Managing in an Era of Mistrust

A new Maritz® Poll conducted by Maritz Research, a leader in employee satisfaction research, paints a dire outlook of American workforce attitudes toward employers.

US employees’ trust toward their workplace has taken a severe hit, with employees across all industry segments citing a lack of trust in not only senior leaders, but direct managers and co-workers as well. 

According to the poll, few (11 percent) employees strongly agree their managers show consistency between their words and actions. In addition, only seven percent of employees strongly agree they trust senior leaders to look out for their best interest, and only seven percent strongly agree they trust their co-workers to do so. Approximately one-fifth of respondents disagree that their company’s leader is completely honest and ethical, and one-quarter of respondents disagree that they trust management to make the right decisions in times of uncertainty. While workplace trust has been dwindling since the Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco scandals of the earlier part of the decade, threats of layoffs and downsizing have only exacerbated the problem.

For more, see - http://ow.ly/1yr6W

Managing in an Era of Mistrust

Leading in Rough Seas

Victor Fung of the Li and Fung Group (the Chinese multinational founded in Guangzhou in 1906) summed up well the sense of the kind of change we face today:

‘A lot of people say, hey, this is a once in a century type of problem. We haven’t had anything like this since the 1930s. You hear all these statements, and they seem to imply that this is once in a lifetime, after I get through this one, boy, am I glad I will never have to face this again. But I’m not so sure. I think we are seeing both the compression of cycle time – how quickly the cycles come and go – and also the amplitude of the swings getting more and more severe. The world has fundamentally changed.’

This type of change requires a special kind of leadership. In Leading in Turbulent Times (Financial Times Series), Kevin Kelly and Gary Hayes have collected the lessons learned from over thirty CEOs, Chairmen and other senior executives who are prevailing in spite of a challenging environment. It’s a valuable look at how some frontline leaders are finding the right balance between seizing the opportunities as they present themselves and managing the accompanying risk. 

Rather than typical conversations focused on financial matters, Kelly and Hayes found that three strong messages emerged from their interviews:

Passion Rules – these leaders are driven by a real passion for their business, their organisation and the people they work with.

Hard Times Call for a Mastery of Soft Skills - especially communication but also empathy, mentoring and coaching. (“This is a timely reminder that cost control is a business basic, but extracting great performance from people is always based on more complex and subtle motivational tools than pure fear.”) A CEO in Germany observed that whenever a leader talks about change, employees always expect the worse. Learning to motivate and engage people in spite of the crisis becomes critical.

Think Long Term – these leaders refuse to bow under immediate pressure. They use short-term pressures to harden their focus on long-term objectives.

Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan says, “We need to be much more flat, creating a collegial team-based leadership style so that you can leverage a lot more of people’s intellects and capabilities and make them participate in decision making.” This requires a level of social skills that hasn’t been demanded of leaders in the recent past and so this also necessitates a lot of learning-as-we-go. At the same time we have a more educated workforce that brings with it other issues that require fresh approaches. Henry Fernabdez, CEO of MSCI Barra observed, “They figure things out very quickly. They tend to be more open to change but, on the other hand, they’re smart and can become cynical and harder to change.” As a result, the job of leadership is changing.

Through revealing and personal interviews, Kelly and Hayes have analysed the current situation beginning with how to recognise the early signals, mobilising people to act, navigating a new course, preventing "mutinies" by engaging the resistors, and learning to be flexible in the face of the unpredictable.

To live in these turbulent conditions requires that you dig deep. Leaders need to develop and constantly improve; a deeper self-knowledge; new perspectives. As they note, this isn’t easy. “It is a bit like trying to get fit when you are in the middle of a title fight.” A positive mental attitude is critical says Mark Frissora of Hertz.

Leading in Rough Seas

Confidence and Poise

Confidence and Poise are two values of Positive Leadership.

‘No man can make you feel inferior without your consent.’ Eleanor Roosevelt

‘Respect without fear, confident not cocky. May come from faith in yourself in knowing that you are prepared.’ John Wooden

‘Just being yourself; being at ease in any situation; never fighting yourself.’ John Wooden

Here is a reference material which speaks to these values:

Confidence and Poise

Excellence

'EXCELLENCE IS NOT AN "ASPIRATION." EXCELLENCE IS THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES. (Think about it.)' 

