Today’s employees expect managers to model corporate values. Sadly, some managers do not take this invisible code seriously. Hypocrisy is the rule of the day. When I was sitting in my Sunday lecture, the instructor brought home what it meant to be hypocritical when discussing Jesus’ interaction with the leaders of his time, The Pharisees. Jesus openly criticized their actions to his followers in Matthew 23:2: “Therefore, whatever they [Pharisees] tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do their works. For they speak, but do nothing.They fasten heavy loads that are hard to carry and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger.” Sadly, many workers face some less than genuine managers that fail to inspire them for greater performance. In this post, we will examine the concept of authentic leadership in today’s society. Continue reading →
Most businesses are promoting ‘Going Green’ while politicians peddle the concept as a way to grow jobs. Many people have been disappointed with the perceived ‘hype.’ My question, with this concept, was who was going to lead this green economy?
LMU’s Dean Jack McCann and I published an article entitled “Benchmarking a Leadership Model for the Green Economy” to address this subject. This paper examined benchmarking leadership theories in order to build a new leadership model for the green economy. This academic journey opened my eyes on the green economy.
Let’s explore this green economy. Many hope that the green economy will provide new prosperity for America’s future. The current economy is fueled exclusively by oil, natural gas, and coal. As these resources continue to become scarce, the cost increases.
On the contrary, the green economy is environment friendly and provides an opportunity for more innovation. Many experts support the green economy concept. Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat, suggests that the stage is set for a green economy with billions of people from China, India, and the former Soviet Union demanding their share of the energy treasure chest.
There will be more energy demands to feed the world’s microwaves, vehicles, and other power hungry technology. Friedman argues that this global demand would create an environmental disaster. This reality could infuse a new desire for renewable energies and environmental sustainable systems.
For example, Michigan has created more than 11,000 renewable energy jobs in four years; these jobs are compensated with sustaining a fair and equitable wage. Critics argue that some jobs will be lost as more rigorous energy regulations are in place and companies are forced to make energy transitions.
Jerome Ringo, the former president of the Apollo Alliance which has a coalition that promotes clean energy and green jobs, further maintains that these setbacks could be overcome by taking the proper steps. Therefore, the green economy could become a positive driving force in the future.
Ringo argues that green jobs could revive the U.S. economy while resolving some of the worst environmental problems facing the world. He points to this fact based on several states implementing the green economy. However, other individuals have their doubts about any financial success from the green economy.
What do you foresee as leadership challenges for launching the green economy? Please share your personal or professional experience on this subject.
I do struggle a little with my conscious. Yes, I’ve been called a pretty hard nose professor who pushes his students. I tell my students I have a low rating on empathy and mercy when it relates to missing my deadlines.
However, even the meanest Scrooge would have to have compassion for over 15 million unemployed in America. But—it becomes personal as you hear about your neighbors, co-workers, and family members who have been laid off.
Financial institutions and other businesses hold on to their record profits for the ultimate use of their money. Politicians call them job creators which is ironic since businesses primary motives are to make a profit, not give someone a job.
Companies chase emerging markets abroad. According to government estimates, an additional 1.2 million manufacturing jobs will disappear from America by 2018. If in the process a job is made, those are secondary considerations.
Only when business subscript to a business strategy that involves value creation can they hope to sustain profitability. In this paradigm workers are viewed as assets not liabilities.
Yet, many companies build their profitability on this simple equation. Companies seek to reduce their inputs (outsourcing labor, better technologies) to obtain ‘more profits.’ Yet, it’s pretty self-serving with little regard to customers and employees.
The definition of value depends on the individual. For this discussion, value is defined as the net bundle of benefits the customer derives from a product of service. Value is defined as the net bundle of benefits the customer derives from a product of service. Most companies compete on low cost or differentiation strategy to create this value.
In emerging countries where wages are low, it is very difficult for America businesses to compete. That is why many companies have opted to outsource some of their core functions abroad. Yet, America’s strength has always been its innovation and creativity. These attributes are key ingredients for an effective differentiation strategy.
John Gamble and Arthur Thompson, authors of Essentials of Strategic Management, further examined the concept of value as a strategic advantage: “The most appealing approaches to differentiation are those that are hard or expensive for rivals to duplicate.” Therefore, an effective value creation strategy can beat almost any competitor, globally and domestically.
This reality is due to the fact that the organization is keenly attuned to the needs of their customers. If individuals keep the concepts of value creation in their mindset, they will be able to overcome many of the disruptive changes to come.
