the event, a few key shots are included below.  Congratulations and best of luck to the class of 2011!

Leadership Highlight: Dr. Anne Randerson and Japan Relief Efforts

One common theme in Leadership is initiative and agency.  Leaders are the ones who step in and motivate others toward action while everyone else is simply sitting back wondering "What can I do?"  Dr. Anne Randerson, a regular lecturer at our Masters of Science in Leadership Program, has recently stepped up to the plate to promote relief efforts for Japan.

Dr. Randerson received her PhD in Japan and studied extensively in the city of Sendai and in Fukushima prefecture, where she lived for six years.  In a strange twist of coincidence, her dissertation explored humankind's tenuous relationship with nature.  The timeliness and prescience of the subject was not lost on publishers, who have shown their interest in publishing her work.

Anne in Sendai with friends whom she still hasn't been able to contact

When the earthquake occurred, she scrambled to contact her friends and colleagues in the area.  While many are safe (but some who have lost their homes) there are still friends whom she can't locate despite extensive searching and networking.  In addition to these efforts, she took the initiative to organize fundraising and relief efforts in several unique ways:

1. Last week, Write for Tohoku, an ebook from Tokyo, just published two of her stories about Japan. It's on sale for $9.99 and 100% of the proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross. You can see a preview of the book by clicking here.

2.  In 2009, Dr. Randerson created an 80-page book from photographs she took during her time in the country.  Scenes of Japan is currently on sale with all proceeds benefiting the Japanese Red Cross.  This collection was the focus of a solo exhibit at the U.S. Department of State European Media Center in Brussels in July, 2009.  Here are three samples of her excellent work:

Nature's Wonders in Fukushima

Japanese Clogs at the Zen Garden

Northern Japan

3. She has organized a charity auction to be held on May 27th at 7pm and all of the proceeds will be given to relief efforts in Japan (the list of which charities will be released shortly).  The invitation promises an evening of purpose and entertainment:

Please support Dr. Randerson in these efforts.  Often the emergence of leaders from the crowd occurs through agency; the person who stands up and says "I'll make the effort" is the one who is an inspiration for the rest of us.  Anne has stepped up.  Let's join the BU family in standing behind her to make a difference. 

 

The Coming Crisis in Leadership?

This week we're happy to feature an article by one of our upcoming graduates of the Masters of Science in Leadership program.  This content was recently posted in Stanton Chase's International Executive Newswire:
http://executivenewswire.com/2011/04/the-coming-crisis-in-leadership-by-andrew-kruger/ 

If you’ve been listening to the news lately, you may be wondering where all the leaders have gone.  Where are the Churchills, the Kennedys, the Ataturks, and the Welshs?  Now, more than ever, our countries and our companies need real global leadership.  And this might be the problem.  All this globalization might be pulling the rug out from traditional models of effective leadership.
Leaders frame reality for others.  They perceive events and then interpret them for their followers in a way that motivates action.  Currently the US government is on the verge of a shutdown.  If you ask a Republican leader why, he will frame the event in terms of the failure of Democrats to rein in spending.  But when you ask a Democratic leader, he may blame the other side for stonewalling any compromise.  Each is trying to convince as much of the population as they can to see things their way.  I think it’s the only reason Sunday morning news shows exist.

Leadership researchers Smircich and Morgan concluded that a person emerges as a leader in large part “because of their role in framing experience in a way that provides a viable basis for action, e.g., by mobilizing meaning, articulating and defining what has previously remained implicit or unsaid, by inventing images and meanings that provide a focus for new attention, and by consolidating, confronting, or changing prevailing wisdom.”

This concept can be seen as the distillation, or basis, of many of other leadership theories.  It explains the leader-follower relationship by underscoring why followers do or do not accept another as a leader (does the leader’s narrative work for them in creating meaning from what they see?).  It underscores Leader-Member-Exchange (LMX) theory, as the management of meaning by the leader influences the perceptions of organizational justice of the follower (the leader’s effective use of narrative in explaining why justice occurred will affect the follower’s perception of such, and subsequent depth of relations between the two).  Even the “great man” theory and other trait- and behaviour-based leadership models lean on this framework: does the leader have what it takes to effectively create meaning for followers that they will accept and act upon in desirable ways?  Is the leader motivated enough to do this?  Driven enough?  Smart enough?

