Without Leadership There Is No Change Article PDF
Without Leadership There Is No Change Article PDF
Without Leadership There Is No Change Article PDF
Summer 2015
Without
leadership
there is no
change
Most organisational cultures evolve by default rather than by design, implying
that organisations can adapt faster and more effectively if they are led through
the process. By Philip Atkinson and Robert Mackenzie.
I
n this article Philip Atkinson and Robert Mackenzie by the top tiers and delivered and sustained through personal
demonstrate that high quality performance cultures can commitment.
be shaped through aligning leadership with strategies
based on a careful selection of continuous improvement No leadership, no vision and no direction
lean strategies. Their contention is that ‘without leadership Strategies available for influencing and forming a strongly
there can be no strategic thrust, change and improvement’. focused performance culture come down to one effective
Ultimately, they believe ‘the degree to which your organisation option: concentrate almost completely on the dominant style
will succeed or fail is dependent on your leaders ‘actions and of leadership in driving, installing and sustaining continuous
behaviours.’ improvement. In these difficult post recessionary times, we
Organisations in both the public and private sector are have to rethink our ‘organisational capability’ to operate in a
going through some difficult times. There are still many who highly unpredictable environment. This is true in all sectors.
have to bite the bullet and focus on improving efficiencies Many have not yet taken those extremely challenging decisions
and performance. These changes will not happen by accident in order to structure their organisation for change.
nor will they happen by adherence to a ‘flavour of the month’
programmed instruction. Effective change has to be led by Structure yourself for change: Change is
committed leaders who are focusing on changing behaviours. transformational not transactional
Leadership is not something that simply occurs it has to be led In today’s business environment you have to anticipate the
Management Services
Summer 2015 43
is a strong cause-effect relationship between great leaders and
The most important factors in their teams achieving much more than those who demonstrate
poor or confused leadership.
shaping any business culture are Informed and targeted investment in shaping leadership
behaviour will translate immediately to performance
both derived from the behaviour efficiencies, including providing best practise and best value.
In this post recession economy it is vital for organisations to
demonstrated by those who lead commit to the fundamentals of developing a performance
enhancing leadership style to drive significant business
and control the business. transformation.
next transition, prepare for it, and build a culture and the Mindset change – creating a legacy
capability to make it work. To do that you need to enlist the In large successful business giants such as General Electric,
support of leaders who want to create that culture. The old Apple, Microsoft, Toyota, ‘transformation’ means far more
transactional role of ‘manager’ is replaced by the requirement than just managing and administering daily transactions. It
to lead teams to build a strong and resilient culture. The requires a pioneering mindset of focusing on strategic goals
command and control bureaucratic model of organisation and translating these into their business operations. Leadership
with its ‘silo mentality’ will no longer survive, even in the most has to be reflected in the behaviours and actions which
outmoded of public service organisations. ultimately impact the customer for the better. What enables
A leader portrays a much stronger position and role than this to happen is a shift in leadership from focusing ‘internally’
the traditional role of manager. Leadership requires ownership on administering and transacting day to day operations, to
of issues, concepts, taking charge, being action-oriented, ‘outwardly’ transforming the business to achieve a state of
positively influencing events, displaying a personal mission customer focused self-renewal.
with responsibility, as well as being a role model for others.
Organisations driven by leaders with strong positive values will Leadership behaviour shaping culture and
take their organisations where mere managers can only dream. performance?
The two most important factors in shaping any business
Quality management starts with quality of leadership culture are both derived from the behaviour demonstrated by
The charismatic qualities of those who lead the organisation those who lead and control the business. The first is ‘what do
ultimately influence the quality of your achievements as a leaders pay most attention to’. When leaders invest time in
business. How can we have a culture focused on continuous their people and deliberately improve quality and customer
improvement if we don’t encourage staff at all levels to responsiveness, that’s seeing leadership behaviour in action. It
demonstrate that they are high calibre individuals? And just as signals what is important – and what is not.
a sports coach gives careful consideration to the composition of The second driver of effective performance is ‘how leaders
her or his team, so the top team of any organisation should pay respond to critical incidents’, such as crises and difficulties.
attention to the composition, the development, and to the core People notice this and it strongly signals to staff what is a
attributes and characteristics of its key people in the business. priority and what is not. Leaders and senior staff often fail to
recognise that ‘grapevine comments’ are generated, circulate
Create internal capability to drive change and grow because of what others see and feel and interpret
You need your own internal capability to drive and sustain from their leaders behaviour and actions.
change. The key players will either be a combination of direct
reports to the top team, or middle management who report People are boss watchers
to the most senior level within the organisation. With an Everyone does it – most of us spend time observing the
organisation of 2,000 people, if you can positively influence behaviour of others more senior to us and we assess whether
the top 100 staff, then you are in a very strong position to or not they are living the values they espouse. Be careful,
impact business performance for the better. This means that by because others will be also be observing your behaviour
focusing your efforts on working with just 5% of staff, ie the – because you may be their boss or have an authoritative
top team and their direct reports, the natural outcome, if well position to uphold. ‘Doing what you say and saying what you
designed, is to significantly shift the performance of the whole do’ is critical in establishing a consistent management style
business for the better. which will spread throughout the organisation. We all devote
time to focusing upon ‘what the top people pay most attention
Total business transformation to’ because that is what shapes the culture, teamworking and
If you don’t have the right leadership in place, it matters the performance of every single organisation.