How does value creation relate to sustainability for today’s leaders? Discuss your professional experience with value creation.
Last night I was reviewing the Design School Boot Camp Bootleg, an interesting document put out by the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. In the opening of the 36-page PDF is the “Design Mindset” or “D. Mindset” (supposedly because everything looks cooler when you shorten a word to one letter and add a period). As I read them again, I started to wonder if they couldn’t also apply to leaders. The D. Mindsets are as follows, with my leadership commentary below:
Show, don’t tell
We all know how frustrating it is to receive “orders” from a leader who is solely focused don telling, especially if what we need is to see the action, behavior of value from the leader first before engaging in it ourselves.
Create Clarity from Complexity
Much of the role of leadership is sense-making, reducing the complex system they view to a tangible action or behavior that followers need to understand. Leaders make sense.
Be Mindful of Process
While making sense of complexity for followers, leaders also have to juggle their attention on the overall process of their objective. In addition, leaders need to know that their development and the development of their followers is a process.
Collaborate across boundaries
In most organizations, the leaders who get things done are often those who step outside the lines of hierarchy to do so. Collaboration is becoming increasingly more vital…and that doesn’t even consider the effects of globalization.
Take Bias toward actions
In the end, leaders influence others toward action. Leaders who can get to that action the quickest (with sufficient background knowledge) are of distinct advantage.
Get experimental, and experiential
As the literature on innovation grows, our understanding of the need to experiment grows with it. Leaders need to let followers experiment, and experiment themselves. In addition, leaders ought to consider the experience of what it is like to work on their team and build a positive experience.
Focus on human values
I’d love to think this one is obvious, but many “tactical” or “transactional” leaders are focused on accomplishing the objective first and appealing to human values second. While this may work in the short-term, it is not sustainable.
Seven mindsets billed as required for engaging in proper design. Still, I can’t help but wonder if they ought to be re-billed as the “L. Mindsets.
Please provide comments or feedback to our guest blogger.
David Burkus is the editor of LeaderLab, a community of resources dedicated to promoting the practice of leadership theory. He is a consultant, a speaker and an adjunct professor of business at several universities. David focuses on developing leaders putting leadership and organizational theory into practice.
David is a graduate of Oral Roberts University and holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Oklahoma. David is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Strategic Leadership from Regent University. He can be reached at david@davidburkus.com.
It seems that some leaders just think about themselves. Maybe you’ve experienced a leader who seemed to care very little about you; his or her behavior was inconvenient, annoying, unprofessional or even unethical. Think about this: Who was that leader serving? The person in the mirror, or someone else?
When you go through a typical day, is your personal leadership like looking in a mirror all day—constantly concerned with yourself, looking out for your best interest above others’? Or, are you looking out a “window” to focus on others? Does your personal leadership keep bringing you back to self-preservation and self-promotion? Or, does it help you think about ways to address others’ needs and concerns?
I think you know where I’m going with this! The best leaders are “window” leaders. Their eyes are consistently looking outward to others, caring for them and serving them. As leadership expert Max de Pree said, “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.”
Be others-focused rather than self-focused, and you can experience the synergy of people working together well, united in purpose, and producing great results. Dean, professor, and professional leadership consultant Bruce Winston put it this way: “Employees and followers want leaders who are ‘others-centered’.” He goes on to explain that the paradox of this approach to leadership is that while the leader “…concentrates less on the organization and more on individuals, the organization gains more because the employees are working to uphold the organization’s needs.”
So you see, an others-focused practice of leadership can also yield greater return on investment for a business—it can reap monetary rewards. Simply put, when people are treated well they work more effectively. However, it must be intentional on the part of the leader. Remember the famous John Donne quote, “No man is an island”? This succinctly communicates our need for one another and especially the idea of connection to each other. “Window” leaders understand this vital connection. It is only by stepping away from our mirrors and turning to look outward to others that we begin to make connections to people around us and begin to reap the benefit of meaningful relationships.
Consider the profound urging of William Penn’s words: “I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” Turn from the mirror to take in the magnificent view outside. Be a “window” leader!
Please provide your insight on this topic.
Renée N. Hale, DSL is an Organizational Performance Catalyst, with over 25 years experience in guiding individuals and teams, leading seminars, workshops, individual mentoring, and on the job training experiences. She is a former professional violinist, and also served for 15 years as an international representative for a non-profit organization in Africa. Renée works fluently in French, and facilitates cross-cultural leadership learning. Dr. Hale’s broad worldview offers distinctive insights, innovative applications, and the capacity to see, understand and apply significant conceptual connections.
