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Analysis: Leadership Crossroad

BW Online Bureau Nov 08, 2014

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[Many organisations face the dilemma that Rollsum India Board did —  whether to promote an internal candidate who has demonstrated certain capabilities and delivered results, or hire an external candidate who has a proven track record in a lower role and is a ready fit. The success of a candidate like Chaitanya Suri in a new role depends on his ability to transition effectively to the next level of leadership — we call it "leadership crossroad transition". Although much literature is available on the topic of creating a leadership pipeline or CEO succession, even established organisations find the task challenging. Mostly, clarity is absent for leadership roles. While most companies do a good job of defining financial and operational requirements, they often do a poor job of defining leadership requirements and differentiating them by levels. Marshall Goldsmith, a great CEO coach and the author of best-selling book What Got You Here Will Not Get You There, has noted how previous success often prevents us from achieving more. He also discusses the key beliefs of successful leaders and behaviours that hold them back. Chaitanya is looking at a map of his life and career, and focusing on the now. But he is resisting the truth that he has to move forward. It won't take much to get him oriented and back on the right path. There are simple behavioural tics — bad habits that we repeat often in the workplace — that can be cured by (a) pointing them out; (b) showing the havoc they cause among the people surrounding them; and (c) demonstrating that with a slight behavioural tweak, we can achieve a more appealing effect. A good executive coach can play this role. Rollsum is a place where Chaitanya can be successful despite some gaps in his leadership behaviour or personal makeup. Here he can be an effective CEO, a great leader impacting business and taking the company to the next level. But he needs to understand that what got him here, won't get him there. Chaitanya's belief that nothing has changed in the way the organisation does business, in the way competition is behaving or in the environment, and his strong desire to remain status quo for 8-10 months can be very dangerous. All of us in the workplace delude ourselves about our achievements, status, contributions, relationships, image, etc. This instills confidence in us and erases doubt, but blinds us to the risks and challenges in our work. Our delusions become a serious liability when we need to change and when someone tries to make us change our ways. Chaitanya's statement is quite evident: "Why do you need a CEO when you didn't have one until now? And this is a bad time to put this halo around me. All these people I work with, they will feel distanced..." One of the greatest mistakes of successful people is the assumption, ‘I am successful. I behave this way. Therefore, I must be successful because I behave this way!' The challenge is to make them see that sometimes they are successful in spite of this behaviour. Cognitive dissonance refers to the disconnect between what we believe in our minds and what we experience or see in reality. Yet, it works in favour of successful people when they apply it to themselves. It is the reason successful people do not buckle when times get tough. Their commitment to their goals and beliefs allows them to view reality through rose-tinted glasses. Of course, this same steadfastness can work against them, too, when they should change course. Management expert Peter Drucker said, "We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do. We don't spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop." The funny thing about stopping a behaviour is it gets no attention, but it can be as crucial as everything we do combined. Self-directed career development is a new corporate reality. Taking responsibility for one's own career provides options and opportunities that probably would not have been available before. Most people find it easy to understand this. Somewhat less clear is the process by which you move from one stage to another. Such transitions are by no means automatic and require a new approach — in effect re-negotiating one's role in the organisation. This requires a change in relationships, tasks, perspective, beliefs, knowledge, skills and abilities. The Four Stage Career Model developed by Gene Dalton and Paul Thompson calls this transition process ‘Novation'. It has to be driven by the employee. The organisation can promote, demote, hire, fire, transfer, reassign, or outsource. But it cannot ‘novate' an employee. Like Chaitanya, most leaders make little or no short-term adjustments in their operating style, even if a job is new. It may seem as though there has been a shift in beliefs and values. But a transformation in behaviour will happen only when a shift takes place on a sustained basis. Otherwise, stakeholders do not take leadership change seriously. Sreekanth K. Arimanithaya is vice-president and chief of HR for Britannia Industries. He was earlier with Computer Associates, GE and Toyota (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 10-10-2011)