OSC Leadership Development

The Heart Of Creativity Is Volatility – How Mutuality Breeds Innovation

Kathy Lewis — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 06:58:46 +0000

The Heart Of Creativity Is Volatility – How Mutuality Breeds Innovation

Some of the greatest gifts given to this world were created through partnerships. People so deeply connected by a mission or passion, that their combined effort is what created the success story. Would we have Google today if Page and Brin didn’t come together? What about Apple without Jobs and Wozniak? Ben & Jerry’s without Cohen & Greenfield? Procter and Gamble without their namesakes?

There is no doubt that teamwork is an ideal way to build something that is greater than the individual strengths and weaknesses of a person. However, the harsh reality is that most teams fail. While we have hundreds of ideas on how to make teams work better and more efficiently, I think it boils down to a much deeper, emotional connection that is felt by a few that pushes them to great heights.

Some can relate to those rare moments when we feel so deeply with another person that the world around us seems to fade away. Be it a lover, a friend, a fellow student or a random stranger – but it is no surprise that these rare moments never start at work. It needs to begin in a place of raw emotional connectivity, something seldom created in a professional work environment. They are born late at night, during personal crisis, or during painful life moments. From this place of raw emotional connection, we can choose to indulge in its momentary experience, or we can push into it to see what emerges.

Most stay in this emotional place for a short time because the emotions that create them (often anger, fear, or sadness) hijack our cognitive abilities. We connect on the rawness of our feelings but rarely transcend into creation. Mutuality is what exists when you push into the expression of the emotion, to creation.

The pre-conditions for mutuality to be achieved are rare. Most stay in a place of sympathy, which means you feel for someone, OR empathy, which means you feel with someone; mutuality is feeling oneness. Oneness with someone where there is no separation between you, the emotion and the other person. In those rare moments when oneness is achieved, we are often paralysed with the emotional state, unable to do anything other than indulge in the feeling. Those who have been able to break through the emotions, into a place of curiosity of what could be created, are in mutuality.

Creativity needs volatility to exist; innovation is what is created through mutuality. As organisations think about creating more innovative cultures, the first question to ask is ‘what do we do to support the expression of raw emotions’?

Do You Thrive Through Positivity Or Hardship? Uncovering What Forges Your Greatness

Kathy Lewis — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 05:41:58 +0000

There is no lack of information, research or best practices when it comes to teams. Whether you want to explore high-performance teams, systemic teams, team development or the dysfunction of teams, if you are looking for solutions, you will find plenty.

But the real challenge with most teams-based interventions is not finding the solution; it is diagnosing the actual problem. Like any system, there are complex interdependencies that make isolating the root issue a challenge. We often look at the symptoms or outcomes of the team to try to give us a clue on what might be broken or missing. But like any diagnostic process, the symptoms are often by-products of a deeper issue.

So how do you diagnose the real problem? Here are a few suggestions to help you think through the challenge.

Relationship trumps everything.

Theories about team effectiveness are as prevalent as teams themselves. However, the most complex aspect of teams is the relationships. A team is not merely a group of individuals working together toward a common goal, but a collective of interpersonal relationships that have both generative and destructive power. There are unconscious dynamics that exist in every team; therefore it is essential to find access points to these dynamics.

Research finds that 60% of employees worldwide say their job is the biggest factor influencing their mental health, and 69% feel their manager has just as much of an impact on their mental health as their spouse. Relationships matter and need to be considered as a central aspect of any team intervention. Even in high-performance systems where the team has been together for a long time, relationships still need attention. So the next time you hear that relationships are not a central consideration of the team, push back. In most cases, it is the lack of explicit consideration of it that makes it the most important thing to work on.

Psychological safety is not a binary condition.

We’ve all heard the research about the importance of psychological safety within teams. Yet most teams tend to think about it in binary terms—we have it or we don’t. The truth is that psychological safety is a living spectrum that ebbs and flows like any relationship. It needs to be worked on regularly, and there will be moments when it’s high and others when it’s low. The key aspect to creating and maintaining psychological safety is to contract as a team around what it means, what behaviors each member of the team needs to demonstrate in order to maintain it and how to call out when the agreements are not being upheld.

