Annual Maureen Dixon Lecture Re-thinking Leadership Time for

Annual Maureen Dixon Lecture Re-thinking Leadership: Time for a New Perspective? Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe MBA Ph. D C. Psychol. Professor of Leadership Studies University of Leeds & Leadership Research & Development Ltd Health Service Executive / Office for Health Management Dublin, June 1 st 2005 LRDL

People don’t resist change! LRDL

Creating a culture with high ‘readiness for change’ LRDL

Leadership & culture: the inextricable link LRDL

Notions of leadership are constantly changing LRDL

Leadership Research • The ‘old paradigm’ models • The ‘new paradigm’ models LRDL

The ‘New Paradigm’ Models of Leadership • Visionary • Charismatic • Transformational LRDL

But management (transactional leadership) is essential! LRDL

Leadership And Performance Outcomes Transformational Leadership has a significantly greater impact than Transactional Leadership on: • • • staff teams organisations Source: Bass, B. M. (1998) Transformational Leadership: Military, Industrial & Educational Impact. London: Lawrence Erlbaum LRDL

Leadership & Organisational Performance (1) One study, investigated the impact of top 250 executives at a major financial services company found: • 34 per cent of business unit performance results was due directly to transformational leadership. • Other benefits included: - more innovative products produced; - more innovations introduced in organizations - more patents for work produced - higher company financial performance. LRDL

Leadership & Organisational Performance (2) • European study found that the transformational leadership of 120 Branch Bank Managers, predicted long -term branch market share & customer satisfaction (Geyer & Steyrer, 1998) • Canadian study of Department Heads in large financial institutions, found that transformational leadership predicted consolidated departmental performance one year later (Howell & Avolio, 1993) LRDL

Leadership & Mental Health • Association between transformational leadership of team leader, and Customer satisfaction, & Quality of Life ratings of adults with serious & persistent mental health problems Corrigan, P. W. (2000) Mental health team leadership & consumers’ satisfaction & quality of life, Psychiatric Services, 51, 6, 781 -785. LRDL

Why UK research? • ‘Received wisdom’ based on US studies • Focus typically on ‘distant’ leaders • ‘New paradigm’ models often based on ‘leaders’’ perspectives • Limited samples used • ‘Heroic’ models under attack LRDL

The problem with ‘charisma’ • The ‘dark side’ • The link with effectiveness LRDL

Leadership: time for a new direction? • Jim Collins • Kanter • Mintzberg LRDL

What does this ‘post-heroic’ model look like? LRDL

A New Inclusive Model of Transformational Leadership LRDL

UK Transformational model • Showing genuine concern • Enabling • Being accessible • Encouraging questioning & curiosity • Integrity • Networking • Building Shared Visions • Self-development • Cultures of learning & developing others’ leadership Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. The Transformational Leadership Questionnaire (TLQ). Leeds: LRDL

Comparison between ‘distant’ and ‘nearby’ models of Leadership ‘Distant’ = Charismatic - Inspirational: leader as role model ‘Nearby’ = Genuine concern for others: leader as servant and partner ‘Nearby’ = themes of openness, humility, humanity ‘Nearby’ = theme of connecting and inclusiveness LRDL

Servant leadership “As we near the end of the twentieth century, we are beginning to see that traditional autocratic and hierarchical modes of leadership are slowly yielding to a newer model – one that attempts to simultaneously enhance the personal growth of workers and improve the quality and caring of our many institutions through a combination of teamwork and community, personal involvement in decision making, and ethical and caring behavior. This emerging approach to leadership and service is called servant-leadership. " Taken from the Introduction to Reflections on Leadership published by John Wiley in 1995. LRDL

Leader as Servant Characteristics: - Listening - Empathy - Healing - Awareness - Persuasion - Conceptualisation - Foresight - Stewardship LRDL

Danger of obsession with targets! LRDL

It’s not that competencies aren’t important, but that leadership is about… …performing the competencies of one’s job, in a Transformational way! LRDL

But does it work? LRDL

Staff of ‘Excellent’ authorities are more likely to… • Have an input into work planning • Have an opportunity to show their initiative • Believe their manager listens to their ideas • Have a say in management decisions • Have the opportunity to let the authority know how they feel about things that affect them and their work • Feel their authority keeps them well-informed • Believe that the reasons for change are well communicated, & that change is well managed Source: ‘The Impact of Motivation on Organisational Success’ (2004) London: IDe. A LRDL

