Collaborative Wisdom

From Pervasive Logic to Effective Operational Leadership

Greg Park

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9780367879006
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317164319
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Why do some corporate superstars collapse dramatically, while others survive and prosper over many decades? Is the fall primarily caused by 'technical factors', such as poor products and pricing, financial management or market choices, by self-aggrandisement, or perhaps by poor leadership attributes and capabilities? Greg Park argues that ultimately organisational survival and optimal performance over the long term is dependent upon collaborative wisdom. Within the dominant coalition of a successful community or corporation there is an inherited, pervasive, commonly and collectively held dominant logic, comprising leadership principles, perspectives and priorities, based upon universal values which are understood and accepted as satisfying the requirements and aspirations of each stakeholder. This collaborative wisdom ensures cohesive and consistent behaviour across and within every function of a complex, fast-moving organization. Its practical application is reflected in the daily operational decisions of leaders within the organisation, be they divisional, departmental heads or supervisors. Without collaborative wisdom organisational collapse is the inevitable result, primarily through the disintegration of belief, confidence, motivation, cohesion, advocacy and energy within and between key stakeholder groups. Collaborative Wisdom examines the nature and criticality of wisdom as a leadership attribute, how effective operational leadership is not just about knowledge and experience, but more fundamentally about a cognitive mental process which considers and consistently applies fundamental values, principles, perspectives and priorities in an analytical and affective manner. This ensures effective operational leadership and optimal organisational performance over the long term, informed by experience, instinct, intuition, but also by insight, judgment and ultimately, wisdom.

PART 1 Who Needs Wisdom?

The purpose of Part One is to gain a broad understanding of the meaning and dynamics of wisdom and insights into its potential relevance, operational and practical contribution to effective operational leadership. Having achieved this objective, the remainder of the book will be dedicated to translating the principles, perspectives, priorities and processes upon which wisdom is founded into practical, pragmatic and operational leadership characteristics, attributes and capabilities. By this means the leadership cadre is able to effectively nurture, develop and reinforce the application of practical and collaborative wisdom within the operational business context in support of the attainment of the long-term organisational vision, objectives and optimal performance.

CHAPTER 1 Wisdom and Leadership

This first chapter sets the scene for a detailed discussion of the merits, perspectives, processes and attributes of a leadership mindset founded on practical and collaborative wisdom. In this respect it briefly portrays the organisational context within which operational leadership is presently expected to perform, predominantly one of chaos, crisis, myopia and a focus on technical rather than leadership excellence. The result is, in most, although not all cases, an ineffective operational context and suboptimal organisational performance, based primarily upon pragmatism and perspiration. Given this prevailing context we consider the critical importance of initiating the process of inculcation even before the aspiring leader begins their career. In this respect we address the contribution which business schools make to this suboptimal scenario and what is required in order that their contribution is enhanced at this critical stage in the development of the leadership mindset.

The Leadership of Chaos and Pragmatism

The majority of experienced organisational leaders know both the key questions to ask and the answers to achieve operational effectiveness and performance. It is, however, the individual and also the organisational mindset which stunts the ability to implement and deliver. In the absence of the appropriate perspectives, attributes and capabilities of wisdom, which act as a foundation stone, an anchor, a compass for effective decision making, we find that we are faced with shallow leadership logic, perspectives and practices, largely based upon a reliance on pragmatism, perspiration and chaos management, resulting in suboptimal organisational performance over the long term.

Increasingly, based upon my experience as a business executive, I take the view that the majority of leaders of business organisational units (be it a section, department, division or the whole organiation), with perhaps 15–20 years of experience clocked up in their career, pretty much recognise the key issues which affect their unit’s performance and know how to address them. In other words they know the key questions in order to address optimal performance and they know the answers. They know how to cut costs, increase productivity, enhance performance, motivate staff, maintain the confidence of stakeholders, etc. The problem is that despite their significant intelligence, experience, insight and judgement the majority just can’t translate their knowledge into practice. They, as individuals or as groups within the organisation, cannot effectively implement recognised solutions.

