Leading and Managing: McCrindle Research

Leading and managing

8 LEADING AND MANAGING ‘The men of Issachar understood the times and knew what Israel should do.’ 1 Chronicles 12:32

Just as workplace fashions and office technology have changed over the decades, so to have management styles. The leader as authority figure that the Boomers first experienced had shifted by the time Generation X entered the workplace. The 1980s ushered in author and management expert Ken Blanchard’s ‘situational leader’ who would respond to the team and the situation. The shift from leader as commander to leader as collaborator gained momentum in the 1990s as author and psychologist Daniel Goleman developed his EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) tools. Managers recognised that staff did not respond to a wholly positional leader, but to a relational one. And so the shift from leadership selection based on IQ (intelligence quotient) to EQ began.This was a time of change from the outcome-driven, authoritarian manager to the team-focused, authentic leader. This momentum has grown as the Gen Y-ers have joined the workforce. Such an empowered, options-rich generation are inspired by leaders who consult, involve and coach, not by managers who dictate and delegate from afar.

| 165

The difference between leaders and managers Indeed, an interesting trend in management literature has been the redefined categories of leader and manager. There are some big differences between the archetypal processdriven manager and iconic visionary leader. The Oxford Dictionary defines a manager as: ‘A person controlling or administering a business.’1 A leader is defined as: ‘A person who causes others to go with him[/her], by guiding and showing the way; guides by persuasion and argument.’2 Some of the great thinkers and writers on leadership add clarity to the discussion: Lead is from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning a road, a way, a path. It’s knowing what the next step is. Managing is from the Latin, ‘manus’, a hand. It’s about handling, and is closely linked with the idea of machines and came to prominence in the 19th century, as engineers and accountants emerged to run what had previously been entrepreneurial businesses. Managers can be appointed; leaders must be ratified in the hearts and the minds of those who work for them. John Adair, author of books on business leadership

As do practitioners: Leadership is often confused with management. As I see it, leadership revolves around vision, ideas, direction, and has more to do with inspiring people as to direction and goals than with day-to-day implementation. One can’t lead unless one can leverage more than his own capabilities.You have to be capable of inspiring other people to do things without actually sitting on top of them with a checklist. John Sculley, partner in Sculley Brothers and former CEO of Apple

166 |

The ABC of XYZ

Leading and managing

Here’s a snapshot summary of the differences between managers and leaders taken from our research and reviews: Table 8.1

Managers versus leaders

Managers

Leaders

Administrative

Innovate

Focus on policies & procedures

Focus on people & teams

IQ & technical skills

EQ & people skills

Systems structured

Vision driven

Rules based

Values based

Control

Trust

Short term

Long term

Provide answers

Ask big questions

Who & when

Why & how

Bottom line

Triple bottom line

Recruit

Train

Positional

Relational

Accept

Challenge

Do things right

Do the right things

The biggest difference is not one of practice but priorities. Leaders and managers often have the same responsibilities, but very different starting points. Meaning > Mission (Why) Team > Task (What) Relational > Positional (How)

When it comes to one’s raison d’être – the ‘why’ of the role – the differences between the two become clear. The manager starts with the mission: ‘Give me a mission and I will achieve my reason for being by its accomplishment’.

| 167

Ever ‘on task’, the manager achieves meaning by doing. The leader, however, takes a few steps back from the mission or task and asks some meaning or purpose questions: ‘Why do we as an organisation exist? Who are our customers and our stakeholders? How can we make a difference for all our stakeholders?’ In other words, the leaders don’t jump straight in to answering questions – first they ask a few. Leaders focus on the big picture and the long term, not just the immediate and the urgent. Let’s be clear: leaders get to the mission and the task – it is just that they don’t start there. It is similar when it comes to the ‘what we do’. Managers begin with the task – and will even recruit the team based on the task. They are truly task-driven compared to the leader who is people-centred. To the leader, task matters – but it is accomplished with the team rather than through the team. Leaders talk ‘people’ and ‘teams’ rather than ‘human resources’ and ‘talent’. With a long-term view of their role, they train and inspire their people to achieve and accomplish tasks first. It is easy to spot the differences in an outdoor ‘team-building’ task. When approaching a new scenario, the managers look at the equipment and count the ropes and planks, while the leaders gather the team in a huddle to gauge morale and discover specialist skills. And how do they do it? Leaders rely on their relational skills, not positional ranks, as today people respond better to emotional rather than rational appeals. Highlighting this, scientists have been tracking climate change for the last 20 years, yet it has only been in the last 20 months that the climate-change message has got traction in the community. One reason for this is that while ever the message was a rational, statistical one, it remained limited to the scientific