Tom Peters

Excellence

Leadership Parallels from the Marathon

Next Sunday sees the 30^th staging of the London Marathon.

The running of a Marathon is an easy metaphor for business leadership and management: the leader keeps the organisation focused on the big goal - the finish line - and all the value that comes from reaching it. The business manager has to focus on the activity and workflow - the running itself - keeping the motivation up by focusing on smaller intermediate goals.

It turns out that this seems to be what many runners accomplish for themselves. The value of what completing the marathon means to them is the force that keeps them moving over the months and weeks of training. Whether these marathoners are running for health, for a cause or charity, for a loved one or for first or their 30th marathon, the meaning behind crossing the finish line is a vision that they hold to throughout not just the race, but before and after as well.

Business leadership conducts a parallel function. It is the leader’s job to create and communicate the organisational vision, mission and meaning. A strong leader keeps the value of the large goal in front of their organisational or team members. The leadership role often enthusiastically answers the "why?" of the overall organisation activity.

In the midst of the marathon, especially on a day where the body doesn’t seem to remember all that training, it is hard to cling to the value of the finish line as motivation. Many runners  speak about creating smaller goals or playing "mental tricks" on themselves.

Here are some: They convince themselves that they are starting a new run every five miles; or they pick the farthest telephone pole they can see and decide to run just that much further - and once reaching it, do it again; or they have friends place themselves at various points along the race and run to each friend, knowing they won’t be able to quit or someone will be disappointed.

Business managers don’t try to trick employees, but they do try to focus them on shorter-term, more immediate goals. One of the keys to this strategy of breaking down intermediate steps is for managers to reflect and celebrate the success of making the intermediate goals back to the team. Teams need to recognise the completion of sequential goals to keep their motivation up to reach the next one.

And then there is one more critical factor marathon runners thrive on: community. During training it may be their running partners or charity running team. Many run the race with a partner or mentor, or find a companion along the way to run with for at least part of the race.

These athletes inspire a larger community as well - the thousands of spectators who line the course, actively cheering and encouraging. Business leaders and managers who foster community build support and resilience into their organisations as well.

Leadership Parallels from the Marathon

Mental Toughness

Mental Toughness is a value of Positive Leadership.

'Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It's a state of mind - you could call it character in action.’ Vince Lombardi

Here are some reference materials which speak to this value:

Mental Toughness

Do you know the difference between being an Innovator and an Idiot?

Warren Buffett was asked this question about the sub-prime mortgage fiasco; "Should wise people have known better?"

Of course, they should have, Buffett replied, but there's a "natural progression" to how good ideas go wrong.

He called this progression the "three I's." First come the innovators, who see opportunities that others don't. Then come the imitators, who copy what the innovators have done. And then come the idiots, whose avarice undoes the very innovations they are trying to use to get rich.

Can you distinguish between genuine creativity and mindless imitation? Are you prepared to walk away from ideas that promise to make money, even if they make no sense? Do you have the discipline to keep your head when so many around you are losing theirs? Those questions are something to think about. The answers may be the difference between being an innovator and an idiot.

Do you know the difference between being an Innovator and an Idiot?

Why Integrity, Honesty and Character are foundation values of Positive Leadership

The scene was the 1925 U.S. Open at Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Bobby Jones was in the hunt for his second major championship.

As Jones prepared to hit a shot out of the rough late in the tournament, he noticed that his ball had moved ever so slightly during address. His playing competitor, Walter Hagen, never saw the incident. The same went for his caddy and the spectators watching his round. The pressure was placed squarely on Jones to make the right call.

Unlike other sports where a referee makes the final decision on a penalty or foul, golf lives by a different set of rules. These rules include putting the onus of calling a penalty on yourself. The ability to live or die with that decision is one that makes golf such an honourable sport.

Instead of living hiding the penalty and going on with his round, Jones decided to do the right thing and call a 1-stroke penalty on himself. That one shot ended up costing him the tournament in regulation, as well as the championship, as he went on to lose a 36-hole playoff to Willie Macfarlane.

