future-proofing leadership · mandela or richard branson who know (or knew) intuitively how to...

Future-proofing leadership

“ The challenge of leadership is to: Be strong, but not rude; Be kind, but not weak; Be bold, but not bully; Be thoughtful, but not lazy; Be humble, but not timid; Be proud, but not arrogant; Have humour, but without folly.” Jim Rohn

[email protected] | www.ORCInternational.com


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IntroductionLeadership is one of the most written about topics in business literature. If you Google the term, over 450 million results are displayed. Everyone seems to have a view on what leadership is and how it should look. So you would think, with all this knowledge and expertise at our disposal, we would be developing highly effective leaders. Yet, in our annual HR Reflections survey1, leadership development consistently appears as one of the biggest challenges facing HR professionals. It’s perhaps not surprising if Jim Rohn’s quote is anything to go by – there is a fine line between being a good leader and displaying personality traits that lose friends and alienate people.

Strong and effective leadership is a critical precursor to employee engagement and performance; but according to this year’s Global Perspectives survey2, only 56% of employees have confidence in their leaders, and 51% trust them to act in their best interests. Some believe that strong and effective leaders are born; and, to an extent that is true, if you consider the likes of Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela or Richard Branson who know (or knew) intuitively how to guide and get the best out of people. However, this doesn’t mean that leadership skills cannot be developed. Indeed, in today’s increasingly complex world, relying on innate ability is an inflexible way of safeguarding for the future. Nurturing skills and fine-tuning them to meet your organization’s needs is a more agile way of approaching leadership.

If we are going to nurture leadership skills into the future, what competencies are we going to focus on? What are the behaviors that will drive an organization forward, guide it through change and inspire it to achieve greatness?

We are entering a new era for leadership. Through investigating the influences and disrupters changing the face of business and examining how this impacts leadership, we’ve identified what we believe are the fundamental characteristics of future leaders. In this paper, we will share the journey we have been on in the development of our point of view, demonstrating how the theories and trends from the past are not cutting it in today’s fast-paced and constantly evolving world. We will help you to understand the impact leadership has on employee engagement and give advice on how to measure and shape leadership in your business. Ultimately, we want to explain how new approaches to leadership can help you future-proof your strategy and achieve the goals and objectives you are working toward today and into the future.

1HR Reflections 2014, ORC International’s annual global survey of 1,000 HR professionals 2Global Perspectives 2015, ORC International’s annual global survey of 7,000 employees


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To understand the future, we need to acknowledge the past and how our need for change in leadership has been born from the styles that have preceded us. Over the decades, leadership styles have typically been driven by the culture of the time and the values and attitudes of the generation dominating the top organizational tier. Therefore, examining external cultural influencers and disrupters goes some way to understanding how organizations have been led in the past and why leadership styles have evolved.

TraditionalistsTraditionalists were the first generation to be widely discussed in the literature. Born between 1925 and 19453, in the midst of two world wars and a number of regional conflicts, Traditionalists were typically raised in authoritarian households; and many had a military background. When they started to become leaders in the mid-20th century, they drew on these early experiences and tended towards a “command and control” leadership style. They valued conformity, authority, and rules and preferred a hierarchical organizational structure where there was respect for authority – so much so it was common for leaders (who were mostly men) to be addressed formally as Sir. Traditionalists believed in logic and had a well-defined sense of right and wrong. They favored an individual approach to leadership over more collaborative methods.

Baby BoomersFollowing the Second World War came a time of increased optimism, stability, and opportunity; and a new generation of future leaders was born. The Baby Boomers (born between1946 and 19643) grew up with better educational, financial and social opportunities than their parents; and, as a result, they experienced a far more diverse workforce. As leaders, they had a strong work ethic and embraced the “live to work” mentality. They strived on personal gratification, and expected others to share their values. Collaboration was a more acceptable approach, and they were far more team oriented than their predecessors.

Generation XThe children of these ambitious, work-committed Boomers developed independence early as their parents worked long hours. So Generation X, born between 1965 and 19793, consequently developed behaviors of self-reliance, autonomy and adaptability more strongly than previous generations. In opposition to the hard driving Boomers who live to work, Generation X prefer to work to live. Generation X’s early experiences and values have positively influenced their leadership style – they advocate feedback and recognition, and they encourage contribution and teamwork.

3The birth dates categorizing generations varies between source. These are the approximate dates we are using for the purpose of this paper.

