Strategy-Driven Leadership

The Playbook for Developing Your Next Generation of Leaders

Michael A. Couch, Richard S. Citrin, Michael Couch, Richard Citrin

• Publisher: Productivity Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9780367332266
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000727876
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

It's estimated that U.S. companies spend over $14 billion annually on leadership development --Match that number to the abundant and growing research that finds most leadership development to be ineffective, and the conclusion is a phenomenal amount of waste. The remedy for this situation is to have business strategy drive leadership development instead of creating programs that match a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership. This book's approach, called Strategy-Driven Leadership Development (SDLD), puts business strategy first. It maintains an emphasis on building leadership programs around what it will take to make the business successful as opposed to implementing a program in the hopes that it will benefit the strategy.

The result is a differentiated and targeted approach called Intentional Leadership Development, which provides the structure for transforming how leadership development is undertaken. At the heart of this book, however, is the explanation of how small, incremental changes in action and perspective create meaningful changes in the way leadership is developed. The focus is on the leadership behaviors associated with success for any company. Some companies may need leaders with better financial acumen while others may require better teamwork for success. These skills are learnable and when the energy of an organization is behind it, then leadership development can be transformational.

The authors method "retools" prior leadership efforts – the emphasis is not on previous failures and restarting with new programs. There are many effective ideas and actions that are currently embedded in leadership programs, but they miss the critical element of tying their efforts to the business strategy.

Strategy-Driven Leadership changes the way organizations think about and drive their leadership talent initiatives among their current and upcoming leaders. The book is filled with research, science-based information, case studies, and practical hands-on tools on why and how this Strategy-Driven Leadership Development model will transform company leadership approaches.

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Strategy-Driven Leadership Development

A. A Leadership Development Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, leaders from a global creator and purveyor of goods converged on a resort for what was supposed to be three days of leadership development. The program included motivational speeches, leadership development exercises, and time together to bond over golf, tennis, and visiting local antique shops in the afternoons. The team running the event had spent the last year planning and organizing the conclave and believed they created a first-class program at a first-class property at a first-class price.

Much to their excitement, a new CEO had recently joined the firm, and while he was in favor of the event, he also had some direct and perhaps seemingly simple questions that he wanted answered. The first two were “How did all this get started?” and “Why are we doing this?” As the story went, the idea for the annual event had come from a previous executive who felt that the business’s leaders needed to have leadership development training. The tradition had continued on for many years. When the participants were asked if they liked the week in a fancy resort with all their friendly compatriots, the reaction was, “Well, of course, who wouldn’t?”

When asked what they got out of the leadership development gathering and used back on the job, the answers didn’t come so quickly. Several participants commented about how much they liked the lectures, so the organizing team wondered if they needed better, higher-paid speakers. Others said they enjoyed the leadership development activities, so they went out and researched team development exercises. Yet others believed the afternoon excursions helped them connect with each other and perhaps even helped build “collaboration.” By the end of the conversation, it was clear that while the event was a social success, it was less clear that it was a business success.

The new CEO saw some merit in the gathering but knew that for it to deliver its greatest value, it needed something more. He reached out to two consultants, who were experts in leadership development, to see if they were willing to fulfill his quest of finding and achieving the highest possible value.

“Could you take a look at what we are doing and retool it to create greater success?” “Maybe,” answered the consultants. “But first, we have a few questions.”

They began by asking a simple one. “What is the business purpose for having this event?” And then another: “How will you know this event has been a success and have the impact that will grow the business?”

The excitement about the event deflated when it became clear that no business case had ever been established for the annual affair. The focus had been on creating a fun-filled time that would bring people together and provide some lectures and learnings which would pump people up and hopefully carry forward into the future. There was no methodology to ensure that the leaders would apply the content or that there would be some kind of structured follow-up that would tie the leadership development learning to actual business skills which would, in turn, drive performance. Further, organizers assumed that every leader would benefit from whatever was offered without ever considering his or her individual needs. In other words, the results of this analysis led to the same conclusion as the research that most leadership development programs, while fun, do not impact business outcomes.

Not being ones to settle for mediocre business results, the consultants proposed a completely different approach. They proffered the idea of building an approach based upon sound research and evidence-based practices around leadership development that would be transformative. The one-and-done annual fete would kick off a multi-step process built upon the strategy of the business and the leadership skills critical for the strategy’s success. The program would also be geared to the development needs of each individual leader, with the understanding that no two leaders develop alike.