Famed sportswriter, O.B. Keeler, lauded Jones for his decision, one that ultimately cost him one of the most prestigious trophies in golf. Instead of taking the honour and recognition for his decision, Jones pleaded with Keeler to not write about the incident.

“You might as well praise me for not robbing banks,” Jones said.

Brian Davis probably felt the same way after last Sunday's final round of the Verizon Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.

Davis and Bobby Jones might not have a lot on the common on the surface (one is a golf legend; the other is a journeyman tour pro) but it became very clear on Sunday that both are cut from the same cloth that preaches honour before accolades.

After making a miraculous birdie on the 72nd hole of the championship to force a playoff with Jim Furyk, Davis found himself in a very interesting predicament on the first playoff hole.

After watching his approach shot draw left of the green on 18 and into a water hazard, Davis was left with the difficult shot of getting his ball up and down from beside a bunch of reeds and twigs. During his takeaway on the shot, Davis noticed a reed had moved during his backswing.

Davis immediately called over rules official Slugger White to tell him the news. The violation of rule 13.4 (which prohibits moving a loose impediment in a hazard during a takeaway) went unseen by everyone but Davis. After watching the incident on television replay it was confirmed that Davis did in fact brush the reed with his club. Davis called a two-stroke penalty on himself and went on to lose the playoff to Furyk. As much fun as it was to see Furyk finally put on the plaid jacket at Harbour Town, there was definitely a bitter-sweet taste to the victory.

Davis’ decision, one that cost him $400,000 and a trip to the SBS Championship next year in Hawaii, was probably the toughest decision of his life. 

But if ever there was a decision that made you proud to be a fan of the sport, this was certainly one of them.

In a sports world where steroids and cutting corners is an accepted practice, Davis’ decision to call a penalty on himself speaks volumes about not only Brian Davis as a person, but the integrity of the sport of golf.

“That [decision to call a penalty] will come back to him spades, tenfold,” White said afterwards.

After calling a penalty on himself during the 1925 U.S. Open, Jones went on to win the U.S. Open the following year. We can only hope Davis gets the same kind of karma in the near future for his honourable decision. 

Why Integrity, Honesty and Character are foundation values of Positive Leadership

Why Leaders need to talk about Honesty and Integrity in the Work Environment

Employees will go to great lengths to support a leader they believe in; one they see as having high standards of honesty and integrity. Conversely, they lack commitment for managers whose approach is "Do as I say, not as I do". 

It is a mistake to assume that everyone on your team would define honesty and integrity in the same way. That's why you need to talk about it with your team: an open discussion where team members can contribute ideas for, and share their opinions on, a collective set of values for your team. By doing this you can develop standards of honesty and integrity that everyone can abide by. 

This means, of course, that you need to set the example and operate by these standards at all times. Encourage all team members to hold each other mutually accountable for operating by these shared values. If they see anyone, including you, failing to meet the agreed standards of honesty and integrity it is up to them to reinforce the standards and remind the individual of her or his responsibility to the rest of the team and to the organisation.

To recap, here are the steps you can take to develop a set of shared values of honesty and integrity in your team:

1. Take time out to reflect on what you believe is right and wrong; what are your own personal standards of honesty and integrity?
2. Ask the team what they believe is right and wrong behaviour:
      a. What is an honest day's work?
      b. What is honest communication?
      c. What is an honest product or service?
3. If the team does not come up with something that is important to you, share your beliefs with the team and ask for feedback.
4. Agree on a set of behavioural guidelines for operating with honesty and integrity that you can all abide by.

Why Leaders need to talk about Honesty and Integrity in the Work Environment

Self-Discipline

Self-discipline is a value of Positive Leadership.

‘Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.’ Lao Tzu

Here are some reference materials which speak to this value:

Self-Discipline

The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

If you've not studied Emotional Intelligence you should, especially if you want to be a top leader. Here are two powerful reasons back up that statement. First, research shows that the overwhelming difference between top performers and average performers is higher levels of Emotional Intelligence. The second reason? Emotional Intelligence is totally learnable.

Emotional Intelligence (what many call "EQ") is a type of skill or intelligence that enables you to perceive and assess the emotions, desires, and tendencies of yourself as well as of those around you, and make the best decision for all concerned that moves everyone in the direction of a common goal.