These agreements are a living representation of the group’s normative behaviors and expectations and need to be a central activation point for the team. The process of identifying and agreeing to these team agreements is often a very revealing process that uncovers many issues that may not be in the conscious awareness of the team. So if your team does not have an agreement in place—make one! The process of engaging in the contracting of these agreements will reveal so much data on what is really going on in the team.

The system holds the answer, not any singular member.

When you ask each member of a team what is the key issue the team is facing, you are likely to get multiple responses. Expand this question to members outside of the team, such as customers or cross-functional partners, and you get even more responses. And the challenge is that all these diverse responses hold some element of truth in them. Yet most team interventions are based on the insights of a limited number of people, often the leader and maybe a member of the people operations team. Therefore, when exploring team-based interventions, it is important to capture as much data about the team as possible.

There are essential truths the leader can provide, but it is the team members themselves who can give you much more insight. Beyond that, you get a more holistic picture when you expand it to other key stakeholders of the team. The exploration is not to uncover answers but to get deeper insights into what is broken—to understand how the symptoms can be followed to a root cause. As Steve Jobs said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” So, too, can this be said about the challenges in a business—no one person has the truth and no one person can be blamed for its challenges; therefore the work is a process of discovery.

Do not start with the end in mind; be open to the journey.

We often have an idealistic end view of what a high-performing team should look like and therefore tend to work our way backward from this end point. The hard truth is that a high-performing team cannot be willed into creation; it needs to be forged over different types of experiences, over a period of time. It is this intentional time in it, together, that forms the true foundations of a highly connected, and therefore effective, team. As such, the most essential element of team success is acknowledging the journey. Mark the journey often, celebrate the wins and fails and, most importantly, end well what came before.

Remember, team needs are as diverse as the members who exist within it. Your goal with any team is not to fix their problems but to help lead them on a process of self-discovery so they are empowered to fix their own problems. These four strategies will help you work with teams on this journey of self-discovery, giving them the opportunity to be more informed, connected and in control of how they engage with each other.

Dysfunctional Team Or Team Dysfunction? How To Know What’s Really Going On

Global OSC — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 12:08:19 +0000

Dysfunctional Team Or Team Dysfunction? How To Know What’s Really Going On

So how do you diagnose the real problem? Here are a few suggestions to help you think through the challenge.

Relationship trumps everything.

Psychological safety is not a binary condition.

The system holds the answer, not any singular member.

Do not start with the end in mind; be open to the journey.

Imposter Syndrome: Is It You—Or A Sign Of A Much Bigger Problem?

Global OSC — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 12:07:33 +0000

Dr Saba Hasanie is a practitioner-scholar and Managing Director of OSC Leadership Performance; focused on sustainable development of leaders

Imposter syndrome—or imposter phenomenon, as it was originally coined in 1978 by Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes—speaks to the feeling of “intellectual phoniness” some women in professional industries were feeling that resulted in states of anxiety, depression, frustration and an inability to meet self-imposed standards. Fast-forward to today; we find imposter syndrome present regardless of gender, and as a society, we tend to examine it as either a psychopathology that requires treatment or as something you can mentally and emotionally will away.

The current research suggests that imposter syndrome is predominantly prevalent in high achievers from underrepresented backgrounds. Instead of focusing on the systemic issues that lead some people of underrepresented backgrounds to feel this way, we often focus on what those same people should do to overcome the mental and emotional blocks they feel. Recently, Reshma Saujani—an American lawyer, politician and founder of the nonprofit Girls Who Code—spoke at the commencement ceremony at Smith College, where she challenged this widely held belief. Saujani suggested, “It’s not your job to fix yourself. But it is your job to fix the system.”

So why has this issue of fixing the system been missing from the narrative around imposter syndrome for so long? It is likely because it will always be easier to focus inwardly than to attempt to change long-held discriminatory practices in our society and within organizations. The truth is, many of the practices around coping with imposter syndrome are in fact sound practices that lead to more confidence and self-belief, so what’s the harm? The harm is simple: By focusing on the symptoms, we are ignoring the root cause of imposter syndrome, which is often a systemic discriminatory practice.