1925-1945 1980-1996 1997-1965-19791946-1964

Traditionalists Baby Boomers Generation X Millennials Generation Z

Leading through the generations: paving the way for a new era of leadership


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But, a number of by-products of the culture into which they were born and raised (the economic depression of the 1980s and political events; such as, the Vietnam War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, and the Thatcher-era in the UK) left their mark: as leaders, they have a tendency to be more impatient, independent and cynical

The birth of Generation X coincided with the era of emerging technology and, thus, they were in a position to adopt it faster and easier than their Baby Boomer and Traditional predecessors. Along with the Boomers, Generation X comprise the majority of leadership positions today; but, as the technological revolution has picked up pace and information technology and telecommunications have evolved further than we could have ever imagined, even Generation X’s competence in this space lags behind the next generation – the Millennials (Generation Y).

MillennialsMillennials, born between 1980 and 19963, are steadily taking over our workforce. According to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers4 , Millennials will make up an estimated 50% of the workforce by 2020. Unlike Generation X, most Millennials have always known technology; and are, therefore, more adept and comfortable at using it than any of the previous generations. The culture in which they have grown up has been heavily influenced by this technology and the introduction of real-time communications which have broken down barriers of time and space, enabling communication with people anywhere, anytime. While this has its advantages, it feeds

Millennials’ tendency towards impatience and gives them a reputation as the “now generation” which has shaped how Millennials behave in the workplace. As employees, they demand regular feedback, career opportunities, and expect flexible working conditions since technology has provided the opportunity for remote working and non-standard hours. Some believe Millennials spurn leadership roles; yet, there is also evidence to suggest that Millennials do want to be leaders; but on their own terms and in a more entrepreneurial way. Like it or not, Millennials will be the leaders of the near future, and their attitudes will shape the leadership style of years to come.

Generation ZAlthough Generation Z (born from 1997 to current day3) is only just beginning to join the workforce, we are already getting a taste for what characteristics they will bring. The “Winter/Spring 2015 Cassandra report: Gen Z”5 describes Generation Z as individualists who thrive on the sharing of information. They don’t see youth as standing in the way of achievement and believe they can do all the things their seniors can do. Born into a world of terrorism, war and economic hardship, Generation Z are realists and pragmatic in how they approach future careers. They are also getting a name for themselves as “global” activists, wanting to make a difference at the local and global level. So, even though this emerging generation is only recently on the payroll, in time they will be certain to place even greater demands on a traditional leadership structure.

3The birth dates categorizing generations varies between source. These are the approximate dates we are using for the purpose of this paper. 4PWC (2008): Millennials at work, Reshaping the workplace: http://www.pwc.com/en_M1/m1/services/consulting/documents/millennials-at-work.pdf 5http://www.cassandra.co/report/


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Today’s cultural disruptersWe have discussed how external culture has shaped generational preferences over the decades, which in turn have influenced how organizations have been structured and managed. All of the evidence suggests three key themes have led to a recent change in the type and intensity of cultural disrupters in operation. These disrupters are pressuring how organizations respond and adapt to ongoing change, bringing to a head the need for a new era of leadership. Understanding the nature of the cultural disrupters is important to appreciate how a new era of leadership should look.

1. Aggressive global and technological change

Our world is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA6). Economic uncertainty, shifts in global markets, and unprecedented technological advances have caused change to step up a gear and demand organizations deal quickly with more frequent and multifaceted curve balls. Being a leader today is akin to juggling blindfolded on a podium in front of millions.

As workforces have become more diverse and widely dispersed, navigating across cultural and geographic lines has required interactions that are fluid and complex. As digital networks have made instant connectivity a norm of business life, and social media platforms have grown more powerful and more ubiquitous, a reliance on older, less conversational and collaborative channels of communication has ceased to be tenable.

The shift away from the traditional office-based format to remote and flexible formations also creates a greater necessity for trust and empowerment and a need for a strong sense of vision, goals, and objectives to keep people tied to the ultimate aim of the business and focused on achieving it.

With technology comes opportunity to do things faster and better. Technological advances have set expectations for what is possible; and, if leaders don’t, or can’t, deliver on those expectations, people want to know why. Take the influence that technology companies have had. It isn’t just the Millennial generation that has embraced the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Amazon, and made these companies part of the way they do things. Because of Amazon, we expect a slick, tailored customer experience that produces immediate results. And then, there is the vision such companies set as to what a great workplace looks like. It’s easy to look at the culture of these organizations and shrug them off as easy to achieve in San Francisco as a start-up; but, they do set expectations and have principles which could arguably be adopted in any workplace – even if you don’t want to buy a pool table.

The Global Leadership Forecast 2014/2015 conducted by DDI and The Conference Board7 found that 25% of organizations do not feel their leaders are VUCA-capable, and our Global Perspectives8 survey found barely half of employees believed their organization managed change well. But, the Global Leadership Forecast research showed that organizations that do have leaders equipped to deal with a VUCA environment tend to perform financially better than the rest. This research acts to reinforce the gap that clearly exists between current leadership competencies and what is required to successfully navigate the constantly evolving marketplace.