Four-fifths of the difference between top and average performers is higher EQ. Contrary to popular belief, it's a relatively simple undertaking. Also, since more than two thirds of the difference between top performers and average performers is EQ, it's practically a no-brainer to study it if you want to be a top performer.

By the way, if you're in a top leadership position, the reason to study is even stronger: in senior positions, four-fifths of the difference between top and average performers is higher EQ.

 What follows are ten essential understandings about relationship management that some say ought to be common sense. If your work involves dealing with people (most jobs do), and you want a foundation upon which you can build your emotional intelligence skills, here are a few things to know:

1. In the realm of personality styles, we should drop the ideas of "good" and "bad." People are just different.

2. People often equate "different" with "difficult." In reality, different is difficult only because people haven't learned to work effectively with the differences.

3. In the same way that a stick has two ends, people have strengths and weaknesses. All strengths have an associated weakness, and all weaknesses have an associated strength. You choose which end of the stick will receive your attention.

4. All personality styles add to team strength; it's just a matter of focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses. By focusing on strengths you'll get stronger. By focusing on weaknesses, you'll get weaker.

5. Seeking the strengths in differing styles does not come naturally — it takes constant effort.

6. We cannot be effective if we expect everyone else to meet us on "our turf."

7. We cannot assume we know another person's definition of "win." We may have a general idea, but to truly be effective we must ask.

8. If we place personal goals over those of others, the team, and/or the organisation's vision and mission, we create divisions. This severely weakens our ability to maximise results.

9. Effectiveness has to with doing the right thing, efficiency has to do with getting things done fast. When working with people, effectiveness is rarely efficient. The best results usually come when we take the necessary time in our relationships to do things right.

10. It's one thing to understand these things, it's another thing to do them. The longest road can be the 18 inches between your head and your heart.

The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Openness and Communication

Openness and Communication are two values of Positive Leadership.

‘It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.’ Aristotle

‘The day soldiers stop bring you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.’ General Colin Powell

‘Having the confidence to adapt quickly to any situation, use honesty, humility and humour in the conversation, and interact as a positive force in the community.’ Steve Shenbaum

Here are some reference materials which speak to these values:

Openness and Communication

UK General Election 2010: Nice Nick Clegg can't believe his luck

From Simon Heffer’s column in today’s Daily Telegraph:

‘As Dave, in particular, has learned in the past 36 hours or so, the big problem with the "historic" leaders' television debate was that it was preceded by expectations. Gordon Brown, who I thought was mad to agree to take part, had everything to lose, and jolly nearly lost it after a wooden, aggressive, boring performance; Dave was expected to wipe the floor with him; and as for Nick Clegg, who was he, other than Vince Cable's valet de chambre?

We now know exactly who Nick Clegg is: he is Mr Integrity, the nation's sweetheart, the only honest man in politics. I had thought the public were a bit brighter than that, and would see through his pious, sanctimonious, oleaginous, not-me-guv display of cynical self-righteousness: but they didn't. And for that we can only blame the two inadequates with whom he had the good fortune to go in front of the cameras: for they were shocking.......

Mr Brown's impersonation of a robot, and his projection of all the charm of a caravan site in February, were pretty predictable: but the place where hair was really being torn out yesterday was around poor old Dave. The attempt by this trust-funded Old Etonian (and Old Bullingdonian) to come over as Mr Ordinary was rather tragic: if we have to hear much more about his children's state school and his family's experience of the NHS, some of us will need medical attention of our own......

It is a long haul from winning a beauty contest to winning a general election, and one imagines Nice Nick won't do that. But Dave now goes into next week's bout as the underdog. Mr Brown can't really get any worse, and has few expectations riding upon him: but if Dave underperforms again, he will be in very serious trouble. To land five years in No 10, he does not just need to squash an already imploding Labour Party: he needs to win a pile of seats from the Lib Dems. On last night's show, that is going to be a tall order: and if he fouls up again, the Lib Dems might even start winning seats from him. Still, it could have been worse: just imagine if he had had to debate with Ukip, too, about the real meaning of conservatism.’ 

