Gayle C. AveryDirector, Institute for Sustainable Leadership

Avery Bergsteiner Consulting P/LEmail: gayleavery@gmail.com

© gayle avery, 2010

Creating Sustainable Leadership

Sydney Institute Leadership Forum 2010

AGENDA

Introduction & background

Strategy 2009-2012

Sustainable Leadership Pyramid – 23 elements

Sustainable Leadership @ NSW TAFE

Sustainable Leadership @ Sydney Institute

Sydney Institute Strategic Plan 2009-2012

5 strategic priorities

Priority 1: create a customer focused organisation, increase customer satisfaction.

Priority 2: be innovative. Priority 3: engage your staff, raise performance.Priority 4: be systemic – get systems and processes in

place.Priority 5: create a thriving & sustainable organisation.

SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP CRITERIA

23 criteria form a self-reinforcing system whereby theory & research, and practice align

theory & research (gurus & academics)

practice (companies)

Sustainable leadership

Macro-level strategies for ensuring a thriving and sustainable enterprise for future generations

More than being green & social financial success surviving & longevityAdding value to a range of stakeholders

6

LEADERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

ACHIEVING SUCCESS IN A COMPETITIVE WORLD

GAYLE C. AVERY

Early reference (2005): 19 criteria, now 23

7

GRID ELEMENTS Honeybees (sustainable) Locusts (business-as-usual)1. Developing people develop everyone continuously develops people selectively2. Labor relations seeks cooperation acts antagonistically3. Retaining staff values long tenure at all levels accepts high staff turnover4. Succession planning promotes from within where possible appoints from outside where possible5. Valuing staff concerned about employees’ welfare people are an interchangeable cost6. CEO and top team CEO is top team member or speaker CEO is decision maker, hero7. Ethical behaviour doing the right thing an explicit value ambivalent, negotiable, assessable risk8. Long term perspective long-term overrides short-term short-term profits and growth prevail9. Organisational change evolving and considered process fast adjustment, volatile, ad hoc10. Financial markets seeks maximum independence follows the markets, often slavishly11. Environmental resp. protects the environment is prepared to exploit the environment12. Social responsibility values people and the community exploits people and the community13. Stakeholders everyone matters only the shareholders matter14. Vision’s role shared vision is strategic tool here-and-now focused15. Decision making consensual and devolved primarily manager-centered16. Self-management staff are mostly self-managing managers manage17. Team orientation teams are extensive and empowered teams are limited & manager-centered18. Organisat’l culture an enabling, widely-shared culture weak, except for short-term focus19. Knowledge sharing spread throughout the organisation limited to a few “gatekeepers”20. Trust relationships and good-will based Control and monitoring in lieu of trust21. Innovation strong, systemic, strategic, at all levels limited, selective, buys in expertise22. Staff engagement emotionally committed financial rewards govern motivation23. Quality is embedded in the culture is a matter of control

World class company:

Kärcher, based in Germany fits all sustainable leadership criteria keeps on hitting records eg in 2008:

1.4 billion euros turnover sold 6.38 million units about 7000 employees

see graphs at: http://www.karcher.com/int/about_kaercher/Facts_and_Figures.htm.

CREATING SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP

how can I make sense of this list? which are the most important practices? which practices do I implement first?

Answer: Use the Sustainable Leadership Pyramid

The sustainable leadership pyramid

PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES

SUSTAINABILITYbrand & reputation

customer satisfaction financial performance

long-term shareholder valuelong-term stakeholder return

23. innovation

22. staff engagement 21. quality

KEY PERFORMANCE DRIVERS

20. devolved/ consensual decision-making

19. self- management

18. team orientation

17. enabling culture

16. knowledge retention and

sharing

15. trust

HIGHER-LEVEL PRACTICES

FOUNDATION PRACTICES

14. developing people

continuously

13. amicable

labour relations

12. long-term

retentionof staff

11. internal succession planning

10. valuing people

8. ethical behaviour

7. long-term

perspective

6. considered organisational

change

5. independence from

financial m

arkets

4. environ’l responsibility

3. social responsibility

2. stakeholder approach

1. strong, shared vision

9. top-team

leadership

© Harry Bergsteiner 2007

Where did Toyota go wrong?

Use the pyramid to identify: What might have gone wrong at Toyota? Where would you start to fix it?

GROUP ACTIVITY: TAFE NSW Table 1 analyses TAFE NSW’s strategic intentions in terms of 19

sustainable leadership criteria. Use a copy of the Sustainable Leadership Pyramid. As you experience TAFE’s influence, does the assessment in Table 1

ring pretty true on all variables? If not which ones need attention? Identify any gap(s) between aspiration and “reality”. Consider: what can/should the organisation do about those gaps? 30 minutes working time. Prepare answers for plenary discussion.

WHAT ABOUT SYDNEY INSTITUTE?

1. How does your organisation fare on the 23 elements of sustainable leadership?

2. Which KPIs would you use to assess Sydney Institute’s performance on these elements?

3. How might you act differently under this model?

EXAMPLES OF KPIs

examples of key performance indicators (KPIs) for the sustainable leadership elements.

22. Staff engagement

Engagement is the ‘motivational component’ of visionary leadership

3 behavioural components to engagement: SAY: speak positively about the business STAY: intend to stay with the business STRIVE: engaged staff work harder

‘Voice’ survey measures assess KPIs

8. Ethical behaviour

integrity – what does this mean at Sydney Institute?

code of conduct? is being ethical part of the performance

management system or employee contract? treatment of Intellectual Property?

7. Long term perspective

long term planning – how long? long term investments? long term Director and top team retention long term approach to innovation long term approach to finances….

4. Environmental responsibility

ISO 14001 etc accreditation incorporating into curricula build into all processes, facilities etc. minimise waste recycling systems measuring reductions in energy use and waste producing environmental reports

2. Stakeholder approach

define relevant stakeholders how are relationships with each group

measured? how is progress on these relationships reported

and improved?

1. Vision (& values)

is there a stated vision? is the vision shared and embedded in the

culture? how many employees know the vision? how many use it to guide their behaviour?

SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP @ SYDNEY INSTITUTE

Your workbook contains: a copy of the pyramid a fresh page for each of the 23 elements

Tables will be assigned 1-2 elements to discuss and report back on re: current situation desired situation actions required

Time: 15 minutes. Plenary discussion: 35 minutes.

Where have we been?

Strategic priorities for 2012 Think systemically Sustainable Leadership Pyramid Sustainable leadership at NSW TAFE Sustainable leadership at Sydney Institute

Forthcoming book:Avery, GC & Bergsteiner, H. (2010) Honeybees and Locusts:

The Business Case for Sustainable Leadership. Allen & Unwin.