American children sing “We are the world,” but the world does not listen. Children in Iran burn American flags. Children in Iraq throw stones at American soldiers. Children in China write hateful essays about the “evil” American ways. American politicians attempt to spin how third world countries embrace Western ways while the terrorist alert is heightened to acknowledge another international threat. Increased globalization has elevated the risk at the domestic and international levels for US government military and civilian personnel.
According to the Forrester Research, approximately 3.3 million U.S. jobs and $136 billion in wages could be moved overseas to countries like India and China by 2015. Therefore, many organizations will need to change their strategies in order to meet the international challenges ahead.
Let’s look into the future. Many developing countries will continue to grow strongly over the next decade. In fact, these countries steadily shift to consumer-led growth instead of export-led growth. The dollar spirals downward and foreign currency goes upward. China and India have added millions to their labor force creating products as well as outsourcing their services abroad at a fraction of what American workers can provide.
These upstart countries are positioning themselves to become the next Super Power. For example, China passed Japan as the world’s second-largest economy. According to the World Bank estimates, China could surpass the US by 2020. China’s gross domestic product (GDP) spreads across 1.3 billion people ($3,600 per person) while the US GDP covers a smaller population ($42,000 per person). Yet, China will continue to fuel the world’s economy due to its thirst for raw materials and products in order to meet its own demand.
Globalization continues to transform our organizations. Today, many American businesses have a global focus. The S&P 500 companies now generate 46% of their profits outside the US. In fact, some of the largest companies are higher. For example, Coca-Cola has become a very successful brand abroad, with operations in 206 countries. Over 80% of the company’s revenue comes from abroad. Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent explains, “We are a global company that happens to be headquartered in Atlanta.
Do the math! American businesses are headed offshore for increased profitability. Companies gain from this foreign exodus the benefits of accessing more lucrative markets, new technologies, easy credit, and quality, cheap labor. When American businesses cut jobs, it has impacted the standard of living for today’s families.
Columnist Fareed Zakaria highlights the dilemma: “Capital and technology are mobile; labor isn’t….And this is a country with one of the highest wages in the world, because it is one of the richest countries in the world. That makes it difficult for the American middle-class worker to benefit from technology and global growth in the same way that countries do.”
Economist pundits and political opportunists paint globalization as the best thing since sliced bread yet hide the realities of global competition from the general public. The forecasted outlook for the full-time worker is bleak. Clearly, technology and outsourcing are making the contingent (temporary) and other forms of flexible labor (independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary help agency, part-time, and contract workers) a reality for future employment opportunities.
As a matter of fact, Charles Handy theorized that unemployed or spare workers would create their own new work in the future. Business executives express little moral remorse as they keep American workers at bay. Therefore, a different type of U.S. business model will need to be developed for global competition in the near future.
How do US organizations compete globally with the realities of outsourcing and create an American labor force that is clearly energized and motivated in the process? What will happen to the quality of life for the middle class as global averages impact American wages?
The clock keeps on ticking as many Baby Boomers consider retirement. If many retire, it will leave a huge void in leadership for most organizations. With the rocky rollercoaster ride of the stock market, Baby Boomers don’t enjoy life as much because of the decrease in their disposable income. Some individuals have the extra burden of caring for parents, children, and even grandparents.
These realities of life keep Baby Boomers working well beyond their anticipated retirement. Andy Hines, the director of Customer Projects at the Social Technologies, predicts that Baby Boomers will refine the meaning of retirement and notes, “U.S. Baby Boomers are choosing post-work lifestyles that don’t resemble the stereotype of the quaint, restful senior citizen.” In fact, Baby Boomers are the top leaders of most organizations and will find it difficult to separate themselves from their positions of power and influence.
Other observers believe that Baby Boomers will leave graciously and pass the baton to the next generation of leaders. I have my own doubts about the outcome. Columnist Daniel Kadlec wrote a USA Today article, “‘Me Generation’” becomes ‘We Generation,’” about the virtue of this Baby Boomer transformation. A Department of Labor report, “Futurework: Trends and Challenges for the Work in the 21st Century,” reveals that this rapid demographic shift will impact the future dynamics of organizations.
Yet, many seasoned experts, who are primarily Baby Boomers, downplay the impact of the younger generation. This observation goes to the heart of the “Me Generation.” Based on my past career experience, many of these individuals will struggle to relinquish power and influence over their organizations. Therefore, we must wait to see if this generation follows through on these claims.
