In this critical time . . . we have too many leaders who are unavailable, unwilling, unfocused, unsure, exhausted, under-powered, under-informed, hyperactive, chronically anxious, distrusted, over-extended, exhausted and scarce.
– Right Management Consultants, Inc.
There’s a new report on leadership making the rounds. And it’s a bit depressing.
In the study, more than 5,300 employees worldwide were asked to describe the attributes that would encourage them to join, stay and contribute to a company. The employees were identified by their organizations as top talent, the kind of people they can’t afford to lose.
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| Claire Ingles says softer skills are a natural fit in Edmonton. |
These “must-keep” employees identified leadership as a critical, motivating factor.
Yet the report – Why Leadership? Why Now? – by Right Management Consultants, Inc. suggests that presidents and CEOs are failing on many fronts.
Over the past few weeks, managers at Right Axmith in Calgary - the local office of Right Management Consultants – have been presenting the survey to senior HR professionals. The noon-hour sessions have been packed and extra sessions were added to accommodate demand.
At the meetings, there has been consensus among HR professionals that indeed, there are leadership problems.
Right Axmith management say there is a belief that Calgary businesses may be lagging behind other cities such as Edmonton in implementing strategies that help leaders and emerging leaders develop their skills.
“On the leadership side of it, there are American (owned) companies that are (in Calgary) that say, ‘We will have no training, no education, no development,’ ” says Brian Foster, vice-president of business development.
HR executives agreed, saying that in Calgary often the best – or only – way to convince a company that leadership development and training is necessary is to present a solid business case that shows a return on investment.
That’s not always an easy sale for companies in Calgary, when the corporate decisions are being made by head offices in Houston or elsewhere, they said.
Claire Ingles, Right’s director of business development, says established companies that operate in a stable community generally have leadership development down pat.
“It’s a natural element in Edmonton to embrace the ‘softer’ skills,” she says. “But I think in Calgary we are a little behind some other centres.”
Calgary’s entrepreneurial spirit, the American influence, and mergers and acquisitions contribute to a different climate, Ingles says.
“I came out of the Telus community (and) the healthcare community,” she says. “In those cultures, you are sharing with each other across the country . . . there’s a tendency to be mindful of the talent in the organization, you have more patience with people to develop them and you want to see them succeed.
“You’re not out prospecting to beat the other guy, as happens in an entrepreneurial field,” where results are the bottom line.
What are the problems with leadership?
According to Right, they include:
* A weak supply line of future leaders.
* A loss of credibility in the brand of executive leadership globally (think Enron, and recently, Conrad Black).
* A lack of ‘fit’ between leadership talent and the business.
* Downsizings that have depleted the supply of mentors and other resources, which in turn leaves leaders to be more self-reliant.
* Increased shareholder anxiety that forces leaders to focus on results, rather than other elements of the organization.
* Multiple executive downsizings, increased duties, 24/7 scrutiny and accessibility that have caused leaders to question their preparedness to continue to meet expectations.
Ingles points out that along with the pressure, leaders are suffering physically and emotionally, which further impairs their ability to perform.
Meanwhile, another interesting issue surfaces in the report: leaders are increasingly taking a ‘me-first’ approach.
According to a recent research study from Mt. Eliza Business School in Australia, work/life balance became the No. 1 priority for business leaders in 2002. Compare that to the 2001 study, where work/life balance fell into the unrated category.
Leaders said they are frustrated by day-to-day challenges that leave as little as 10 per cent of their time to focus on strategic issues. And they have also adopted a “just let me get through this” mentality.
“Without question, the next generation of leaders are more loyal to their own career, to career development, than they are to an organization,” says Murray Lonseth, a managing consultant at Right Axmith. “They’ll jump from one job to another if it will help their career.”
He notes that the not-for-profit sector has a much better ability to plan strategically for the long term, compared to companies in the public domain where meeting shareholder expectations is paramount.
Foster also raises the question of whether it’s time for boards of directors to become more involved in pushing for leadership development – to focus on aiding emerging leaders, current leaders and the senior leaders responsible for creating an organization’s overall direction.
Foster, Lonseth and Ingles say the report is a red flag for industry. Something has to give. The business model that’s been created won’t sustain itself.
As human beings, many leaders aren’t capable of handling the business environment they are living in, Ingles says.
“I remember being in my physician’s office a year ago and she was saying: ‘Do you know how many people are on Prozac, and how many of them are CEOs?’ ”
It’s anecdotal, but another example highlighting a situation that requires change.
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