6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatility,_uncertainty,_complexity_and_ambiguity 7http://www.ddiworld.com/DDI/media/trend-research/global-leadership-forecast-2014-2015_tr_ddi.pdf?ext=.pdf 8Global Perspectives 2015, ORC International’s annual global survey of 7,000 employees


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2. The erosion of trust

The turbulent external environment has had a significant impact on the emotional connection between leaders and their followers. The widespread adoption of social media across all generations means we are constantly connected, and our sources of knowledge and information have expanded dramatically. This connectivity has placed leaders on a podium, positioning them for scrutiny by an extensive audience of current and prospective employees and customers. The “truth” can no longer be controlled by companies, leading to a need for faster, open and transparent communication. And, the expectation is that when we communicate, we will get or be expected to give a response directly and immediately.

In this context, lack of consistency, indiscretion or error is picked up instantly and analyzed, discussed and used to judge that leader or leaders (for leaders are often seen as a group, and individuals within that group must inadvertently take responsibility for the failures and misdeeds of others). There is no end to the tales about corporate and political incompetency in the press; such as the recent FIFA bribery scandal and the inundation of media phone hacking incidents. ) These erode people’s confidence in their leaders and inject cynicism into how they view the corporate and political world.

Exposure to these high profile examples has perhaps affected the younger generations most. Our recent Global Perspectives survey (Figure 1) discovered that Millennials rate openness and honesty as a more important leadership trait compared to older generations.

The Edelman Trust Barometer 20159 shows that public trust in business has fallen to just 57% and that only 43% say they have trust in CEOs. Our Global Perspectives survey found that one fifth of employees do not believe their leaders are open and honest in their communications.

Organizations are responding to this trust deficit by redesigning and promoting their values so they appear more altruistic and are investing in corporate social responsibility programs to show they are giving back. But, these attempts to re-position businesses as caring and sharing organizations only work if the intentions behind them are genuine; and the actions taken are more than skin deep. The Edelman Trust Barometer finds that only a quarter of adults believe business is driven by trying to make the world a better place, feeling instead that it is the likes of greed, personal ambition and business growth targets that motivate performance. Where trust in business had fallen, a perceived failure of business to contribute to the greater good was the most commonly cited reason.

9http://www.edelman.com/2015-edelman-trust-barometer/

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25Millennials Generation X Baby Boomers

Figure 1: What makes a great leader? (% mentions by generation)


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10Data from Pew Research Center http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/ 11Millennials at work: Reshaping the workplace, PWC (2008)

3. Changing demographic make-up

The demographic face of the workplace has evolved consistently over time; yet, today we have even greater diversity than before. Figure 210 shows that we now have four generations in the workforce, soon to raise to five when Generation Z fully hits working age. With retirement age being postponed, this situation will continue. As Figure 1 illustrates, the needs and attitudes of each of these generations vary, and leaders need to work out how to balance their behavior so it appeases all employees.

With the Millennial generation forecasted to represent the majority of the workforce in the near future, the views of this cohort are arguably the most important to take into account. With their fearless attitude to risk and their entrepreneurial streak, if they don’t like the culture of an organization, they are likely to move on. Millennials want a management style and corporate culture that is markedly different from anything that has gone before; specifically, one that meets their

needs. They tend to be uncomfortable with rigid corporate structures and turned off by information silos. They expect rapid career progression, varied and interesting work, and constant feedback. Millennials feel constrained by what they see as outdated traditional working practices. In a study by PWC11, 65% of respondents said they felt that rigid hierarchies and outdated management styles failed to get the most out of younger recruits, and 46% thought that their managers did not always understand the way they use technology in their work. With Generation Z poised to enter the workforce, further change is afoot.

Then, we have the emergence of a more feminine leadership archetype. Since the diverse and liberal culture of the Baby Boomer era, female representation in the workforce has increased. With women either postponing motherhood, taking advantage of joint parental leave, or using the widely accessible childcare opportunities available to them in order to return to work sooner, females are accounting for an increasing number of senior roles and continue to work their way up the career ladder.