Are Baby Boomers now transformed into “We Generation” leaders? Clearly, the storyline is incomplete because we do not understand how Baby Boomers will respond to these future changes. Unlike hard science, futurism provides a window of many possibilities. Some people paint a smooth transition of power for the Baby Boomer generation. Others don’t! What if Baby Boom managers refuse to relinquish their positions and neglect the development of future leaders? Therefore, many different scenarios will continue to play out in various settings and industries.
Will organizations be able to cope with a massive exodus of Baby Boomers? Can Baby Boomers leave authority and title behind since these things so easily defined many of them?
In the 1939 movie classic The Wizard of Oz, a cyclone sweeps Dorothy Gale and her little dog “Toto” to the magical land of Oz. Dorothy wonders through the land, meeting some strange characters. There is the Scarecrow who desires a brain; the Tin Man who wants a heart; and the Cowardly Lion who hopes for courage. As Dorothy vows to help solve each of their individual problems, she gains power and influence that speaks to the concept of indispensability.
The future is filled with uncertainty. More and more jobs go abroad. Companies continue to shrink in size in hopes of being more competitive. Business executives understand the power of technology and outsourcing to gain a business edge.
However, many workers must rely on the good will of their employers to stay gainfully employed. Sadly, many workers do not fully understand the merits of indispensability in their lives. Bloomberg Businessweek magazine editor Josh Tyrangiel called indispensability the new word of 2011. Tyrangiel notes, “How do we make people smarter and save them time?”
For my clients and students, I have emphasized the importance of building customer value in everything that they do. In fact, it is an attribute to one’s branding strategy to be unforgettable to others. However, many workers operate in the dark shadows of their organizations. Renowned preacher Richard S. Brown, Jr. proclaims to his audience, “Everyone wants to be outstanding but no one wants to stand out.”
Yet, it is the “standing out” that catches everyone’s attention. I’ve written several books on this new 21st-century theme, including Breaking Organizational Ties, Publishing for Professionals, and Job Strategies for the 21st Century. If you do the same things that you’ve always been doing, then you shouldn’t be surprised if you get the same results.
Gaining influence is therefore critical in achieving any substantial level of success in life. When an individual has a clear platform as an expert, people tend to listen. In fact, a person can often gain more influence at work and in the community with a clear personal strategy. This article provides individuals with a proven method for becoming indispensable in their organizations in order to build sustainability in their professions.
The Current Market
With economic pressures, organizations look to streamline and drop processes and people that do not add value to their bottom-line. Some people sit back and hope that business will create more jobs. With a weak economic growth rate of 3%, these jobs will not rapidly appear anytime soon for the 15 million people still unemployed. This reality speaks to the record number (1.3 million) of “discouraged” workers as of last November. Discouraged workers are individuals not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available to them.
Coping Solutions
Indispensability means adding value to your customers and organization. In the classic sense, indispensability means being absolutely essential or necessary. Yet, it goes to the heart of being relevant. Kivi Miller, author of The Nonprofit Marketing Guide, argues it’s important to listener to your customers: “Every day presents an opportunity to learn more about the people you are trying to help and the people who are trying to help you.” Therefore, getting to know your target audience is critical.Are you indispensible to your organization or community? If not, why not? Being indispensable speaks the pressing needs of organizations to compete in a global environment.
The following are a few strategies for gaining indispensability in your organization: (a) Devote time to solving important problems for your customer; (b) Showcase your expertise on a variety of levels (blogs, media expert, etc.); (c) Be a great source of information by writing and speaking; (d) Champion a significant cause in a nonprofit organization such as United Way; (e) Become the linchpin that connects people with problems to people with solutions; and (f) Extend your network globally with social media platforms such as Linkedin.com. Emerging leaders and individuals on the fast track understand the benefit of being indispensable to advance their careers and gain a competitive advantage.
Conclusion
Everyone wants to feel needed. Yet, the concept of indispensability goes to the heart of gaining more influence in life. Legendary speaker Dale Carnegie understood the influential attributes of indispensability: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” Therefore, one must be willing to understand the needs of others if he or she hopes to gain this type of influence that will sustain his or her career in the future.
With millions of people searching for full-time employment, it pays to distinguish yourself from others by building skills that speak to the concept of indispensability. Individuals need to retool their thinking about indispensability before it is too late.
If the concept of indispensability is the solution for America’s professionals in the future, can today’s unemployed workers capitalize on this attribute? If yes, how?
