...The Work of Leadership by Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie Reprint r0111k December 2001 Required Reading Barbara Kellerman r0111a r0111b HBR Survey Personal Histories: Leaders Remember the Moments and People That Shaped Them Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee r0111c HBR Roundtable All in a Day’s Work A roundtable with Raymond Gilmartin, Frances Hesselbein, Frederick Smith, Lionel Tiger, Cynthia Tragge-Lakra, and Abraham Zaleznik r0111d What Titans Can Teach Us Richard S. Tedlow r0111e Best of HBR What Leaders Really Do John P Kotter . r0111f r0111g r0111h r0111j r0111k r0111l The Hard Work of Being a Soft Manager William H. Peace Leadership in a Combat Zone William G. Pagonis Leadership: Sad Facts and Silver Linings Thomas J. Peters The Work of Leadership Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie In Closing Followership: It’s Personal, Too Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones Best of HBR 1997 The Work of Leadership Followers want comfort, stability, and solutions from their leaders. But that’s babysitting. Real leaders ask Sometimes an article comes along and turns the conventional thinking on a subject not upside down but inside out. So it is with this landmark piece by Ronald Heifetz and Donald Laurie, published in January 1997. Not only do the authors introduce the breakthrough concept of adaptive change – the sort of change that occurs...
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... The Work of Leadership by Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie Included with this full-text Harvard Business Review article: 2 Article Summary The Idea in Brief—the core idea The Idea in Practice—putting the idea to work 3 The Work of Leadership 14 Further Reading A list of related materials, with annotations to guide further exploration of the article’s ideas and applications Reprint R0111K BEST OF HBR The Work of Leadership The Idea in Brief The Idea in Practice What presents your company with its toughest challenges? Shifting markets? Stiffening competition? Emerging technologies? When such challenges intensify, you may need to reclarify corporate values, redesign strategies, merge or dissolve businesses, or manage cross-functional strife. 1. Get on the balcony. Don’t get swept up in the field of play. Instead, move back and forth between the “action” and the “balcony.” You’ll spot emerging patterns, such as power struggles or work avoidance. This high-level perspective helps you mobilize people to do adaptive work. These adaptive challenges are murky, systemic problems with no easy answers. Perhaps even more vexing, the solutions to adaptive challenges don’t reside in the executive suite. Solving them requires the involvement of people throughout your organization. 2. Identify your adaptive challenge. COPYRIGHT © 2002 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Adaptive work is tough on...
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...Leadership Traits Most Valued Across Sectors A Research Paper Patrick Jinks University of Richmond October, 2008 Introduction: Leadership is a topic as broad as education or health care. Books, articles, workshops, lectures, and keynote speeches abound – not only in the area of business, but across sectors that include government, civic, academic, and charitable organizations. Leadership topics are limitless, as evidenced by the vast expanse of information available in bookstores, libraries, blogs, and corporate leadership schools. For the purposes of this paper, the focus is on the highest-profile trends embraced by thought leaders in the leadership arena. Specifically, this work centers on the similarities – and differences – in the way the different major sectors view and define the important competencies of their leaders. Questions prompting this research include the following: 1. What are the most valued concepts delivered in training sessions to leaders of non-profits versus leaders in the military? 2. How do governmental nuances determine the areas in which leaders must excel? 3. Do leaders in different types of business view the concepts of leadership differently, or do the trends relate to the same basic tenets? 4. Is the area of ethics limited to Fortune 500 CEOs or non-profit directors? The following outlines the key principles that appear to be the most valued leadership concepts and the most significant concepts imparted to each sector’s...
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...Effective Leadership Adaptive Challenge Every problem in an organizational context represents a gap between the aspirations of the management and the things that happen in practice. If the problem is related to some technical aspects it would be lot easier to solve the issues. However adaptive challenges represent a completely different dimension of organizational issues. They cannot be solved so easily as those of technical nature. The adaptive challenges require more than applying the current expertise. Even applying authoritative decision making or standard operating procedures may not really help mitigating the adaptive challenges. It must be understood that for an adaptive challenge can be found external to the current ways of operating. While it is possible to solve the technical issues by using the current expertise it may not be possible to solve the adaptive challenges in the same way. In the case of Figgie International the adaptive challenge was never identified. There have been resistances from the divisional heads for the changes mooted by the consultants. The resistances were either out of their anxiety to meet the budgeted bottom lines or out of genuine concerns about the change in the production process which ultimately would affect the quality of the output. While there can be no argument on the superiority of technical and adaptive approaches to organizational changes – since both are needed – the strategic principles of leadership are to be applied...
