capacity commitment character the search for worthy leadership november 16, 2009 presented to uta

capacity • commitment • character

The Search for Worthy LeadershipNovember 16, 2009

Presented to UTAPresented to UTA


©2009 Leadership Worth Following, LLC 2

Overview

• Goal for Tonight– To propose a different way of looking at Leadership

• The Personal Journey– For historical context

• Some Conventional Wisdom of Leadership– Four stories of catastrophic failure

• A New Lens for Leadership– The Worthy Leadership Model

• Practical Applications– A brief case study– Some early research findings



The Journey

• University of Minnesota– PhD in Counseling Psychology – Executive Development Focus

• Doug Bray and Ann Howard– AT&T Management Progress Study

• Research Interests– Who Changes? – How Much? – Why?

• Now at 27+ Years Experience– Assessing, Coaching, and Developing Senior Leaders



Three Observations of Top Leaders

• Oftentimes they were not the brightest, the best educated, the most experienced, or even the most productive leaders in their organizations.

• Oftentimes they were not committed to, or aligned with, their organization’s goals and values.

• And oftentimes they were not great on integrity, trustworthiness, or character.



How Do People Like ThisBecome Leaders

of Our Organizations!?



Two Overly Simple Answers

• The California Psychological Inventory– “Dominance Scale”

• Robert J. Sternberg, PhD– IBM Professor of Psychology and Education, Yale University– Formerly the Director of the PACE Center at Yale University– Other –

• PhD from Stanford; plus four honorary Doctorates• Twelve significant awards for research, writing, and education• Editor of four referred journals• “Fellow status” in 14 Professional Organizations• Current or past President of four Global Professional

Organizations• Over 950 refereed journal articles• Plays the Cello, likes fine wine, and rehabs old houses



How?

• Their “personality” made them do it.– CPI Dominance Scale

• They “wanted” to become leaders.– Robert Sternberg

A third answer (for discussion at a later time)

• We “let them” become our leaders.



Four Leadership Stories

But Does This Mean They Should Be Leaders?



A “Conventional Wisdom” Lens

• Top Leader #1 --- Deep experience and knowledge of his industry, deep experience managing scale, personal knowledge of and credibility with a wide array of stakeholders, and seen as the “go to” person in times of distress.

• Top Leader #2 --- Very savvy about and committed to his industry, fanatically results oriented, worked very independently, his (very, very large) team passionately followed him, and lots of great results over many years.

• Top Leader #3 --- Very bright, enormous functional breadth and experience, worked twice as hard as anyone else, amazingly resilient, coped easily with conflict, disruption, and chaos.

• Top Leader #4 --- Very bright, very strategic, very credentialed, broadly and deeply knowledgeable, goal focused, very articulate, very adaptable, and had an on-going outside personal coach.



Through a “Worthiness” Lens

• Top Leader #1 --- Came out of retirement to bring the company back from certain bankruptcy and credibility recovery. Had an affair with a senior officer and was summarily terminated by the Board under his own new executive conduct policy.

• Top Leader #2 --- Resentment led to serious health issues. Openly wept when asked about his “philosophy of forgiveness.” A series of fiduciary irregularities have come to light. He was terminated and plea bargained to avoid indictment and prison.

• Top Leader #3 --- Thought he was smarter and more shrewd than anyone else. Made a “secret deal” that violated federal government contracting laws. Indicted, tried, and went to federal prison. Attributes his problems to being a bit impulsive.

• Top Leader #4 --- A career climber, he quickly navigated himself into CEO positions at a young age. He failed bigger each time. Was most recently accused of misstating financial information, and fired. His last company ceases to exist.



Leadership Worth Following?

Obviously Not!