Therefore, what can each of us do and encourage others to do in order to try to fix the system? Below are four key strategies to help not only with self-doubt but also to create systemic awareness around the causes of imposter syndrome.

1. Acknowledge the experience with dignity.

So often when feelings of imposter syndrome emerge, we feel shame about it and therefore try to either suppress or ignore what is going on. The fact is, imposter syndrome is a reflection of your own internal safety mechanism being activated, sending you signals that you do not feel safe and protected. Therefore, instead of condemning the feeling, or more often yourself for not being enough, welcome it with dignity and self-respect. Acknowledge the feeling and spend time reflecting on when it started and what were the conditions that activated it. Also consider those moments when you feel more resourced. Again, what are the conditions that activate that sense of groundedness? Knowledge is power, so the better you understand what activates your sense of imposter syndrome, the more power you have to do something about it.

2. Share the feeling.

When struggling with feelings of imposter syndrome, talking about it tends to be low on the priority list. As imposter syndrome often strikes when the stakes are high, we rarely take time out to explore our feelings and the resulting impacts it may have on our emotional, physical and cognitive states of being. Yet, when we do not talk about it, we miss the opportunity to address the context or circumstances that are creating the conditions for this feeling. We dismiss it as an inward feeling of phoniness or lack of self-confidence.

But here is what will surprise you: the sheer number of people who will often feel the same way. There is so much support that can be found in the community—simply knowing you are not alone can help immensely in your own resourcing. Equally as important, systems are not self-managing entities. We cannot change systems if we do not first speak about the challenges of that system. So speak your truth often, with others, when it arises. There just may be systemic issues that can be addressed immediately to help ease the burden of the feelings you may be holding.

3. Join or organize communities to discuss systemic issues.

As mentioned, when you engage in acknowledgment and sharing of these feelings of imposter syndrome, what you will undoubtedly discover is just how many others are experiencing similar emotions. Join or organize communities within the systems in which you work and live that create a safe outlet for people to express their truth. In this process, you will start to identify systemic issues that continually impact either certain groups of people or internal processes that drive certain negative well-being states. Critical to this stage is to share those findings with the people in your systems who have the power to help you change them. We do not have to accept an inequitable world, but equally, we must make the commitment to try to change the problems that exist.

4. Commit to both personal and systemic goals to overcome the challenges.

Lastly, respect that the journey may be long and there will be ups and downs along the way. You may find yourself more resourced in some circumstances and less in others. Accept that it’s part of the journey, and keep working on it every day. That work includes personal commitments to yourself in order to be better resourced, have stronger self-confidence and grit and invest in your own reflective process, regularly. But also remember, it is not just you. Often there are systemic issues that need addressing and therefore need your voice. Your ability to acknowledge, share, organize and commit is the only chance we have to truly fix the system.

A Different Perspective On Professional Development: Look To The Past To Improve The Future

Euro Infotek — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 12:06:39 +0000

A Different Perspective On Professional Development: Look To The Past To Improve The Future

Orientating yourself to a desired future state is common practice in professional development. Assessing strengths and development areas against an ideal future state of leadership is what most performance evaluation processes are built upon. We are constantly focused on capability development; how do I get more skills? Become more efficient? Effective? But the more powerful question is, how did I get here?

As an executive coach, practitioner-scholar and leader, I have spent my professional career exploring human behavior. At its core, behavior change has three fundamental components:

1. A desired future state. You can call these goals.

2. The present state. This is a leader’s ability to be with and reflect upon what is happening in real time.

3. The past state. This explores the fundamental reason why a person does what they do based on past patterns of experiences. This final area is most often overlooked, yet in my experience, it provides leaders with the most powerful insights into sustainable change.

As the great Maya Angelou once said, “You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.” This process of looking back introspectively is missing from leadership development theory and practice. One reason may be due to the intersection of this space with psychology and therapeutic interventions, but the more likely reason is that we don’t often create space in organizations to talk about our past beyond our work accomplishments. How often do leaders speak about their childhoods? Their parents? Their siblings? Yet, there is overwhelming data coming from psychology that suggests our first templates of leadership are defined by our parents. We learned how power was used, how conflict was managed and how rewards and punishments were administered. Your parents were your first bosses, your family was the first organization you belonged to, and it is from that context that your leadership tendencies developed.