For more, see: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/7598998/General-Election-2010-Nice-Nick-Clegg-cant-believe-his-luck.html

UK General Election 2010: Nice Nick Clegg can't believe his luck

Sharing Your Positive Leadership Vision With Your Team

Many of us like to contemplate and reflect on the future of our business. Some of us even articulate a vision for our organisation or team: how we would like the future to be in, say, three or five years from now. By opening your mind to the possible and, yes, dreaming a little, you will be amazed at how much creativity you will bring out of yourself and your team.

One of the best ways of getting your team members on board and passionate about working with you is to get them to share their thoughts and dreams with you. If you want them to be passionate about their work, show them that they can be a part of creating the future.

Here are some ideas you can use to develop a sense of excitement and buzz within your organisation about its future:

• Put aside some regular contemplation time for yourself to think about the future of your business and what it could be like in the coming years.
• Sit down with your team members and stimulate a discussion about what they believe is possible for your team to achieve.
• With your team, identify the goals that need to be reached in order to realise this vision.
• Encourage your team members to talk with each other about the future and how they can continually improve performance.

The benefit of this exercise is twofold. Not only will it help you to create a more passionate workforce, you are also very likely to uncover some latent talent within your team - adding more substance and new perspectives to your vision.

By opening up a discussion in this way, suddenly you will have transformed "my" vision into "our" vision. 

Sharing Your Positive Leadership Vision With Your Team

Coaching Teams for Success

It is interesting to study the leadership strengths and strategies of coaches who inspire teams to succeed. Those strengths and strategies are applicable in any work situation and provide the same results — continuous success.

But first, here is a look at what manipulative coaches/leaders do as opposed to what inspirational coaches/leaders do. Manipulative leaders want people to know who the boss is, and they use their positional power to make people do things. They boast of their education and achievements. They intimidate people and point out what is wrong with other people. People are on the team or work for manipulative coaches/leaders because they have to. Work/playing is a task the team players/employees don’t look forward to because it’s not fun.

However, inspirational coaches/leaders have seven proven attributes that inspire teams/employees to perform to the best of their potential. 


Here are the key attributes:

• They influence people with their 'personality power' but not with their position or knowledge power.

• Their talk and actions reflect their deep conviction that they are not above the team. Instead of saying, “You go do this and that,” they say, “Let’s all go and ...”

• They create a positive team or work environment with their positive influence.

• When things are wrong, they point at what’s wrong, not at individuals.

• They inspire people for maximum productivity (play/work) because they help others want to succeed.

• They encourage people with timely feedback, whether encouragement or otherwise.

• They develop people for success in life, beyond a given task. They are interested in an individual’s overall success.

Bonus: They make people feel valued, important and positive contributors to the organisation’s bottom line. 

Coaching Teams for Success

Resilience and Courage

Resilience and Courage are two values of Positive Leadership.

‘Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.’ Confucius

‘Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.’ Winston Churchill

Here are some reference materials which speak to these values:

Resilience and Courage

Does Your Passion as a Leader Match Your Ambition?

Leaders who create extraordinary new possibilities are passionate about their mission and tenacious in pursuit of it. Many people have good ideas, but many fewer are willing to put themselves on the line for them. Passion separates good intentions and opportunism from real accomplishments.

To determine whether your passion matches your aspirations, try these 12 questions:

1. Do I feel strongly about the need for this?

2. Does the idea fit my long-held beliefs, values, and convictions?

3. Have I dreamed about something like this for a long time?

4. Do I think that this is vital for the future of people I care about?

5. Do I get excited when I think about it, and convey excitement when I talk about it?

6. Am I convinced that this can be accomplished?

7. Am I willing to put my credibility on the line to promise action on it?

8. Am I willing to spend time to sell it to others who might not understand or support it?

9. Can I make this the major focus of my activities?

10. Am I willing to devote personal time, above and beyond organisational time, to see that this happens?

11. Do I feel strongly enough to ignore negativity and fight for this?

12. Am I committed to seeing this through, over the long haul?

Passing the passion test is doesn't guarantee success, but without it, the journey can't even begin.

For more, see - http://blogs.hbr.org/kanter/2010/03/does-your-passion-match-your-a.html

Does Your Passion as a Leader Match Your Ambition?

