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Copyright Leadership for Today and the Future

Manuel London The State University of New York at Stony Brook

Edward Mone The State University of New York at Stony Brook

Bridgepoint Educa:on, Inc.

VP of Learning Resources: Beth Aguiar

AVP, Editor-in-Chief: Erik Evans

Editorial Director: Steve Wainwright

Director of Editorial Technology: Peter Galuardi

Sponsoring Editor: Mireille Yanow

Development Editor: Ann Greenberger & Carrie Brandt

Assistant Editor: Kristle Maglunob

Editorial Assistant: Nicole Sanchez-Sullivan

Media Editor: Kim Purcell

Prin:ng Services: Bordeaux

Composi:on/Illustra:on: Lachina Publishing Services

Cover Image: Flirt/SuperStock

ISBN-10: 1935966782

ISBN-13: 978-1-935966-78-4

Published by Bridgepoint Educa:on, Inc., 13500 Evening Creek Drive North, Suite 600, San Diego, CA 92128.

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Copyright © 2012, Bridgepoint EducaVon, Inc.

All rights reserved.

GRANT OF PERMISSION TO PRINT: Bridgepoint EducaVon, Inc., the copyright owner of this material, hereby grants the holder of this publicaVon the right to print these materials for personal use. The holder of this material may print the materials herein for personal use only. Any print, reprint, reproducVon or distribuVon of these materials for commercial use without the express wri[en consent of Bridgepoint EducaVon, Inc. consVtutes a violaVon of the Copyright Law of the United States of 1976 (P.L. 94-553).

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About the Authors

Manuel London

Manuel London received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in industrial and organizaVonal psychology. He taught in the business school at the University of Illinois at Champaign and received early tenure there. He joined AT&T where he studied and designed assessment, performance management, and leadership development programs. He has been on the Stony Brook faculty for 22 years where he served as deputy to the president, associate provost, faculty director of the undergraduate College of Leadership & Service, and associate dean of the College of Business, and now dean of the college. He is the author or coauthor of 17 books, the editor of 10, and the author of more than 130 arVcles in the areas of performance evaluaVon, feedback, employee development, and group learning. His books and arVcles have won awards from the AssociaVon for Human Resource Development and the Society for Human Resource Management. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological AssociaVon and the Society for Industrial and OrganizaVonal Psychology.

Edward Mone

Edward M. Mone has more than 25 years of experience in career, leadership, and organizaVon change and development. He is currently president of Edward Mone ConsulVng LLC, a consulVng firm specializing in organizaVon and leadership development and performance management, and a lecturer in the College of Business and School of Professional Development at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He was vice president for organizaVon development at CA Technologies, where he was responsible for management and leadership training and development, succession planning, mentoring, the company-wide employee opinion survey and employee research, coaching, and 360-degree

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feedback and performance management. He was previously vice president of organizaVon development at Cablevision Systems, Inc., and director of people processes and systems at Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc. He was human resources division manager for strategic planning and development at AT&T, where he also held a variety of human resources and organizaVon development posiVons. Before that, he was a partner in an outplacement and career management firm. He holds an MA in counseling psychology and has completed doctoral coursework in organizaVonal psychology, as well as individual, team, and organizaVon learning at Teachers College, Columbia University. He has coauthored and coedited books, book chapters, and arVcles in the areas of human resources and organizaVon development, including Employee Engagement Through Effec>ve Performance Management (Routledge Press, 2010), with Manuel London.

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Acknowledgments

We express our thanks to the many colleagues, managers, and execuVves with whom we worked and for whom we consulted in a range of corporaVons. Their energy and enthusiasm for leadership and self-improvement, parVcularly during tough economic Vmes, demonstrated to us the criVcal elements of leadership we address in this book. We are grateful to the staff and editors at Bridgepoint EducaVon who guided the development of the manuscript. In parVcular, we express our appreciaVon to Carrie Brandt, Ann Greenberger, Kristle Maglunob, Nicole Sanchez-Sullivan, and Mireille Yanow whose experVse and care for detail improved our wriVng and ensured that we add value to students' learning. Last but not least, we thank our spouses, Marilyn and Ceil, for their support throughout the wriVng and revision process. This book is dedicated to them.

We would also like to thank the following peer reviewers for their feedback and helpful guidance along the way:

David Bright, Wright State University

P. MarVn Fenlon, Ashford University

Joseph W. Harder, Darden School of Business

Ann Kitchen, Ashford University

Steve McQueen, Ashford University

Christopher P. Neck, Arizona State University

Michael Reilly, execuVve dean, College of Business and Professional Studies, Ashford University

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Preface

A View of Leadership Today

Let's begin with a few quesVons. What does leadership mean to you? Do you think leadership ma[ers? Who are leaders you admire? Do you know these people personally, or are they leaders who have naVonal or internaVonal a[enVon today or in the past? What characterisVcs, decisions, or acVons make them admirable? Now, are there any leaders you do not admire? Why?

Leadership is a criVcal skill, if not the most necessary skill in today's complex world. Leadership creates the current reality through a vision for the future, in all types of enterprises—whether in business and industry, naVonal, state and local governments, and in not-for-profit and nongovernmental organizaVons (NGOs). We need strong leaders who can set direcVon and garner support to accomplish important, bold, complex objecVves. We need leaders who have vision, who can get things done through others; leaders who know how to use their own and others' technical skills and knowledge to create and grow organizaVons.

This book is about the meaning of leadership—the personal characterisVcs, behaviors, styles, and approaches that make an enterprise successful. More specifically, it is about how to become an effecVve leader. It is about how to develop your own effecVveness and the effecVveness of others, and how to direct teams and organizaVons in an increasingly complex, compeVVve, global environment, with revoluVonary technologies forever changing the landscape for all enterprises. It is about decision making, involving others who can contribute experVse and who need to be commi[ed to whatever decisions are made. Moreover, it is about how to be an ethical leader, a person who treats people fairly and acts honestly while a[ending to a profitable bo[om line.

Given our changing world, leaders will need to be conVnuous learners constantly focused on whether they have the skills they need to meet today's and tomorrow's challenges. Leaders, therefore, will need to be thinking about what demands are on the horizon, creaVng alternaVve scenarios for the future and evaluaVng their readiness to be successful. They also need to develop habits of self-assessment, recognize their learning gaps, and find ways to gain the knowledge and experience that will prepare them for the future.

In short, leaders need to meet the needs of mulVcultural, onen global environments, act ethically to manage performance and lead organizaVons through uncertain, technologically complex, and rapidly changing condiVons, and be focused on their own learning.

The Authors' Approach

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We draw from contemporary theory, research, and pracVce. We recognize that there is no one way to lead in all circumstances all of the Vme. We believe that the leader's best alternaVve—being an effec>ve leader—requires using the right combinaVon of approaches, balancing alternaVve leadership strategies to meet current condiVons.

Learning about leadership requires reading about principles, analyzing examples, engaging in self-assessment, seong goals for development, trying new behaviors, and ulVmately achieving learning goals. Throughout this book, we use appropriate experienVal learning methods that will help you to assess your own competencies for conVnuous improvement and evaluate the demands of changing and complex environments. Our objecVve is to enable you to develop effecVve leadership and conVnuous learning strategies for one-to-one, team, and organizaVon development.

We know you have or will encounter many books on leadership. However, a large number of those books can be misleading and may even misinform since they are based enVrely on the authors' experience and all the biases that entails. On the other hand, some books are so academic in nature that they will onen leave you wondering if there is a "right" or "be[er" answer to the leadership challenges you will face.

We provide a blend of theory, research, and pracVcal applicaVons so that you learn what works, why, and how to do it successfully yourself. In addiVon, we offer compelling cases, useful and realisVc tools and approaches, and methods for pracVcal gap assessment and analysis that you can apply today and in the future.

Style and Structure of the Book

Providing you with a pracVcal and authoritaVve view of leadership, based on real-world experiences in the areas of leadership development and research is the goal and purpose of this book. We believe this approach will best equip you with the knowledge and insight that is valuable to becoming a highly pracVcal and results-oriented leader whether your career is in business, government, or the not-for-profit sector.

Our high-level framework is based on a view of leadership as a set of four primary roles, including leading one's self, leadership in one-to-one situaVons, leading teams, and leading organizaVons. Following the opening chapter, each subsequent chapter in the book will focus on one of these four roles. Each chapter begins with learning outcomes so you will know what you are expected to learn as you read the chapter. Throughout each chapter, you will find case examples to help bring the concepts to life. Self-assessment surveys help you reflect on the topics and evaluate your own situaVon. A web resources secVon provides informaVve websites and videos. Each chapter concludes

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with a final exercise that helps you integrate the topics.

We hope that you will find this book pracVcally and theoreVcally sound, as well as comprehensive. We, your authors, are both pracVVoners and researchers, with experience in teaching leadership to thousands of adult learners in corporaVons and in university undergraduate and graduate school programs. In addiVon, we are thoroughly familiar with academic and popular leadership wriVngs, so we can readily draw insights, ideas, and pracVcal applicaVons from a wide variety of literature, as well as from our experience in developing and implemenVng applicaVons successfully in organizaVons.

Overview

Throughout the book, you will see that we emphasize several major themes:

Leaders need to lead themselves, other individuals, teams, the organizaVon, and networks of associates within and outside the organizaVon.

1.

Leaders need to assess their own skills, knowledge, and abiliVes and those of others and determine the gap between these competencies and the competencies needed to be effecVve in their organizaVons.

2.

Leaders create the culture in their teams and organizaVons; as such, they can inculcate a culture of conVnuous growth and development.

3.

Leaders need to use technology to communicate effecVvely across cultural boundaries.4. Leadership is a balancing act—balancing vested interests with a commitment to shared goals, balancing giving direcVon with empowering team members, and balancing a bias for acVon with taking Vme for reflecVon.

5.

Ethical leadership is criVcal at all Vmes.6.

Overall, this book will help you build habits of effecVve leadership whether you are just entering management and leadership posiVons or transiVoning to higher levels of authority and responsibility. Next, we provide an overview of each chapter.

In chapter 1, we define leadership and give examples of major leadership theories and thought leaders. We present and discuss cases of strong leaders from business, government, and nonprofit organizaVons. We describe leadership styles and emphasize a balanced approach to leadership, recognizing that effecVve leaders need a mix of styles to meet current and future challenges. Leaders also need to balance several behavioral dimensions—communicaVng a vision as a shared set of goals while recognizing followers' vested interests, giving direcVon while empowering followers to make decisions that help the organizaVon meet its goals, and encouraging fast acVon while taking Vme out for reflecVon to understand what is working and what isn't and finding ways to improve work processes. We introduce you to the idea of leadership roles and consider what it means to lead one's

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self, others, teams, and organizaVons. As you learn about how to determine organizaVonal requirements for leadership, we introduce you to ways of thinking about organizaVons and a framework for determining gaps at the overall organizaVon level; we then expand on that framework in subsequent chapters. You will also learn about the challenges leaders face as a result of technology. The appendix to this chapter includes a discussion on leadership research and provide you with guidelines for determining the reliability and validity of leadership studies you will encounter in your learning journey. Finally we start you on the beginnings of a case study in leadership that you will follow throughout the course of this book.

The second chapter begins the detailed look at the four leadership roles, focusing on self-leadership: learning about the personal characterisVcs and qualiVes that are important for effecVve leadership and ways to develop them for yourself and others. Here we define the traits, qualiVes, skills, and knowledge important to being an effecVve self-leader, as well as an approach for assessing leadership gaps and opportuniVes for developing learning to be more effecVve in this role. In terms of leadership characterisVcs, you will learn about meta-cogniVve skills such as self-regulaVon, self-efficacy, and self-monitoring. You will also learn about important interpersonal skills, including trustworthiness and consideraVon of others, and dimensions of effecVve leadership such as openness to experience, decision making, and decisiveness. We also cover the elements of career moVvaVon (resilience, insight, and idenVty), and describe ways to assess leadership traits, skills, and knowledge using observaVons, behavioral experiences, and surveys. In this chapter we also give examples of how to develop these traits, skills, and knowledge through formal training and informal on-the-job experiences. You will also encounter cases and exercises that will encourage your own self-assessment and establish your own leadership development plan.

In chapter 3, we consider and define what it takes to be effecVve in the second role: leading in one-to-one situa>ons—and describe its primary focus, the leader and direct report relaVonship at any level of an organizaVon (from the execuVve suite to first line management). We begin with a discussion of the skills that provide the foundaVon for success in this role, including building trust and empowering others, and then review and provide three important frameworks necessary for understanding the pracVces and approaches of leaders in the one-to-one role: theories of pracVce, the ladder of inference, and performance management. We then cover in some detail the skills and knowledge necessary for effecVve performance management in the leader’s one-to-one role, including goal seong, feedback, development, recogniVon, coaching, and performance appraisal. We also provide an approach for managing and resolving conflicts and explain the importance of intelligence and personality when assessing and selecVng future job candidates. We explain, too, how to assess effecVveness in one-to-one situaVons to determine gaps and describe formal and informal opportuniVes for increasing effecVveness in the role. The exercises in this chapter focus on

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measurement methods, self-assessments, tools for assessing direct reports’ strengths and weaknesses, and methods for tracking leadership growth and the strength of a leader-direct report relaVonship. The appendix to this chapter provides guidelines for conducVng effecVve selecVon interviews.

The fourth chapter focuses on leading teams. We define what it takes to be effecVve in the role of team leader and ways of assessing the need for team development to become a more effecVve team leader. We discuss how team leaders must determine the demands of leading a parVcular team. This begins with understanding the purpose and needs of the team based on an assessment of members’ capabiliVes and experience and on the demands of the task and goals the team is trying to achieve. We discuss the nature of teamwork, showing that some tasks are highly structured and require a leader who pays a[enVon to transacVons, giving and tracking specific assignments. We also discuss that other teams have unstructured and possibly ambiguous tasks that require leaders to set a vision and empower members to determine what they need to do. These tasks usually focus on solving problems that have no right answers, such as developing a new product or finding ways to improve efficiency. We also address the idea of virtual teamwork—where team members primarily interact online, through email, and other electronic means, onen across organizaVonal and naVonal borders. We show the need for leaders to recognize and hopefully value differences among members in language and culture as well as gender, age, educaVonal background, and field of experVse. We then recommend a balanced leadership model, and discuss how leaders need to assess the situaVon and balance (a) forming a shared vision with members’ vested interests; (b) controlling teamwork with empowering members to act on their own; and (c) taking acVon with Vme for reflecVon. We present cases about leaders who were effecVve in achieving this balance and leaders who were not. We consider differences in leadership required at different stages of team development, examine the role of technology in teamwork, and outline the role of leader as team facilitator who constantly assesses the team’s need for structure and learning and who intervenes in ways that foster teamwork. Exercises and assessments in this chapter focus on helping you to diagnose what a team needs to be successful and how leaders can acquire the skills they need to be an effecVve team leader.