Figure 2: General representation in the workplace 1995-202010

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1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

Generation Z Millennials Generation X Baby Boomers Traditionalists


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12Ketchum, 2014; Gerzema & D’Antonio’s, 2013 13Ketchum Leadership Communication Monitor (KLCM) (2014) 14http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2015/02/25/how-a-hillary-clinton-campaign-could-reshape-what-leadership-looks-like/

Coinciding with this, a number of large scale global studies have demonstrated a shift to a more “feminine leadership” rather than the command and control paradigm of the past12. On a number of effective leadership metrics, female leaders out-performed their male counterparts, i.e., “leading by example”, “communicating in an open and transparent way”, “admitting mistakes” and “bringing out the best in others”. The feminine style emphasizes cooperation, long-term thinking, and flexibility. Indeed the results in Figure 1 show that employees across the generational spectrum favor these traits over some of the more traditional ones. This isn’t to say all leaders should be women; it’s about leaders of both genders needing to re-think the command-and-control approach to leadership communication of the past, which tended to be one-way, domineering and even arrogant. Instead, we are seeing the birth of a new model of leadership communication based on transparency, collaboration, genuine dialogue, clear values, and the alignment of words and deeds, a model being followed far more consistently by female leaders13.

But, should we be preparing for a woman in the Oval Office? Fifty-four percent of respondents identified male leaders as the ones likely to steer global populations through the events of the next five years. Beyond the numbers, the data has important qualitative takeaways for leaders of both genders – most significant: macho is out, transparent communications is in. And, on the topic of the Oval Office, in an interview on US presidency14, Hillary Clinton emphasized her vision to “…bring people from right, left, red, blue, get them into a nice, warm purple space where everybody’s talking, where we’re actually trying to solve problems.” The comment reflected as much her leadership style as her political vision, emphasizing the value of collaboration, compassion and inclusivity.


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The ORC International Pillars of LeadershipSo as we sail through the culturally disrupted waters of the 21st century, we have come to realize that the way we are navigating our organizations is not necessarily producing the desired effect. Through our research, themes have emerged that highlight what is missing from leadership approaches of the past. From this, we have identified four attributes or pillars that the leaders of today and tomorrow will likely need to combat the disrupters and position their organizations strongly for the choppy seas ahead.

AUTHENTICThe first pillar is authenticity. For employees to feel and act engaged and secure, they need to have confidence in the people who are in charge and be able to trust what they say. They must respect the views of their leaders and know that they will be honest even when things are not going to plan. There needs to be faith that leaders make decisions and act in the best interests of the organization and its people, and not for personal gain. In acting in this way, authentic leaders will help to rebuild the eroded trust that has culturally disrupted so many industries and organizations.

Being authentic involves exceptional two-way communication. Employees need to receive regular and timely communications from their leaders that explain the organization’s goals, objectives and strategy. These must be consistent and honest, informing people of what the organization is doing and being open about the risks the organization faces. In this way, leaders prepare employees for unforeseen events and set expectations.

“While the environment is volatile, evolving and multifaceted – the basis of leadership is simple. It’s about an overarching narrative that guides behavior against different threats… continually reinforcing your key messages and ensuring you communicate the reasons why. Make sure that you announce what’s going to change, the reasons behind change and what that means in terms of your values. Also, be sure to communicate any external influences – people can be a lot more forgiving when they are aware of external pressures”.

Craig Young, Managing Director, ORC International Australia


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Being authentic is about being true to yourself and your beliefs. Authentic leaders must demonstrate they have a genuine allegiance to the organization’s goals and openly role model the values. Being consistent in word and action is critical both as individuals and as a team. The senior, middle and line management must work together to create a consistent message. Trust breaks down when the senior management says one thing and line managers act in a contradictory way.

Many of the leaders we interviewed as part of our research mentioned humility alongside authenticity. Leaders are often assumed and expected to have all the answers and to be the experts, but having the humility to confess their limitations and encourage others to contribute their skills makes leaders more real and accessible.

“They were confident in their own ability, but they didn’t ever assume they knew everything or that they had all the skills needed by the leadership of the organization. They knew that to work strategically and effectively they needed to recruit people of talent, people with expertise the organization needed but that they, the CEO, didn’t have. Their humility was evident as was their effectiveness as leaders. ”

Helen Hardwick, Program Manager Tourism Policy and Strategy, City of Melbourne

With authenticity, behavior is key – but to reinforce the importance of the attribute, organizational processes must be in place to support the espoused behaviors. For example, committing to effective performance management so employees are not allowed to get away with performing or behaving against the values and ensuring that all employees are treated the same. In essence, it is about doing what you say you are going to do and following through on that promise across all workplace interactions.

CONNECTEDThe second pillar relates to how leaders connect with employees. Unlike the command and control approach to leadership of the past, leaders of today and tomorrow need to operate in a more emotionally intelligent way to make this connection. The demographic changes in the workforce present a need for leaders to relate to a diverse audience and understand how to get the best from everyone. These changes reflect a society where the lines between work and home are blurred. With an increasing number of carers in the workforce and emerging generations who favor non-standard hours, flexibility is key. Leaders need to appreciate the challenges and pressures on employees and preferences for different ways of working. They must learn how to support employees with their broader needs in order to get the best performance from them at work. In our latest Global Perspectives survey15, we found the ability to make employees feel valued and believe their individual differences are respected is a key driver of employee engagement. Leaders should appreciate the subtle nuances that make the differences between connecting with employees and putting up barriers.

