Jack Welch was CEO of GE for 20 years. In a changing world, is he still the model for leadership?[/caption]
When discussing the challenges facing business leaders it seems almost de rigeur nowadays to talk about the level of change organisations are facing.
The challenge to equip leaders to build the future in these uncertain times is certainly daunting, with seismic geopolitical shifts (in this context the Trump administration seems to be the gift that keeps on giving), disruptive technological change (how many of us even fully understand the implications of bitcoin, blockchain and whatever new technology will be unleashed on us next) and even severe climate and weather events.
The very ubiquitous nature of these challenges may however inure us to their real potential as both a threat and an opportunity to affect a true paradigm shift in how we view leadership, a classic case of an issue being undervalued through overuse.
Richard Boyatzis studied how leaders influence those around them and how that effected their lives and careers[/caption]
Dr Colm Foster is Director of Executive Education at the Irish Management Institute. He has acted as a leadership development consultant to organisations in the US, Asia and Ireland, particularly specialising in Emotional Intelligence.
The next 
IMI: Based on your current work - if you only had 6 words of advice to give a business - what would they be?
EM: Succeed Globally with a Culture Map
IMI: What does this mean?
EM: Today, whether we work with colleagues in Dusseldorf or Dubai, Brasilia or Beijing, New York or New Delhi, we are all part of a global network (real or virtual, physical or electronic) where success requires navigating through wildly different cultural realities. Unless we know how to decode other cultures and avoid easy-to-fall-into cultural traps, we are easy prey to misunderstanding, needless conflict, and ultimate failure.
Yet most managers have little understanding of how local culture impacts global interaction. Even those who are culturally informed, travel extensively, and have lived abroad often have few strategies for dealing with the cross-cultural complexity that affects their team's day-to-day effectiveness.
To help people improve their ability to decode the cultural differences impacting their work and to enhance their effectiveness in dealing with these differences, I have built on the work of many in my field to develop a tool called the Culture Map. It is made up of eight scales representing the management behaviours where cultural gaps are most common.
The eight scales are based on decades of academic research into culture from multiple perspectives. To this foundation I have added my own work, which has been validated by extensive interviews with thousands of executives who have confirmed or corrected my findings. The scales are:
- Communicating: explicit vs. implicit
- Evaluating: direct criticism vs. indirect criticism
- Leading: egalitarian vs. hierarchical
- Deciding: consensual vs. top down
- Trusting: task vs. relationship
- Disagreeing: confrontational vs. avoidance
- Scheduling: linear-time vs. flexible-time
- Persuading: applications-first vs. principles-first
Fabio Grassi
Fabio Grassi is an IMI associate who teaches on IMI Diploma in Executive Coaching & High Performance Teams.
Related Articles
Bridging The Generational Gap In Modern Organisations
Not for the first time in recent years we face the dilemma of engaging a multi-generational workforce. The workplace has always had multiple generations at work at the same time, and there have always been challenges and gaps between generations in work as in society. In some ways, it is a necessity for any society to have such generational gaps as they fuel innovation that prompts positive change and evolution.
I believe that before we look at the generational difference in the workplace, we have to understand individuality. First and foremost each person brings a unique combination of attitudes, behaviours, strengths, and talents to the workplace. These unique combinations are not fixed but are influenced by everyday experiences. Therefore, when we engage with people in the workplace, such interactions are setting the premise of the way we work with each other.
The outcome of each interaction is a shared responsibility.
Every new generation has commonalities with older generations. For example, younger generations tend to be more idealistic in their outlook of the world. They are enthusiastic and willing to succeed but usually are not too clear about what they would like to succeed at. Newer generations are also often very ingenious, full of ideas but lack the experience to communicate these thoughts.
Older generations, on the contrary, can be disillusioned, attached to modes of working that they have practised over time. Older generations are influenced by a large body of experiences and therefore less keen on changing too quickly and more sensitive to potential risks.
All of these are generalised patterns of course, but they immediately provide an insight into the kind of generational conflicts that commonly arise in the workplace.
Working with many graduates, I get interesting but obvious answers when I ask the question “which behaviour do you find most challenging dealing with people in the workplace?” The answers are very consistent:
- Unwillingness to change
- Not open to new ideas
- Dismissive attitudes
- Don’t follow through
- Not willing to share
- Set unrealistic expectations
- They keep dumping work on me!
On the contrary working with older generations of managers the answers I get in relation to graduate behaviours are:
- They all want to become executives tomorrow
- They don’t have relevant experience
- They don’t seem to understand the concept of responsibility
- They have very high expectations but are not willing to put in the work
- They seem to know everything even if they don’t
- They have no idea how things really work.
It seems clear to me that the most effective way for older generations to work with newer generations is to pay attention to the behaviour they demonstrate in the first place.
It’s on the shoulders of the older generation to take on the roles of mentor and supporter not only in building work experience but also in navigating the challenges newer generations face when entering the workplace.
Empathy plays a critical role here, taking the time to understand graduates’ perspectives and help them find a way to work through the challenges they encounter in influencing people around them, considering and exploring key stakeholder perspectives, and in developing confidence and credibility.
Indeed, the impact of technology on millennials has changed significantly the way new generations engage with each other. It is critical to recognise how they usually engage from behind the safety of social media networks, where it’s easy to express one’s opinion and shape one’s identity.
Face to face engagements on serious issues can be daunting for them. It is important for older generations to spend time building trust, confidence and psychological safety to help them become comfortable with relevant performance conversation.
New generations need a lot of feedback but they also need to be involved and listened to, they need to be helped engage in adult to adult conversations rather than parent to child conversations.
Another critical difference the age of technology has brought about in the new generations is the easy access to a wealth of information, which is often not necessarily verifiable. This situation has brought about three critical challenges.
- Because information is at their fingertips, they don’t need to remember it, and therefore the missing memorisation process of association causes them to evaluate information superficially. They usually find it hard to connect information and develop deep complex thinking.
- Because their sources are often unchecked, it is easy for them to take on misguided positions with all the potential consequences these can bring on when making critical decisions.
- Because everything is at their fingertips the idea of waiting for change to happen and sticking to hard work to achieve specific results is usually a challenge.
The role of older generations in helping and supporting younger generations to develop as individuals is critical. Graduates have a lot to offer to any organisation, but in order for them to contribute effectively, it is important to create the appropriate environment for them to thrive. Such an environment starts with good role models who provide healthy examples of behaviour while paying attention, listening and remaining open to new ideas.
Fabio Grassi is an IMI associate who teaches on IMI Diploma in Executive Coaching & High Performance Teams. Fabio is a specialist in the development of team performance, collaboration and motivation.