The last chapter covers what it takes to be an effecVve leader of organiza>ons. We provide an approach for understanding organizaVons and for determining gaps in leading organizaVons, and formal and informal opportuniVes for increasing effecVveness in this role. Key skills and knowledge for leading organizaVons include strategic planning, organizaVon change, culture change, succession planning and leadership development, and board of directors relaVonships. We show how leaders can create cultures that reflect high levels of engagement, innovaVon, ethical behavior, and a feedback focus. Since leaders need to develop the organizaVon’s capability for the future, we provide ways to assess employees’ leadership potenVal, especially how to idenVfy individuals early in their careers

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and generate opportuniVes for them to learn and grow with the organizaVon. To do this, leaders must know how to analyze the gap between leadership needs for today and the future and the leadership skills currently in the organizaVon. We give examples of how to develop leadership skills that make sense for the organizaVon, including ways to idenVfy and structure learning opportuniVes. The concluding exercise focuses on developing a comprehensive plan of acVon for gap analysis and individual, team, and organizaVon leadership, integraVng concepts throughout the book. We end with leadership guidelines as a road map for being an effecVve, balanced, and ethical leader and conVnuous learner.

Now that you know what this book is about, let’s return to the quesVons we asked at the start of the preface. This book will help you understand the characterisVcs, decisions, and behaviors that make a leader effecVve. It will also help you analyze the elements of good leadership for yourself and others. It will help you think criVcally about a leader’s acVons and the alternaVves you face as a leader. You will understand how others see you as a leader. You will be able to examine your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader, set goals for your development, and start a path toward leadership growth—one that you will conVnue throughout your career. You will also be able to make decisions about others, idenVfying leadership potenVal in the people you may hire or who are your direct reports, peers, and supervisors at work, and role models and leaders in your community outside of work. You will find that leadership is mulVdimensional and has nuances that reflect individual and situaVonal condiVons, and you will appreciate that leadership can be learned. As such, you are now on the path to personal growth and development of your own leadership skills and supporVng the leadership development of people who work for and with you. We wish you well on this conVnuous journey.

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Chapter 3

Leading One-to-One

Blend Images/SuperStock

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

Know how to build trust and empower others Apply key frameworks, such as the ladder of inference and theories-in-acVon, for succeeding in the one-to-one role Know how to apply a framework for organizaVonwide goal seong and disVnguish between goals, strategies, and tacVcs Work with direct reports to set goals to which they will be commi[ed; give direct reports construcVve feedback Provide resources to help direct reports develop their strengths and overcome weaknesses Apply effecVve strategies for appraising overall performance

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Learn how to manage and resolve conflicts for win–win soluVons Understand how to select the right person for the right posiVon

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Ch. 3 Introduction To the extent that leaders are effecVve in the role of self-leadership, they will be effecVve in the one-to-one role. As leaders engage in one-to-one pracVces, their self-leadership skills (e.g., self-monitoring and self-regulaVon) and their personality-related behaviors (e.g., being open to others' ideas and experiences) become criVcally important for interpersonal effec>veness. Knowing one's self—how one acts and comes across—is essenVal for understanding a one-to-one interacVon with a direct report. Leaders with self-knowledge can address the other person in the relaVonship with disVnct understanding. The leader can clarify the impact of her own behavior and her direct report's behavior in the interacVon. For example, if a manager tends to be closed to new ideas, the degree of openness becomes a known constant in relaVonships with direct reports. The manager can then adjust her acVons based on her understanding of the direct report's behavior. For example, if she knows that iniVally she resists new ideas from a direct report, she might decide to spend Vme evaluaVng these ideas rather than dismissing them. The manager might say to her direct report, "I would like to take a day or two to mull over your idea and to give it thorough consideraVon."

The Mone-London organizaVon model refers to one-to-one leadership as dyad performance. Leaders can have dyadic relaVonships with a variety of stakeholders:

Customers, where the emphasis might be posiVoning the company for further sales CompeVtors, where the emphasis could involve collaboraVve leadership focused on mergers or alliances Regulators and government officials, with the goal of influencing possible legislaVon or posiVoning their companies in a favorable light

We will focus, however, on the leader–direct report relaVonship in this chapter, and give some consideraVon to the others in chapter 5, parVcularly the development of collaboraVve relaVonships.

The Mone-London organizaVon model (Figure 3.1) indicates that leaders need to build trust and empowerment, uVlize performance management pracVces, effecVvely resolve conflicts, and select the right people to be successful in the one-to-one role. They must focus on performance and development management, guided by the organizaVon's overarching goals, and each direct report's own performance and development goals. The organizaVon's human resource performance management and development processes and programs serve as enablers to this effort, and provide the foundaVon for leaders to be coaches, and perhaps mentors, to their direct reports. Leaders will, in the end, evaluate their direct reports' performance and development efforts, ensuring that their results meet or exceed expectaVons in line with the organizaVon's strategic direcVon and goals.

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Figure 3.1: The Mone-London organiza:on model applied to one-to-one leadership

In this chapter, we will begin by exploring the one-to-one relaVonship. We will then move on to the important discussion of how leaders can build trust in the one-to-one relaVonship and empower others to act. As you will see, trust and empowerment are foundaVonal and necessary ingredients for achieving success in this leadership role. We follow this discussion with a review of three key frameworks that leaders can use and apply to further increase their capability when working one-to-one. For the remainder and majority of this chapter, we discuss in detail the following role-related competencies, as well as how to assess and develop those competencies:

Build trust and empowerment Mutually set performance and development goals Deliver effecVve, construcVve feedback IdenVfy and create informal and formal development opportuniVes Reinforce performance through the Vmely use of recogniVon and rewards Coach for performance improvement and enhancement Construct and deliver effecVve performance appraisals

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Manage and resolve conflicts Conduct effecVve selecVon interviews for jobs or key assignments

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3.1 Exploring the One-to-One Relationship A chief human resource officer (CHRO) of a high-tech Fortune 500 company once said, "People don't quit companies, they quit bosses." What do you think about this statement? Do people quit because of their bosses or supervisors? Are there other reasons that may be more important to leave or remain with an organizaVon?

Although the CHRO's statement is a broad generalizaVon, it contains a fair degree of truth. Even though formal mechanisms may be in place and legal recourse is certainly available, employees will suffer, or potenVally leave their organizaVons, if their supervisors create and sustain hosVle work environments. SomeVmes an untrustworthy supervisor is all it takes to create the desire to pursue a career with another company. On the other hand, employees are more likely to remain commi[ed to their supervisors and their organizaVons when leaders and managers focus on pracVces that engage their employees (Macey, Schneider, Barbera, & Young, 2009; Gebauer & Lowman, 2008), that is, when leaders create the condiVons and encourage behaviors that allow employees to become more embedded within their jobs, organizaVons, and communiVes (Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, & Erez, 2001).

The exchange that leaders (supervisors) form with trusted subordinates creates a strong, posiVve, and powerful relaVonship that will lead to greater levels of commitment and engagement. The one-to-one relaVonship provides leaders the opportunity to role model effecVve behaviors, build trust, and enroll others in their vision of the future. When leaders and managers succeed in the one-to-one role, their employees will be engaged, empowered, and, commi[ed to contribuVng to the organizaVon's success. Their employees, too, develop the ability to lead themselves, a concept discussed by Manz and Sims (2001) as SuperLeadership. See the Considering SuperLeadership boxed feature to learn more.

Considering SuperLeadership

SuperLeadership is a concept originally introduced in the book SuperLeadership by Charles Manz and Henry Sims (1989). The book was updated and revised in 2001 as The New SuperLeadership.

Although it incorporates many of the pracVces we discussed in chapter 2 and will discuss in this chapter, the purpose or goal of SuperLeadership is "to facilitate self-leadership capability and pracVce and, further, to make the self-leadership process the central target of external influence" (Manz and Sims, 2001, p. 25). In other words, leaders focus on developing the self-leadership of others, not the creaVon of followers, and they largely accomplish this through empowering their

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Photodisc/GeHy

direct reports to act. And we agree with Manz and Sims when they say that leading one's self effecVvely is a prerequisite for leading others in the one-to-one role.

SuperLeadership begins with self-leadership, which Manz and Sims call an extensive set of strategies focused on the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that we can use to influence ourselves as leaders. These include seong our own performance and career goals, providing our own rewards for our successes, creaVng opportuniVes for deriving natural or intrinsic rewards from our work, and holding posiVve beliefs and thoughts that help to guide us in search of opportuniVes versus being overwhelmed by obstacles. We would add to that list, as well,

selfregulaVon and self-monitoring behaviors. Again, much of this was discussed in chapter 2. Manz and Sims suggest that there are specific strategies leaders can use for developing self-leadership through the dyadic, or one-to-one relaVonship with direct reports. These include the following:

Modeling—When leaders demonstrate self-leadership behaviors, providing an example to their direct reports that captures their a[enVon, helps them to remember the behavior, and moVvates them to try the behavior on their own Goal se^ng—When leaders help to develop the capability in their direct reports to realisVcally set their own performance and development goals, of course, including leadership development goals Rewards—When leaders help their direct reports to find the natural or intrinsic reward in their work, which is onen found in work that helps to build feelings of competence, feelings of being able to control the work, and feelings that the work is worthwhile—it has purpose and meaning Posi:ve thought paXerns—When leaders help their direct reports to see opportuniVes where obstacles were normally seen, engage in mental rehearsal and visualizaVon of success, and encourage posiVve self-talk.

As we progress through this chapter, you will recognize how the frameworks we present, such as performance management, and the processes and programs we recommend, such as goal seong, feedback, and mentoring, all serve to foster self-leadership when done effecVvely in the one-to-one role.

Finally, Manz and Sims suggest that SuperLeadership can be exercised with teams, and this is accomplished when leaders establish empowered, self-managed or self-directed teams, such as

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service teams, product teams, cross-funcVonal teams, top-execuVve teams, and virtual teams. At the organizaVon level, SuperLeaders can build a culture of self-leadership through the organizaVonal structures they create, for example, moving from a layered, hierarchical structure to a horizontal structure—one that is flat with few management levels; and through human resource systems that promote work innovaVon, informal hiring pracVces, performance appraisals that incorporate mulVple inputs and have a development, focus, and compensaVon that is more variable, team-oriented, and performance-based.

Managers at all levels in the organizaVon require skills in one-to-one leadership. Therefore, in this chapter, the discussion also is applicable to lower and middle managers. In fact, many expectaVons of leaders in the one-to-one role are also expected of supervisors and managers. For example, carrying out all phases of performance management, from goal seong to appraising direct reports, is an expectaVon of leaders as well as managers.

Before we proceed further, we want to make the point that leadership does take Vme and effort, and that some of what leaders need to do—for example, to give tough feedback to a direct report—is not easy and requires advanced skills. When leaders, and managers for that ma[er, work effecVvely in the one-to-one role, they will spend Vme in goal seong, providing feedback, working on development plans, and coaching and appraising each of their direct reports. Just engaging in 30-minute biweekly coaching sessions with each of a leader's six direct reports, given the Vme it takes to prepare for the session and to follow up on progress anerwards, can easily total 6 hours—that is almost a full working-day every other week. However, though Vme-intensive and challenging, this is what effecVve leadership and management involve. See the case study Back to Basics to learn about what could happen when leaders tend to ignore the one-to-one role.

A Case Study Back to the Basics

The authors recently had the opportunity to consult with a senior execuVve, the chief markeVng officer (CMO), who reported directly to the CEO of a mulVnaVonal organizaVon of more than 5,000 employees. The CMO, with more than 20 years of experience in the industry, had a team of eight direct reports collecVvely leading more than 125 employees. However, in a recent 360-degree feedback survey, the CMO's direct reports indicated issues of trust between themselves, but more so, between each team member and the CMO. This surfaced in the lack of cooperaVon and agreement between them when it came to launching global iniVaVves, such as a new product launch.

Aner reading through the results and discussing them with the CMO, the authors then met with

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each direct report to further explore the trust issues. The authors learned that the CMO, who thought he was empowering his direct reports to act, actually was demonstraVng more of a laissez-faire leadership style, and ignoring feedback from his team about conflicts between team members. The CMO also provided li[le performance feedback, so individually each direct report thought they were doing fine and that it was others on the team who were causing the problems. These conflicts, as was the case, were the result of the CMO not holding each of the direct reports accountable for results and working collaboraVvely to achieve overall goals. Fundamentally, the CMO was not managing the performance of his direct reports, and frankly, was spending more Vme in his role as a member of the senior leadership team (leading the organizaVon) than as a supervisor of his direct reports (leading one-to-one).

The authors' advice, which was acted on and ulVmately improved team morale and performance, and reduced the tension and conflict within the team and between team members and the CMO, included:

Bringing the direct report team together collec>vely to share and discuss overall findings and feedback Establishing with the team clear goals for the organiza>on, as well as with each direct report, helping each to beHer understand expecta>ons for themselves and others on the team The CMO agreeing to conduct biweekly, one-to-one performance review and feedback mee>ngs with each direct report to monitor performance, progress, and morale The CMO's commitment to be proac>ve in resolving conflicts brought to his aHen>on, while also emphasizing his desire for collabora>on and teamwork across the team; in essence, he wanted his team to role-model the right behaviors for the rest of his organiza>on

In this case, "back to basics" is about recognizing the importance of the one-to-one role as leaders move up in the hierarchy, while emphasizing as well that the fundamentals of performance management—such as seong clear performance expectaVons, arVculaVng desired behaviors and providing feedback on a regular basis—remain important to focus on regardless of your level in the organizaVon and the level of your direct reports. Leaders, in essence, have to be managers, too; they have to supervise their direct reports. Leaders also need to learn how to effecVvely balance the four roles of leadership, as this case demonstrates.