“My favorite internal comms quote is, ‘The greatest employment campaign will fail if the CEO doesn’t say “good morning” to people in the elevator’. It does pass the blame somewhat, but I have seen how true it is in a range of organizations. It’s relevant for all levels of management – the really great leaders are those with real humanity. We as communicators can have the flashiest social media tools, the best recognition programs or award-winning road shows, but employees really feel engaged when their boss remembers their children’s names or which team they support.”

Sarah Pelligrini, Rexam Involve (The ultimate guide to internal communications

accelerating change in the workplace)16

15Global Perspectives 2015, ORC International’s annual global survey of 7,000 employees 16Sarah Pelligrini, Rexam Involve: “The ultimate guide to internal communications accelerating change in the workplace” http://involve.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/UltGuideCommSML.pdf


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The connected attribute is also about bringing people together and promoting collaborative working. Over time, the approach to work has evolved from a preference for individual working (Traditionalists) to team and group work but, despite organizations being more widely dispersed across culture and geography, most are still poorly set up for true barrier-less collaboration. Technology will undoubtedly support this, but leaders need to be vigilant that being connected doesn’t just become being electronically connected. For collaboration to work best, there needs to be a balance between technology and personal interaction. This is particularly pertinent when we consider the different generations making up the workplace. We know from our latest Global Perspectives research (Figure 1) that effective communication is one of the most important skills for a leader to have and that older generations rate this particularly highly. And, in light of the ever-changing landscape within which we work, two-way, face-to-face communication will remain imperative as the desire for communication increases substantially in times of significant change.

Whereas some aspects of the connected attribute are processes or procedures that leaders can adopt, others are far more intrinsic. Displaying the social and emotional awareness that encompasses connectedness is essentially a shift from the command and control paradigm of the past to the “en vogue” female traits of the present. Some people naturally display these traits, but what about those leaders who are less able to connect with their sensitive side? Training is available to develop these skills, but there may need to be an acceptance that some people will not be able to change their behaviors sufficiently to fully embrace the connected attribute. Traditionally, leaders worked their way up an organization, and through experience and accomplishment of technical skill came promotion to management. But, we know through endless examples in the HR literature how prone to error this succession plan can be. Technical experts do not necessarily make good leaders so, with

these new pillars of leadership that demand far greater emotional and social awareness than in the past, the choice of who progresses to leadership roles needs careful consideration.

INSPIRINGThe third pillar is inspiring. At ORC International, we measure employee engagement using the Say, Stay and Strive concept. Strive relates to the extent an organization is able to motivate its people to go above and beyond, and feeling inspired is very closely linked to this. Therefore, having leaders who inspire their people will directly influence engagement levels and have positive consequences for organizational performance. Being inspired is particularly important today as employees increasingly want to do work that has meaning. With the blending of work and home, our jobs become an integral part of who we are; and doing a job with a purpose about which we are passionate and with an outcome that “makes a difference” contributes to emotional and psychological wellbeing17. It also reflects the mixture of corporate and political indiscretions we read about daily and the good news stories that circulate social media – such as the Aldi employee who altruistically helped an elderly customer home with his shopping.18 People want to work for places that are associated with more of the latter and less of the former.

Being an inspirational leader is a challenge – in our Global Perspectives survey, only 56% feel their manager motivates and inspires them. It needs a staged approach. First and foremost, the senior leaders need to communicate an organizational purpose that goes beyond the transactional. A purpose should be the organization’s raison d’etre, the driving force behind the strategy, and beyond financial achievement. That purpose needs to be communicated with passion to act like the lifeblood of the organization and give every employee a purpose to their work that is meaningful, motivating and contributes to a greater good.

17The role of passion in sustainable psychological wellbeing Robert J Vallerand Psychology of Well-Being: Theory, Research and Practice 2012, 2:1 18http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3056421/Teenage-Aldi-worker-18-went-extra-mile-helped-pensioner-95-shopping-carried-walked-way-home-door.html


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Examples of inspiring organizational purposes

“To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world”

Nike

“Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow”

Lego

“At IKEA our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people”

IKEA

Leaders need to translate that purpose into a compelling and engaging strategic narrative, as well as communicate and apply it at the local level so it is clear to all employees how what they personally do relates to the end goal. Personal objectives should be stretching so employees feel achievement when they are accomplished. Success stories should be shared, and mentors and coaches from different parts of the business should be available for employees to learn from, to give everyone, regardless of their personal ambitions, something to aspire to.