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...How does organizational learning connect with change? | Much literature exists concerning how to create change in organizations. Change is a constant element in a global environment and the frequency of communication over great distances. Advances in technology are creating new opportunities like never before and new threats to existing markets as well. The ability of an organization to adapt and grow, innovate and identify new markets will determine which organizations thrive or even survive. Because of this increased need to learn to live in permanent white water organizational change processes must be understood by leadership and management. Perhaps one of the most effective ways to implement organizational change is John Kotter’s (1996) work on Leading Change. Kotter suggested reasons change efforts fail and steps for implementing change: Common reasons change initiatives fail: Allowing too much complacency. Failing to create a sufficiently powerful guiding coalition Underestimating the power of vision Under-communicating the vision by a factor of 10 or more Permitting obstacles to block the new vision Failing to create short term wins Declaring victory too soon Neglecting to anchor changes firmly in the corporate culture | Steps for implementing change 1. Establishing a sense of urgency Kotter suggested that a sense of urgency is a crucial beginning step for a change program. Even a crisis or manufactured crisis can be used to heighten awareness...
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...Strategies Promoting More Effective Leadership Strategies Promoting More Effective Leadership “Exercising adaptive leadership is about you (an individual system) making interventions in a social system of which you are a part” (Heifetz, Grashaw, & Lisnksy, 2009). Leadership is a complex process and may have different meanings depending who you ask. This paper discusses strategies that promote more effective organizational leadership and interventions based on my assessment of organizational culture and adaptive challenges at Chipotle. Leadership “Leadership is a process, involves influence, occurs in groups, and involves common goals” (Northouse, 2013). Over the years, there have been many studies and theories defining and conceptualizing what leadership is. The common component described by Northouse (2013), is that nearly all classifications of leadership describe leadership as an influence process toward goal attainment. Leadership is not a linear, one-way event, but rather an interactive event according to Northouse (2009). Northouse (2009) describes leadership as working with people and leaders changing the way people think about what is possible. Strategies As described by Porter (1996), “Competitive strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value. Strategy renders choices about what not to do as important as choices about what to do (para. 2). Strategy involves setting...
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...Leadership Without Easy Answers and The Power of Servant Leadership: A Comparison of Leadership Theories The world is changing. Business now engages billions in international currencies, and the constant movement of supplies and services, and particularly oil, chemical, and dangerous goods is essential. This traffic requires good collaboration between government branches like shipping, defense, agriculture, organizations, and corporations involved, as well as individuals and the community. Furthermore, expectations of a long-term career mean that leadership is a necessary discipline. Leadership as never just an academic discipline: it is a mix of the theory, tools, and applications that will give an individual the best chance of developing a winning reputation for themselves and the organization they work for. In a modern business environment the skill of building great relationships within and without the organization gives a strategic edge. Organizations are not only looking for renewable contracts, lower turnover of staff, and greater return on investment, they are also looking for individuals with vision who can understand what work is, and make it better. Who act with courage, competence, and commitment and yet remain themselves. The Power of Servant Leadership by Robert K. Greenleaf: The slogan “Servant Leadership” was presented by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, he said: "The servant-leader...
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...leader as someone who steps up in times of crisis, and is able to think and act creatively in difficult situations. Unlike management, leadership cannot be taught, although it may be learned and enhanced through coaching or mentoring. As our course material pointed out an effective leader is one who can impart effective change through the adaptive behaviors of others and shape that behavior through mobilization. Asda needed just such a leader in order to bring them back from the brink of self-destruction. Archie Norma was that leader. Asda is a grocery store chain located in Great Britain that has once seen great success during the 90’s that is until they made a fateful decision to change their customer base. This created a landslide effect in which an increase in competition resulted in decreased profits, customers and morale amongst its employees. It was through this bad management decision that a change needed to take place and this is when Archie Norman was brought in to impart that change. In the Heifetz and Laurie article “Learning to Lead” they describe five principles that leaders can use to mobilize people to do adaptive work. They are: identify the adaptive challenge, regulate distress, maintain disciplined attention, give the work back to the people and protect leadership form below. Archie Norman was able to identify the adaptive challenge from the outset. When he first came onboard at Asda he realized that there was a complete demoralization of the workforce through...