Reflec:on Ques:ons:

What do you think causes senior leaders, in general, to lose focus on the one-to-one role? What assump>ons might they be making about themselves and their direct reports?

1.

Have you ever "neglected" your direct report team when it came to performance management? Why was that so? What impact did it have on your team?

2.

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As a leader, it is important for you to build trust with your direct reports and coworkers. How would you go about building trust?

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3.2 Building Trust and Empowerment Leaders need to act in ways that demonstrate they are trustworthy individuals, for example, by doing what they say they will do. They also need to demonstrate behaviors that build trust in the roles of leading one-to-one, leading teams, and leading organizaVons. Trust helps develop effecVve relaVonships in these roles and can lead to greater levels of performance, collaboraVon, and empowerment (Jones & George, 1998; Poon, 2006). As a result, we begin our discussion of the competencies necessary for success in the one-to-one role by exploring the importance of building trust and empowering others and showing how leaders can do so. It is safe to say that without high levels of trust, a leader will not be successful in any of these leadership roles.

Building Trust

Why is trust important, and what can leaders do to build trust? Trust is almost always ranked at the top of the list of what is expected of leaders (O'Toole & Bennis, 2009). It is also essenVal to any relaVonship where a dependency exists, as our working definiVon of trust implies:

[T]he willingness of an individual or group to be vulnerable to the acVons of others based on the expectaVon that they will perform a parVcular important acVon, irrespecVve of the ability to monitor or control performance. (Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995, p. 712)

Overall, research on trustworthiness can be grouped according to three major competencies: ability, benevolence, and integrity (Colqui[ & Salam, 2009). These competencies are important to building trust, which is a process that happens over Vme. Through consistent and persistent demonstraVon of these competencies, as well as the related specific behaviors described later in this secVon, leaders create trust in relaVonships. When direct reports start to witness a leader they can trust, they become more trusVng, which is even true for those who might not be the most trusVng to begin with, or have a low propensity to trust (see the discussion on propensity to trust below). Let's define these three competencies:

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Ability. Leaders must have relevant job knowledge, both technical knowledge related to their funcVons and general management competencies. This helps the leader's direct reports to feel confident about their leader's ideas. The general management competencies fall within the realm of performance management, including seong the right kinds of performance and development goals, evaluaVng performance accurately, and providing coaching. We'll expand on a related set of behaviors shortly. Benevolence. Leaders must demonstrate a sense of posiVvism and goodwill toward their direct reports, showing their concern and loyalty to them. This benevolence, however, must be seen as being moVvated by goodwill, and not by the leader's own needs or a search for greater organizaVon results. Leaders demonstrate benevolence by being supporVve, including showing a concern for the welfare of direct reports and helping them to accomplish their tasks, as necessary. Over Vme, acts of benevolence will tend to deepen the trust felt in the relaVonship by the direct reports. Integrity. Leaders need to sVck to a set of valid, sound moral and ethical principles. Integrity is not something that is easily apparent early in the relaVonship. Leaders build trust in this way by showing their direct reports that they keep to their word, their words match their values, and their behavior is consistent with their values, morals, and ethics over Vme. Leaders demonstrate integrity, too, by ensuring that organizaVonal processes, such as the promoVon and compensaVon processes, are fair, just, and transparent.

A leader's abiliVes to demonstrate trustworthiness and to empower direct reports are foundaVonal elements of the one-to-one role, parVcularly when it comes to performance management (Mone & London, 2010; Pulakos, 2009). Following are recommendaVons for what leaders can do to build trust into the pracVce of performance management; these acVons largely consVtute and reflect the general management competencies introduced in the Ability bullet point above.

Act as an advocate for your direct reports. Stand up for their rights by negoVaVng for resources to help them do their jobs and develop their skills. Protect them when their performance is unfairly quesVoned. Treat conversaVons with each of your direct reports as confidenVal; treat them fairly and equitably. Show confidence in your direct reports. Let them know you rely on them to accomplish their goals; avoid micromanagement. Empower your direct reports with accountability and responsibility for achieving important results. Act with integrity. Do what you say you will do. When your behavior is predictable, your direct reports will be more trusVng. Maintain your principles under pressure, and finally, be consistent in what you say or your direct reports will doubt your integrity and trustworthiness. Display an interest in your direct reports. It is important to show your interest in their opinions, desires, and what they like to do. Present each person with the opportunity to share and respond accordingly, but make a conscious effort to avoid favoriVsm. Demonstrate openness. Be open to influence from your direct reports. Capitalize on their

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knowledge, insight. or experience. Share, as appropriate, all relevant informaVon with your direct reports so they can be[er achieve their goals and support you in achieving yours. Withholding needed informaVon without a strong reason is a serious breach of trust. Your openness will allow your employees to feel more comfortable and open with you. Manage the performance of your direct reports. Provide fair and reasonable goals and consistently share your expectaVons. Encourage, support, and reward successful performance. Provide development opportuniVes that support their current responsibiliVes, as well as support their career development goals. Act as a trusted coach. Coaching is central to building trust. Be construcVve and make your direct reports comfortable. Refrain from criVcism. Focus on expressing your concerns and working together to develop an approach that will lead to be[er results. Let your direct reports know they can disclose their performance concerns with you. (Mone and London, 2010)

Leaders can build trust in the organizaVon by acVng in ways that demonstrate transparency. This is important because senior leaders, in fact, may onen be rated lower on their trustworthiness than an employee's immediate manager, as illustrated in the boxed feature Consider Exploring Trust in a High-Tech Firm. The following is a group of key acVons or behaviors that build trust, in general, in the one-to-one role:

Tell the truth. Leaders should tell each of their direct reports the same story, engaging in straight talk. They should be honest, and if full disclosure is not feasible, explain why; your direct reports will understand. Encourage your direct reports to speak the truth. Leaders need to create the condiVons for their direct reports to be courageous and honest. Let them know you want to hear the difficult truths, and respond favorably when they do so. Reward your direct reports who are contrarians. Leaders need to encourage their direct reports to challenge the leaders' espoused theories and theories-in-use and reward them for speaking up (we discuss this later in the chapter). Admit your mistakes. Leaders who do this with their direct reports set the stage for them to do the same. Treat your commitments and promises seriously. Leaders who don't will soon recognize that their direct reports will not take them seriously. Keep your behavior predictable. Leaders should not change their behavior based on the latest trends or fashions; leaders should be consistent so that their direct reports know what to expect. Set informa>on free. Leaders should make sharing informaVon with their direct reports their modus operandi, unless there is a legal reason for not doing so. (Based on Kouzes & Posner, 2011; O'Toole & Bennis, 2011)

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Consider Exploring Trust in a High-Tech Firm

Who do employees think is more trustworthy—senior leaders or their immediate managers? According to an organizaVonal survey conducted for five consecuVve years at a Fortune 500 high-tech firm, on average, the statement "I trust execuVve leadership at this company" received a 64% favorable response. This is the total percentage of employees who agreed and strongly agreed with this statement. However, in response to the statement "My manager is someone I can trust," an average of 78% of employees responded favorably. The 14-point difference in scores was a[ributed to the fact that execuVve leaders were not seen as "being open and honest in their communicaVons"—only 57% of employees responded favorably to this item.

Remember that demonstraVng openness is an important leadership capability. It is criVcal for being perceived as trustworthy.

(Mone & London, 2010)

Leaders will need to recognize that their direct reports will vary in terms of how trusVng they iniVally appear to be. In fact, they will have different propensiVes to trust (McKnight & Chervani, 2006), which affects how they behave at the beginning of a new relaVonship. Leaders should demonstrate their trust first. TrusVng others first is one of the best ways to build a trusVng relaVonship; it creates an exchange of behaviors that strengthens the level of trust in the relaVonship over Vme. The more the leader trusts, the more the leader will earn the trust of others. Leaders who espouse being trustworthy must act in ways that consistently demonstrate trustworthiness; otherwise they will appear to lack integrity, which has a negaVve impact on trust.

At Vmes, leaders can find themselves needing to restore trust in relaVonships. According to Covey (2006), this can occur when leaders lose their credibility through their acVons or inacVons, such as making an honest mistake or demonstraVng poor judgment. Similarly, general communicaVon issues, such as not being open or honest, will not inspire trust between leaders and their direct reports. To remedy the situaVon, Covey suggests focusing on behaviors that will inspire trust and increase credibility. These are the kinds of behaviors we have been discussing, such as telling the truth and admiong your mistakes. Covey describes credibility in terms of four cores, three of which are similar to the three major competencies discussed above: integrity, intent or benevolence, and capabiliVes or abiliVes. The fourth core has to do with performance or results, which is accomplishing what we promised and expected to achieve. The idea, again, is for leaders to step up to demonstraVng their trustworthiness in more and stronger ways in order to restore trust in relaVonships with their direct reports. They need to focus on rebuilding their credibility and demonstraVng more, as well as more

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As a leader, it is important to empower your employees to ensure they feel accountable and responsible for their work.

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effecVvely, the range of behaviors that rebuild trust.

One of the best ways leaders can demonstrate their trust is by empowering their direct reports, which is also at the heart of being a SuperLeader.

Empowering Others

EffecVve empowerment is a necessity in today's business environment, where people need to respond to new challenges in record Vme, and do more with fewer people. ExecuVves and other leaders simply cannot accomplish their goals if they do not engage their people. (Gebelein, Lee, Nelson-Neuhas, & Sloan, 1999, p. 175)

What is empowerment? It is a psychological state in which someone feels accountable and responsible to act. Gordon Sullivan, former U.S. Army chief of staff, had this to say about empowerment.

Empowered subordinates accept responsibility for themselves, for their team, and for their contribuVons to the organizaVon. From that sense of shared responsibility comes self-confidence, moVvaVon, and commitment. Leader development—invesVng in people—is about creaVng that kind of empowerment. (Sullivan & Harper, 1996, p. 213)

More formally, Quinn and Spreitzer (1999) tell us that the following four characterisVcs reflect the personal feeling of, or psychological state of, being empowered.

Sense of self-determina>on. Feeling free to choose how to do one's work.1. Sense of meaning. Caring about the work and feeling that it is important.2. Sense of competence. Feeling confident about the ability to perform and do one's work well.3. Sense of impact. Believing in having the ability to influence one's work unit and that others will listen to their ideas.

4.

Feeling empowered, therefore, is an acVve orientaVon to one's work. It involves experiencing all four

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characterisVcs to truly feel empowered. For example, if a direct report really enjoys his or her work, but feels that he or she has very li[le impact, the experience of empowerment will be lessened.

Importantly, a number of factors in organizaVons contribute to creaVng the condiVons for empowerment, and can be considered antecedents of psychological empowerment. These include having the following:

Wide spans of control A supporVve work climate High-quality peer and customer relaVonships PoliVcal support from one's supervisor Access to informaVon about the direcVon and goal of the organizaVon Rewards based on individual performance

These condiVons help to foster both intrinsic moVvaVon and self-efficacy, which are important to feeling empowered, but most importantly, empowerment in organizaVons is influenced by leadership behavior (Yukl, 2006). Leaders will feel comfortable empowering their direct reports when trust levels are high. Empowering direct reports gives them greater degrees of accountability; there are greater risks and rewards. Being empowered leads to greater levels of saVsfacVon and higher levels of performance, and being more innovaVve. To learn about two seminal thinkers on the topic of empowerment, see the boxed feature Consider Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Peter Block on Empowerment.

IniVally, leaders must make sure their direct reports have the resources they need and the required skills to act with the appropriate levels of discreVon. Leaders help to empower their direct reports when they do the following:

Invest in building their knowledge, skills, and experVse. Define and communicate the extent of discreVon they have to make decisions and commit to the organizaVon. Enable parVcipaVon in decision making that affects the work unit. Provide the opportunity and access for them to build new relaVonships internally and externally. Provide vision and challenge, with clearly defined goals and expectaVons so that their efforts will be targeted appropriately. Create a safe environment, encouraging risk taking and protecVon from failure. Recognize and reward empowered behavior.

How does a leader determine when and how to empower their direct reports? Leaders can take these steps to help build trust and empower their direct reports.

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Choose projects where they can be trusted and empowered. IdenVfy the skill sets needed to perform successfully. Determine if they have the ability and desire to perform. If there is a skill set gap, create development opportuniVes to close the gap. Determine the risks and rewards (consequences of success and failure). IdenVfy and remove any external barriers to success. Communicate the opportunity, expectaVons, and goals.

Empowerment is also important in performance management. Following is a set of guidelines for empowerment that support the pracVce of performance management. Leaders should:

Clarify objecVves with their direct reports, explaining how their work supports them. Include their direct reports when making decisions that affect them; delegate responsibility and authority for important acVviVes. Recognize that their direct reports have different skills and moVvaVon. Provide their direct reports access to resources, including relevant informaVon. Remove bureaucraVc constraints and unnecessary controls. Express confidence and trust in their direct reports. Provide direct reports with advice and coaching as requested; encourage their direct reports to take iniVaVve. Recognize and reward important achievement. (adapted from Yukl, 2006)

Mo:va:ng Workers

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Many business leaders overes:mate the importance of pay. Studies have found that employees need nonmaterial rewards such as clear feedback and shared authority in decisions related to work. How should leaders offer this immaterial compensa:on, and what are its effects on the company?

Consider Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Peter Block on Empowerment

Rosabeth Moss Kanter was one of the early proponents of empowerment. In chapter 5 we discuss her work in collaboraVve leadership. In her award-winning book, Men and Women of the Corpora>on (1977), Kanter states that when senior leaders monopolize power, others are limited in their capacity to get things done. However, total power will increase in a leader's organizaVon when the leader shares power—empowering others with the authority and capacity to get things done.

Peter Block's The Empowered Manager (1987) is more widely known among human resource professionals, managers, and leaders. Block's message is one of hope, posiVoning empowerment as a posiVve and poliVcal skill that can enable managers to overcome the bureaucraVc mindset that pervades most organizaVons.

