Gary, Loren "Becoming a resonant leader - how to hone

Transcription

Gary, Loren "Becoming a resonant leader - how to hone
Gary, Loren "Becoming a resonant leader - how to hone
your ability to handle the emotional turbulence that comes with
adaptive change", Harvard Business Review, July 2002, pp. 4-5
L E A D E R S HTI P 8 Y L O F E N
GABY
5tul€9, E$ertidlr, continued
simply advertisinglo capitalmarkets
and analysts-"And they also succumbed to the "flawed thinking of
profitlessprosperity,"saysZook. You
Howto honeyourabilityto hondletheemotional
simplycan'tshyawayfrom thesearch
turbulence
thqt comeswith adaptivechonge
for profitability sooneror latet the
bill comesdue.Tate a cue from Dell
Computer,Zook suggests:this comvERYwHEREsheturns,peo- saysRonaldA. Heifetz, founding
pany requires its new initiatives to
ple are asking for a different director of the Centerfor Public Leadachievegenuineprofitabilily within
kind of leadership,says Gin- ershipat Harvard'sJohn F. Kennedy
18to 24 months.
ger Graham,group chairmanof the Schoolof Govemment.
Indianapolis-based
medicalproducts
Con5ciously
manage
firm Guidant.The emotionairepercus l-eadersmust engagein what Heifetz
trustandtransparency
sions of world evenlsand the plecari- calls adaptive rrrrk-meeting an
In a business
web,thepartners
rypi- oussituationsoi manycompanies
hale ongoingstreamof challengesthat
cally know one another'scostsof alteredthe demandsplacedon her
simultaneouslyrcpresentdangersand
labor. materiais, andoverhead,aswell
oppoflunities,and askingin the face of
as their proiit mdrgins."Everybody's Shareholdersand analysts used to each,"What hereis worth consewing
naked,"saysTapscott."There'sa high insist that she be able "to spin the and what do we need to let go of in
degreeof transparercy."Customers future-to talk about being the first order to thrive in the new environand investorsare also calling for andth€coolest,"Grahamsays-Other, meni?" This puts leadersin the line
greatertransparency:companiesare wise,"yourP/E ratioswouldbe lower of fue, perhapsjn ways they've never
being held to a higher set of vaiues, and your marketcap wouldn't move experienced."If you don't like bad
and "trust has becomea much more much. But selling futuresisn't very news,you shouldget out of the leadervalued commodity," says Dunn. cool right now underpromising
and ship business,"observesKim CampIntegritymusf becomean elementof overdeliveringand havingsolid fun, bell, Canada'sfirst female prime
strategythat you actively manage.
damentalsare." Employeeswant minister and a visiting professorat
some assurancethat there'll be a the KennedySchoolof Government.
V
"In an open world, a company's future at all. After the debaciesar "Yow job is to hearasmuchbadnews
behavior and the real value ihat it EnronandGlobalCrossing,theyneed as lhere is out there and to figure ou!
has to offer will matter more and their leadersto functionas emotional waysof dealingwith it:'
more," Tapscottcontinues."You have shockabsorbers."They also require
to manageyour transparency
so that a different level of discussionand "Whenever a company facesa shock,
peoplecan seewho you really are,as disciosure" about the workings of how the leadershiphandlesits own
opposedto trying lo convincepeople such things as cuidanfs 401(k) and emotronscan determinewhetherthe
thatyou'resomethingyou'renot.
defined-contribution
rerirementplans. companysurvives,"saysDanielcole'And
they want to know more about man, coauthor of Primd I Leafurship.
"But al the sametime. how open you the leader," adds craiam. "They Leaders' emotional intelligence
shouldyou be?Clearly,you'vegot to wantyou to be availableat a different (El)-their ability to managetheir
be way more openthan in the past_But levelbecause
they'researching."
own andothers'emotionsin waysthat
at a certainpoint,therearediminishing
drive businessperformance-thus
returns:you start giving away your Employeesareaskingthatleadersact providesthe key to success.
Training
intellectualpropertyand enabling with greaterintegrity and be more that boostsEI and sttatagemsfor
opportunism.For this reason.a fans- emotionally available-at the very enhancingleadershipteams' adaprive
p:uencymanagement
programneeds time that leaders,fighting for their capacitycan makeall the difference.
to be part ofyour businessstrategy." .4. organizations sulvival, are asking
employeesto acceptpainful losses. An El primer
So not only have the past year's "Emotions are contagious,"says
Lotq 6ary an bercachedat
starllingexamplesof institutional Goleman."Researchshowsthar they
I9aIy@hb sp.haN aI d,edu
fragility raisedpeople'sexpectations, determine 507o to 707o of the workthey'vealsoheightened
leadets'sense place climate; rhat climate, in turn,
of vulnerability. These eventshave determines207o to 3070 of a comstrainedleaders'ability to maintain panys performance.What s more,
J7
L idd. rcfi otlhr.nd.,r. 3m-663
6705
d6t7.73].7474 the distinctionbetweenself and role,
EI accountsfor 85,/. ot whar disrin- -
Becoming
a Resonant
Leader
so o u @
a u n r t r cq u r s r t o r u
Suish€sthe stars in top leadership who you are or who you wani to be,
positionsftom lowlevel performers. or both." This processinvolves five
phasesofdiscovery:
Wlat Golernanand coauthorsRichard
I U,,,"oupn,,,,. your ideal selfBoyatzis and Annie McKee call
who you wan!to be.