Involving employees in idea creation and development of new ways of working provides a further degree of meaning and reinforces that employees are not just cogs in the organization’s wheel but have the scope to step up and be levers that influence the wheel’s direction.

AGILEThe last pillar is agile. This responds to the VUCA world in which we operate and the increasing pressure to react fast and furious to ongoing change. Being agile is critical because it helps organizations focus on the future and remain one step ahead of change. Embracing change, rather than fearing it, gives organizations the upper hand. Agile leaders have this attitude and impart it to others. Employees have always experienced change, so being agile is not a new requirement, but technology today allows change to happen far faster and more dramatically than ever before. Consequently, the organizations that respond most nimbly and leverage the technology to their own advantage are the ones that survive and prosper.

Being agile and responding rapidly to change has to be done in way that remains authentic, connected and inspiring. Leaders need to ensure they deliver clear communications around change so employees can understand the reasoning behind it and the risks involved.

In our white paper, “Measuring employee engagement: intuitive model, robust science”,19 we discuss how, in today’s constantly evolving workplaces, engagement on its own is not always enough. Our enhanced model of engagement incorporates innovation to provide a more creative component with health and wellbeing to ensure engagement is sustainable. Agile leaders need to consider both of these aspects.

Innovation goes hand in hand with agility, but a resilient approach needs to be taken too. Leaders should involve employees in innovation where appropriate to give them a sense of empowerment and involvement. Risks need to be managed, but the organization must be open to making mistakes so they can learn from them – otherwise known as continuous improvement.

19To request a copy of this white paper, please visit www.orcinternational.com


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When it comes to sustainability, creating a working environment that protects employees’ health and wellbeing is an important aspect of agility. Overworked, stressed employees are not going to provide a workforce to battle the VUCA forces. Indeed, employee engagement without wellbeing is more detrimental in the long term.20 Leaders need to ensure there are health and wellbeing policies in place and managers need to monitor how employees are adhering to them. Forward thinking organizations are leveraging technology to help do things smarter and quicker, but agile organizations appreciate the balance between using technology to get things done and taking time out to refresh.21

A final aspect of agility is managing both learning and development. Agile leaders acknowledge the importance of continued learning for themselves and their people and must identify how succession planning needs to work to ensure the leaders of the future are displaying the four attributes (authentic, connected, inspiring and agile). Whereas it is too simplistic to say that great leaders are born naturally, there are going to be people intrinsically skewed to the attributes relating to the four pillars. Just as some people will be more predisposed to the connected pillar, some people will find adapting their behavior to meet diverse needs and changing circumstances easier than others. These people may be senior, experienced employees or they may be new starters fresh from university or college, but as the workplace becomes more diverse, where we seek our guidance and direction may be different too. We are not necessarily advocating a holacracy,22 but suggesting a potential loosening of the rules that dictate who can and should lead.

20“Today’s competitive advantage – sustainable engagement”, ORC International. To request a copy of this white paper, please visit www.orcinternational.com 21http://www.thehrdirector.com/features/health-and-wellbeing/wellbeing-and-health-turning-our-back-on-tradition/ 22https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holacracy


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Measuring leadership So far, we have charted the leadership journey, presented the evidence for why we are poised on the brink of a new era of leadership, and described the four pillars we believe represent the competencies required for strong and engaging leadership fit for this new era. The next step is to identify the skill gap between current leadership competencies and the attributes within each of the four pillars that require development, enhancement or reinforcement.

Start by measuring the new pillars of leadership in your engagement surveys

By incorporating stretching and specific questions relating to these new pillars of leadership into your employee engagement survey, the data you collect will provide insight into how fit for the future your leaders currently are.

To this point, we have discussed leadership with implied reference to the senior management of an organization; but leadership is a broader concept than this and leaders can be found at all levels. Therefore, if we divide leaders into senior management and line management, we can pose different questions about these two groups to understand how employees view the different hierarchical tiers.

The questions posed need to take the differed roles of these leaders into account. Senior leaders are naturally different from the majority of employees; and, consequently, their behaviors need to reflect a more top level picture whereas line managers interact more frequently with employees on transactional issues and their application of the pillars will be more practical.

Use this information to identify the shining lights of great leadership and involve them in shaping your culture more widely

Collecting data in this way will naturally identify where the skills gaps lie: what competencies need to be developed and which ones we want to promote. Drawing comparisons across teams and departments will pinpoint where in the organization strong and weak leaders sit. This gives you the opportunity to showcase the stronger leaders in case studies or as mentors, to help champion the behaviors and skills you want to see displayed and use these examples to shape the leadership culture you want to embed.