Measuring the Trust and Empowerment Gap

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Strong leaders must measure the trust and empowerment gaps between themselves and their direct reports. What do you think is the best way to measure this?

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There are several ways to measure gaps in trust and empowerment that exist between leaders and their direct reports. A survey is onen the best approach; either a 360-degree survey, an employee opinion survey, or a survey specifically designed to measure in detail the trust and empowerment gap. The following survey, shown in Table 3.1, Trust and Empowerment—Measuring the Gap, is an example of a 360-degree survey focused on trust and empowerment. The survey dimensions are straighxorward, and focus on the extent to which the leader demonstrates behaviors that promote trust and empowerment. The survey contains eight dimensions or categories and 24 quesVons. You can use the survey in two primary ways. First, use the category-level quesVons, for example, by asking a leader's direct reports if the leader "acts as an advocate." That would mean asking eight quesVons, as follows:

Does your leader act as an advocate for you?

1.

Does your leader show confidence in you?

2.

Does your leader act with integrity?3. Does your leader display an interest in you?

4.

Does your leader demonstrate openness?

5.

Does your leader manage your performance?

6.

Does your leader act as a trusted coach?

7.

Does your leader empower you?8.

Second, you can use the full survey—the category quesVons to get an overall response and the two follow-up quesVons per category to probe as necessary. We suggest recording three possible responses for each quesVon: Yes, No, or Not Sure. If you prefer, you could have parVcipants rate each category and follow-up quesVon on a Likert scale, ranging from 1–5, based on the extent to which the leader demonstrates the behavior (To a very li[le extent, To a li[le extent, To a moderate extent, To a great extent, To a very great extent). Clearly, we are providing you with choices for how to use the survey. For example, if only using a few leaders, then perhaps the full survey (24 quesVons) with the yes-no-not sure response scale would make sense. If you wanted to use the survey with a large number of leaders, then we would recommend the Likert scale so that you could average results across the larger populaVon creaVng a norm that each leader can use for comparison.

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Once the survey is completed, you will have an evaluaVon of the leader's behaviors regarding trust and empowerment. QuesVons that are answered Yes or rated a 3, 4 or 5 would indicate strengths. Those rated No or a 1 or 2 would indicate areas for further development. A Not Sure raVng should be interpreted as not having the opportunity to be in the posiVon to observe that behavior.

Table 3.1: Trust and Empowerment—Measuring the Gap

Does the leader act as an advocate?

Stand up for the rights of the direct reports?

Treat the direct reports fairly and equitably?

Does your leader show confidence in the direct reports?

Feel comfortable relying on the direct reports to accomplish their goals?

Delegate tasks criVcal tasks to the direct reports?

Does your leader act with integrity?

Keep the promises made and take responsibility for own mistakes?

Behave in a predictable and consistent fashion?

Does your leader display interest in the direct reports?

Seek out the opinions of the direct reports?

Show concern by asking the direct reports about their lives outside of work?

Does your leader demonstrate openness?

Show willingness and openness to influence by the direct reports?

Believe direct reports will be open to feedback about their work style and performance?

Does your leader manage performance?

Share performance expectaVons with direct reports?

Provide direct reports with fair performance goals, appraisals, rewards, coaching, and feedback?

Does your leader show a propensity to trust?

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Demonstrate trust in the direct reports before they demonstrate trust in the leader?

Feel the relaVonships with the direct reports are based on trust?

Does your leader empower?

Provide adequate resources for direct reports to achieve their goals?

Give direct reports the accountability and authority to act on their own?

Leadership in Review

Reflect on your learning by answering the following ques:ons:

How would you define trust in your own words?1. What is meant by the propensity to trust?2. How would you define empowerment in your own words?3. What are the four characteris>cs that must be in place to feel psychological empowerment?4. What are some ways a leader build empowerments into the performance management process?5.

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Leaders must understand the frameworks of one-to-one leadership in order to successfully lead their team.

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3.3 Understanding One-to-One Leadership There are three frameworks that are necessary for understanding the pracVces and approaches of leaders in the one-to-one role:

Theories of prac:ce provide an understanding and interpretaVon of an individual's approach to acVon.

1.

The ladder of inference is an approach for understanding, resolving, and improving interpersonal communicaVon.

2.

Performance management is the set of key pracVces including goal seong, feedback, development, recogniVon, coaching, and performance appraisal important to leadership of a direct report.

3.

Theories of Practice

The extensive work of two theorist pracVVoners, Argyris (1990, 1994, 2004) and Schon (Argyris & Schon, 1974; Schon, 1990), has consistently found that most people tend to be unaware of how their aotudes affect their behavior, and they are also unaware of the negaVve impact of their behavior on others. This theory is based on the following concepts.

People have ideas about the deliberate behaviors they must demonstrate to achieve the results they want. The specific behaviors form a sequence of interrelated behaviors, or pracVce, such as one's ideas about the behaviors required for effecVve leadership. As a result, people establish theories of pracVce, for example, how they will act as leaders of large organizaVons.

When asked about their theories of pracVce, people can generally describe them. This descripVon is their espoused theory, or how they will act or believe they will act to achieve results. People believe in and are commi[ed to their espoused theories. To learn about a person's espoused theory, ask that person to

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tell you how they would act in a given situaVon.

People ulVmately act based on their theories-in-use. Observe someone in acVon to learn about their theories-in-use. For example, a CEO demonstrates leadership behavior by speaking to a large group of employees in a town hall meeVng. The leader may be espousing the importance of open communicaVon, but her reacVon of intolerance to a challenging quesVon about the recent drop in the company's stock price gives an indicaVon of her true theory-in-use. Theories-in-use are the means for reaching goals, and they specify strategies for how people will conduct themselves, for example, how a leader resolves conflicts, engages in providing feedback, or coaches others. Theories-in-use provide the underlying constancy for an individual's behavior.

What is the value of understanding theories of pracVce? First, it is a way for a leader to gain insight into the relaVonship between what she says and does, and how that is perceived by a direct report. Second, it helps a leader understand the relaVonship between what a direct report says and does.

For example, when leaders master the role of leading one's self, they develop clarity about their intended acVons and the resultant behaviors. They discover the theories they say they believe in and the theories they actually demonstrate. This insight onen leads to developing be[er or more valid theories of pracVce. For instance, a leader may believe in a theory of openness but may realize her theory-in-use revolves around challenging and resisVng the viability of new ideas. The framework can also provide leaders insight about their actual theories-in-use, which can lead to the adopVon of more rigorous pracVces. Finally, the framework can help leaders understand that discrepancies may exist between their espoused theories and theories-in-use. The discrepancies will have a negaVve effect on their perceived trustworthiness and integrity, and the leader will be seen as saying one thing and doing another. Recall that having integrity is one of the three major competencies related to being seen as trustworthy.

When it comes to understanding their direct reports, leaders will also find value in this framework. For example, when a leader provides feedback based on observable behavior, a direct report may become defensive and reject the feedback since the behavior is inconsistent with the direct report's espoused theory. The leader in this case might say to the direct report, "You provided very generic answers to the quesVons our customers raised in the meeVng we just had." The direct report, who always talks about the importance of the customer and meeVng customer needs (espoused theory), might reply, "I don't think that is true—I gave them good answers to the quesVons they asked." The leader can coach the direct report to help reconcile this discrepancy. Figure 3.2 shows some of the key challenges leaders encounter working with others, based on the congruency of their espoused theories and theories-in-use. Most of the performance management pracVces discussed in this chapter focus on performance improvement, which onen requires the leader to point out the direct

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report's espoused theory, theory-in-use, and the steps necessary to enhance both theories and to guide behavior that leads to successful results.

Figure 3.2: The challenges of theories-in-ac:on

Looking at Figure 3.2, consider Box A. In this instance, both the leader and the direct report have congruent theories, so the leader will need to recognize that coaching might involve a focus both on the beliefs held and the behavior demonstrated by the direct report. For example, the direct report could believe in providing minimal amounts of feedback to her own team, and actually provides that amount, to the dissaVsfacVon of her team members. The leader has congruent theories, so it should be easier for the direct report to accept the feedback. On the other hand, Box B requires the leader to focus on the direct report's incongruency in values and behaviors. In this instance, the leader would likely encounter someone who believes in providing feedback regularly, but probably does not do so. The leader would need to help the direct report see this inconsistency, and then help him to determine how to provide feedback on a more regular basis.

Box C takes on a different slant. Here, the leader's difficulty iniVally stems from the fact that she is not doing what she believes and says is important to do. This can come across as a lack of integrity, and could raise quesVons with the direct report about truly needing to change if the leader is not herself "perfect." So the leader may be saying feedback is important, but does not provide enough

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feedback to the direct report team, and in specific, to this direct report, so some cynicism may prevail. The leader in this instance has to make clear to her direct report that although her own theories may be incongruent, the direct report's behavior in quesVon is sVll important to enhance. Finally, Box D presents a scenario opposite of Box A. In this instance, clearly neither the leader nor the direct report is doing what they say they will do. So going back to our example of providing enough feedback to direct reports, the leader once again has to make clear that although her own behavior may be inconsistent with her values, there is sVll some inconsistency in what the direct report says and does. So the leader has to deal, potenVally, with both her own lack of integrity in trying to make this change and the resistance from the direct report who believes he is doing what he says and is wondering why this is an issue for him if his own leader does not do this, either. In the end, it might just come across as the leader paying lip service to idea of the direct report becoming more effecVve at providing feedback.

The Ladder of Inference

The ladder of inference is a tool that leaders can use to help their direct reports more clearly understand the discrepancies between their espoused theories and theories-in-use. In general, theories-of-pracVce are based on beliefs that are largely untested and grounded in what we infer from observaVons and past experiences. Ross states that the ability to achieve the results we desire is eroded by the following factors:

Our beliefs are the truth The truth is obvious Our beliefs are based on real data The data we select are the real data (Senge, 1994, p. 242)

Leaders can use the ladder of inference to guide discussions and to clarify thinking, reasoning, and theories. This allows for both parVes to arrive at a mutual understanding of the "truth." Figure 3.3, the ladder of inference, depicts how we proceed from the ladder's bo[om rung, moving from what we see and observe, to selecVng data, adding meaning to the data, drawing assumpVons based on the data and meanings, and finally drawing conclusions that drive beliefs and acVon. Eventually, beliefs grow strong and influence the data that we select, shortening the overall process, and keeping us in the reflexive loop.

Figure 3.3: The ladder of inference

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The following is an example of a conversaVon between a leader and a direct report that demonstrates the ladder of inference in operaVon. Note that in this example, which is what typically happens in real life, Jamal proceeds through the ladder of inference without much conscious awareness of doing so. This example demonstrates, as well, how the ladder of inference serves to underpin many of our conversaVons in the workplace.

Jamal, a leader, is in a one-to-one meeVng with Mark, a direct report. Jamal is giving Mark performance feedback. Jamal observes that Mark is quiet during this Vme, and when Jamal finishes with the feedback, Mark says, "It is important to talk about next quarter's goals." Jamal decides—selects the data—that Mark was quiet when listening to the feedback. Jamal figured that it meant Mark did not like that part of the meeVng. Jamal assumed that Mark was uncomfortable with feedback and concluded Mark did not like to receive feedback. This led Jamal to believe that Mark was not interested in his own professional growth. Jamal's next acVon was to schedule more Vme in subsequent meeVngs to focus on giving Mark performance feedback and support his

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ongoing development.

The problem in the example is that Jamal is convinced he needs to spend more Vme on feedback with Mark, but Jamal does not really know if that is an effecVve response to why Mark was quiet. It is unclear why Mark was silent during the meeVng. Jamal never tested what he was seeing; he just made a number of assumpVons and formulated his own reasons for Mark's behavior.

According to Ross (1994), leaders can use the ladder of inference in three ways:

As a guide to reflec>ng on their own thinking and reasoning. Jamal can sit quietly and ask himself, for example, how he arrived at the acVons he is going to take based on what he observed in the meeVng. Does he have enough data? Did he jump to conclusions? What evidence does he really have about Mark's behavior?

1.

To make their thinking and reasoning more visible to others. Jamal would explain to Mark, by walking through the steps in the ladder, what he observed, what it meant to him, what he concluded, and more. This would give Mark the chance to respond and to clarify what was going on from his perspecVve—to add his point of view.

2.

To inquire into others' thinking and reasoning. Jamal would ask Mark to use the ladder to describe what he saw, what that meant to him, what he concluded, and why his acVon was to be quiet.

3.

How can you use the ladder of inference? First, you can use it to criVcally examine the foundaVons of your espoused theories, theories in use, and any discrepancies between the two. Second, you can use the ladder to help your direct reports do the same. Third, it is also a good tool to use in conversaVons, like the one between Jamal and Mark, to more explicitly advocate for your own viewpoint and perspecVve or to inquire about the views and perspecVves of others. Ross and Roberts (1994) suggest protocols that can be used to argue for your perspecVve—by moving up the ladder—or inquiring about another's perspecVve—by moving down the ladder. Here's what you can do:

To advocate for your posiVon or viewpoint (moving up the ladder of inference):

Describe what you saw if it was a behavior, or describe your idea or contribuVon; "This is what I see . . ." or "Here is my idea . . ." State what it means to you; "I think this is important because . . ." Share and explain your assumpVons; "I assumed that the problem we are trying to solve is . . ." Discuss why you reached your conclusion; "I arrived at this conclusion because . . ." Clarify your beliefs; "I believe that if we don't take this acVon . . ." State the suggested acVon; "So what I suggest we do . . ."

When advocaVng, however, your style will be important. Going up the ladder actually involves sharing

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Good performance management includes offering feedback based on a founda:on of trust and empowerment.

Comstock/Thinkstock

of your ideas, assumpVons, and conclusions, so that others know where you are coming from and can respond accordingly. Therefore, you need to be open and in fact invite others to ask you quesVons and explore your perspecVve. Don't be defensive. In the end, your goal is to ensure that important problems or issues get resolved, which requires openness on the part of everyone involved to arrive at the best possible answer or soluVon.

When inquiring about another's posiVon, you don't want to appear too challenging or aggressive as you walk down the ladder of inference. You don't want the holder of that posiVon to become defensive—you just want to learn how he or she arrived at that posiVon in the clearest way possible.

