"Imagination leads to innovation that leads to differentiation." - Bill Russell
In this HBR article, Smallwood and Ulrich examine innovative versus 'cookie cutter' corporate leadership. Do our programs develop leadership or just occasionally reveal it?
Buzzwords:
GE - decisive, competent team leader, confident expert
JNJ - product development and differentiation, consumer trust, quality, and safety
Bon Secours - blend business, compassion and caring
"Leadership brand is a reputation for developing exceptional managers with a distinct set of talents that are uniquely geared to fulfill customers’ and investors’ expectations."
Components:
1. Fundamental competence
2. Internalize high expectations
3. Evaluation from customer perspective
4. Investment in leadership development (implies time and resources)
5. Track performance
Default situation (The Fault Situation?):
It's about the individual. Tendency to develop 'celebrity leaders'.
That fails to promote the long-term, sustainable institutional well-being.
Leadership code (Skill set):
Master strategy.
Learn execution.
Communicate within the organization.
Tendency to overemphasize either individual qualities (player skills) or execution (team play) at the expense of the other.
Corporate (Team) Identity:
Teva: cultural sensitivity, integrity, product fulfillment, consistency
(Basketball: "This is who we are and this is what we do.")
For Nick Saban and Alabama, that would be "The Process". Urban Meyer has "Above the Line."
Measuring Leadership Performance Relative to Branding
Did leadership meet customer's expectations?
Our customers are players, families, fans.
The authors question, (1) Is this the mission you want us to be known for? (2) What do we have to do to demonstrate that we live up to this mission better than our competitors do?
Customers and Investors Teach
"The most powerful way to develop leaders who have a customer lens is to give them job assignments that demand it."
In medicine, there is a saying - "See one, do one, teach one." Neurobiologically, this reflects the presence of "Mirror Neurons" that help us mimic and develop skills. On the court, players have to learn to 'coach each other up', encouraging and correcting without being demeaning.
Track Long-term Results
When one manager or a group of managers leave, what is the organizational impact? Does the organization have managerial "bench strength" because of the leadership development process? The authors found that companies with strong leadership tended to have higher price/earnings multiples (valuations/analagous to winning).
Within our athletic organizations, effective and compassionate leadership helps organizational mindset, personal growth, and both recruitment and retention. Reflect on the strong and challenged teams that you see and why and we find some of the principles embodied above.