The consultants called their approach “Reimagining Leadership Development.” They promised to facilitate a high-impact process that would draw upon the new science of leadership development. This would ensure the participants would leave the event with an approach that would drive business success through the powerful use of what the consultants called “Intentional Leadership Development.”

The reimagining of the annual fete was a smashing success. The organization’s leaders had powerful new tools they could use for themselves and, even better, share with their teams. They developed new skills they could use right away, and they had a new appreciation of how powerful and vital their roles as leaders were for creating success for the venture. The CEO and executive team members were more than pleased with the result.

The consultants were grateful they had to opportunity to share their ideas with these leaders and help bring a new approach to how this company thinks about developing leaders. The consultants’ mission was (and is) to change the way organizations approach leadership development.

Over a celebratory drink at a local pub, the consultants had a long conversation about how their approach, while impactful for the firms they work with, takes time when working with these clients one at a time. A light bulb hit them both at the same time. … They could remedy that with a book called Strategy-Driven Leadership.

B. The Status of Leadership Development Today

Chances are that our fairy-tale scenario resonates with you—at least the beginning part, when an event without a clear purpose is planned. You could probably recount situations in which an organization invested heavily in leadership development, even when it was not exactly clear why or what impact that development was to have on the business. The development may have been based on a recent best-selling pop-psych book, a directive from an executive or an initiative by a zealous organizational development (OD) professional.

Perhaps you’ve been a member of the senior executive team footing the bill for an organization’s annual leadership retreat and wondered if all the rah-rah speeches, team building exercises, and expensive outings were nothing more than a perk for participants. Maybe you’ve been a member of a planning team and felt pressure to top the previous year’s event with good times, good food, and a splashy venue. Maybe you’ve been a talent manager eager to provide a meaningful leadership development event—but lack the access to the business information and strategy you need to accomplish this. Maybe you’ve been an observer when a vendor has managed to infiltrate the organization’s executive ranks and sell a onesize-fits-all program that was likely to fizzle in six months or less.

If any of these roles or perspectives describes you, this book is for you. Since we first began to address the gap between leadership practices and business results many years ago, we’ve been successfully working with executives and talent professionals across diverse industries. We’ve dug deep into the research and collaborated with others who share our goal of business-driven leadership development. We are eager to share our perspective and practices with you.

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It’s estimated that US companies spend more than $14 billion annually on leadership development (Wentworth & Loew, 2013; O’Leonard & Loew, 2012). Match that number to the abundant and growing research that finds most leadership development to be ineffective, and the conclusion is a phenomenal amount of waste.

• A 2015 study by the Brandon Hall Group found that 81% of organizations reported that they were not very effective at developing their leaders. Only 18% reported that their leaders were very effective at meeting key business goals (Loew, 2015).
• In a survey conducted by the Ashbridge Business School in the United Kingdom, only 7% of senior leaders said that their organizations effectively develop global leaders (Gitsham, 2009).
• A Corporate Leadership Council survey of 1,500 managers in 53 organizations around the world found that 76% felt that their learning and development functions were ineffective in helping them achieve business targets (Mitchel & van Ark, 2017).
• A 2017 survey by McKinsey found that only 11% of 500 global executives felt that their leadership development efforts achieved desired results (Feser, Nielson, & Rennie, 2017).
• In the 2017 CEO Challenge study conducted by the Conference Board, only 41% of global CEOs felt that their leadership development efforts were of very high or high quality (Mitchel & van Ark, 2017).
• A 2011 survey of more than 14,000 line leaders and HR professionals found that only 38% of the leaders and 26% of HR felt that the quality of leadership was very good or excellent. When asked to consider the future, only 18% of HR and 32% of the leaders saw their pipeline of talent to be strong or very strong (Boatman & Wellins, 2011).

(For an Op-Ed perspective, see “The Great Training Robbery: Why the $60 Billion Investment in Leadership Development Is Not Working” in Forbes. com, Peshawaria 2011.)

As disheartening as these research findings are, our experience convinces us that the situation is not that dire. Properly designed and executed leadership development can make a difference.

We have both been around long enough to see baby-step changes in learning and development that have been helpful. We now see an opportunity for a significant reimagining, particularly in the ability to build the leaders needed for today’s unique business environment. And the timing couldn’t be better. The United States and Europe, in particular, are facing a “silver tsunami” of aging leaders ready to retire … and a smaller supply of talent ready to replace them. It is time for a complete makeover of the approach used to create the leaders needed in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous business world. We call the new model Strategy-Driven Leadership Development (SDLD).