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...The case study of Asda and Archie Norman is a prime example of how good leadership and change can affect a company’s growth. Asda, a formerly successful supermarket chain, was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy after numerous bad business decisions, was saved by Norman’s dynamic approach. Norman believed that everything about the organization needed to be changed in order for the company to survive. His approach was significantly inline with the ideas discussed in Heifetz’s and Laurie’s article “Learning to lead: Real leaders say, “I don’t have the answer.”” Heifetz and Laurie state that effective leadership requires us to make the distinction between leadership and authority and between technical and adaptive work. By clarifying these two distinctions we are able to understand a major error that people often make – treating adaptive challenges as technical problems. The case of Norman and Asda is a prime example of a company that treated their issues as adaptive challenges. Norman was a firm believer that in order to turn around Asda, he would need to start from scratch, eliminating almost all infrastructures that were previously accepted. Heifitz and Laurie describe five interdependent principles that leaders can use to mobilize people to do adaptive work. The first is that the leader must identify the adaptive challenges. Companies often fail because they do not adapt to new market challenges and needs. Part of Asda’s initial failure was top management’s decision to divert...
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...Leadership In the changing business environment, leaders of all organisations may face unprecedented uncertainty, especially the technology advancement and changes among the employees. To survive and succeed, leaders should have some necessary attributes. Meanwhile, some changes for leadership skills have to be made to confront the challenges. Two reports( Ladkin & Weber 2011; Cappelli et al. 2010) and a reflection (Useem 2010) discuss current business leadership issues in a global business environment . While in the article “Leadership Issues and Challenges in the Tourism Industry: A Hong Kong Perspective”, which focuses on Hong Kong business leaders, the author Ladkin & Weber have a different overall position compared to the other two articles: “Leadership lessons from India” by Cappelli et al. and “Four Lessons in Adaptive Leadership” by Useem. These two articles are more concerned with interactions between manager and employees. All three texts will be compared and contrasted in this review according to business leaders themselves, their attributes to employees and concepts of mission and vison. All the authors highlight the necessary attributes needed by leaders and adaptive leadership. Useem focuses on four attributes ‘Meet the troops, make decisions, focus on mission, convey strategic intent’ (P.75). He emphasizes the link between the leaders and the subordinates. Similarly, Cappelli et al. highlight ‘transformational’ (P.93) leadership style in India, in which...
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...D-Q University: Leadership Analysis The rebirth of D-Q University describes how none of the leaders of the American tribal college movement and one of the nation’s 34 tribal colleges faced financial difficulties, accreditation challenges resulting in the college being faced with the decision whether to close its doors or not. Leadership failure to reach Indian students before the accreditation was revoked is thought to be a primary issue creating low student enrollment. We will discuss background, issues, analysis, and make recommendations addressing the leadership failures in the areas of power structures, leadership, systems thinking, organizational culture, and ethics impacting the college ability to re-open its doors to the Indian student population its purpose to educate and serve. Background The desire for a Native American university can be traced back to the writings of Jack Forbes in the 1960s. Forbes, who was also a professor at UC Davis, eventually became a co-founder of D-Q University (D-QU). Other founders included David Risling and Carl Gorman. When his proposals largely fell upon deaf ears, he formed a committee for the establishment of an actual university. When an Army communications facility near Davis was decommissioned in 1970, the committee filed an application to use the land for a school. UC Davis filed a competing application for the space, and scandal erupted when Senator George Murphy publicly revealed, while the applications were still supposed...