It is fair to say that the vast majority of organisations fail to optimise performance over the long term, indeed many stumble from one crisis to another, largely prey to and dependent upon market and economic cycles for their success or eventual demise. In reality, the majority of organisations rely more on application, determination, instinct and particularly perspiration on the part of their operational management cadre and staff to achieve annual and longer term objectives. This, rather than the effective and structured application of a plan, based upon consistently applied principles, perspectives and priorities which address key organisational issues in an insightful, purposeful and methodical manner. Some readers will deny that this is the case and contend that plans are executed with clarity and precision, but are frequently blown off course by external, unanticipated events. Others will align themselves with a “managing in chaos” perspective, focusing on the important, almost heroic, leadership attributes of experience, insight, judgement, adaptability, flexibility, pragmatism and particularly persuasive skills to create order, direction and consistent achievement from chaos. From the perspective of organisational leaders there is some advantage in creating the impression that leadership has a mystical ingredient, difficult to grasp, elusive and transitory, and that those individuals or organisations which consistently perform are verging on the supernatural, which mere mortals cannot comprehend, much less replicate.

I must admit to being a bit of a chaos management adherent and having a great respect for practitioners who do not overly think consciously much about or discuss management and leadership. They just do it (in the majority of cases much better than they can explain it), year in year out on the basis of experience, insight, instinct, intuition and hard graft. Their operational role, indeed responsibility is to realise a strategic plan, most often based on flawed information and organisational insight, unrealistic aspirations, ego and best intentions. This in an organisation with an unclear vision, limited resources and focus, flawed internal communication, limited leadership vision and capabilities and diverse personal and group priorities and loyalties. This is the reality of the chaotic, suboptimal environment in which the majority of leaders find themselves and where the new entrant is dropped, either directly from school or increasingly as a business graduate, expected to find his/her way and make their mark as experts and leaders ASAP. This is to be achieved, in the majority of cases, presumably on the basis of osmosis, rather than on the basis of example or structured development and training.

On reflection, I believe that the various theories revolving around managing in chaos, such as Tom Peters (1988), have much to commend them and strangely add clarity to and aptly describe the holistic reality of organisational management as it is experienced by operational leaders today. It should also be commended for explaining in a clear and realistic manner the process and practices of leadership, in a form and terminology which is recognised, acknowledged and most of all understood by practicing managers. However, in practice, such theories, although portraying the reality of organisational management at the dawn of the twenty-first century do not provide guidance on how to achieve optimal effectiveness and performance. They are somewhat like providing a length of rope for someone who stumbles into one deep hole after another, very useful but of no value in avoiding the holes.

Regrettably much of what is written within the area of organisational management is of even less value to the organisational leader. It is largely aspirational, barely understandable or recognisable to the practicing leader and of minimal practical value to the practice of management because it fails to reflect the complex, dynamic realities of operational organisational management. Many, I would suggest the vast majority, of leadership “practitioners” would contend that scholarly research and texts tend to reflect the priority of rigour rather than practical relevance, failing to add value to effective leadership. In this respect I am reminded of a quote by Stewart:

Oh sure, there are a few points of insight, and one or two stories about hero-CEOs that can hook you like bad popcorn. But the rest is just inane (Stewart, 2006, p. 82).

Operational leaders consider that on the basis of the evidence with which they are provided by scholars, clarity and direction are desirable yet unachievable and the most successful leader is the pragmatist who takes decisions, resolves issues as they arise, fixing and repairing and shall we say, adapting, the principles, perspectives, priorities and practices of the organisation on the hoof, on the basis of experience, intuition, practical insight and judgement. This is a sad and calamitous perspective for both the scholar and practitioner, since it is much akin to repairing a desktop computer with a hammer and monkey wrench, totally outdated and inappropriate tools for the purpose, when appropriate tools are available, if only they were acknowledged as capable of resolving practical, operational leadership issues. My practitioner/scholar experience has convinced me that the embryonic solution to many fundamental and intractable leadership issues are contained within the results and conclusions of scholarly research. Yet the complexity, dynamism, most importantly the urgency of organisational management dictates that organisational leaders do not have the time, patience or the mindset to delve into scholarly literature to seek out any practical solutions. Indeed, in the majority of cases the objective of such documents is not the resolution of operational management issues and the terminology and train of thought is not in congruence with the mindset of the practicing organisational leader.