To inquire into another's perspecVve (moving down the ladder of inference):

Clarify the acVon taken; "So, are you suggesVng that . . ." Clarify why it is important; "Tell me about why you believe that to be important." Ask how the viewpoint was arrived at; "What led you to make that conclusion?" Understand the basis for the conclusion; "What are the assumpVons you are making when . . ." Test for meaning; "What makes that so significant or important to you?" IdenVfy what data supports this posiVon; "What data do you have and what leads you to this place?"

One-to-one relaVonships can be challenging. Leaders and their direct reports have their own espoused theories and theories-in-use. For each, their theories-in-use and espoused theories will be in some degree of alignment. The more their own theories are in alignment, the greater the match between their words and acVons. This contributes to higher degrees of insight, making it easier to move forward and grow. Leaders need to have their theories in alignment. This is a sign of their ability to lead themselves effecVvely and to be ready to be good coaches and mentors to

their direct reports. Leaders need to work with their direct reports to help them recognize their espoused theories and theories-in-use, whether or not they are consistent, and subsequently, if they are valid and represent best pracVces. The ladder of inference is a tool leaders can use to help

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themselves, but more importantly, their direct reports, to explore the raVonale for their theories, the alignment of those theories and the acVons resulVng from those theories. Working in this way, leaders act as coaches, helping their direct reports to understand the validity of their worldviews expressed through their espoused theories and theories-in-use. This understanding provides the basis for growth and change (Flaherty, 1998). This way of working provides an underlying structure for behavior change and success in all phases of performance management—our third framework.

Performance Management as a Framework

We base the overarching framework for our discussion in this chapter largely on an expanded view of performance management (Mone & London, 2010), as this view encompasses the majority of the key competencies and pracVces important to success in the one-to-one role. Mone and London define performance management to include "goal seong, feedback, development, recogniVon, coaching and performance appraisal, built on a foundaVon of trust and empowerment, with a constant flow of communicaVon" (p. xvii).

Authors of key works on performance management tend to define it in similar ways:

A process incorporaVng appraisal and feedback to make performancebased decisions and to help employees to develop their knowledge, skills, and abiliVes. (Rotchford, 2002)

How organizaVons communicate expectaVons and drive behavior to achieve important goals and how they idenVfy poor performers. (Pulakos, 2009)

An ongoing process to enhance employee performance and the performance of the organizaVon that includes goal seong, coaching and developing employees, informal feedback, formal evaluaVon of performance, with a link to recogniVon and rewards. (Smither & London, 2009)

Performance management involves more than just a year-end performance appraisal. It is a conVnuous process, integraVng systemaVcally and strategically each of its components, so that goals drive performance, feedback focuses on achieving those goals, and rewards are based on the extent to which performance achieves expected results. Performance management then becomes an ongoing, full-Vme responsibility of leaders and managers.

Note that the determinants of the perceived value of performance management in organizaVons include both how well its components integrate and link, as well as leadership's support for the process. For example, in one reported study only 53% of employees thought performance management was valued in the organizaVon (London & Mone, 2009). The reason given: Employees

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did not see a clear link between their overall performance raVngs and the rewards they received. This belief results in compliance with the overall performance management process, but it does nothing to add to its value as a strategic business process and its ability to achieve the company's overarching goals.

From a leadership support perspecVve, the perceived value begins and ends with the CEO and whether the CEO engages in the process and holds others accountable to do the same. This is based on the fact the CEO should be the role model for this process and by doing so demonstraVng what is important and of value to the organizaVon. The CEO, however, engages in two ways. One way is with direct reports—seong goals, providing feedback and recogniVon, and evaluaVng performance. Jack Welch was probably the most prominent CEO engaged in the performance management of direct reports (Welch & Welch, 2005). Perhaps equally important to creaVng an overall culture that values performance management is the extent to which the board of directors engages in the process with the CEO. In this relaVonship, think of the board as the leader and the CEO as the direct report.

It is surprising, however, that for some Vme, boards were not engaged in a thorough evaluaVon of a CEO's effecVveness and performance. Few, if any, were involved in a formal and rigorous CEO performance management process (Graddick & Lane, 1998). Much has changed since the late 1990s to increase the focus on CEO evaluaVons. Consider events such as numerous corporate scandals (e.g., Enron, WorldCom, Tyco). Other consideraVons include the decline from stock market highs of the late 1990s which helped illuminate the use of stock opVons (a period described by Alan Greenspan as one of "irraVonal exuberance"), and legislaVve acVon in response to corporate scandals, execuVve pay levels, and severance agreements (e.g., the passage of the Public Company AccounVng Reform and Investor ProtecVon Act of 2002, known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; see Bainbridge, 2002).

Fortunately, CEO appraisals are now a requirement for publicly traded U.S. companies (Nadler, Behan, & Nadler, 2006). Although the board-CEO performance management relaVonship is a special instance in the use of the process, it is important for establishing an overall culture that values performance management and for influencing how the CEO models the process for the rest of the organizaVon.

For all of the above reasons, we choose to iniVally overview how CEOs are engaged in performance management in this secVon. You will also find that as we conVnue to discuss performance management pracVces for leaders in general, we will highlight and emphasize how those pracVces operate at the CEO level. This is important because it will provide you with some understanding of how the board and the CEO relate. And it is also important because how CEOs interact with their direct reports when it comes to performance management influences and impacts how valued performance management is and how it is implemented across the organizaVon. See the Consider Making Performance Management Ma[er boxed feature for insight into how leadership can help to

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drive the use of the performance management process.

Of course, there is much to performance management, which is the majority of our focus in this chapter, and we cover each of its core components in detail: goal seong, development, feedback, recogniVon, and appraisal.

Consider Making Performance Management MaXer

To ensure those in leader and manager roles fulfilled their obligaVon to drive employee saVsfacVon and performance results in a Fortune 500 company, the authors worked with execuVve leadership to create and implement a manager goal. The goal clarified expectaVons, and detailed five key strategies for its achievement. In fact, no manager or leader could be rated an outstanding performer unless the expectaVons for the manager goal were met. The following is the goal and the strategies for achieving it. Note the emphasis on using the company's performance management process. In this company, managers and leaders are held accountable for using the performance management process!

Goal: Build an organiza>on of highly sa>sfied and high-performing employees

Strategy 1: Drive performance and development by execu>ng all phases of the performance management process.

Strategy 2: Fairly and equitably acknowledge performance through the use of the company's compensa>on and recogni>on programs.

Strategy 3: Communicate regularly to keep employees informed throughout your organiza>on.

Strategy 4: Capitalize on organiza>on survey results to improve sa>sfac>on and performance.

Strategy 5: Demonstrate and role-model effec>ve leadership and behavior consistent with the company's core values.

CEOs and Performance Management

As menVoned earlier, CEOs engage in performance management in two ways. Although the study of performance management and appraisals for CEOs is somewhat lacking, primarily due to the reluctance of boards to divulge details about how they make decisions (Silva & Tosi, 2004; Silva, 2005), a recent, comprehensive discussion of the CEO performance management process (Mone,

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2009) provides consideraVons for ensuring a rigorous process is in place and for evaluaVng its effecVveness.

In general, a rigorous CEO performance management process should:

Be driven by the organizaVon's strategic plan and aligned with the corporate calendar. Detail and document all aspects of the process, including roles, responsibiliVes, Vme lines, and the like. Involve the CEO, the compensaVon commi[ee, and the full board in goal seong; the overall evaluaVon of performance should be based on the results achieved. Provide formal and informal feedback to the CEO on a regular basis throughout the performance period. Base compensaVon on agreed-to levels of goal a[ainment.

The design of each key component of the process—goal seong, feedback, appraisal, and compensaVon—from a best pracVce perspecVve should include, at a minimum, the aspects presented in Table 3.2. These aspects reflect important and criVcal changes introduced to CEO performance management over the past few years. When it comes to thinking about the second way CEOs are involved in performance management, these best pracVces should also be uVlized by CEOs when it comes to their direct reports, as they are onen measured on the same, if not closely related goals.

For example, when it comes to goal sefng, past pracVce focused on limited financial measures and ignored more qualitaVve measures. Today boards and CEOs should also include measures to evaluate the behavior and competency of CEOs and the CEO's direct reports. Giving direct, construcVve feedback to CEOs was minimized, if not avoided, leading to missed opportuniVes to help CEOs grow and learn from their experience. CEOs, as well, given the pace of business, onen spent li[le Vme providing feedback and coaching their direct reports. Frequent and ongoing feedback, however, is a must. Appraisals rarely included a 360-degree feedback component, which is considered important to ensuring evaluaVons represent input from the range of stakeholders the CEO and his or her direct reports needed to saVsfy. Finally, from a compensa>on perspecVve, transparency in how pay relates to performance and results is paramount to saVsfying all stakeholders, parVcularly shareholders and employees. As you will see later, many of these aspects are important to performance management in general. In fact, many of the pracVces more recently applied to senior execuVves, such as the use of 360-degree feedback, have been in place and uVlized at lower levels in the organizaVon before they became popular with boards and CEOs.

Table 3.2: Key best prac:ces of CEO performance management

Goal Se^ng Feedback Appraisal Compensa:on

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Short-term and long-term goals Measures and metrics, qualitaVve and quanVtaVve ConsideraVon of broader stakeholder needs Measures for key CEO behaviors and competencies Emphasis on both CEO performance and development

Framework clarifying who delivers feedback to the CEO and when Provisions for providing formal and informal feedback from both board members and the board chairperson Feedback to the CEO focusing on development and performance, as well as key business issues

Midyear and year-end appraisals CEO self- appraisals EvaluaVon of goals both linked and not linked to compensaVon 360-degree feedback process Feedback from the board chairperson and/ or the compensaVon commi[ee chair Full board review and discussion of performance with the CEO

Clear philosophy of compensaVon CompensaVon related to short- term and long- term goals Findable and quanVfiable measures (e.g., operaVng income) verifiable by a third party Board has only negaVve discreVon; no allowance for going beyond agreed-to pay targets set during goal seong

Evalua>ng the Gap in CEO and Execu>ve-Level Performance Management

From an evaluaVon perspecVve, you can use the set of best pracVces in Table 3.2 to assess the quality of the CEO performance management process. However, it will be easier to begin with a higher level assessment given the lack of transparency about the process in most organizaVons. Therefore, consider the following quesVons for assessing the general quality and comprehensiveness of the CEO performance management process (Oliver Wyman, 2003), which we believe can apply to the process used by CEOs with their direct reports:

Is there an explicit descripVon of the overall process—how it should work?

Is there a process calendar with deadlines and milestones?

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Is the process calendar aligned with the corporate calendar of events? Does the process include a midyear check-in?

Does the process include a focus on development and opportuniVes for development feedback?

Is the process consistent with the company's values and culture?

Can the process be revised as needed to ensure overall quality?

Leadership in Review

Reflect on your learning by answering the following ques:ons:

What is a theory of prac>ce?1. What is the difference between an espoused theory and a theory-in-use?2. How would you explain the value of the ladder of inference to an organiza>on leader?3. How would most authors define performance management?4. What are some of the more recent events crea>ng further interest in CEO performance management?

5.

In what two ways does a CEO engage in performance management?6.

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The first step in achieving goals as an organiza:on is to set them in the first place.

Hemera/Thinkstock

3.4 Phases of Performance Management Recall that the Mone and London definiVon of performance management includes six aspects or phases of performance management: seong goals, providing feedback, development, coaching, recogniVon, and performance appraisal. Other key authors (e.g., Rotchford; Pulakos; Smither & London, each cited earlier) define performance management similarly. Therefore, these phases will provide the structure for our discussion of how leaders and managers can effecVvely carry out performance management acVviVes in their organizaVons.

Setting Goals

Goal seong in organizaVons begins with the organizaVon's strategic planning process, which establishes the direcVon and purpose for the organizaVon's goals. As a result of this process, overarching or organizaVon- level goals are established (we introduced this idea in chapter 1). These goals define the high-level results the organizaVon commits to and expects to achieve. These goals typically become the CEO's goals, and the board of directors of the organizaVon holds the CEO accountable for their achievement; the CEO will then hold his or her direct reports accountable for their relaVve contribuVon to those goals. Thus begins the process of empowering others in the organizaVon through goal seong to focus on and achieve expected results.

This secVon begins with an overview of goal seong at the most senior level in the organizaVon, CEOs and their direct reports, followed by effecVve, one-to-one goal seong that managers and leaders can use at any level in the organizaVon.

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CEO and Direct Report Goals

Table 3.3 provides an example of a set of overarching goals for Hi-Growth (a pseudonym for a large, mulVnaVonal company), created in conjuncVon with the company's strategic planning process. Each goal includes a set of strategies and measures.

Table 3.3: Overarching goals for company Hi-Growth—the CEO's goals

Goals, Key Suppor:ng Strategies, and Measures

Goal

Ramp up growth

Goal

Delight all customers

Goal

Become a thought and technology leader

Goal

Develop employees and the organizaVon

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Strategies

Gain new customers in key industries Expand within emerging geographic markets Develop new service delivery models Expand our business with current customers Build innovaVon into our key product and service areas

Strategies

UVlize customer insight to drive innovaVon Deliver product features and service offerings that customers would not ordinarily expect Minimize bureaucracy Focus on execuVon and sustainability in all areas of the business

Strategies

Crystallize and communicate views about emerging trends and technology Make strategic acquisiVons; create and lead industry and customer groups Demonstrate thought leadership in all areas of technology

Strategies

Manage talent across the organizaVon. Create an inclusive workplace that welcomes and values diversity. Intensify efforts to build a culture of innovaVon and performance Foster creaVon of career and development opportuniVes. Drive iniVaVves that will foster teamwork, commitment, and engagement

Measures

Revenue net income Market share Growth in emerging markets

Measures

Customer retenVon Customer saVsfacVon

Measures

Analyst raVngs Patents filed/issued Press menVons

Measures

Employee opinion survey results Voluntary turnover

CEOs use their goals, as was the case with Hi-Growth, to drive the goal-seong process with each of their direct reports. They can also use the goals to communicate direcVon to all employees—or cascade the goals to provide direcVon for organizaVonwide goal seong. There is some criVcism of overarching goals for their lack of clarity, as well as the idea of cascading goals (Pulakos & O'Leary, 2011). However, when detailed well, like those in the previous example, overarching goals are

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effecVve. There can be posiVve results from using CEO goals, similar to the goals presented here, for providing direcVon and in a cascade process (Mone, Benne[, & Eisinger, 2011).