As you will see in the chapter titled “The Foundations of Strategy-Driven Leadership Development,” this new approach did not pop into our minds one night over a glass of wine. It came from a wide range of insights garnered from our combined 70 years of business and professional experience. Now is a good time to give you a bit more information about that background. Then back to Strategy-Driven Leadership Development.

Richard’s path started with him working on Wall Street, where he saw how the impact of poor leadership, underutilization of employee capabilities, and management overconfidence led to destructive workplaces. His observations helped him decide to pursue a PhD in psychology and to where he eventually built a successful behavioral health care business that was acquired by a national company. In subsequent years he helped that organization develop new product lines that led to a doubling of valuation and the eventual acquisition of that company by Humana Health Care.

Following the success of that acquisition, Richard was actively recruited to Pittsburgh to help grow a large health insurance business. During his time as a senior executive, Richard oversaw multiple business lines and was part of the leadership team that grew revenues from $800 million to $1.5 billion. Based on his business and corporate experience, Richard launched his own organization effectiveness and coaching consulting practice, which he has run since 2009. His unique perspective on leadership, strategy, and resilience is based on the idea that by using strengths, assets, and skills, and by aligning them in a purposeful and powerful manner, real change occurs.

Michael began with a graduate degree in industrial and organizational psychology and initially plied his trade in the steel industry in a variety of human resources (HR) and OD roles. His business leadership experience grew when he moved to a small manufacturer, where Michael headed up a business unit and led operations until the business was sold. His OD and operations experience included a healthy dose of statistical process control, Six Sigma, and lean manufacturing, creating a strong bias toward evidence-based practices. Since starting his own consulting practice in 2007, Michael has helped more than 50 organizations in a variety of industries think differently about how they develop and sustain the capability of their organizations and leaders.

The two of us frequently team up for the good of our clients. We spur each other on to keep growing, developing new tools, and driving results for our clients. Enough about us; now back to Strategy-Driven Leadership Development.

Strategy-Driven Leadership Development is an evidence-based, deliberate, and systematic effort that involves the following:

• Reviewing and clarifying the business strategy with all stakeholders involved in leadership development
• Describing the demand that business strategy places on an organization’s leaders by translating the strategy into a few mission-critical leadership competencies
• Identifying and assessing the capacity of leaders at all levels to meet the demands through robust talent assessments
• Accelerating the development of mission-critical competencies through Intentional Leadership Development

No talent initiative can be effective unless it is built from a specific strategic foundation. And no two organizations have exactly the same strategy. As a result, the demands that strategy places on an organization in terms of needed capabilities or leadership competencies are not the same. Nor do different organizations start with the same existing set of talent; each organization’s current capability is different.

Figure 1.1 shows how the outcome of Strategy-Driven Leadership Development is a focused process that drives business results. The expected impact is defined up front. It begins with the end in mind and builds the foundation to answer the questions, “Why are we doing this?” and “Is it worth it?”

Figure 1.1 Strategy-driven leadership development.

The most reimagining in the SDLD model is reflected in our approach to Intentional Leadership Development. That’s why you will find a significant chunk of this book will be committed to describing the theoretical foundation, supporting research evidence, and practical application of Intentional Leadership Development. In short, Intentional Leadership Development can be described as:

• Establishing a strong personal and business case for development
• Identifying and targeting the critical few leadership competencies which will have the greatest payoff for the individual learner and the organization
• Creating an Intentional Development Plan that is built into daily work and involves regular feedback, reflection and progress tracking, and
• Assuring that new competencies are effectively applied in real-life situations so that the developmental experiences are positive (additive) to a career, setting the stage for further development.

To simplify matters, we call these four components of Intentional Leadership Development Frame It, See It, Own It, and Connect It, or the It Formula.

On Leadership Development

“Buying off-the-shelf packages and installing them without regard to VBC’s (vision, brand, culture) and goto-market strat...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Authors
• Foreword
• Chapter 1 Strategy-Driven Leadership Development
• Chapter 2 The Foundations of Strategy-Driven Leadership Development
• Chapter 3 Organizational Demand: What Do We Need for Success?
• Chapter 4 Assessing Organization and Leadership Capability
• Chapter 5 The Solution: Intentional Development
• Chapter 6 The Intentional Development Process
• Chapter 7 Coaching Reimagined: Building Intentional Coaching
• Chapter 8 Gauging Impact: Evaluating Intentional Development and Talent Analytics
• Chapter 9 The Strategy-Driven Leadership Development Journey
• Chapter 10 Conclusion
• References
• Index