little how much you invest in lean, continuous improvement,
technology, telephony, process improvement, systems What do you see in that reflection in the mirror?
development etc. Take the test. What is it like to receive your behaviour as
Fundamentally, how people are led and managed is central a leader on a ‘bad day?’ We encourage organisations to
to building a robust business. When the management of streamline swiftly by examining the dominant values and
people is designed to make a difference to performance, there leadership behaviours presented intentionally or otherwise in
44 Management Services
Summer 2015
‘The leader is not employed to be a super independent and sole from achieving their potential is their personal beliefs about
performer but, rather, committed to achieve results through what they can and cannot do. The oft quoted statement from
others – so that ultimately, leadership is about creating an Henry Ford perfectly reflects this sentiment.
empowered culture which is self-sustaining through extensive
influence and persuasion.’ ‘Whether you think you can or you think you can’t,
you’re right’
QUESTION 5 hat are the personal
W
characteristics of effective leaders? Execute
Effective leaders pursue transformational type behaviours but Leaders have to be decisive after taking in relevant data,
what specifically do they need to do more and less of in terms comparing the ‘pro’s and con’s’, and then deciding. Here
of driving change through team work? execution of the decision becomes the norm. People who fail
to take decisions, fail to learn from their experiences.
Energise self and others In many ways good leadership comes from ‘experience’, some
Leaders must be able to energise themselves and others. They of which has involved some degree of failure. Good leadership
must display a high degree of energy to demonstrate their comes from learning about things that did not go so well –
resilience and their ability and stamina to contribute in a not just success. Managers who fail to make decisions – until
demanding business. Energy means being positive. It is unlikely they have every piece of the jigsaw puzzle – will never make
that someone who displays inactivity and a lacklustre desire to anything happen in their organisations.
improve things will be able to work closely with challenging
projects. Edge and continuous improvement
Energising others demonstrates a consistent way of behaving The top ten percent of people in any profession or business will
which illustrates some positive actions which hopefully never need to look for a job – they will always be in demand
others can emulate and master. The leader who understands and will be highly valued. Understanding where the ‘edge’ is in
how important it is to get their team to express themselves improvement is critical when looking at current problems, and
confidently and with pride, will probably commit to improving thinking creatively for new solutions.
their influencing and persuasion skills with others. Always being alert and open to new ways of working is
what characterises sharp people who live at the ‘Edge‘ of
Enthusiasm improvement. They challenge the way things are done to
Self-confidence is key to effective leadership. If a leader fails improve performance and are wise in how they use their time
to display self-confidence, and has a less than positive image to best effect.
and self esteem, it is unlikely that they can inspire others to Our research indicates that there are multiple behaviours that
superlative performance. The major factor holding people back demonstrate effective leadership behaviour. These behaviours
Management Services
Summer 2015 47
are pivotal to leadership performance and from our experience that those organisations that can implement strategies for
the key is to develop the person ‘inside out’ – so that the continued and sustained improvement will be those peopled
benefits accrue to both the individual and the organisation. by high flyers. These high flyers don’t just evolve and gravitate
to your organisation by accident. They have to be developed,
Summary coached and ultimately retained and groomed for senior
Leadership is a critical issue for many businesses. Talent is positions and challenges.
increasingly a scarce resource, and the methods for sustaining By now you’ll be aware of the numerous benefits of
the flow and retention of good quality people are not in developing a strong leadership style which is fundamentally
abundance. We are half way through the second decade of this based on transformational behaviours. We think you’ll agree
new century, and competition for the best people will intensify, that it is surprising that many organisations neglect or fail to
implying that potential recruits have a choice of working with fully commit to investing in their most senior people – those
a strong leadership culture or someone else. Our experience is who Lead others. Transformational leadership is within the
that high flyers choose the former. grasp of most organisations. For those committed to this
Organisations and their top teams committed to developing approach, the results for the business can be immense once your
a strong culture composed of high quality people, know that business has established and aligned a strong leadership style
Leading by Example is a critical competence to display outwardly with strategies for continual improvement. Those who achieve
and in the policies, strategies and processes that hold the and develop a strong internal leadership capability and culture
organisation together. Many management teams today do not will be able to sustain any drive for change and guarantee a
realise they face a ‘leadership challenge.’ It is worth knowing competitive edge for the future.
Robert Mackenzie is Chairman and Corporate Consulting Services Partner of the Consultancy and Accountancy firm Scott
Moncrieff. He has over 25 years’ experience of organisational change, performance improvement, internal audit, comput-
er audit, and risk management, and is a key member of the firm’s Public Sector Audit Group.
Tel: 0131 473 3500. Email: [email protected]