Values Based Leadership from P&G

Bob McDonald, the ceo of Proctor & Gamble speaks about his personal values and how they guide his leadership style (from an event at MIT in February 2009):

Values Based Leadership from P&G

Influence and Respect

Influence and Respect are values of Positive Leadership.

‘Leadership is influence.’ John Maxwell

‘Respect a man, and he will do all the more.’ John Wooden

Here are some reference materials which speaks to this value:

Influence and Respect

The Pygmalion Effect - How High Expectation Creates High Performance

In 1911, researchers begin taking special interest in a horse owned by a German mathematician named Von Osten. The horse, aptly named Clever Hans, was reported to able to count - add, subtract, multiply and divide. It was even suggested that Clever Hans could spell and solve problems involving musical harmony. As mystifying and even magical as this seemed to be, it was concluded following a rigorous study, that in fact Clever Hans possessed no highly intelligent factors nor extraordinary abilities. It was simply a case of Clever Hans performing what had become expected of him.

Two researchers, Stumpt and Pfungst, realised that when the handlers of Clever Hans posed questions to him, they were providing subtle physical and verbal cues to the horse as it pertained to the answer. This reality was summarised in the book, 'Teachers and the Learning Process' written by Robert Strom (Prentice-Hall, 1971): 

"Among the first discoveries made was that if the horse could not see the questioner, Hans was not clever at all. Similarly, if the questioner did not himself know the answer to the question, Hans could not answer it either - A forward inclination of the head of the questioner would start Hans tapping, Pfungst observed - as the experimenter straightened up, Hans would stop tapping - he found that even the raising of his eyebrows was sufficient. Even the dilation of the questioner's nostrils was a cue for Hans to stop tapping."

In short, inadvertently, people were offering the correct answers to Clever Hans by communicating their expectations via physical signs - and Hans learned to pick up the signals, no matter how subtle.

This ascension to what is expected of you is known contemporarily as self-fulfilling prophecy and was outlined originally in 1957 by a sociology professor Robert Merton, at Columbia University. In his essay, 'Social Theory and Social Structure', Merton suggested that "a false definition of the situation evokes a new behaviour which makes the original false conception come true". Simply stated, once an expectation is set, even one of false conception, you will act in certain ways that are consistent with that expectation, causing the results of the expectation to become true.

The birth of this theory may actually be found in ancient mythical legend. It is written in the tenth book of Metamorphoses, which the sculptor, Pygmalion, who was a prince of Cyprus, sought to create an ivory statue of his ideal mate. The result of his work was an extraordinarily beautiful sculpted woman, which Pygmalion named Galatea. Because of her beauty, Pygmalion fell desperately in love with the sculpted woman and began praying to Venus to bring Galatea to life. Venus granted his prayer and thus became what is now known as 'the Pygmalion Effect'.

The expectations you direct towards a person, event or even yourself, will eventually come true. This theory has transcended to become a key instrument of learning for managers and supervisors in the business world. It was described by J. Sterling Livingston in the September/October 1988 Harvard Business Review in an article entitled 'Pygmalion in Management'; "The way managers treat their subordinates is subtly influenced by what they expect of them".

The Pygmalion Effect can either elevate an employee's productivity or entirely undermine it. For instance, workers who receive continuous verbal praise for their efforts, while being supported by non-verbal means, will aspire and ascend to even more productivity. In contrast, if an employee receives less praise or even communication from management than their peers or co-workers, although nothing is being conveyed verbally, the worker feels as though they are underappreciated and will see a lapse or decrease in productivity.

The Pygmalion Effect - How High Expectation Creates High Performance

Accountability

Accountability is a value of Positive Leadership.

‘The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.’ William Safire


'A personal choice to rise above one's circumstances and demonstrate the ownership necessary for achieving desired results.' Roger Connors

Here are some reference materials which speak to this value:

Accountability

America's Inspirational President

President Obama's recent achievement on healthcare has not just rebutted critics, it has slain doubts. His election campaign promised the triumph of imagination and optimism over weary resignation. His slogan "Yes we can!" was meant to answer an implicit question over the ability of politics ever to be a vehicle for meaningful change.