168 |

The ABC of XYZ

Leading and managing

community. However, the moment Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth was viewed en masse, the message was imparted visually. Pictures of icebergs melting and sea levels rising engaged the community viscerally, which no scientific papers could ever do. It moved the debate from a rational argument to an emotional one. Al Gore connected with hearts and not just heads – ironically something he could not quite do when running for president. For any leader it is about connecting relationally and not just cognitively. Structures are secondary to the teams and the dynamics – people follow them because people trust and respect them. Rank is secondary to the relationship. In the pragmatic words of leadership expert John Maxwell: ‘If Table 8.2

Famous leaders who influenced across the generations

Builders

Boomers

X-ers

Y-ers

Political

Winston Churchill

John F Kennedy

Nelson Mandela

Barack Obama

Economic

Walt Disney (children’s animated films)

Lee Iacocca (Ford/ Chrysler)

Oprah Winfrey (television personality)

Heidi Middleton & Sarah-Jane Clark (Sass & Bide – fashion label)

Infamous

Joseph Stalin

Fidel Castro

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

Robert Mugabe

Social

Mohandas Gandhi

Martin Luther King Jnr

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Paul David Hewson (Bono)

Cultural

Frank Sinatra

John Lennon

Stephen Spielberg

Cate Blanchett

Religious

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Billy Graham

Dalai Lama

Benedict XVI

| 169

you’re leading and no one’s following – you’re just out for a walk.’3 The right leadership style will not only assist with effective work outcomes – it will also help with Gen Y retention. Our analysis of the causes of employee turnover shows the central role that good leadership plays in employee retention. Specifically, 42 per cent of Gen Y-ers surveyed reported that poor management and leadership was the main reason for leaving their previous role.4 Gen Y-ers do not respond well to hierarchical leadership structures. Figure 8.1 represents the traditional top-down leadership model. The chain of command is represented by the arrows which all point one way and the departments are pictured as separate silos. The leader has been promoted from one of these departments and while the leader has the authority, they don’t have the cross-functional experience. Unlike older generations, the respect of Gen Y is not gained through age or rank alone. Even in their primary Figure 8.1

20th-century leadership – command and



control

FINANCE

L

OPERATIONS

MARKETING

170 |

The ABC of XYZ

Leading and managing

years they were given leadership opportunities and encouraged to challenge and independently evaluate other’s decisions. In many ways they are Generation ‘Why!’ As a result, Gen Y has brought new values to the workplace. Y-ers expect to be treated as equals, they expect to have choices and input into decision-making processes, expectations that run counter to hierarchical systems of leadership. Supporting this is the statistic that 97 per cent of Gen Y-ers value a leadership style that involves empowerment, consultation and partnership, and would leave if they did not get it.5 Figure 8.2 represents this flat leadership structure. The ideal manager is one who values communication and creates an environment of transparency and respect for staff. Their preferred leadership style is simply one that is more consensus than command, more participative than autocratic, and more flexible and organic than structured and hierarchical. Also, because today’s young people have received support from parents and teachers longer than any other generation, they want a supportive leader, but not in an overly structured way. The following quote from Australian Etiquette, written in 1959, illustrates just how much the leadFigure 8.2

21st-century leadership – collaboration and



cooperation

L L

L

L

L

L

L

L

| 171

ership structures have changed – from the hierarchal or positional to the flatter or relational: If an employee is summoned to the employer’s room, he must remain standing until his chief indicates a seat. At the conclusion of the interview he must leave as quietly as possible, closing the door gently after him. If a junior meets his employer in the lift or in the street he should bow but must not enter into conversation unless first addressed. If an employee has a need to send a letter to his chief he should commence it with the words ‘Dear sir’ and conclude with the words ‘Yours obediently’.