Crafting a narrative isn’t as easy as it sounds.  A leader must develop open communication channels both upstream and downstream in order to receive and deliver messages with minimal distortion and delay.  Reports and briefings may provide some information, but the savvy CEO will also have his ear to the ground by interacting regularly with all levels of the organization.  This should be informal as well as formal.

Many people (all people?) struggle to make sense of their world.  They absorb news and information and try to assimilate it into a coherent view.  The more solid this view, the more confident they are acting in accordance with it.  But the problem is this: with the advent of communications technology and the evaporation of cultural borders the common man has much more access to all kinds of data on a daily basis.  Much of it is conflicting.  The more data there is to understand, the more difficult it is to create one clear worldview through which to grasp it.

When people’s worlds were smaller, it was easier to create a narrative that made sense of the observations and “reality” that people experienced.  Leaders had only so many concepts and observations to weave into their narrative.  It was easier to motivate people to action because one frame of reality—one story—could explain everything they saw.  And if a leader chose the right story, he could line up motivated followers to his cause.

Increasingly people are bombarded with many more variables than can fit in a concise narrative, and as such faith in some traditional leaders and their interpretation of events has waned.  Twitter and smartphones transmit the experience of any person across the world in seconds.  Virtually all public events are digitally recorded, and the video lives forever online, waiting to catch the unwitting politician or CEO in a moment of hypocrisy.  Leaders can no longer change their narrative without being called out for being inconsistency and disingenuousness (fans of the Daily Show will recognize this  Jon Stewart’s main modus operandi).

What some might call the current crisis of leadership is a reflection of this.  Most leaders, save for some religious ones (I’m thinking Eastern traditions here), can’t create a narrative which meaningfully encompasses all the stimuli most people receive.  The more people know, the harder it is to tell them what to think.  And the world is not a black-and-white place; shades of gray are now obvious to all.
I’m not sure what this may mean for the future of leadership, although one hypothesis is that we will increasingly see a split between two modes of thought- the first being a dogmatic and closed-minded adherence to the old story, where any contradicting information is summarily ignored or discounted (Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann come to mind), and the other is one that increasingly accepts a narrative so expansive and inclusive that it can’t inspire followers to take action.  This can be seen in Taoist or Buddhist narratives of accepting the interplay of opposites and holding two contradictory thoughts in one’s head at once—a koan of sorts.  The consequence of this is a feeling that “there is nowhere to go, there is nothing to do, there is no one to be.”  How do you inspire someone to act on that?

While the tidal wave of technological revolution affects us all, there are tactics for the aspiring leader.  First, choose your audience carefully.  The smaller the target the better you can manage meaning.  Second, do your research to know what they know.  If you send out a company-wide email explaining why the organization has to make budget cuts next year, make sure that month’s newsletter doesn’t cover the lavish executive retreat the C-staff just came back from.  Third, frame events to motivate employees in the right direction.  The best stories inspire people toward an event (e.g. increased revenue) rather than away from something (e.g. decreased spending).

As for the state of global leaders, I don’t envy their challenge.

Actualized Leadership and the Lugano Leadership Academy

From July 5th through 9th Boston University and the Taylor Institute will be hosting a Leadership Academy in Lugano, Switzerland.  This executive workshop, aimed at middle to upper-level managers, will be featuring among its teaching team Dr. Will Sparks.

The following background on Dr. Sparks is directly from his website, drwillsparks.com:

Will Sparks is an Associate Professor of Behavioral Sciences at the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte.  He serves as the Director of Leadership Initiatives and founded the MS Program in Organization Development in 2008 at the McColl School. Concurrently, he is a Visiting Professor of International Management with Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland.
He is a Principal with William L. Sparks & Associates, LLC, a professional services firm focused on leadership and team development, corporate creativity and innovation, and change management.  He is also a Managing Partner with Peter C. Browning & Associates, LLC, and consulting firm providing services to corporate Boards of Directors. 

He has consulted with a variety of organizations in the public and private sectors, including the U.S. Navy, GlaxoSmithKline, Anheuser-Busch, the Bank of America, Duke Energy, Wells Fargo, the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, the United Way, the American Red Cross, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Will has published numerous research papers and book chapters, and has contributed articles to The Charlotte Observer and the Charlotte Business Journal.  He has also appeared in several Charlotte-area media outlets, including the CBS affiliate WBTV Channel 3, News Carolina Channel 14, and on “Charlotte Talks” on the NPR affiliate WFAE 90.7.  He is a coauthor of the book, The Combustion Research Facility: A Model for the 21st Century Open-User Facility, an R&D management case history published by the Department of Energy. 