Do we really want to pry into the future? Some people do not want to consider it. In the 1970s, Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock, wrote, “Citizens of the world’s richest and most technological advanced nations, many of them will find it increasingly painful to keep up with the incessant demand for change that characterizes our time. For them, the future will have arrived too soon.”
Clearly, the future is a highway with varying lanes, but do humans have the capacity to accept unhappy endings? In general, it is my position that humans are incapable of accepting unhappy endings. In fact, futurist Edward Cornish argues that it is easier for people to sustain a long-term perspective when they have a clear vision. In this discussion, we will look at how organizations can create sustainable existence in the future.
Futurists utilize many techniques to anticipate the future. For example, strategic foresight can provide an avenue where organizations can strategically analyze short, mid-range, and long-term planning. Thus, it’s a glance into the future. This concept is easily seen on the Big Screen.
Hollywood blockbusters are the chronology of happy endings. People want to believe that all stories have positive endings. This concept is derived from childlike innocence of Americans. Unfortunately, the future may include unpleasant outcomes. Life doesn’t always provide a nice story. For example, globalization can provide many job opportunities, but the outcome isn’t always positive. In fact, the future prediction for the full-time worker is bleak. It is evident that technology and outsourcing are now making the part-time worker a reality of today, not tomorrow.
In fact, Charles Handy theorized that unemployed or spare workers will create their own new work in the future. Therefore, individuals will control their own destiny and become entrepreneurs. However, this runs counter to our American culture. Grandma taught us “go work for a good company and get a good job with benefits.”
In fact, Bruce Sterling, author of Tomorrow Now, further argues that simple, predictable, and solvable jobs will go to the poorly educated and unprepared or to intelligent machines. However, high-paying jobs will go to the highly prepared, teachable, and creative individuals. In the future, good jobs will be the apex of human difficulty. Technology and understanding of complex systems will require a well-grounded person. However, futurist James Canton argues that American youth, our future workers, will be unprepared in math/science and may be locked out of future opportunities.
Based on many observations, organizations and individuals don’t want to hear negative scenarios for future generations. This reality reaffirms that people don’t want to think negatively about their future. Therefore, they often operate in denial or ignore the future.
Clearly, organizational leaders need to develop a strategy to deal with negative consequences. Many people don’t have the patience to look beyond short-term gains. Therefore, effective leaders need to know how to deal with the possibilities of negative futures.
How do organizations effectively navigate their operations for sustainability in the future?
If I had a magical organizational wand, I would turn old toady CEOs into beautiful princes and princesses who champion the causes of their workers. Unfortunately, there’s not enough magic from Oz to convince most executives that today’s workers are more than mechanical parts to their profit machine. During this discussion, we will explore the concept of knowledge workers in organizations.
Some employees feel they are often undervalued and unappreciated by their managers. For example, my friend, Stan, is a very intelligent person in spite of not attending college. He accepted a new job as warehouse operator. Because of downsizing, he became the only person in that department. Stan created his own cataloging system without a computer. That was impressive.
When Stan was up for a raise, he asked for more money. His supervisor explained that it couldn’t be done. My friend countered that he had optimized their warehouse systems, and the operations depended on his knowledge. His supervisor knew it was true because when Stan wasn’t there, no one could find anything.
Stan got what he wanted. He had become a knowledge commodity. This represents the revolution of knowledge workers on the traditional organizational structure. Therefore, if today’s leaders don’t adequately manage the knowledge workforce, they will be at a competitive disadvantage.
Knowledge workers are a critical commodity. Gareth Morgan, author of Imagination, argues that contemporary use of organizational charts and diagrams are major tools for restructuring. However, this creates a false sense that a new organizational chart can solve all of the organization’s problems. Modern-day bosses feel that “top down” management is best. Clearly, they are mistaken.
Georg Krogh, Kazuo Ichijo, and Ikujiro Nonaka, authors of Enabling Knowledge Creation, maintain that knowledge management (KM) is not one person’s job; everyone in organizations can play a vital role in transferring information. As a rule, an organization’s knowledge and capacity building depends primarily on its human and social capital. In most contemporary organizations, technology can be a critical tool in supporting the knowledge work.
Yet, knowledge workers create and capture information for the management of knowledge. In fact, KM is performed by individuals who belong to communities of interest where knowledge is shared and accumulated. Therefore, effective management of today’s operations depends on talented and gifted knowledge workers.
How do today’s organizations better engage knowledge workers due an era of sweeping layoffs and outsourcing?
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