President Obama revisited that theme in a brilliant speech on the eve of the healthcare vote. He asked veteran parliamentarians to recall what inspired them to get involved in politics in the first place. He invited them to fan the embers of their idealism back into flames of conviction. He used the power of pure oratory to change the boundaries of what his audience considered possible in politics. It is hard to imagine any of the current generation of British politicians mobilising anyone that way.

We may have watched much of the US debate on healthcare with bafflement. But we can also witness with envy the manner in which the argument was won by the president and feel inspired.

America's Inspirational President

Confidence in Leadership

The Korn/Ferry Institute's Confidence in Leadership Index shows that support for CEOs worldwide has inched up over the past year, and that optimism about the direction of leadership is again on the rise. 

The survey of executives from 13 nations also found that those working in the developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China are the most positive about the direction of corporate leadership. Those in United States and the United Kingdom remain the least optimistic.

The study focuses on opinions of global executives about the leadership within their organisations. The analysis revealed interesting trends over the past year. Of six "layers" of corporate leadership (from self-assessed rankings of one's own leadership ability to credibility of the C-suite and board of directors), only CEOs showed quarter-over-quarter improvement. The mean score for CEOs has gained four points, from 67 in Q2 2009, to 71 in Q1 2010.

In addition, data shows wide differences in how executives around the globe feel about the direction of corporate leadership. On a scale from -100 (getting worse) to +100 (getting better), China, India, Brazil and Russia expressed the strongest view that their corporate leadership is improving, posting marks of 53, 52, 44 and 26 respectively against a global mean of 22. The mean scores of Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. were slightly negative: -1, -4 and -5 respectively, representing the bottom three positions.

Globally, the Direction of Leadership index climbed by 3.7 points to 26.3 in Q1 — the high for the last 12 months.

Significant findings from the full-year analysis include:

• India's executives rank the credibility of its CEOs (81) and the credibility of corporate leadership in general (78) highest among 13 countries in the global sample. The global mean for CEO credibility was 69 and for corporate leadership in general it was 70.
• Canada (83), Australia (81) and the U.S. (78) are the most trusting of their corporate leaders to adhere to ethical business practices. Japan (59) and Italy (57) fell well below the global average of 70.
• The ability to deal with business strategy was the factor the surveyed executives found most important.

Significant findings from Q1 2010 include:

• North American executives continue to rank that region's overall corporate leadership highest for credibility, with a score of 75 on a 100-point scale. Europeans' ranking of their leadership declined by two points, back to its Q1 2009 low of 63. The global average is 70.
• Every category in the Leadership Trust Index slipped in Q1 2010, and the overall Leadership Trust Index declined by three points to 69.
• The optimism gap narrowed. North America jumped 10.2 points last quarter on a scale from -100 to +100, but remained the least optimistic region.  Central/South America dropped 5.6 points but remained the most optimistic region.

The Confidence in Leadership Index asks executives in 13 countries questions that produce metrics for: 1) credibility of leadership; 2) trust of leadership; 3) leadership characteristics ("factors"); and 4) direction of leadership. The study has been fielded quarterly since Q2 2009. The Q1 survey was fielded by Braun Research, Inc. Feb. 19-26, 2010.

For more, see - http://www.kornferryinstitute.com/

Confidence in Leadership

Visualising Leadership

For the past decade, Chris Maxwell, associate director of the Wharton School’s Undergraduate Leadership Programme, and Anne M. Greenhalgh, the Programme’s director, have begun their foundation course for Wharton undergraduates with a simple question – “How would you describe the essence of leadership?”   

They ask each student to find or create an image that captures the essence of leadership and to explain why in a short essay.  Over time, Maxwell and Greenhalgh have used these essays to search the most frequently used words in order to construct the overarching story the students tell, and they have used the student’s images and essays to create in-class exercises and to foster classroom discussion.  

Here are the most often used words:

The Wordle image makes clear that the primary subject of the students’ leadership story is an individual leader in the context of people, team, group, and other.   The primary qualities that describe leadership are moral; in students’ eyes, the leader is good, great, able, and true.  In addition, the Wordle highlights that the students most frequently refer to the subject of leadership as his. Finally, taken as a whole, overtly transformational actions such as make, show, inspire, help, and believe are twice as prevalent as the transactional actions take and order.    

Visualising Leadership