A New Lens for Leadership

• Worthy Leadership– Definition: “guiding, directing, and influencing people in a

way that has great merit, character, and value”

• The Capacity to Lead– A lot of conventional wisdom– Necessary, but not sufficient

• The Commitment to Lead– Some conventional wisdom– But much more than simply “wants to lead”

• The Character to Lead– A little conventional wisdom– But very significantly expanded



The Capacity to Lead – “can do”

The Worthy Leadership Model

The CAPACITY to LEAD

1. Capacity to Reason and Make Good DecisionsCritical Thinking & Decision Making; Numerical & Financial Acumen

2. Capacity to See & Realize the FutureSeeing the Future; Strategic & Execution Excellence; Global Acumen

3. Capacity to Communicate & InfluenceInspiration & Influence; Conflict Management; Leadership Presence

4. Capacity to KnowJob & Industry Knowledge; Business Knowledge

5. Capacity to Persevere & AdaptEnergy, Adaptability, & Humor



The Commitment to Lead – “want to”


The COMMITMENT to LEAD

6. Commitment to ExcellenceDefines Success; Passion for Results

7. Commitment to People & RelationshipsBuilding Talent; Diversity & Culture; Interpersonal Effectiveness

8. Commitment to Learning & Personal GrowthInsatiable Curiosity; Self-Awareness & Development

9. Commitment to StakeholdersCustomers; Team Members; The Organization; Shareholders; The

Community



The Character to Lead – “does do”


The CHARACTER to LEAD

10.Personal Integrity & EthicsPersonal Integrity; Ethics; Openness

11.Organizational Integrity & CourageOrganizational Integrity; Courage; Power

12.Humility, Gratitude, & ForgivenessHumility; Gratitude; Forgiveness



Worthy Leadership in Real Life

A Case Study



Worthy Leadership in Real Life

• The Leader - A Group President – The largest division of a name company

• The Board - Wanted a Development Effort– Preparing for possible succession to CEO

• Collected Verbal-360 Feedback – Using The Worthy Leadership Model

• Her Results– Shared with her permission




1. Capacity to Reason & Make Good Decisions– Her eyes go right to the important numbersimportant numbers.– She is good at making tough decisionsgood at making tough decisions, and in helping others make helping others make

them, too.them, too.

2. Capacity to See & Realize the Future– She has a visionhas a vision for what we should be, even years out.– Her execution focusexecution focus is one of her most important talents.– She won’t letwon’t let the short-term business needs bog her downneeds bog her down.

3. Capacity to Communicate & Influence― She insists we disseminate informationinsists we disseminate information.― She gets consensusgets consensus ahead of time.




4. Capacity to Know– She knows this place forwards and backwards.– She is a voracious reader.– She is always abreast of the market and products.– She has contacts at all levels, inside and outside of the company.

5. Capacity to Persevere & Adapt– She is very high energy.– She changes with the business and tackles problems well.– She has a good sense of humor.– I appreciate her ability to not lose her human side.– She takes care of herself, and we can, too.




6. Commitment to Excellence–She provides a lot of clarity.–She has a consistent message and always stays on point.–She sets big and clear goals, and celebrates their achievement.–She does not suffer fools.–Nothing is allowed but excellence.

7. Commitment to People & Relationships–She is compassionate and interested.–She builds and supports a trusting environment.–I don’t feel vulnerable working tough issues with her.–She is very thorough in our reviews.–She has no concerns about putting people in strong roles.




8. Commitment to Learning & Personal Growth– She is fascinated by what she doesn’t know.– She is curious. And we love it!– She has the courage to ask the potentially embarrassing question. – She will lead us in new directions as we discuss topics.– She is self-aware enough to know how she impacts people.

9. Commitment to Stakeholders– She talks about customers and mandates a customer focus.– Customers and (employees) are the lifeblood of our company. And

she makes sure they get what they need.– She is very committed to pleasing the Board, but realizes what it takes

to succeed and appreciates our efforts.– She gets involved herself (with customers, at times)!– Her commitment to the community is incredible!