Leadership & ‘readiness for change’ LRDL

Predictors of ‘Readiness for Change’ (1) Best predictors are: • Individuals in ‘active positions’ • Social supportive workplace • High ‘self-efficacy’ LRDL

Predictors of ‘Readiness for Change’ (2) Implications of research findings: 1 Create a discrepancy 2 Promote ‘active jobs’ 3 Encourage an active approach to job p/solving, 4 Enhance self-efficacy 5 Encourage supportive working relationships LRDL

Innovation in the public sector Leaders can create a supportive climate for bottomup innovation by: - consulting staff - instituting formal awards and informal recognition for innovators - promoting innovators - protecting innovators from control-orientated central agencies - publicly championing bottom-up innovations that have proven successful & have popular appeal Borins, S. (2002). Leadership & innovation in the public sector. Leadership & Organisation Development Journal, 23, 8, 467 -476. LRDL

How are we doing? LRDL

TLQ Public & Private sector norms LRDL

Does it matter? LRDL

The Impact of Poor Leadership Impact/ Scale Job-related Stress Motivation Achievement Motivation Job Satisfaction Genuine Concern Encouraging Questioning Acting with Integrity Inspiring Others Focusing Team Effort Supporting a Developmental Culture LRDL

Embedding leadership in the organisation’s culture Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. (2004). ‘Leadership in public sector organizations’. In John Storey (ed. ). Leadership in Organisations: Current Issues & Key Trends. London: Routledge LRDL

Leadership & Organisational Culture • 2 sides of same coin • The single most important responsibility of a leader is to create the appropriate culture • The Chief Executive, & senior managers are key Source: Schein, E. (1998). Organizational Culture & Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass LRDL

A Potential Problem… Managers think they’re good at it! LRDL

Don’t assume your perceptions of the organisation’s culture are shared! LRDL

Cultural diagnosis Source: The Ethical Leadership Culture & Change Inventory. LRDL

Organisations that are most effective Have cultures that are: • Human(e) • Have clear vision • Engage staff in developing ‘local’ visions • Ensure individuals are clear about objectives – jointly agreed – and ‘own’ their jobs • Involve staff in decisions which affect them • Take staff development very seriously provide regular constructive feedback LRDL

Q: Why do most leadership development initiatives fail? Answer: #1 #2 #3 Alimo-Metcalfe, B. , Ford, J. , Harding, N. & Lawler, J. (2000). Leadership Development in British Companies at the Beginning of the 21 st Century. London: Careers Research Forum LRDL

Embedding a Culture of Transformational Change • Start at the top! • Examine the organisational culture • Scrutinise Recruitment • Reflect on Succession Planning policies • Use 360 appropriately & resource development • Be passionate about appraisal/PDR • Encourage constructive criticism & new perspectives • Spend time on the shop floor! • Liberate leadership! LRDL

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How can you tell a ‘leader’? …not in terms of the leadership they exercise…. But in terms of the leadership they evoke in others LRDL

And finally… “Cynicism concerning people in power…seems to be at comparatively high levels. . The emerging era of terrorist threats may rekindle interest in leadership, targeted toward the promotion of inclusion, unity, and allegiance, and less toward the emphasis of division and separateness” Vecchio, R. P. (2002). ‘Leadership and gender advantage’. Leadership Quarterly, 13, 643 -684. LRDL

Where do I start? Remember Pygmalion…!! LRDL

How can you tell the effectiveness of a leader? LRDL

Additional References Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. (2005). ‘Leadership: Time for a new direction? ’. Leadership, 1, 51 -71 Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. (2002). ‘Leadership’. In P. Warr (ed. ). Psychology at Work. Penguin. Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Nyfield, G. (2002). ‘Leadership & organisational effectiveness’. In I. Robertson et al. , The Role of Individual Performance in Organisational Effectiveness. London: Wiley Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, R. J. (2002). ‘The great and the good’, People Management , January 10 th, 32 -34. Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, R. J. (2002). ‘Leadership: Half the battle’, The Health Service Journal, March 7 th, 26 -27. Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, R. J. (2000). ‘Heaven can wait’, The Health Service Journal, October 12 th, 26 -29. Alimo-Metcalfe, B. (1998). 360 degree feedback & leadership development. International Journal of Selection & Assessment, 6, 1, 35 -44. Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. (2001). ‘ The development of a new Transformational Leadership Questionnaire’. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 74, 1 -27. LRDL

Further information b. m. alimo-metcalfe@leeds. ac. uk Leadership Research & Development Ltd Stewart House St Andrews Court Leeds LS 3 1 JY 0845 6017708/ 0113 243 0008 www. lrdl. co. uk LRDL