Leadership and management styles So what leadership and management styles work best? Authoritarian

Style: The positional leader relying on rank and role Verdict: Might be acceptable in the military or in the 1950s – but not today Directing

Style: Leader points the way from afar and delegates the tasks Verdict: Our young workers want guidance not gurus, mentoring not micromanagement. In fact, when asked what they admired most about older colleagues, X and Y participants in our survey on the generations at work selected the following above all other options: ‘They are good mentors and I learn much from them.’6

172 |

The ABC of XYZ

Leading and managing

Consulting

| 173

Style: The participative leader – leading from within and leading by example Verdict: This generation loves a leader who empowers the team. In a study of Australian Gen Y-ers, ‘being a good listener’ and ‘leading by example’ were among the top five characteristics of effective leadership.8

Verdict: This style is ideal for Gen Y. The leader as coach recognises that the positional approach which relies on rank and role is less effective today. Yet the other leadership extreme of an overly relational approach is equally inappropriate, in that it fails to give clear direction, frameworks and constructive feedback. Balance is the key. In the mid-ground the leader asks the questions and includes the team. The leader is participative – leading from within and leading by example – and so both directs and empowers the team. This style of leadership is not a positional role but more an influence relationship. It is more coach than commander. Figure 8.4 shows the traditional employment model: pour a lot of staff in the top in the knowledge that many will fall away but the best will eventually emerge. When the population structure mirrored this employment structure

Coaching

Figure 8.4

Style: Leader asks the questions and includes the team Verdict: A good approach. Gen Y has opinions and wants to voice them. In the same survey, we asked Gens X and Y participants what bothered them most about older workers. Of the five choices given to them, the majority of participants selected: ‘They often stop fresh and innovative ideas from taking effect.’ 7 Involving

Style: Leadership that is not a positional role but more an influence relationship Figure 8.3

The positional–relational continuum

PERSONAL

RELATIONAL

FUNNEL

TRANSFORMATIONAL

20th-century employment model

174 |

The ABC of XYZ

Figure 8.5

21st-century employment model

FLUID

Leading and managing

| 175

• Move from ‘knowing the way’ to ‘showing the way’– instead of ‘command and control’ leadership, Gen Y-ers respond to ‘consensus and collaborative’ leadership. • Adopt people-centred leadership – when asked what qualities they value in leadership,Y-ers reported valuing leader honesty, reliability and loyalty. They desired leaders who were energetic and inspiring, who maintained a team focus. • Move from IQ to EQ – try to develop your emotional intelligence (EQ) and that of your leaders, as it is the dimension of leadership Generation Y best responds to. From looking at leading and managing the younger generations, we now move on to marketing and selling to them.

(a large supply of emerging workers) this model worked fine. But this is not the situation today or into the future. If we don’t like our staff we can’t simply get rid of them and reach into the labour market to grab another – as discussed earlier, the full-time labour market is both ageing and shrinking. In the 21st century it is sometimes hard to know who is part of the organisation. The structure is fluid and the doors are open. Some are regular staff, others part-time, casual, contracted or employed purely for a project. Figure 8.5 also shows that, today, people may leave – but they may return again. It employs with an expectation on function and current task and not on seniority and longevity. So how can employers and other leaders effectively guide Gen Y-ers? Below are some points to remember in leading this generation.