“Chaos” and “pragmatism” are words which reflect the mindset, perspectives and terminology of practicing managers and leaders at all levels of management and across the majority of functional divisions. Other similar terms might be tasks, projects, targets, revenue, profits, costs, sales, products, distribution. I have no major issue with these words; they are all appropriate within the operational context. However, they encourage what I would term “shallow”, second division, rather than “wise” thinking, which inevitably lead to suboptimal performance over the long term.

A major objective of this book is to change the mindset and perspective of the practicing and aspiring organisational leader, by putting forward ideas which, whilst initially appearing to be outside their normal frame of reference, will resonate with them. Ideas which will be acknowledged as potentially valid will be more easily understood and regarded as implementable. Remoulding the mindset of the aspiring and practicing operational leader to a situation where leadership is less about constantly breaking, managing and controlling a bucking bronco in the Wild West and more about optimising the performance of a Lipizzaner horse at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Both practitioners and scholars, in seeking to build an effective management framework of concepts, perspectives, priorities and practices have managed to develop its bricks, doors, windows, etc. However, the foundation stones of effective leadership logic, which links, coordinates and makes operational and practical sense of these component parts has so far eluded them or been lost in a form of myopia which will be briefly addressed at a later stage.

This book acknowledges, recognises and proposes practical “wisdom”, its attributes and capabilities to be these missing foundation stones. What we shall term practical wisdom precludes the onset and continuance of chaos management. Instead it provides a compass, an anchor, clarity of direction and purpose, principles, perspectives and priorities, to consistently aid optimal operational decision making in the operational leadership process. Collaborative wisdom lies at the centre of practical wisdom, as a means of consistently energising stakeholders and thereby optimising operational productivity and organisational performance.

I have for many years struggled in my leadership perspectives with the term “pragmatic”. I have used it myself frequently in the past as a primary defence against the perspectives of those whom I considered to be proposing impractical and unrealistic solutions for “real” operational issues and situations. It was a matter of the real and practical versus the application of some theoretical solution. Yet, in reality whipping out the “practical” or “pragmatic” card is limp and lazy leadership thinking. I have a good friend who has attained the very highest positions in banking organisations and is respected as highly principled within the sector. I am not suggesting that these attributes are mutually exclusive, yet his view is that in business, in order to practice effective leadership, you have to “manage” your principles in a pragmatic manner in order to consistently attain an optimal and “pragmatic” solution to operational issues. In principle I do not object to this perspective. However, this perspective often appears to be inadequate as a means of decision making where it results in aberrant outcomes in the eyes of the fair minded. As an example, I am sure that those who advocated apartheid in South Africa, the Holocaust in Europe, ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda, dropping atomic bombs on Japan, invading Iraq, considered this pragmatic within the context of their situation. I am sure that if you could speak to Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, Mao Tse Tung, Harry Truman or George Bush (Senior and Junior) they would say that they took pragmatic decisions within the context of the prevailing socio-economic and political priorities, and each would have their own followers and adherents, dependent upon their dominant logic, principles, perspectives and priorities.

As we will show in Part Three, business leadership has strong parallels with building and maintaining other communities, including countries and empires. The fundamental issues and principle involved in effective leadership in business are very similar, if not identical, to those involved in decision making during the above much commented upon and analysed episodes in recent history. In this respect it is important from the perspective of understanding and appreciation of the content of this book that readers view it from an holistic and universal perspective rather than related to the business leadership silo. To create a separate body of thought and theory for business leadership is a false and unnecessary complexity which is counterproductive in the understanding and implementation of effective leadership principles and practices. This is particularly the case for those at the initial stages in their leadership careers, looking for foundation stones and a compass by which to base their core principles, perspectives and priorities which will direct operational decision making. Whilst there may (or may not) be differences in the leadership of different societal sectors, an understanding of the fundamental and critical aspects of effective operational leadership within the business context is primarily founded on universal principles and practices rather than a focus and emphasis on detailed differences.