In the context of professional development, exploring the history upon which our leadership tendencies were created is material. To start down this reflective journey, here are three anchors that play a defining role in your leadership tendencies

1. Power

When reflecting on your early childhood, consider how power was brokered in your family. Often, our parents (or primary caregivers) used power as a tool for control. Those early years set the foundations of how we understand power, what it means to have power (or be powerless) and the consequences of undesirable behaviors.

As you reflect, explore how this template evolved as you met more and more people with power. Teachers, coaches, mentors and bosses influenced this template and either challenged or reinforced what it means to use power. As adults, you will likely find you have a threshold for what is safe. You have limits on what you will (or won’t) do, and you have a spectrum of ease in your own use of power. Therefore, if you are reflecting on your leadership capacity, consider how you look at power and use power. You may find some unconscious assumptions emerge that help you in your journey.

2. Relationships

Leadership essentially boils down to one fundamental skill: your ability to form, sustain and grow relationships with various people. Since we were young, our ability to form relationships impacted our lives. Our popularity was defined by it. Our access to leadership roles, part-time jobs, extracurricular activities and even sports fundamentally boiled down to our ability to form relationships. Therefore, if you struggle to create trust and engagement in a team, the root cause may be linked to your fundamental view of what it means to have a relationship with others. Explore the early patterns of both successful and unsuccessful relationships.

The best starting point is your early childhood school years. Explore how these patterns evolved over adolescence and adulthood. Some can connect naturally, while others struggle. Either way, the patterns started early. This type of reflection may help you uncover some insights into your ability to trust and/or to create trust with others that can prove to be deeply powerful in your change journey.

3. Identity

Identity is a complex exploration with no real beginning or end. For some, our identities began generations before us through our ancestors and the legacy of their struggles. For others, identity can feel like a never-ending process of self-renewal, change and exploration that can last a lifetime. Wherever you may be on that spectrum, the one universal truth is that identity is the story we tell ourselves about who we are at a given moment.

This story of who we are impacts how we lead. Therefore, understanding the layers that comprise your sense of identity can be very powerful. Begin with the story of who you were told to be. This is often the story we inherited from our parents, grandparents, etc.

Trace how this story evolved as you developed more agency and independence in your own life. Did you embrace those early narratives or reject them for something new? How did you experiment with your identity over the years? Then, engage with your current state. How do you view yourself today? Do you feel confident and grounded in who you are or is there still more exploration to be done? Research in psychology and leadership suggests that the more confident you are within your own skin, the more likely you are to lead effectively. So, if you are struggling with your leadership effectiveness, check within yourself to identify if the story you are telling yourself of who you are is fitting your context.

Wrapping Up

Fundamentally, going into your past is an opportunity to stand in front of yourself, much like creating a blueprint. You can begin to acquire levels of understanding that previously weren’t contemplated. You learn to see things you never saw before and new truths may come to the surface. So the next time you embark on a change journey, don’t forget to look back in order to help you move forward.

Five Ways To Increase Your Leadership Capacity

Global OSC — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 12:03:37 +0000

Five Ways To Increase Your Leadership Capacity

We live in a world that values skill acquisition. Skills are like the best currency in the world; the more you have, the more protected you are for long-term success. Yet the world seems to be disrupting this age-old truth.

Global events over the past several years have propelled the concept of “It’s not what you know…” What is less defined is the second part of that statement. Some have postulated it’s not what you know, but who you know. Others have said it’s what you can prove, while others say it’s what you do with it. There’s also a saying that “It is better to know nothing than to know what ain’t so.” What does this mean in the modern world of leadership?

As an executive coach and practitioner-scholar, I have spent the whole of my career trying to understand what makes great leaders great. What I have observed in both my work with clients and in academia is that what sets excellent leaders apart from others is the way they embrace and work with complexity. Borrowing from the field of constructivist-developmental psychology, it is not what you know but how you think.

So where does a leader turn to continue their growth journey? First, it is rarely found in a classroom. But equally important, it is also rarely found in those who have been there and done that consistently for 40-plus years. Those leaders who demonstrate the ability to sit with, embrace and engage complexity are the ones who share these five common strategies:

• Lean into tension versus trying to fix it away.