CONDUCTING WORLD CLASS RESEARCH QUANTITATIVE

QUALITATIVE

STRATEGIC

researchrooms .com online surveys

in-depth reports

focus groups

community forums

trends forecasts

customer segmentation

data analysis

media releases

in-depth interviews

interactive technologies

demographic analysis

market research

COMMUNICATING INSIGHTS IN INNOVATIVE WAYS PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS

EVENTS & LAUNCHES

Our specialty is in turning research into summary reports, A5 handout cards, slide shows, sales tools, white-label reports & video briefs.

Research is most useful when all stakeholders hear the insights. We help by addressing research launches, media events, company meetings and industry think-tanks.

PRESENTATIONS & WORKSHOPS

PR & MEDIA COMMENTARY

We’re experts in making research finding compelling in keynotes, worksops & executive briefings. Mark McCrindle & his team have a reputation as standout presenters.

Media activity requires new, robust, independent research with a great angle and a trusted commentator. As the gold standard in research, this is what we deliver.

mccrindle.com.au freecall: 1800 mccrindle.com.au | [email protected] | TRENDS freecall: 1800 TRENDS

BOOKS

ORDER FORM

Mark McCrindle deserves a medal. Mapless, he’s entered the alien terrains of text-speak, web slang, Gen-Z dialect, among other domains, and returned with a guidebook should we ever lose our way. David Astle, Co-host of Letters and Numbers (SBS TV), columnist and crossword compiler

Word Up: A Lexicon and Guide to Communication in the 21st Century by Mark McCrindle. 208 pages. Published by Halstead Press, 2011. RRP $30.00

Bernard Salt, Demographer & columnist; Partner, KPMG

The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the Global Generations by Mark McCrindle, with Emily Wolfinger. 238 pages. Published by UNSW Press, 2011. RRP $30.00 From explaining the labels and quantifying the numbers to outlining the definitive events of each generation, the best-selling The ABC of XYZ is a comprehensive and fascinating look at the generations.

$30.00 each $22.50 for 4+

$24.95 each $22.50 for 4+

QTY:

QTY:

QTY:

POSTAGE (select the one appropriate for your order)

A fascinating insight into how English changes, a quirky look at youth slang today, and a window into the minds of the different generations.

The ABC of XYZ is a rollicking journey across time, generations and values that has been forensically dissected by one of the best social analysts in Australia.

$30.00 each $22.50 for 4+

TOTAL ORDER

PRICE

< $50 $50 - $99

$7.00 $12.00

$100+

Free

YOUR DETAILS FULL NAME:

MOBILE:

EMAIL:

ORGANISATION:

POSTAL ADDRESS: CITY:

STATE:

TELEPHONE: This book provides many examples of the power of doing good works, the betterment conferred in so many different ways and, on occasions, leading to the saving of lives.

Tim Fischer A.C. Former Deputy Prime Minister

The Power of Good: True stories of great kindness from total strangers by Mark McCrindle. 232 pages. Published by Hybrid Publishers, 2011. RRP $24.95 Seventy short, heart-warming stories of acts of kindness by strangers with contributions by prominent Australians, including Jean Kittson, Peter FitzSimons, Tracey Spicer, Father Chris Riley, and many others.

Post to: PO Box 7702 Baulkham Hills 2153, NSW | Fax to: +61 2 8824 3566 | Email: [email protected] All prices are GST inclusive. For more information please contact McCrindle Research P: 1800 TRENDS (1800 873 637) E: [email protected] W: mccrindle.com.au

$

TOTAL PRICE:

POSTCODE: FAX:

PAYMENT OPTIONS CHEQUE enclosed for $ CREDIT CARD:

VISA

(Please make payable to McCrindle Research) MASTERCARD

CARD NUMBER

AMEX

DINERS EXPIRY DATE

SIGNATURE

CARDHOLDER NAME

ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER (EFT) ACC NAME: McCrindle Research

Please deposit funds to:

BSB: 032-078

ACC NUMBER: 308 562

Enter name in EFT description box, or fax remittance to 02 8824 3566 PLEASE INVOICE ME:

We will send an invoice to your address above.