In the same manner that some or indeed many might, rightly or wrongly question the dominant logic, the principles, perspectives and priorities, the decisions of the above mentioned political figures, so we have recently begun to question the dominant logic, principles, perspectives and priorities of business leaders who have effectively destroyed the credibility and continuing pre-eminence of the Anglo-American economic model and the dominance of the Western financial services sector. In this respect we must look beneath the headlines, sound bites and media analysis attending the rapid collapse of so many financial institutions who had been dominant players in their national and global markets (see Table 1.1). We must rather assess whether there were fundamental flaws in the dominant logic (i.e. values, principles, perspectives, priorities and core practices) of large parts of the industry, which in turn influenced, indeed dictated the perspectives and priorities of individual leaders and dominant coalitions within these organisations in respect of their approaches to operational decision-making and issue resolution.

It is not the purpose of this book in any way to rake over the coals of the calamity which has befallen the Western economy and society during the first decade of the twenty-first century. I leave this to the analysts and commentators who consider themselves gifted with an insight gained through practical inexperience of the realities of operational leadership within the sector. It is, however, reasonable to propose that the fundamental causes of this crisis are ultimately the application of the wrong leadership principles, perspectives and priorities, which we will term dominant logic, rather than the “symptoms” (e.g. greed, corruption, cronyism, incompetence, short-termism, lack of capital reserves, liquidity and weak regulation), upon which commentators have tended to focus. A continuing focus on proposed remedies for such symptoms fails to address the continuing application of a dominant logic comprising of aberrant principles, perspectives and priorities of not only senior leaders within business, but also within the broader society. These were ultimately reflected in the multitude of individual, often unconnected decisions, practices and actions of operational leadership on a day to day basis, culminating in a calamitous economic and social train crash within large sectors of the developed economies. In seeking to describe the prevalent societal and business mindset which was a prelude to the economic and financial crisis of the first decade of the twenty-first century one is reminded of the oft quoted statement from “Barbarians at the Gate”, differentiating between the previous market pre-eminence of the long-term “investor” and their recent usurpation by the short-term “trader” perspective and priority of individual and institutional shareholders.

Table 1.1 Armageddon for the Financial Services Sector

He shredded traditions, jettisoned divisions, and roiled management. He was one of a whole breed of noncompany men who came to maturity in the 1970s and 1980s; a deal driven, yield driven nomadic lot. They said their mission was to serve company investors, not company tradition. They also tended to handsomely serve themselves (Burrough and Helyar, 1990, p. 28).

So, in effect the term “pragmatic” leadership is an excuse for a mediocre, narrow and superficial leadership perspective. More importantly, a cloak which covers a framework of assumed and embedded principles, perspectives and priorities which it is preferred are not exposed to daylight. Interestingly, there were a number of banks which, in contrast to those contained in Table 1.1, whilst not entirely innocent of the symptoms and stumbling amid the market aftershocks, were able not only to survive but, some would argue, take advantage of the crisis to promote their long-term business visions. This group might arguably include such banking organisations as HSBC Holdings plc, Barclays plc, Santander Group, JP Morgan, perhaps Goldman Sachs & Co. This book will seek to show that the embedded principles, perspectives, priorities and practices which direct operational leadership decision making within such organisations are founded upon “wise” principles and cognitive processes which ensure consistently effective and optimal-issue resolution throughout the various stages of the business cycle. This is not to say that these organisations or members of its dominant coalition do not occasionally drift to the “dark side”. However, as we will later discuss, the foundation of values, principles, perspectives and priorities is embedded to act as a compass to bring them back on course (althou...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Introduction
• PART 1 WHO NEEDS WISDOM?
• PART 2 WISDOM AND LEADERSHIP PRACTICE
• PART 3 PRACTICAL AND COLLABORATIVE WISDOM WITHIN A GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CONTEXT
• PART 4 WHERE DO I START?
• Bibliography
• Index