Let's look at how one of the CEO's direct reports, Hi-Growth's chief human resource officer (CHRO), aligned the goals for the human resources (HR) organizaVon with the CEO's goals. In Table 3.4, CEO Goals Linked to HR Department Goals, the CEO's goals and the goals for the CHRO (which become the HR organizaVon's overarching goals) are shown side by side to indicate the alignment. They describe how the HR organizaVon will make its unique contribuVon to overall company success based on the kinds of services, systems, processes, programs, resources, and tools an HR organizaVon provides.

Table 3.4: CEO goals linked to HR department goals

CEO Goals CHRO—HR's Goals

Ramp up growth Improve HR organizaVon efficiency and effecVveness to enhance strategic value to business

Delight all customers Demonstrate HR alignment with Hi- Growth's mission, vision, and values through customer focus

Become a thought and technology leader

Enhance capability and value through HR innovaVon

Develop employees and the organizaVon

Maximize HR talent to posiVvely impact organizaVonal results

Typically, as was the case with Hi-Growth, the CEO shares the overarching goals and asks the direct reports to set goals for their organizaVons that align with the company's overarching goals. Through several iteraVons and discussions between the CEO and a direct report, the goals are finalized. We show one possible goal for the CHRO that aligns with the CEO goal, "Become a thought and technology leader" in the boxed feature, Sample CHRO Goal. There is a goal statement, set of strategies, tacVcs for achieving the strategies, and overall goal measures.

Sample CHRO Goal

GOAL

ENHANCE CAPABILITY AND VALUE THROUGH HUMAN RESOURCE (HR) INNOVATION

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Provide HR experVse and value in unexpected ways that impact the business and drive heightened engagement between HR and our customers (business leaders, managers, and employees).

STRATEGY ONE

IdenVfy opportuniVes to partner with, advise, and educate our customers.

Key tac>cs

Use the human resource informa>on system and other resources available to provide data-based counsel and advice to business partners. Ac>vely listen—hear "the ques>on behind the ques>on." Constantly look for new ways of increasing human capital value to the business (both top line and boHom line). Approach adversity with a posi>ve posture to create synergy and momentum to overcome obstacles. Improve paHern recogni>on skills that assist in iden>fying organiza>onal needs and trends.

STRATEGY TWO

Design, improve, and reengineer HR processes.

Key tac>cs

Iden>fy and evaluate HR process efficiency and effec>veness and its value to the business. Ini>ate, design, and implement standards, measures, and metrics for evalua>ng HR success. Create user-friendly, dynamic tools that are a go-to resource for employees. U>lize social media and networking sites to further the Hi-Growth HR brand; ac>vely promote, u>lize, and contribute to the collec>ve HR knowledge available on the HR website.

MEASURES

Business partner feedback. Organiza>onwide survey results. Number of process improvements and new ideas, products, and services introduced in HR. Assessment of HR programs and processes by external experts.

Why are the number of goals limited to only four? It is the leader's job to execute well by focusing on a few prioriVes or goals that all employees can grasp. Focusing on three or four goals will produce the best results with the available resources. Employees in contemporary organizaVons need a small number of clear prioriVes to execute well.Goal and direcVon clarity help minimize compeVVon for

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resources, along with the ambiguity over who has rights to make decisions (Bossidy & Charan, 2002).

Latham (2009a) also argues for keeping the total number of goals to a minimum, but recommends keeping the range between three to seven goals: "If the goals are too many . . . they end up increasing stress because people try franVcally to a[ain the impossible. . . . Give your people too many goals, and they'll quickly lose the focus that goal seong normally provides" (p. 40).

Goal-SeFng Principles and Framework

In this secVon, we provide a set of principles and recommendaVons to help leaders and managers think more clearly about how to set effecVve goals in general. We then suggest a framework that leaders can introduce in their organizaVons that will provide a common language for the discussion of goals—how to set, monitor, and measure them.

Following are some of the key principles for goal seong in the leader's one-on-one role. Also see the boxed feature Consider Measuring Goal Commitment for ways to increase a direct report's commitment to a goal.

Seong specific goals is more effecVve than simply trying to "do your best." Goal seong influences the moVvaVon to discover ways to a[ain the goal. Difficult, challenging goals lead to higher levels of performance. Specific goals focus a[enVon and lead to greater levels of moVvaVon and effort. Personal traits and incenVves can influence the seong of and commitment to difficult or challenging goals. Specific goals help to persist in performance when needing to overcome obstacles. Set learning or development goals rather than performance goals when the individual does not have the skill to achieve a difficult performance goal. (Locke and Latham, 1990, 2002)

Consider Measuring Goal Commitment

Commitment is the sina qua non of goal seong. Without it, goal seong is a meaningless exercise. (Latham, 2009b, p. 163)

In general, we can increase commitment to goals by increasing the importance of the goal, the significance and value to the individual of achieving the goal, and the individual's belief in the ability to achieve the goal. These ideas suggest expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964) and its key components in the form of three disVnct quesVons that are important to determining moVvaVon to achieve the goal:

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If I put in the effort, will I achieve the goal? (Expectancy)1. If I achieve the goal, will I get the reward I am ajer? (Instrumentality)2. How important or valuable is the reward? (Valence)3.

Expectancy theory suggests that moVvaVon is a mulVplicaVve funcVon of all three components or quesVons, and that the probability of expectancy, instrumentality, and valence can range from zero to one. If any of the three has a probability of zero, there will be no moVvaVon to perform.

A specific, short, and validated measure of goal commitment was developed by Klein, Wesson, Hollenbeck, and Alge (2001). It includes the following five statements, where the (R) indicates the item should be reverse-scored:

It is hard to take this goal seriously. (R)1. Quite frankly, I don't care if I achieve this goal or not. (R)2. I am strongly commiHed to pursuing this goal.3. It would not take much to make me abandon this goal. (R)4. I think this is a good goal to shoot for.5.

When using this measure, create a 5-point scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

Based on an overview of the research on goal seong, here are addiVonal pracVcal recommendaVons for effecVve goal seong.

Engage employees in goal seong because it leads to informaVon sharing about how to achieve the goals and increases self-confidence. Goals should be challenging whether or not employees parVcipate in seong goals. If goals are assigned to employees, the reason and raVonale for the goals should be explained. Focus on ways to increase employee commitment to the goals because this enhances the posiVve effect of goal difficulty on performance. Consider training in self-regulaVon to help employees overcome barriers to goal achievement. (London, Mone, & Sco[, 2004)

Goal-SeFng Framework and Types of Goals

So what is a goal-seong framework? It is a way of looking at how goals are defined and organized. It guides the thinking of leaders and managers about the goal-seong process and how to define all aspects of the performance they expect from their employees. You may already be familiar with one type of framework—the balanced scorecard (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). The balanced scorecard is defined as follows:

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Customer feedback surveys are an example of a tac:c that an organiza:on might use to learn more about how it could improve the customer experience.

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The Balanced Scorecard translates an organizaVon's mission and strategy into a comprehensive set of performance measures that provides the framework for a strategic measurement and management system . . . . The scorecard measures organizaVonal performance across four balanced perspecVves: financial, customers, internal business processes, and learning and growth. The scorecard enables companies to track financial results while simultaneously monitoring progress in building the capabiliVes and acquiring the intangible assets they need for future growth. (Kaplan & Norton, 1996, p. 2)

We recommend the key aspects of goal seong including a goal statement, strategies, tacVcs, acVviVes, measures of success, and goal measurements (Mone & London, 2002, 2010; Mone, Price, & Eisinger, 2011).

The goal statement defines the output or end result expected. It helps to answer the following quesVons:

What are you trying to accomplish, fundamentally, with this effort?

What will change as a result of this effort?

What will be different?

We suggest defining goal statements at high levels, such as the following:

Increased customer saVsfacVon Increase profits Building a customer-focused culture CreaVng a high-performing culture

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Strategies define how a goal will be achieved. When engaging in goal seong with a direct report, this part of the discussion focuses on how to approach the goal in an a[empt to crystallize what major avenues will be followed to achieve the expected results. Goals will typically have one or more strategies a[ached to them. The following examples of strategies correspond to the goal statements above.

You can increase customer saVsfacVon by:

Improving customer service response Vme DifferenVaVng product lines by industry

You can increase profits by:

Developing a mulVVered product pricing strategy Reducing the cost of general and administraVve expenses

You can build a customer-focused culture by:

Training employees companywide in customer relaVons management Redesigning the customer service recogniVon program

You can create a high-performing organizaVon by:

ImplemenVng a new performance management process InsVtuVng a performance-based incenVve plan

Tac:cs are the major steps supporVng a strategy that will lead to achieving the goal. When discussing goals with a direct report, focusing on tacVcs brings some definiVon to the strategy and reveals how your direct report will go about implemenVng the strategy. The following are examples of tacVcs:

For the strategy "improving customer service response Vme" you might find the following tacVcs:

Analyze current customer service effecVveness across all naVonal and global regions. Survey and conduct focus groups with customers regarding overall service and service responsiveness. Conduct surveys with and interview customer service employees and management. Develop and prioriVze acVon plans for improving customer service response Vme. Gain senior management approval for plan. Implement plan, naVonally and then globally. Monitor plan effecVveness using monthly surveys of customers and customer service employees.

For "Developing a mulVVered product pricing strategy" you could:

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Establish a cross-funcVonal senior-level team IdenVfy and determine appropriate product mix Formulate pricing models Pilot new strategy with select major market customers Evaluate and modify strategy Implement strategy for all customer segments Evaluate achievement of expected revenue levels

Ac>vi>es are the next level of logical steps a direct report takes to support a tacVc, strategy, and goal. It is normally best not to encourage leaders and their direct reports to specify the acVviVes as part of the goal-seong process. However, it is certainly fine, as the situaVon warrants, for leaders and their direct reports to think through together the acVviVes necessary to achieve the goals. The following is an example of acVviVes associated with a strategy and related tacVc.

Strategy: "Improve customer service response Vme"

TacVc: Conduct surveys with and interview customer service employees and management.

AcVviVes:

Arrange meeVngs with each customer service area director. Determine with the directors the best methods for data collecVon. Contact each area's data analyst and request historical response rate data for past 6 months. Develop a data analysis plan to analyze the data by region, as well as for the overall organizaVon.

Measure of success is the level of performance that describes the results you expect. Measures help leaders to evaluate the extent to which expected results were achieved. The measures of success bring further definiVon to the actual intent of the goal. Of course, the strategies, tacVcs, and acVviVes should be designed to produce the expected measure(s) of success. Goals can also have more than one measure of success. For example,

Measures of success for the goal "Increase profits" might include:

Gross revenue increases 6–8% Overall producVon costs are reduced by 9.8% Cost of sales is reduced by 13%

Measures that might indicate "a high-performing culture" is in place may include:

Employee engagement levels increase from 77–81%. Employee morale improves (83% of employees indicate saVsfacVon with morale compared with

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71% on the last employee opinion survey) The new leadership development process is implemented according to plan

Goal measurements are the processes, tools, or measurements that leaders and their direct reports will use to provide the evidence or collect the data necessary to show whether or not success was achieved. For example, to measure employee morale, the company's employee opinion survey could be used comparing year-over-year changes in the quesVon "The morale in my organizaVon is generally high." What would you use to measure producVvity? One possible measurement could be changes in the raVo "revenue in dollars/ number of employees."

It is quite important for us to note that this framework works best when it is situated within and driven by the larger context of the organizaVon's strategic plan, which defines the direcVon providing components of mission, vision, overarching goals, and the leader's own organizaVon vision, mission, and goals. See the boxed feature Consider a Goal-Seong Process for a recommended approach to seong goals with direct reports.

This framework works equally well for the two generally accepted types of goals: performance goals and development goals (Latham, 2009a; Mone & London, 2010). Performance goals are generally task-focused and contribute to higher level business outcomes, such as increases in customer saVsfacVon, profits, or revenue. Each of the four examples discussed in this secVon are performance goals. Development goals are set to help a direct report improve performance in the current job or to enhance or build the skills necessary to prepare for future jobs, consistent with the idea of development planning discussed in the previous chapter. The following is a sample development goal for a financial analyst. A development goal is evaluated based on skill or knowledge improvement that results in enhanced performance, not on accomplishing the acVvity of a[ending a seminar, workshop, reading a book, or listening to a podcast.

Development goal statement Improved understanding of return-on-investment (ROI)

Strategy: Enroll in a seminar on ROI analysis

TacVcs: IdenVfy and register for program A[end all classes and complete all assignments

Goal measure: Demonstrated improvement in business plan ROI analyses

Goal measurement: Business unit manager feedback on business plan ROI analysis

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Consider a Goal-Se^ng Process with Direct Reports

The following are the key steps to consider when seong goals with direct reports, adapted from Mone and London (2010).

Tell your direct reports the goal-sefng process for the upcoming performance year has started; indicate the >me frame in which you want to have the goal-sefng process completed.

1.

Outline the overall goal-sefng process for your direct reports.2. Tell your direct reports to do the following to create a context for current goal sefng:

Reread the mission and vision for the company.a. Reread your organiza>on's mission and vision.b. Review their job descrip>ons.c. Review their current goals, strategies, and tac>cs.d.

3.

Iden>fy any new overarching goals; develop a draj of team goals if needed. Share these with your direct reports. Seek feedback; revise as necessary.

4.

Share any strategic messages that may be important for your direct reports to consider.5. Based on informa>on from steps 3–5, ask your direct reports to develop drajs of their own individual and team performance and development goals, strategies, and tac>cs.

6.

Meet with each direct report to review and discuss their goals, strategies, and tac>cs. Ensure each direct report's performance goals are aligned with the overall direc>on of the company and your department, are challenging and meaningful, and realis>c.

a.

Ensure each direct report's development goals are targeted for improved performance in the current job or to acquire the skills or knowledge necessary to prepare for future jobs.

b.

7.