He is the author of the forthcoming book Actualized Leadership to be published in 2012.  He received the Fuqua Distinguished Educator Award for excellence in teaching at Queens in 2003 and 2005. In 2009, he was awarded the inaugural McColl School Leadership in Teaching Award.

He holds a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from Winthrop University, an M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management from Appalachian State University.  He completed his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Development under the direction of Dr. Jerry B. Harvey from the School of Business and Public Management at The George Washington University where his research focused on group dynamics, organizational culture, and leadership.

Attached below is a link to a podcast on Actualized Leadership by Dr. Will Sparks.  It's well worth the listen:

Part 1

Part 2

Join Dr. Sparks, Gary Knell of Sesame Street, and the rest of the BU/Franklin College team at the Leadership Academy.  We hope to see you there for four days of training, seminars, and executive networking!

In-Groups and Out-Groups: Leaders Playing Favorites

Whether they know it or not, leaders tend to segregate followers into in-groups and out-groups.  Members of in-groups enjoy a closer relationship with the leader, more attractive work and assignments, and more recognition for their efforts.  They also have higher satisfaction levels with their boss and experience less role-related stress (most likely as a result of the better assignments!).  Simply put, in-group members get more attention and support from their leader.

Out-group members may tend to be viewed more as interchangeable commodities by the leader.  They have more distant relationships with their boss and usually are assigned less challenging and less rewarding work.  The relationship tends to be seen as distant and based on economic exchanges (you work, I pay you for it).  These followers are more likely to have issues with their boss, and may even file grievances. They certainly are less motivated to perform and report lower levels of job satisfaction.

Landing in the Right Group

As followers, we'd all like to be in the in-group, of course.  And as leaders it would be great if our relationships with our followers were all high-quality, like those with our in-group members.  So why would anyone want the out-group to exist?

According to Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory, people essentially self-sort into in- and out-group members early on.  Those first couple of interactions with your new boss are very important.  Depending on how you respond to the first assignments and interactions as a follower, you are quickly steering yourself into either one group or another.  You are defining your relationship going forward and essentially telling your boss which group you want to be in. 

Here's how it works:  As a leader makes requests to a member (or follower), that member responds in a certain way.  He may either embrace the request and fulfill it to the best of his ability, or take a lazy or shortcut approach.  From this initial exchange a leader starts to make an impression of the member:  This guy is on the ball and delivers, this other guy doesn't.

Usually the leader starts out slow with small requests, and escalates their importance.  By observing how well members respond, they are then segregated (consciously or unconsciously) into in-group and out-group members by the leader.  Once those roles are formed, they are very hard to change.  Every so often a leader may give an out-group member a chance to redeem herself and get back in, but this is not common.

Performance

In-group members are not only more satisfied in their work, but they have higher performance as well.  They perceive that they are treated well for their efforts, so they are more motivated to perform.  Out-group members feel like the cards are stacked against them.  They are not motivated to work hard, because they feel that they will always be on the outside.  These guys work may just hard enough to not get fired, rationalizing that if their only motivation is a paycheck (as opposed to attention and status of the in-group), then they will scale back their efforts to match that pay.

Conclusion

In much leadership theory, it is important to ask "Ok, so what does this mean to me?"  The lessons here are these:

Implications for Followers

If you are a follower (employee, etc):  make sure that when you start a new job you make that extra effort in the first months.  Be aware that your boss will be looking to see whether you are trustworthy, hardworking, and capable.  This is your chance to get in the in-group, that inner circle that is close to the boss.  If you have been at a job for a while, ask yourself which group you are in.  If you are in the out-group, make efforts to approach the boss for more challenging and demanding work, and deliver when you get it.  You may be able to fight your way in to the in-group after all.  But remember that if you are not happy in your work, or you feel that you are not treated fairly, look at your own actions as well in the context of LMX and see if you had anything to do with your situation.

Implications for Leaders

If you are a leader, be aware that you have an in-group and an out-group of followers.  You may have noticed placing people in one or another, or maybe it just happened unconsciously.  There is nothing wrong with having these two groups, as long as you frequently open your doors to the out-group and give them a chance to perform to earn entry into the in-group.  One example would be every three months choose a member of the out-group and give them a challenging assignment.  If they step up to it and excel, consider bringing them into the fold.  You want everyone to be in the in-group as you will then be surrounded with capable, happy, and motivated people.  Your leadership will be more effective as you work through this team.

One good resource on this is The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins: