Welcome
Welcome to the latest issue of
Bringing Work to Life. In recent issues we explored the following
topics (all newsletters are available at
www.elsdon.com/newsletters.htm):
o
The real scoop (June 2005)
o
Listening to the organization (May 2005)
o
A kinder, gentler place (April 2005)
o
Accelerating into your new position (March 2005)
o
Workforce leadership (February 2005)
o
Searching for success (January 2005)
o
Ethics and leadership (Year End 2004)
o
Linking workforce development to value creation (November December 2004)
o
How to decide if an organization will be a good fit for you (October
November 2004)
o
Confronting one of our fears as leaders - the fear of public speaking
(September October 2004)
o
Bringing meaning to our work lives (August September 2004)
o
Seven key aspects of the organizational and business drivers for
workforce development (July 2004)
This month we look at leadership
courage.
Leadership Courage
Recent events speak to leadership courage in quite
different ways. A helicopter carrying executives from the MBNA company
crashed into the East River of New York while taking off from Manhattan
on June 18, 2005. Everyone on board escaped alive. Some were pulled
from the choppy waters by everyday New Yorkers including one grocery
store delivery worker who leapt into the water to rescue people (New
York Times 6/12/2005, page A12). This quiet, selfless act of courage is
in contrast to behavior revealed in a trial reaching its conclusion at
the same time close by. In this trial Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO
of Tyco was found guilty of fraud, conspiracy and grand larceny for a
combination of stealing and covertly selling “artificially inflated”
shares, with a combined value of $580 million. This fraud is equal to
the annual compensation of more than 1600 people at an average U.S.
level.
In one case we see an act of personal leadership
courage from someone with little formal authority; in the other we see
abuse of power and personal greed from someone given much formal
leadership responsibility. This brings us face to face with leadership
courage and what it means. We can look back in history to towering
national figures. For example, FDR rescuing a nation from a spiral of
economic decline and joining a world partnership to overcome
nationalistic forces of exclusion and greed. Standing here for social
and political principles that elevated all members of society, not just
the wealthy or the powerful. We can also look to the people who touch
our own lives and see leadership courage in quiet abundance. This year
I have been blessed to see leadership courage shown by:
·
Committed staff in a leading healthcare organization
understanding and acting on employee concerns, and bringing together
management and union representatives for the benefit of all
·
Educators and college faculty coming together so that each
can learn from the other for the benefit of students
·
The owners of a small business taking steps to build an
inclusive, supportive environment, creating a successful, growing
enterprise
·
Staff in a vibrant public sector organization supporting
employees with on-going individual development for their benefit and for
the benefit of the community
·
A leader in a successful financial organization supporting
one of her managers struggling with personal difficulties
·
Leaders in a successful utility focusing on understanding
and addressing employee concerns to enhance work life and to build
productivity
·
Leaders in a division of a well established consumer
products organization focusing on development and behaviors to
strengthen division contributions
·
Leaders in a non-profit organization gathering information
to inform their process of building a strong Board
·
Leaders in an MBA program providing resources to support
students launching in new directions
·
A leader holding true to his principles in creating a new
financial fund
·
Clients forging new paths that express their depth of
contribution and enhance their fulfillment
How different these are from the ruthless and
ineffectual behaviors of those in Fortune’s surveys of the toughest
corporate bosses in the 1980s. Today we see the demise of some such
people, recently Philip Purcell announcing his departure as chairman and
CEO of Morgan Stanley, cited as being autocratic, ruthless and remote (Nocera,
New York Times).
Daniel Goleman in Primal Leadership identifies
effective leaders as being more values driven, flexible, informal, open
and frank than in times past. These are behaviors that dispel fear and
are central to leadership courage. Along with changing approaches, the
language we are using is changing. I was asked recently, by someone
reviewing a draft of an upcoming workshop, if the term Leadership
Courage was a mistake. It wasn’t. Gregg Thompson of Bluepoint
Leadership Development points out how much our language needs to adapt
to the emerging style of leadership. So that words like courage and
sacrifice complement vision and commitment; promises joins deliverables
and honor joins ethics. We need to speak from the heart as well as the
head, for in so doing we speak on a deep level with those around us.
Let’s look at what we mean by leadership courage.
Let me suggest that there are several components. As an individual it
means:
·
Knowing who we are and what we stand for
·
Living with authenticity
·
Gauging success from within
·
Gathering strength from isolation
Today self understanding is recognized as a key
leadership competency, so different from the world of twenty years ago.
For in understanding ourselves we can begin to understand others. What
is it in our behavior that causes people to think and act in the way
they do? What is it about our behavior that either energizes or limits
those around us? From a leadership perspective, what is needed to
awaken the music of those in the organization such that they and the
organization are direct beneficiaries? It is in answering these
questions that we confront leadership courage.
How about living with authenticity? I recall
hearing the actor Dustin Hoffman, speak about his early life and
formative experiences, mentioning that he was not a particularly good
student and that academic studies did not ignite much passion in him.
When he was young he had been playing jazz piano and even went so far as
to play in a band, but did not like it. Then he attended an acting
class at a local community college in Los Angeles when he was about 18
or 19. His comment: “The ten hours of this class seemed like ten
minutes and I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” This
was an epiphany for Dustin Hoffman. Most of us are not as fortunate in
seeing so clearly the expression of our work lives. But it is there for
all of us. Leadership courage is about bringing that expression forth.
What do we mean by gauging success from within?
Here is the poet Pablo Neruda (quoted by David Whyte) speaking of his
internal awakening: “I didn't know what to say, my mouth could not
speak, my eyes could not see and something ignited in my soul, fever on
unremembered wings and I went my own way deciphering that burning fire
and I wrote the first bare line, bare without substance, pure
foolishness, pure wisdom, of one who knows nothing and suddenly I saw
the heavens unfastened and open.” It can be this way in organizations,
as each person realizes his or her sense of calling, awakens their
music, the music of the whole organization stirs. Leadership courage
brings this forth.
Leadership can be a lonely place. Studies have
shown that the most effective leaders are those able to gather strength
from isolation. They create time and place for themselves in which to
regularly reflect and refresh. This is part of our quest for leadership
courage.
As we look out into the organization leadership
courage is manifest by:
Each form of inclusion provides an opportunity to
build organizational strength and flexibility. Given our rapidly
changing external environment, flexibility is central to survival and
success. This flexibility is enabled by breadth of inclusion.
These four components of inclusion can be
integrated into the core of the organization, leading to a transcending
purpose that is ennobling for everyone in it. This builds a deep sense
of affiliation. These are complex and weighty issues that do not vanish
with the latest quarterly earnings report. Rather they serve as a
reminder to focus on the importance of reaching for a greater sense of
purpose. They are brought alive by leadership courage.
Demonstrating leadership courage requires a depth
of self-understanding to bring clarity to purpose and direction; a
willingness to show vulnerability and be open; listening at a deep
level; being timely, concise, accurate and personal in communications;
the ability to synthesize and make sense of data overload; and
connecting to build links in organizations and communities. These are
behaviors and skills that we can develop and master.
There are many pressures to stray from this path,
pressures from external constituencies or others within the
organization. These pressures may come from the financial community
demanding actions to enhance short-term performance, which are
detrimental to long-term capability. They may come from within the
organization to distribute disproportionate rewards. They may come from
other organizations or from customers seeking unreasonable, preferential
treatment. The courage to resist such pressures and to hold true to a
purpose of deeper meaning and transcending purpose is a measure of true
leadership courage. It is within our grasp to stand for something
great, as in those choppy waters off Manhattan.
(Some passages are excerpted from Affiliation in
the Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization, Ron Elsdon,
Praeger, 2003. Should you wish to know more about EOR’s comprehensive
leadership development capabilities please feel free to contact us at
renewal@elsdon.com, 925 838 2362)
Workforce Trends
Since September 2003 the job openings rate has
steadily increased as shown in the figure below, although at 2.7% it is
still well below the 3.3% level in early 2001. At the end of April 2005
there were 3.7 million job openings in the U.S.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job
Openings and Labor Turnover: April 2005, Release, June 7, 2005
This translates into a hiring rate that has
exceeded the separation rate (both voluntary and involuntary
separations) since early 2004 as shown in the following figure.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job
Openings and Labor Turnover: April 2005, Release, June 7, 2005
However for the first time in over a year, the
hiring and separation rates were equal in April 2005 at 3.4%. Voluntary
separations (other than retirement) were 1.9%, involuntary separations
were 1.2% with other separations (retirement) at 0.2%. Over the past 12
months hires have averaged 4.6 million per month, 0.3 million more than
separations. We must continue to ask the question what is the nature of
the employment relationship that we are hiring people into. Our quote
this month shows one perspective that also speaks to leadership
courage.
Quote
This is Howard Schultz the founder of Starbucks
(from his biography quoted by Terry Pearce in Leading Out Load): “Years
later, that image of my father – slumped on the family couch, his leg in
a cast, unable to work or earn money, and ground down by the world – is
still burned into my mind. Looking back now, I have a lot of respect
for my dad. He never finished high school, but he was an honest man who
worked hard ….
The day he died, of lung cancer, in January 1988,
was the saddest of my life. He had no savings, no pension. More
importantly, he had never attained the fulfillment and dignity from work
he found meaningful.
As a kid, I never had any idea that I would one day
head a company. But I knew in my heart that if I was ever in a position
where I could make a difference, I wouldn’t leave people behind.”
Here is Starbucks first guiding principle:
“Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and
dignity.”
Upcoming Elsdon Organizational Renewal (EOR) Events and Recent
Mentions
Upcoming Events
·
“Using Measurement to Guide
Employee Development and Training” HR Metrics Conference, NCHRA, San
Francisco
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Tuesday, August 16, 2005
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Upcoming presentation for U.C.
Berkeley, Haas School of Business Alumni
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September, 2005
Recent Mentions
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Reviews of “Affiliation in the
Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization.”
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Harvard
Business School
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HBS Working Knowledge: Organizations
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Global Diversity Institute
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Global Diversity Institute - The Journal of Diversity Praxis
o
Journal of Asian Economics
·
ScienceDirect - Journal of Asian Economics : Ron Elsdon, Affiliation in
the Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization, Praeger
Publishers, Westport, CT (2003) 280 pp. (hardcover), ISBN 1-56720-436-8,
$49.95.
·
The Alliance of Chief Executives
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Alliance of CEOs - Ron Elsdon
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“Reaching for Our Deep Gladness”
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Article in May, 2005 NCDA Career Convergence Magazine
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NCDA Career Convergence Magazine
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Review of MBTI Step II workshop
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CCDA News, April 2005
·
California Career Development Association - Articles
·
Recent mention in article on
cost of turnover
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East
Bay Business Times,
April 2005
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Turnover costs exceed employers' estimates - 2005-04-25
·
“Worklife Survival: Finding a
Fit”
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Article for HR West, February 2005 (Northern California Human Resource
Association)
·
http://www.nchra.org/StaticContent/Download/EXT0205007.pdf
·
Review of ICDC Global Issues
Forum
o
CCDA, January 2005
·
California Career Development Association - Articles
About EOR: Our Value Contribution
We enhance your workforce,
leadership and organization by:
·
Using proprietary approaches to
understand workforce and leadership challenges
·
Creating tailored action plans
and solutions to strengthen workforce and leadership practices
·
Building individual capabilities
and contributions
We enable you to focus on
external results and building value, confident that your organization
and leadership are operating at peak effectiveness.
Our Mission
To support your organization by
enhancing performance, productivity and effectiveness through
revitalized workforce relationships and leadership practices.
Our Approach and Values
We tailor our engagements
to the needs of each organization with a process designed to surface
critical issues, identify root causes, build effective solutions,
monitor progress and implement.
With a scope that ranges
from system and organizational interventions to work with individuals,
our focus is on the heart of the relationship among the individual, the
organization and the community. We believe that organizational and
community prosperity are built on enabling each person to fulfill his or
her potential.
Our Services
We work with individuals and
groups in your organization to drive performance and development for
both the short and long term. As a result people will choose to work in
your organization and will prosper there.
We bring solutions when you need
to:
·
Reverse declining revenues and
performance
·
Revitalize your workforce
·
Stem the loss of key talent
·
Redirect your organization to
new areas
·
Stop losing customers or market
share
·
Penetrate new markets
·
Combat aggressive competitors
·
Handle major change
·
Break down communication
barriers
·
Energize your leadership team
·
Successfully build on an
acquisition or merger
Our proprietary services
include:
·
State-of-the-art tools to take
the pulse of your organization and then move to action
o
Web enabled systems
o
Experts to gather and analyze information, moving your organization to
action
·
Individual leadership coaching
to give you world class leadership capabilities
o
Leaders who know themselves and their aspirations, build their
capabilities and become catalysts developing others
·
Workshops to build interpersonal
skills in your organization so that:
o
Communication is timely, concise, accurate and personal
o
People listen to each other
o
Negotiations are quick and effective
o
Differences create rather than destroy value
o
Teams move forward, get results and quickly commercialize new products
and services
o
People understand and link their motivations to your organizational
needs
o
Your teams understand what it takes to create a committed, energized
workforce
o
People use their time well
·
Systems that make it easy to
drive performance and build capabilities by:
o
Linking objectives throughout the organization
o
Strengthening key competencies
o
Making sure you have the bench strength where and when you need it
o
Giving people tools to take charge of their own careers and development
and have a major long term influence on your organization
·
Proprietary simulation and
modeling techniques that let you explore how to maximize the value of
your workforce
o
Move from guessing what might happen to looking in depth at the
financial impact of different approaches