Once the goals, strategies, and tac>cs have been finalized: Ask each of your direct reports to develop the measures of success and measurements.a. Meet with each of your direct reports to review the proposed measures and measurements.b. Discuss and finalize the measures and measurements.c.

8.

Review your direct reports' goals, strategies, and tac>cs with your supervisor, as necessary.9. Communicate and discuss any changes with your direct reports and revise as necessary.10. You and each of your direct reports sign off to indicate the process is complete.11.

Leadership in Review

Reflect on your learning by answering the following ques:ons:

What two roles do CEOs play in goal sefng?1. What is the difference between a goal statement, strategy, and tac>c?2.

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How would you explain the difference between a measure of success and a goal measurement?3. What is a performance goal?4. Why would you set a development goal?5.

Effective Feedback

Performance management is a process, and it is most effecVve when each of its component parts is integrated and working together. Locke (1991) addresses the relaVonship between goal seong and feedback for leaders:

To determine if employees are reaching their goals, it is necessary that they obtain feedback regarding their own progress. Research shows very clearly that goal-seong does not work unless people are given informaVon showing their performance in relaVon to their goals. Goals regulate performance far more reliably when feedback is present than when it is absent. . . . Leaders, too, need feedback when they set goals jointly with their subordinates. Leaders must understand their followers' expectaVons and take them into account when seong mutually agreed-upon goals. (p. 81)

Sims and Lorenzi (1992) also stress the relaVonship between goal seong and feedback and its overall importance. "Neither feedback alone nor goals alone are sufficient—both are necessary. . . . In a sense, goal seong and feedback are inseparable . . ." (p. 124)

It is disappoinVng to note that despite the importance of feedback, research by Towers Perrin-ISR (2007) conducted with high-performing organizaVons generally shows only about 70% of employees on average are saVsfied with the feedback they receive to improve their performance.

In this secVon, we briefly address the special case of the CEO and performance feedback, and then the pracVces and competencies leaders can use for providing effecVve feedback.

CEO and Performance Feedback

CEOs play a significant role in modeling how to provide performance feedback. Nadler and Spencer (1998) discuss this role and suggest it is important for CEOs to promote the use of data and feedback with their direct reports. They believe CEOs must moVvate the implementaVon of such processes and model their effecVve use. They recommend the following acVons for CEOs when providing feedback to their direct reports:

Explicitly convey belief in the importance of feedback as a tool for individual and team development.

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Provide development resources necessary for acVng on the feedback. Recognize and affirm those who demonstrate the ability to learn from feedback. Model behaviors essenVal to feedback, including nondefensiveness and openness to change and experience. Be a full and enthusiasVc parVcipant in all feedback processes even when faced with compeVng and urgent demands of running the business.

The CEO is also a recipient of performance feedback from the board of directors. We discussed the board's role in CEO performance management previously, and listed a number of feedback best pracVces (see Table 3.2). According to Charan (2005) the board will strengthen the CEO by providing specific feedback and coaching. This feedback should be forward looking and acVon oriented, and not simply a past appraisal of performance. It should cover five areas of CEO responsibility: company performance, leadership of the organizaVon, team building and management succession, leadership of external consVtuencies, and leadership of the board.

The most frequently used tool today to provide feedback to CEOs and their direct reports is 360-degree feedback, which we introduced in chapter 2. It is onen used to provide input to their overall performance evaluaVons as well. However, because parVcipaVng in 360-degree surveys is typically considered a development opportunity, we will more fully address the 360-degree feedback process later in the chapter when we discuss the leader's role in the development of direct reports.

Prac>ces for Effec>ve Feedback

Feedback is important for ensuring performance is on track and for providing guidance for further development. It is important for managers and leaders to excel at providing feedback, and at asking for it and acVng on it, much like we discussed in the context of the CEO and performance feedback. Latham (2009a) suggests managers and leaders open themselves to feedback by asking their direct reports quesVons, such as the following:

Are the vision and goals sVll applicable and working for you? Are we pursuing the right performance goals? Are our goals sVll challenging and meaningful? Do you see any obstacles that will prevent us from achieving our goals? Am I doing anything as the leader of this team that is negaVvely impacVng your commitment to our goals, and if so, what should I do differently?

This kind of modeling, focused on performance, provides direct reports an opportunity to comment on goals and leader performance in a safe way, without having to be defensive about their own behavior and performance.

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Individuals who feel that their success is outside of their control are generally less willing to accept feedback than those who accept responsibility for their failures and successes.

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When managers and leaders provide feedback to direct reports, they are encouraging opportuniVes for self-analysis and introspecVon, something difficult to accomplish in today's fast-paced world. According to Yukl (2006), the following traits also inhibit the ability and willingness to accept feedback:

Defensiveness, or behavior that protects one's ego from a perceived a[ack, and insecurity, which can lead to avoiding or ignoring feedback about weaknesses An external locus of control, defined as believing that the outcomes of external events are determined by others, luck, or fate, and not one's self, which can lead to rejecVng responsibility for failures A high need for achievement, which involves one's desire to accomplish goals or tasks more effecVvely than in the past, making it difficult to adapt to changing situaVons High degrees of self-confidence leading to feelings of superiority, which causes discounVng of feedback from those perceived as less successful

Leaders may need to give feedback to those who seem to have difficulty accepVng it. In general, leaders can capitalize on the two frameworks discussed previously in the chapter. First they should consider the theories of acVon for both themselves and their direct report to determine if either's espoused theory or theory-in-use could be prevenVng the effecVve delivery of or willingness to process and acknowledge the feedback. Second, they can use the ladder of inference to show how they arrived at the feedback and validate with their direct report its accuracy and validity, or to arrive at a new understanding. A leader can engage the direct report in the conversaVon using the various steps in the ladder. Based on the earlier example in this chapter:

Jamal would tell Mark what he observed and what data he collected and ask Mark if he saw the same thing. Differences would be discussed. Jamal would then say to Mark what the behavior meant to him, and ask Mark what he meant by the behavior. Differences would be discussed. Jamal could then tell Mark what he assumed and what he concluded because of Mark's behavior. Differences would be discussed. Finally, Jamal would share his overall belief about Mark as a result of the behavior and describe both

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his immediate ac>on (creaVng the opportunity to provide feedback) and to determine any subsequent acVons to correct behavior or enhance performance. Jamal would ask Mark for his view. Differences would be discussed.

In this example, we broke down the steps, which in reality may become more blended or mixed due to the natural flow of the feedback conversaVon. The leader iniVates the conversaVon and both the leader and direct report should demonstrate openness and willingness to acknowledge each other's perspecVves so that a mutually agreed-upon acVon plan can be put into place.

In the process of providing feedback, managers and leaders onen encounter direct reports whose personaliVes make it more challenging to provide effecVve feedback. Table 3.5 shows common problems with strategies for improving the recepVvity to feedback in these situaVons. On the len-hand side of the table, you will see the challenge and what it means in terms of direct report behavior. On the right-hand side, you will find one or more strategies a leader can use in each situaVon that will help his or her direct reports to be[er process and understand the feedback.

Table 3.5: Dealing with challenging personali:es

Challenge Strategy

Holding an inflated view of self. Your direct report believes her way is the best way.

Encourage your direct report to think about how others might approach the same situaVon. Provide specific examples of day-to-day situaVons that have a variety of alternaVve soluVons.

Holding a deflated view of self. Your direct report thinks she cannot do anything right, and onen has low self-esteem.

Simply listen and show your understanding. Point out examples of success and posiVve achievement.

Always making a compe>>ve or compara>ve view. Your direct report consistently compares her performance to others, jusVfying as appropriate.

Listen to your direct report's concerns and maintain a neutral posiVon. State your desire to help. Keep the focus on your direct report's actual behaviors and results related to set goals and performance expectaVons.

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Being overly emo>onal. Your direct report gets caught in her emoVonal reacVons and has a hard Vme holding onto a raVonal perspecVve.

Acknowledge the emoVon while keeping an objecVve point of view. SVck to the facts of the discussion. Give specific examples of behaviors or results.

Being overly controlling. Your direct report likes to take control of the situaVon.

Structure the feedback ahead of Vme and follow your plan during the conversaVon. Keep the discussion Vghtly focused on specifics. Ask quesVons that require direct responses.

Being passive. Your direct report is not engaged in the conversaVon and says li[le or nothing.

Ask open quesVons to explore the lack of involvement. Ask your direct report to provide thoughts on her current performance, then help to reflect on that performance. Give direct, specific feedback.

Adapted from Mone & London, 2010

The following set of Vps or best pracVces are for leaders to use to make sure their feedback is effecVve and producVve.

Be clear and easily understood; don't complicate the message. Focus on how well your direct reports performed and what they did to bring about the outcome. The "what" concentrates on behaviors that can be changed to enhance future performance. Do not provide too much informaVon, which can cause direct reports to misunderstand or ignore feedback. Be frequent. Feedback should be a regular occurrence and be provided as a normal part of running the business. Provide the feedback sooner rather than later, when the issue is fresh in everyone's mind. Take into consideraVon all the factors that affected performance, including factors that were both beyond and within your direct report's control. Focus on the elements of performance that contribute to your direct report's success and that are under her control. Focusing on factors that are beyond your direct report's control can be demoralizing and frustraVng. (Mone & London, 2010)

Finally, leaders should be ready to go beyond just the facts and provide feedback that will generally

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require the leader's explanaVon, paVence, and encouragement. Table 3.6 suggests steps for both the giver and receiver of feedback in order to make the feedback as effecVve as possible. Note the importance for the "giver" to focus on behavior and to check for understanding that the feedback was understood. For the "receiver" it is important to ask for specifics to help foster a true understanding of the feedback and to be open—avoiding defensiveness at all costs.

Table 3.6: Feedback steps for givers and receivers of feedback

Steps for Giving Effec:ve Feedback Steps for Receiving Effec:ve Feedback

Intend to be helpful You should be construcVve, and avoid personal a[acks Demonstrate your genuine interest and concern

Focus on behaviors that can be changed

Don't focus on personality, but focus on behavior that can be changed Be clear and specific when describing the behavior

Clarify the impact of the behavior Describe the affect on you, the team, or others, as appropriate

Check for understanding Ask the receiver to restate the feedback in his or her own words

Dialogue about the feedback Be sure to allow ample Vme to discuss the feedback, answer quesVons, and address any concerns raised by the receiver

Request specificity Ask for specifics and clarity so you truly understand the nature of the feedback

Remain open and nondefensive Don't jump in and try to respond, but wait unVl feedback giver is finished; inaccuracies can always be corrected later

Restate what you heard Summarize the feedback, helping to ensure you heard the intended message; this is not about interpretaVon

Share your reacVons Be open, but share what you might think is necessary in terms of specifics of the situaVon, any extenuaVng circumstances, etc. Thank the giver for the feedback

Adapted from Davidson, M. N, 2001, and Mone & London, 2010.

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Leadership in Review

Reflect on your learning by answering the following ques:ons:

What is the rela>onship between goal sefng and feedback?1. In what ways does the CEO get involved with delivering or receiving performance feedback?2. What two frameworks can a leader use to help in providing and explaining performance feedback?

3.

What are some steps givers and receivers of feedback should follow in order to make the feedback as produc>ve and effec>ve as possible?

4.

Development

The overall performance management process is the framework for exploring the role of leading one-to-one. In fact, performance management is a framework for driving conVnuous learning at the individual, team, and organizaVonal levels (Mone, 2011); performance management is also recognized as a learning tool (Sessa, Pingor, & Bragger, 2009). Why focus on development as a separate component of performance management? Is there a difference between learning and development? Let's consider these quesVons.

Leaders not only need to manage performance, they also need to manage the development of their direct reports. This is criVcal to ensuring their direct reports can meet the increasing demands for higher levels of performance required by today's global, compeVVve marketplace. When leaders focus on providing development opportuniVes for their direct reports, they also foster higher levels of trust, empowerment, and engagement, which increase the levels of energy, moVvaVon, and commitment they bring to their work (Mone & London, 2010; Storey, Ulrich, Wellbourne, & Wright, 2009).

To answer the second quesVon, yes, there is a difference between learning and development (Mone & London, 2010). Learning is the process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, or a change in perspecVve. Development is the accumulaVon and applicaVon of new knowledge and skills over Vme, including the capacity to view the world through a more informed, inclusive perspecVve. Development focuses on the integraVon and applicaVon of learning and depends on the leader's ability to learn (Mone, 2011). Developmental assessment centers and 360-degree feedback (see chapter 2) are examples of development acVviVes.

Learning styles, which we discussed in chapter 2, influence how leaders learn and develop. In this secVon, we discuss the most essenVal methods for learning and show how they contribute to leader development. These methods can be informal, which involve learning from daily acVviVes and

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By managing the development and professional growth of their direct reports, leaders will create an environment of trust, empowerment, and engagement.

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everyday experiences (Mone & London, 2010), and include, for example, challenging job assignments, coaching, and mentoring (Kepler & Morgan, 2005). These methods primarily focus on learning from experience, and we will address challenging job assignments and mentoring in this secVon. We explore coaching in the following secVon, as it is considered one of the six phases of performance management. We will discuss formal methods of learning, such as university-based programs, including execuVve educaVon programs, and in-house leadership development programs (see, e.g., Conger &

Benjamin, 1999) in chapter 5. Informal learning experiences have also been referred to as unstructured, and formal learning experiences as structured, where structured learning is defined as learning that is planned, designed, and delivered using principles of instrucVonal design (Squires, 2009).

The CEO and Development

UnVl recently, CEO performance was loosely managed by boards of directors, with li[le a[enVon and focus on development. However, given dramaVc and unprecedented change, leaders are under tremendous pressure to produce results, and assessing and evaluaVng execuVve and CEO performance has become an important quesVon for modern firms (Graddick & Lane, 1998). As discussed in chapter 1, there have been many changes in the regulatory landscape prompted by numerous corporate scandals and widely publicized unethical CEO and senior execuVve behavior. This has resulted in boards being more willing to hold CEOs accountable and provide feedback and coaching that will contribute to behaving ethically and improving performance (Mone, 2009).