resonantleaderyhip-the ability to
articulate a group's sharedyet unex- 2 Frcunrxe our who you actually
are and whereyout strengthsand
Fessed feelings and to give voice to a
missionthat inspiresothers--is a fijnction of foul basicEI competencies:
3 Cnrotrnc a learningagendafor
building on your strengthswhile
r SELF-AwARENEss-theability to
nling in thegaps.
readyour own emotionsand accu
yout personality.
ratelyassess
4 Et"r*rt tpLtr*c rith andpracticingnewbehaviors,
thoughts,and
. SELr-MANAGEMENT-theability
feelings
point
to
the
ofmasrery.
to keep disruptiveemotionsunder
conlrol and to be trustwor6y, flexi- 5 Drn"roprn"
supportive and
ble,andoptimistic.
trusting relationshipsthat make
changepossible.
r SocrAL AwaRENDss-the ability
to empathizewith others'concems,
f,
cient truston a leadershipream,genderdiversitycanboosttheteam'sabil
ity to manageits own emotionsand
respondto thoseof othersin the unit,
A caveat
"When you're mobilizing people to
engagein anykind of straregy.
you're
reallyaskingthemto sift throughwhal
they re not going to do," saysHeifetz.
If your heartis closed,he and coauthor Marty Linsky writeinLeade6hip
on the Line-|f yo]ulack the compassion.childlikeinnocence,andcudosity tha!enableyou "tolistenwith open
ears,andto embracenew anddisturbing ideas"-then you "cannorfathom
tllosestakes,or the lossespeople
will haveto sustainas they conserve
what s most preciousand learn how
Groupthink
andthe glassceiling 10 thrive in the new environment."
. RELATToNsI'IPMANAGEMENTAs expectations
getratcheted
up, even An open hearl helpsyou lead people
the ability to inspire, persuade,and emotionally intelligent leaderscan and organizationsmore effectively
resolvedisagreements.
fall prey to a kind of bunkermentality. throughchangeand loss.Bur it also
The leadershipteam "star$ talking makes you more vulnerable to the
The problem is, the higher up in more to itself thanto fiontline workers resistance
and hostility rhatregularly
an organrza!on you are, the more and customers,"saysDarrell Rigby, accompany
sucnlosses.
inflatedyolll assessment
of your own a Boston-based
direcrorof the man
EI skills. "So why don't more top agementconsultingfirm Bain & Co. "We tendto put a smiteyface
on leadleaderssolicit andencourage
accurate "Disagreementbecomesviewed as ership and talk abour it in terms 01'
feedback?"Golemanand his coau- disloyalty." One way to counteract inspiration, vision, and crealivity,',
thors ask. "It's often becausethey this tendencytoward groupthink is saysHeifetz."It is all thosethings.
but
lruly believethat rhey can't change." to make sure your ieadershipteam it's alsohard,painful,anddangerous.
Yet tlrcre is compelling evidence that comprisesdiversestylesandperspec- 'Stayingin thegame,'learning
how to
suggests
otherwse.
tives.Sometimes,
insistingon gender sustainyourself,is thereforeone of
andethnicdiversilyis the only way to the essentialtasksof leadership.".t
Most training programsthat seekro ensurethat a team considersa wide
developEI and leade6hip skiils fail rangeof optionsandopinions.
Loten Gary.on be rcd.her) at
becausethey target the neocortex,the
t9oIy @hbsp.horyatd.edu
part of the brain that governs analyti- "The most impoftant thing now is to
cai and technicalability, ratherthan avoid all-male leadershipcultures,"
the limbic system,which controls saysKim Campbell.Researchon EI
feelings,impulses,and desires.The and gendershows that women tend
Prindl Leadeahip: Realizingthe
limbic brain "is a much slower to have strongerempathyand relaPowet of Enotional tnteligen e
learner-particularly when the chal- tionship skills than men do. "These
by Oani€l6oleman,
lenge is to releam deeply ingrained strengthsof women'sleadershipare
Ri.had BoyatzirandAnnieM.Kee
habits,"write Golemanet a]. But notsomuchinnateaspects
Hdwd Bsias nhoolPrcs. 2002
of femininwhen "the righr model is used, train- ity astheyaretheresultof disempowLeadqthip on the Line:Stoying Ative
ing can actually alter the brain centers erment," says Campbell.Women
thtough the Dongets of Lezding
by Ronad A.Heiletzand MarryLirsky
that regulate negative and positive developedthem as meansof survival
HafladBsha5l{hoolPrcs. 2002
emotions,"creatinglong-term EI in male-dominated
cultures,Men can,
skill improvements.The key is selt
of course,exhibittheseskillstoo,just
di rected lcami n& " i^tenttonally devel- as women can demonstratetoughness
oping or stlengtlleningan aspectof and decisiveness.When there's suffi
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