Delve deeper into what great leadership looks like in your business

But you may, of course, wish to embark upon a more comprehensive analysis of your leadership which means a more tailored and in-depth diagnostic is required. Developing a standalone survey would provide a full quantitative assessment of each pillar for both senior leaders and managers providing far more detail into existing strengths and weaknesses. This can be supplemented with qualitative research to explore the specific competencies required for your business and identify the organizational challenges that need to be overcome.


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Senior managers should Line managers should

AUTHENTIC■■ Communicate corporate issues in a

timely, honest and open manner■■ Demonstrate commitment to

organizational goals and role model the values

■■ Act consistently and provide reasons for changes to strategy

■■ Align local communications with corporate messages and support the strategic narrative

■■ Demonstrate commitment to organizational goals and role model the values

■■ Manage performance in line with organizational values

CONNECTED ■■ Encourage and facilitate collaboration

■■ Demonstrate approachability■■ Consider the succession plan

implications of a more emotionally intelligent leadership requirement

■■ Encourage collaboration in day-to-day work

■■ Exercise good listening skills■■ Consider and respond appropriately

to the needs and feelings of different people

INSPIRING ■■ Communicate a clear and compelling vision

■■ Motivate and inspire people around a common goal

■■ Demonstrate passion and enthusiasm for what they do

■■ Demonstrate passion and enthusiasm for what they do

■■ Encourage team to share ideas and contribute to decision-making

■■ Help employees to define goals that relate to the big picture, and plan a route to achieving them

AGILE

■■ Demonstrate a future-focus and a positive attitude to change

■■ Encourage innovation and learning from mistakes

■■ Support sustainable working practices

■■ Encourage the team to embrace change and focus on positive outcomes

■■ Outline the process of change and how it relates to individual team members

■■ Help team overcome barriers to finding new and better ways of working

Figure 3: Key attributes of each pillar and how they apply to senior and line management roles

ConclusionLeadership styles have naturally evolved over time in response to a changing external environment; and, in that sense, our current time is no different from the eras that have gone before. But, today’s environment has the heavy push of technology and digital innovation behind it, which has expedited the pace and trajectory of change. In doing so, the pressure placed on leaders has increased; and the styles of the past have become inadequate to meet the challenges ahead.

Authenticity, connectivity, inspiration, and agility are the four attributes ORC International has identified as being essential for leaders of today and tomorrow to display. These attributes equip leaders with the skills, behaviors and tools to face economic uncertainty, shifting global markets and unprecedented technological advances; to overcome the erosion of trust in leadership and manage the demographic shifts which are transforming the face of the workplace.

Understanding the relevance of these attributes in today’s world is the first step toward embracing a new era of leadership. But, organizations need to measure the extent to which these attributes are being displayed by their leaders at all levels and identify gaps between the desired competency and current performance so they can develop programs to shift behavior and ultimately the culture for the future good of the business.

If you would like any further information on the topics discussed in this paper, or require support in developing your own leadership diagnostic, please contact us via our website:

www.ORCInternational.com


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About ORC InternationalAt ORC International, we are leaders in the art of business intelligence. We help you explore, navigate and integrate insights to uncover what truly engages people around the world. With a focus on improving business performance and growth, we combine quality data, smart synthesis and a best in class digital platform to deliver transformative business insights across your customers, employees, markets and products.

Our Employee Research division was officially established in 1998 and is one of the leading providers of employee attitude research worldwide.

All of the consultants in the Employee Research division are specialists in the field with backgrounds that include occupational psychology, organizational development, change management, HR, and training. As a team, our consultants work on more than 200 surveys per year with our clients ranging in size from small, not-for-profit organizations of fewer than 150 staff to large scale public and private sector employers with more than 500,000 staff.

Our overriding philosophy when delivering employee research is that stakeholders and managers should be provided with actionable, concise and easy to understand reports that can be used to identify employee opinion and action plan appropriately. We have a long history of delivering high-impact employee survey programs for a range of public and private sector organizations.

ORC International is a collaborative and consultative research partner to hundreds of organizations around the globe. We maintain the highest standards in the collection of technical, business, and competitive intelligence as evidenced by our membership in The Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR). In addition, ORC International is ISO 20252 certified. Adherence and certification to such standards provides a basis of confidence for clients and other constituencies that the work produced is being executed with quality processes and controls in place.

www.orcinternational.com


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Once again, the past12 months have been a periodof big economic change andupheaval across the globe.

In HR Re�ections, the HR professionalsurvey of the year, we examined thebiggest challenges in the sector. Wecompared the results to the opinionsof CEOs from the New York StockExchange (NYSE) Euronext report andinvestigated new areas such asinnovation and social media.