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...: Leadership and Management Leadership and Management 1. Introduction The origins of management can be traced back to the age of mediaeval mercantilism or even earlier, yet the nature of business management as an applied science only really developed in the last century. In the modern context, business management is limited to one component of the economic system, namely the individual organization, whether it be a private business, a government corporation or, to a lesser extent, a non-profit seeking organization. Contemporary society consists of diverse organizations, including business enterprises, schools, hospitals, sport clubs, churches and political parties that contribute to the functioning of the community. The profitable performance of these organizations is dependent on attaining pre-designed objectives and to make its services as productive and efficient as possible. However, organizations do not achieve their objectives automatically. In addition to the human resources, physical resources and special know-how in a business organization, there is still one element that is necessary to direct all these resources and activities effectively towards the goals of the enterprise. That indispensable element is management and without it, no purposeful action is possible. The question that is raised within this context of traditional and contemporary views of leadership is how does this aspect coincide and interact with the practical ideals...
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...2/17/2016 Culture Class 1 of 2 February 17, 2016 Organizational Culture • The set of values, attitudes, beliefs, and expected behavior shared by members of an organization – The ‘internal personality’ of an organization – Similar to national culture: common values, shared understandings – What is really important or accepted (can differ from what management says) Levels of Culture • Assumptions (Lowest Level i.e., what is “under water”) – Taken for granted beliefs about human nature, “reality” – Often unspoken and typically reside out of immediate awareness – Discerned from how people explain and justify what they do • Espoused Values – Shared principals, standards, and goals • Artifacts (Highest Level i.e., “tip of the iceberg”) – Tangible aspects that can been seen, heard, observed Example: • Assumption: • Espoused Values: • Artifacts: 1 2/17/2016 Content Dimensions of Organizational Culture • Competitiveness: whether members tend to compete vs. cooperate • Individual initiative: degree of responsibility, freedom, and independence that members have • Innovativeness: extent to which members are encouraged to think outside the box and challenge the status quo • Tolerance of failure: whether the organization accepts failure vs. demands success • Conflict tolerance: degree to which members are encouraged to air conflicts and criticism openly • Power distance: extent to which formal hierarchical differences are ...
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...critical analysis of the articles “The work of leadership” by Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie and “Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail” by John P. Kotter Introduction Organizations operate in an increasingly complex and dynamic environment, where change occurs continuously. The automotive industry, the health care and biotech industry, financial services, telecommunication and media companies, commodities manufacturers and internet companies have nothing in common but the need to face profound and dramatic change to stay competitive in today’s business world. This context poses a serious challenge to the management of all the existing organizations, that is the need to manage change well in order to achieve long-term success in the transformation processes. Indeed, transformations are perceived to be critical for organizational success and achievement of sustainable competitive advantage. Successful transformations, however, require leadership. Indeed, any change process requires the creation of a new vision and a new set of rules that has to be eventually institutionalized and rooted in social norms, and shared values of the organization: leaders, not managers (whose task is that of maintaining the current system operating at its best) are those in charge of leading change. Successful leaders recognize and understand the opportunities and challenges that come with change. This being said, both “The work of leadership” by Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L. Laurie...
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...environmental and internal disruptions (Industry discontinuities , Product life cycle shifts, and Internal company dynamics) • Change is aimed at competitive advantage (Uniqueness, Value, Difficult to imitate) • Change is sytemic and revolutionary - Reshaping organization's design elements • Change demands a new organizing paradigm (gamma change) • Change is driven by senior executives and line management (envisioning, energizing, and enabling) • Change involves significant learning - Must learn how to enact the new behaviors Intergrated Strategic Change - Extends traditional OD process into content oriented discipline of strategic management • Key Features: - Strategic Orientation - Stratic change capability - Individual and organizations are integrated into the process • Applications Stages (Strategic analysis, strategic choice, and design and implement the strategic change plan) Organization Design - Configures the organizations structure, work design, HR practice, and management to guide members' behavior • Conceptual Framework ( Strategy, Structure, Work Design, HR Practices, and Management / Information Systems) • Application Stages (Clarify design focus, designing the organization, and implementing the design Culture Change • Concept of Organization Culture (artifacts, norms, values, basic assumptions) • Organization culture and organization effectiveness - Culture affects performance through its influence on the organization's ability to implement...
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