10.Personal Integrity & Ethics―She thinks twice about things if she believes there are ethical issues.―She is always above board.―This what we stand for, what we are, and it’s her.―She can be tough, but she is fair.―She has no agendas, and she is straight-forward.

―I would trust her with my kids, house, and bank account.

11.Organizational Integrity & Courage– She protects the culture and sets the standards.– She does not bend the numbers to get results.– She lives with the truth. – She does not hide things, and is transparent.– She is gracious in how she handles power. She shares it.– We were this way long before government standards required it.




12.Humility, Gratitude, & Forgiveness– She is humble, self-deprecating, and laughs at herself easily.– She remembers individuals’ achievements.– She talks about achievements, and sends notes.– She is not easily offended.– She does not hold a grudge.– She lets go of her anger quickly.



Through the Eyes of Her Team

• “Does she demonstrate leadership worth following?”– Five team members said: Yes!– Four team members said: Absolutely! – Two team members said: Definitely! Two team members said: Definitely!

• Narrative Comments– “Almost in a frightening way.”– “If she went somewhere, I would want to go along.”– “She generates enormous loyalty.”– “She encourages and empowers us to succeed.” – “She wants to be part of the process, but she wants us to grow our

businesses and run them ourselves!”



Her Business Results!

• Consistently very top-of-market/industry results– Pre…during… and post-economic bubble (2000-2003)– Best of peer companies during the current recession (2008-

2009)

• The company was sold for a significant premium– In an industry where this is very unusual

• The entire team still runs the company (post acquisition)

• The company is fighting through the recession well– Despite a significantly increased debt-load



Leadership Worth Following

Early Research Findings



Multi-rater Data

• What got leaders to where they are? Past Performance– Strengths in Capacity and Commitment are seen as reasons

for success.

• Will leaders follow other leaders? Followership– Leaders rated high in Character are seen as likely to support

other leaders.

• Are leaders “worth following?” Worthy Leadership– Leaders rated high in Character and Commitment are seen

as “worth following.”



Future Success & Failure

Success“If this individual reaches his/her full potential, strengths in which three factors (below) will contribute most to his/her success?”

– Top Four1. Capacity to Know2. Capacity to Reason & Make Good

Decisions3. Commitment to Excellence4. Commitment to People &

Relationships

– In the Middle5. Capacity to Communicate & Influence6. Personal Integrity & Ethics7. Capacity to See & Realize the Future8. Capacity to Persevere & Adapt

– Bottom Four9. Commitment to Learning & Personal

Growth10.Commitment to Stakeholders11.Organizational Integrity & Courage12.Humility, Gratitude, & Forgiveness

Failure“If this individual fails to reach his/her full potential, weaknesses in which three factors (below) will contribute most to his/her failure?”

– Top Four1. Capacity to Communicate & Influence2. Commitment to People &

Relationships3. Capacity to See & Realize the Future4. Humility, Gratitude, & Forgiveness

– In the Middle5. Capacity to Persevere & Adapt6. Commitment to Learning & Personal

Growth7. Capacity to Reason & Make Good

Decisions8. Capacity to Know

– Bottom Four9. Commitment to Stakeholders10. Organizational Integrity & Courage11. Commitment to Excellence12. Personal Integrity & Ethics



Leadership Worth Following

Summary Thoughts



So What?

• “Dominance” and the “wanting to lead” will almost always be present in our leaders– And should be– Conventional Models have served us pretty well, overall

• But that doesn’t make leaders ultimately effective, or the leadership they practice necessarily “worthy”



So What?

• We believe that leadership should be “worthy”– To increase the chances of significant success– To decrease the chances of catastrophic failure

• We believe that Worthy Leadership– Achieves better and more sustainable results, and – Help others to “do better” and “be better”


5605 North MacArthur Blvd – Ste 760 Irving, TX 75038214.260.8001 www.worthyleadership.com

Thank You

capacity commitment character the search for worthy leadership november 16, 2009 presented to uta

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