Leadership development andengagement have emerged as the keychallenges in the coming year, and thequest for talent also came to the forewith feelings that there is a talentcrisis – ranging from 56% in Australiato 74% in Hong Kong. In fact, Chinaand Hong Kong listed retaining talentand a lack of skilled workers on the jobmarket over engagement andleadership development as theprofession’s biggest concerns.

Figures from the survey, whichreceived more than 1,400 responsesacross 20 di�erent sectors, revealedthat 62% felt they were �nding itharder to �ll positions with the rightpeople. Unsurprisingly, organisationsare generally looking for team playerswho can cope with change, with themost important attributes listed ascollaboration, communication and �exibility.

A total of 586 respondents ratedleadership development as one of thebiggest struggles HR will face, withinspiration listed as the mostimportant aspect in leadership.

Engage with us

Another key issue is engagement.Although there is a growing focus onthe area across all regions, the numberof organisations who are managing toengage their employees sustainablyhas fallen from last year. It seems that

the ability of organisations to supporttheir employees’ wellbeing has taken ahit – most likely due to increasingworkload, pressure, lack of resourceand the stress that would be aninevitable outcome of the worldwideeconomic conditions.

Views regarding the mechanisms inplace to support sta� if theyexperience stress or pressure havedropped globally. This is especiallytrue in Australia, although it still has

the highest score. Hong Kong, China,and continental Europe had thelowest scores on this issue with only34% positive.

Most HR professionals saw e�ectivedownwards communications, strongand visible leadership, andmanagement of change as the biggestchallenges to engagement. HongKong and China however, saw reward,recognition and line managementtaking the top spots.

A global quest for talentCommentary on ORC International’s 2012 HR Re�ections survey

Finding a balance between expectation and realityCommentary on ORC International’s 2012 global perspectives survey

1 India 4

2 Brazil 1 1

3 Turkey – –

4 Switzerland 1

5 China 3 7

6 USA 1 3

7 Canada 1

8 Germany 1

9 Russia 1 1

10 Australia 3 3

11 Netherlands 3 1

Global norm – 1

12 Italy

13 UK 4 7

14 Spain 1

15 Singapore 4 5

16 Sweden – –

17 France 2 4

18 Japan 4

19 Hong Kong 3 7

Rank

Cou

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Rank

ing

diff

eren

ce

Tren

d di

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ence

The last year has largely beenshrouded in uncertainty. Acrossmany of the global marketseconomists have struggled toaccurately predict upswings inpositivity and the emergencefrom the ever-looming grips ofthat dreaded word: “recession”.

Each of the 19 participating countries’employees that take part inORC International’s global perspectivessurvey provides rich, unbiased insightinto what’s really going on at grassrootslevel. Gathering an understanding ofwhat staff are feeling, how safe theyconsider they are in their daily jobs, andtheir general level of engagement actsas a prime indicator of how well thateconomy is really performing andindeed how it will perform in the future.

The results of this year’s globalperspectives survey present anunaltered picture of engagementcompared to that of 2011. For the thirdconsecutive year, the worldwide pictureof engagement is largely unchanged.The Global Employee Engagement Index(EEI) is just one percentage point lowerthan in previous years (see right).

What has changed in the 2012 surveyis the global drivers of engagement.In both 2010 and 2011, these driverswere largely focused aroundmanagement related questions. In 2012, as the breakdown overleafshows, the three drivers are more aboutthe quality of working life, wellbeing and reward.

Drilling down into the country-specificdata, there have been a number ofsignificant shifts. While India – a marketthat can now comfortably be labelled as“emerged” – retains its long-standingfirst place ranking, “developing”economies like Brazil and Turkey (a newinclusion in the 2012 survey) haveperformed well, ranking second andthird in the 2012 EEI.

Eastern promise, western envy

China was last year’s star performer,jumping seven places into secondposition overall. However, this year itappears to have lost momentum, fallingthree places down into fifth position inthe global EEI perspectives rankings.

A lot can change in a year. Back in early2011 China was basking in the fanfareof international admiration.

Global research findings

Connect with us on LinkedIn: ORC International Employee Engagement

Follow us on Twitter: @ERatORC

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ORCIntl

Read our blog at www.ORCInternational.com/insights/blog

Visit our website: www.ORCInternational.com

Further information

Get in touch with us to find out more about our thought leadership and keep up to date on the latest thinking.

Visit the insights area of our website at www.ORCInternational.com


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Employee surveys and the power of the blank box

[email protected] | [email protected] | www.ORCInternational.com

Global Perspectives 2014: worldwide trends in employee engagement

Diversity at work: challenging the status quo


White papers and reports

https://www.youtube.com/user/ORCIntl

www.ORCInternational.co.uk/insights/blog

http://www.orcinternational.com

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