• Seek to understand before you speak.

• Accept multiple truths versus singular answers.

• Surround yourself with people unlike yourself.

• Engage deeply in your own inner dialogue.

1. Lean into tension.

When you approach every problem as an issue to be fixed, you limit the learning that the problem could uncover. Some problems are meant to be fixed, while others give us signals of areas that might be under tension. The simple act of curiosity—asking oneself “How did we get here?” and “What is under tension?” and “What else can we learn from this problem?”—is an excellent way to avoid jumping straight into “How can we fix this?”

2. Seek to understand.

As a leader, you are often measured on your ability to act, think and listen. The challenge is that it’s rewarded often in that order of priority. Our economy values action, movement and momentum. Thinking and listening are in apparent direct contradiction to this. However, the quality of our actions is far greater when we apply deeper listening before acting—listening that seeks to understand. The next time you are in a meeting, have someone observe you. How long before you start asking questions? How long before you start fixing? If all sides of the problem have yet to share their point of view and you have already begun talking, you know there is much work for you to do on learning to seek understanding before action.

3. Accept multiple truths.

While you may know intellectually there is no one answer for every problem, this doesn’t mean your instincts won’t try as hard as they might to find the closest thing you have to the right answer. The problem is that the answer you find is based on your assumptions of truth. The best way to avoid this singularity trap is to harness solutions from the team, while also using the group to decide on the action to be taken and the measurements to explore whether it was the optimal choice. As we know, two heads are better than one, so always challenge yourself with the questions, “What assumptions am I making? How are others seeing this problem? What am I struggling to let go of within my truth?”

4. Surround yourself with people unlike yourself.

Commonality is the single greatest rapport-building tool we have in our kits. In an increasingly globalized world, we tend to want to focus on what makes us the same versus what makes us different. But this can be a slippery slope. Instead of seeking commonality, lean into what makes you different. Surrounding yourself with others who have diverse backgrounds from your own helps highlight in a very stark light the assumptions you make of people and problems. While these differences can cause tension, finding effective ways to engage in these discussions will always lead to better outcomes.

5. Engage deeply in your own inner dialogue.

Ask any leader who has undergone a major transformation, either personal or professional, and they will tell you the heaviest and most important work begins within. Taking time to reflect and be mindful and intentional in how you show up in your world is a critical aspect of change and growth. But this does not happen by accident, nor does it happen by chance. It is through consistent self-reflection that we discover how truly willing we are to let go of the old and start laying the foundations of the new. Make time every day, even if it is only for a few minutes, to reflect. This will pay greater dividends than anything else you will do.

In a world that keeps changing and evolving, the only currency we truly have is our ability to adapt to the increasing complexity. Use these five strategies to expand your capacity as a leader. The result will not only lead to more effective decision-making, but you will likely find a lot more joy.

Research Debunks One Of The Myths Of Coach Selection

Global OSC — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 12:02:26 +0000

Research Debunks One Of The Myths Of Coach Selection

A dilemma for many coaching clients at the commencement of a coaching assignment is how to select their coach. Often the fallback is to select on the basis of shared professional experience or specific industry experience. Other criteria that clients may adopt include the coach’s academic qualifications, coaching certifications, nationality, or gender. While all may be valid criteria, surprisingly there have been no studies on whether particular criteria correlate with the effectiveness of the coaching. This anomaly has been addressed to some extent with a study emanating from the McColl School of Business at Queens University (US).

The authors of the study tested two hypotheses:

· Is there a correlation between a coach’s professional experience and the degree of client goal achievement?

· Is there a correlation between a coach’s industry experience and the degree of client goal achievement?

The study participants numbered 206 and in 82% of cases, the participants had selected their coach rather than had one assigned to them. The research was quantitative only and responses were elicited by a survey of 14 questions.

Following an analysis, the authors found that regardless of to what degree the client selected their coach based on professional experience or industry experience, there was no correlation with their ratings of goal achievement. Therefore, the authors conclude that the study supports the proposition that subject matter expertise arising from shared industry or professional experience is not a critical factor for selecting a coach.

The study does not attempt to identify the criteria that does correlate with goal achievement but is a valuable piece of research as it questions a commonly held conception that shared coach-client experience is essential. The misconception may lead to the overlooking of coaches who may have ultimately been an ideal match.

If shared experience is not the best criteria for coach selection, then what could be? Well, anecdotal evidence from our coaches suggests that two criteria are important:

· The extent of the coach’s experience in coaching and whether that experience has been with clients at a similar professional level to the subject client.

· The relative stages of adult development between the coach and client – ideally, the client should not be at a later stage of development than the coach.

Interestingly, the findings vindicate the recommendations in a white paper published by Madston Black in 2012, Lifting the veil: How to select executive coaches for your business. In the paper, we suggested that the professional coaching experience and the coach’s versatility in approaches were more important selection criteria than shared industry or professional experience.

Reference:

Chin, A.T, Richmond, J. P. & Bennett, J. L. (2015). Walking a mile in an executive’s shoes: The influence of shared client-coach experience on goal achievement. International Coaching Psychology Review, Vol. 10 No. 2, 149-160.

Please contact us for a copy of the white paper, Lifting the veil: How to select executive coaches for your business.

Creating Deeper Dialogue In Organizations

Global OSC — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:55:16 +0000

Creating Deeper Dialogue in Organisations: How Understanding Comes From an Appreciation of the Person’s Past, Present & Future.

In today’s hyper-globalised world, we are seeing increasing challenges around engagement with complex topics like race, identity, culture and values. Social movements seen around the world suggest that the time has come to take a more serious look at the systemic dynamics that have created unfair labels, privileged perspectives, or outright discrimination within our organisations.

Through our work as a global Leadership, Development & Coaching company, we see organisations investing time thinking about these complex issues. Either explicitly through Diversity and Inclusion programs, or implicitly in the design considerations for global leadership programs.

The intentions are honourable, and the desire to make a difference is real. However, as these programs grow and expand, so does the potential backlash of getting it wrong. As a consequence, we are seeing organisations taking a neutral or even avoidant approach to addressing these pressing issues and challenges. Once that metaphoric ‘lid on the can of worms’ is open, the response should be to lean into the discomfort, not to push away.

Meaning making

The heart of this issue often comes down to being better able to understand meaning making for a person. In Psychology terms, “meaning-making” is the process of how people make sense of events, relationships, and self. These are complex dynamics, built over a lifetime of experience. While offering programs about Diversity awareness and Inclusion is a step in the right direction, it is likely not deep enough for most people.

Encouraging leaders to be more empathetic and curious is important. However, empowering people to discover their own meaning-making systems, finding their own voice of truth to create narratives, and then sharing those narratives with others will profoundly change people’s appreciation for each other. It creates an opportunity to empower people through their own storytelling. It is a chance to celebrate our differences, and it encourages more open understanding of each other within the organisations.

How do we unpack this complex world of meaning-making in organisations?

It is quite common for companies to offer programs on “The Power of Storytelling for Sales” or “Executive Presence and Leadership Effectiveness”. Using a similar approach to these programs, our storytelling focus would shift to allow participants to share how they’ve made sense of a lifetime of experiences within the framework of the following key principles:

Discovery

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou

Beginning with a timeline exercise, participants explore the whole of their lives over four key periods: Childhood, Adolescence, Early Adulthood and the Present day. Doing this allows participants to think about the early value systems that were imprinted onto them, how they began to form their own views of the world and how this was translated into their adult life and how their perspectives of ‘who am I?’ has evolved.

‘Sometimes to be seen is the same thing as being saved’ – Mary Rakow.

The power of sharing these reflections with others allows people to feel seen and, for many, it may feel like they are being really seen for the first time in their lives. There is power in communicating your truth and this exercise is intended to connect with that power.

Understand

‘We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home.’ Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Just as the act of telling is powerful, so is the act of receiving. To really listen to another’s truth creates a sense of profound understanding. The key is to listen, understand and value the truth of another, without debate or challenge.

Engage

‘I remain convinced that most human conflicts can be solved through genuine dialogue conducted with a spirit of openness and reconciliation.’ – Dalai Lama

We are hardwired for storytelling. The beauty in sharing and understanding the truth of others is to also notice a truth within ourselves. We often look at difference as something to be feared, yet there is power in experiencing a truth so different to your own that it shifts your own understanding of yourself and your empathy towards others.

In our experience, encouraging this type of deeper dialogue exploration within organisations can be extremely powerful. Over time, these meaning-making programs create such deep bonds between participants, they become sought out experiences. Eventually, the experience of these programs becomes the narrative of the organisations themselves: A place of self-discovery and a place of connectedness that doesn’t exist anywhere else. It is an opportunity to celebrate each other’s past, to create shared understanding in the present, and design a collective hope for the future.

Why Leadership Development Is Broken Within Organisations

Global OSC — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 06:12:14 +0000

Why Leadership Development Is Broken Within Organisations

Never have we had more literature and research on leadership development. Every industry talks about its importance and leading organizations and academic institutions invest billions in its research. Yet, most indicators we have to measure global leadership impact are saying we are worse off today than ever before. So what’s broken? Why in a generation that values and invests heavily in its leaders, do we keep failing?

To begin unpacking this dilemma, it first requires an understanding of how these leadership programmes are designed. Often filled with all-star employees who consistently out-perform others within the organisation, these hand selected individuals are given access to global opportunities, mountains of psychometrics tests and a plethora of leadership training and coaching. On the surface, it sounds like the right formula for success, however, there is a key ingredient to this approach that is missing.

Leadership development programmes typically focus on two aspects of what should be a three-pronged framework. The first element is the WHAT. These are the behaviours demonstrated by the employee. These include self-assessments, or more accurately psychometric tests and 360 feedback to better understand themselves and how others are perceiving them. These tests are incredibly valuable for better self-awareness and impact on others, however this is only one part of the equation.

The second focus of these programs is on the HOW. How do we address the limitations as identified in the psychometric tests and 360s? This often takes the form of training, executive education programmes, mentoring, and executive coaches. Hands-on integration of this new found theory into everyday working life should result in substantial results, but the sad truth is that any change in behaviour is short lived and most professionals revert back to their original mode of operation within a year of the intervention.

What is often missing is the WHY. Why do we behave the way we do and what is ultimately the meaning each individual attaches to the behaviours demonstrated. A metaphor I often draw on when speaking to corporate clients about the need to examine the why – is the marathon runner. A fine specimen of health and fitness, this individual has developed and fine-tuned their body to deliver a very specific result. Now put these same, near perfect specimens of health in a baseball game, they are likely to underperform. Over time, if you continue to force these athletes to use their bodies and minds in a way that is different from their training, most are likely to lose engagement.

Much like the managers we have in organisations, employees fine-tune their skills in order to achieve a certain result. As the organisation keeps changing the goal posts (e.g. the sport), we assume these managers will continue to thrive in the way they once did. What is missing is an understanding of what they want for themselves and what they are mentally prepared to work for.

By focusing on the why, or more accurately the meaning – we understand a few important things. First, we understand why these employees behave the way they do. Why do they have such high expectations for themselves? What is the series of life events that have allowed them to operate at higher levels than their peers? We also understand how they are programmed. In most cases, these employees have developed extraordinary coping skills at dealing with uncertainty, fear, anxiety and challenge. While others may crumble in the face of such odds, these employees often find themselves at their best. We often attribute this to some non-quantifiable aspect of their personality but the truth is, there is hard science behind what makes them that way.

Ultimately, the brain forms through our life experiences. It is this formation that influences how we see and process the world around us. When wanting to create behavioural change, it implies a re-calibration of how the person sees the world and themselves within it. While in some cases, these changes may seem small, the reality is that the person is trying to reverse a lifetime of self-fulfilling views. If you spent every day of your adult life focused on being an excellent marathon runner and then one day someone tells you to be a baseball player, it’s not a simple matter of substitution of goals, but a re-examination of what your life’s journey means and how you identify with what you do.

Change is hard and impossible to optimise, but is a necessity in the world we live. Therefore, organizations need to ask themselves ‘how do we help employees change on a more personal level and is that change fair to ask’?