Boards have onen assumed that since the CEO is in the senior-most role, and given board members themselves are typically current or former CEOs, li[le "supervisory" support was necessary. And CEOs onen felt similarly about their direct reports, given that more onen than not, CEOs hand-pick their direct reports. In fact, some top-level leaders sVll hold a deeply rooted belief that execuVve talent is a natural gin and very difficult if not impossible to develop (McCall, 2010). However, boards and CEOs

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today, in general, recognize the importance of driving execuVve development through the various feedback vehicles available to them and other avenues, including the following:

Formally, through mid- and year-end appraisals and 360-degree feedback Appraisals should focus on future objecVves and development and whether the execuVve has the competencies and vision to achieve those objecVves (Oliver Wyman, 2003; Rivero, 2004) 360-degree feedback allows for formally capturing data about the execuVve's competencies and performance and for fostering development (you have seen a sample of an abbreviated 360-degree report in chapter 2)

Informally, through feedback from the board chair, board member, or CEO, as appropriate, mentoring, execuVve coaching, and placement as a board member of another public company

The board chair is onen the mentor to the CEO, while the CEO or a board member will onen be mentors to the CEO's direct reports ExecuVve coaches provide leaders with important feedback that they would not normally get because of their roles in the organizaVon (London, 2002). Coaching allows execuVve leaders to address the kinds of issues that normally go una[ended in the rush of conducVng the business CEOs and their direct reports benefit from serving on the boards of other major enVVes. This provides CEOs the opportunity to engage with and learn from experienced peers—peers and colleagues usually with execuVve-level or CEO-level experience, fundamentally facing similar challenges and opportuniVes

CEOs can also capitalize on the use of challenging, stretch job assignments for the development of their direct reports (Keppler & Morgan, 2005; Yukl, 2006). For example, a direct report, the chief markeVng officer (CMO), may have had largely staff experience but shows interest in and promise for running a large operaVon, and possibly over Vme, potenVal to assume the COO or CEO role. As a result, the CEO may recommend taking on an assignment, such as regional sales execuVve vice president for Europe, Africa, and Asia, to provide that kind of experience, giving the CMO the chance to develop general management capabiliVes. To provide support for an execuVve in such a posiVon, the CEO might also recommend an external coach to help cope with the variety of development challenges such assignments present. We refer you to the Changing Skill Requirements for C-Suite Roles boxed feature for an addiVonal perspecVve on the focus of senior leadership development in today's Vmes. By the way, C-suite refers to those who hold the top funcVonal roles in their organizaVons, with "chief" being the first word in their Vtles, such as chief execuVve officer, chief financial officer, chief human resource officer, and the like.

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Changing Skill Requirements for C-Suite Roles

It is fair to say that as one progresses up the organizaVon hierarchy technical and funcVonal competencies become somewhat less important. So what competencies take precedence and what could we argue becomes the more general focus of senior leadership development?

A recent Harvard Business Review arVcle discusses the fact that different Vmes and circumstances call for different leadership skills, and that there are some visible signs about how C-level jobs are evolving. Primarily, as people reach the C-suite, leadership skills and a strong grasp of business fundamentals take precedence. The authors' message is that the skills that get a leader to the C-suite won't be enough to guarantee success at that level. For example, in those roles, leaders will be expected to support the CEO by offering their own insights and contribuVons regarding key business strategies and decisions.

For illustraVon purposes, take the chief human resource officer (CHRO) role. Consider the following as the most important competencies.

Commercial acumen Understanding of cultural differences and shijing demographics Change management skills and facility with cultural change ini>a>ves Capacity to be a credible internal advisor to the CEO and the board Ability to work with the board to manage succession Technologically savvy Exper>se in building compensa>on and performance into governance structures Skill at marke>ng the CHRO posi>on to the rest of the organiza>on

(Groysberg, Kelly, & MacDonald, 2001)

Development Prac>ces

The need for managers and leaders to be developers is not new. When it comes to focusing on development, onen a leader's espoused theory suggests its importance but the theory-in-use suggests day-to-day business challenges take precedence—the "real job" is what ma[ers (Mone, 1988). Several strategies exist to help focus managers and leaders on being developers, including the following:

CEO role modeling CreaVng a manager goal, emphasizing a focus on development Ensuring development or learning goals are set for every member of the organizaVon Rewarding managers and leaders for their development-focused efforts

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As a leader, you can help increase your direct reports' engagement by providing them with challenging and meaningful assignments.

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Training managers and leaders in development pracVces

Onen managers and leaders think that development means learning, and learning means aHend classroom-based training—taking Vme away from the job. However, managers can increase on-the-job learning—which is more informal and takes place while actually working—to promote development; this is learning based on experience, considered one of the best forms of leadership development (McCall, 2010).

Challenging Job Assignments

Research (Hackman & Oldham, 1980) suggests that certain characterisVcs will make jobs more meaningful and challenging and lead to higher levels of saVsfacVon. Having these characterisVcs in place will help to promote learning from experience. The characterisVcs (Miner, 2002) include

Skill variety—Using a truly challenging variety of skills and abiliVes that are personally valued1. Task iden>ty—A disVnct beginning and ending is present in the work2. Task significance—The degree to which the job has substanVal impact on the lives or work of others3. Autonomy—Extent to which the individual feels responsibility for the work and their work outcomes or end results

4.

Feedback from the job—The extent to which the job is able to provide feedback on the level of accomplishment—that a degree of achievement can be measured as a result of the work effort

5.

In essence, the more these characterisVcs are embedded in the job, the more meaningful and challenging it will be. As a result, managers and leaders need to ensure that the jobs of each of their direct reports have high levels of these characterisVcs.

Leaders will need to take into account two major factors when considering challenging work for development purposes. First, leaders should consider the overall organizaVon strategy and the key challenges facing the business. Puong direct reports in important new roles that will contribute to overall company success or in the posiVon to lead a task force to determine, for example, how to enter a criVcal new market, is a win–win for both the company and the leader. The business moves

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successfully toward execuVon of its strategic plan and the direct report works on the most important challenges facing the business, providing significant meaning to the work and an opportunity for personal growth in line with company needs. Second, leaders should consider the direct report's development needs and career aspiraVons and match the development-oriented new job or assignment accordingly.

Leaders can consider the following as examples of challenging developmental assignments, depending on the needs of the business and the needs of the direct report in quesVon.

Leading a start-up operaVon, for example, by opening offices in a new country or world region Leading an enterprisewide, cross-funcVonal team, for example, to design and implement a sonware development process Chairing a special task force, for example, to consider possible mergers Of a line execuVve in general, moving to a staff role Of a staff execuVve in general, moving to a line role

Although leaders may make decisions about the nature of developmental assignments for their direct reports, these acVviVes for the most senior leaders and those considered high potenVal are onen an outcome of the company's succession planning process, which we discuss in chapter 5. For example, one company used the following list of experiences as part of their succession planning process to determine what developmental opportuniVes were important to consider given the career goals of the individual in quesVon.

Lead a product development effort Lead a global markeVng campaign for a new product or service Launch a new product Lead a global organizaVon Build a senior management team Lead a customer-facing organizaVon Hold a staff role Lead a cross-company iniVaVve Lead a significant companywide, organizaVon change effort Hold profit and loss responsibility Manage a turnaround Manage external stakeholder relaVonships Manage an acquisiVon Manage a divesVture

Whether supervisor-driven or the result of an organizaVon process such as succession planning, it is important to acVvely process the learning from a development experience. Leaders can work with

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As a leader, you should par:cipate and assist in your direct reports' cri:cal reflec:on process.

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their direct reports, using Kolb's learning cycle (see chapter 2) to reflect on the experience and what was learned, to draw conclusions and crystallize that learning, and plan for how to capitalize on that learning in the next and future assignments. Consider the following examples of informal learning opportuniVes and the ways leaders can help their direct reports to reflect on and capitalize on their learning:

Form a development network of informal coaches. Encourage your direct reports to include fellow colleagues, team members, and even clients in their networks. Tell them to use their networks to help them interpret events, be a sounding board for their ideas, and support their development. Then test out what they learned in upcoming situaVons. Think about and discuss events (e.g., client encounters). Ask each of your direct reports, aner key events, to stop and ask themselves what went well and what didn't . . . and why. What could he or she have done differently to change the outcome? Is there anything he or she can sVll do to change the outcome? What plan can he or she build and put into pracVce for handling future events? Analyze difficult situa>ons. For example, ask your direct reports to think about what happened when a client's business stalled, a contract was canceled, a customer's business goals changed. What were their conclusions? What acVon did they take about the situaVon or how have they prepared themselves to deal with these kinds of situaVons going forward? Analyze barriers. When running into difficulty compleVng a project or achieving a goal, ask each of your direct reports to

consider possible barriers, for example, difficult personaliVes, a win–lose mentality or the lack of needed skills and ways to overcome these barriers. Consider ways to add value. Ask your direct reports to think about what they can contribute when they are working with a new client or working on a new project with an exisVng client. Suggest they ask for feedback, and then implement any possible new ideas or take correcVve acVon if necessary. Seek projects/assignments for development. Ask your direct reports to think about assignments or projects they can work on that can provide the opportunity to help them strengthen or gain needed knowledge or skills. Help them to structure the assignments or projects so they can maximize their learning.

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Consider ways to change course. Ask your direct reports to think about how they can be more innovaVve, or how they can move a project in a new, more producVve direcVon. Ask them to refine and decide on an approach, test out their ideas, and analyze what worked and what did not work. Engage in cri>cal reflec>on. Help your direct reports to examine, in-depth, the beliefs and assumpVons they hold about themselves, their performance, their employees, their customers, and so forth. Also help them test their beliefs and assumpVons with trusted others and determine the accuracy of those beliefs and assumpVons. Decide what acVons, perhaps acquiring new knowledge or informaVon, need to be taken, and ensure those acVons are taken. (Adapted from Mone & London, 2010)

360-Degree Feedback

Leaders can use their feedback reports to enhance their self-leadership (see chapter 2). When it comes to 360-degree feedback for their direct reports, leaders need to do the following:

Encourage acVve and honest parVcipaVon in the process, and help the direct report to select appropriate raters

Highlight and discuss the value of parVcipaVon in the process Overview the process and their role in it

In terms of responding to the survey: Make accurate and honest raVngs Provide meaningful and construcVve comments

When reviewing the report before meeVng with a direct report to discuss it: Carefully read the enVre report Note and consider common themes or pa[erns that may emerge from the raVngs and/or the comments Note, analyze, and understand significant differences between your raVngs and your direct report's self-raVngs, as well as those of your direct report's colleagues and team members

During the discussion of the results with a direct report: Be genuinely supporVve Maintain an open mind regarding the direct report's views about the process, as well as reacVons and challenges to the results; remember that there may be differences and interacVons between the theories-of-acVon for each, and there may be a need to use the ladder of inference to guide their discussion Use a coaching style—which we will discuss in the next secVon—to help the direct report see him- or herself from different perspecVves; that is, to understand what others see and why they might see it that way, regardless of the direct report's intenVons

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Remember the rules and pracVces regarding giving feedback effecVvely and strategies for dealing with difficult personaliVes or when the feedback is highly negaVve and unexpected Assist the direct report in synthesizing all the feedback, idenVfying priority areas for development and creaVng an acVon plan—with specific development goals

Aner the discussion: Monitor development progress Provide feedback along the way to reinforce posiVve behavioral change or to help correct behavior to get it on track Informally or formally recognize development progress during the midyear and/or year-end performance appraisal discussions, as appropriate

Leaders should also take note that the general guidance given to most direct reports when it comes to sharing 360-degree feedback results with their supervisors is similar to what is presented in the Best PracVces boxed feature based on the experience of the authors. This prepares direct reports to be as effecVve as possible when working with their leaders on their 360-degree feedback results.

Best Prac:ces—What a Supervisor Can Expect When Discussing a Direct Report's 360-degree Feedback Results

When we coach leaders, we ask that they share and discuss their 360-degree feedback results with their supervisors, as well as with their direct reports and colleagues.

The following are specific guidelines for sharing results with a supervisor, which we have adapted from materials used in our pracVce. In this instance, the process is focused on development, not performance appraisal.

Once you have individually reviewed, analyzed, and interpreted your 360-degree feedback results, your next step is to share the highlights of these results with your supervisor.

_____ IniVate follow-up meeVng(s) with your supervisor.

_____ Prepare—establish in advance what quesVons or areas you want to address with your supervisor.

_____ Share a copy of your complete report, including verbaVm comments, with your supervisor.

_____ Ask for feedback in the areas in which you want to focus.

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Refrain from disagreeing or providing explanaVons unVl your manager has fully provided his or her feedback—listen to what is being said; Be recepVve—try to understand your manager's point of view.

If you disagree with something that is said, professionally discuss the issue and work toward a resoluVon.

Ask for more informaVon, clarificaVon, or specific examples, when necessary; react honestly, but remain construcVve.

_____ Work in partnership with your supervisors to devise and/or revise your development acVon plan for performance improvement and conVnuous learning.

_____ Establish a trusVng relaVonship and work together to monitor your progress and update your development acVon plan, as necessary.

_____ Ensure you regularly update your development acVon plan.

Although most 360-degree feedback results reports include a guideline for analyzing the results, leaders can provide their direct reports with the following broad set of guidelines, adapted from our pracVce with leaders, to help with the process.

What common themes did you see emerge?

What are your areas of strength?

What are your development areas?

Are there any exisVng or potenVal barriers to performance? If so, what are they?

Did you rate yourself higher than your direct reports?

Did you rate yourself higher than your supervisor?

Did your peers see you in the same way your employees did?

Did you noVce any (other) inconsistencies? If so, what were they?

Were there any surprising or unexpected results? If so, what were they?

Mentoring Others

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Mentoring plays a role in self-development, as discussed in the previous chapter; here we present it from the perspecVve of helping others, one-to-one.

Although leaders are not usually, by definiVon, mentors to their own direct reports, it is certainly possible that they can be, even though it is more likely that they would be mentors to those two or more levels below them in the organizaVon. Mentors, however, transmit their wisdom by taking their mentees on a journey. Mentors, in this sense, are guides, leading their mentees along the journey of their lives, and they have gained their trust because they have been there before (Daloz, 1999). This certainly can be true of one's immediate supervisor in an organizaVon, parVcularly if there is a meaningful difference in life and work experience. Conceptually, therefore, given the nature of mentoring as a one-to-one relaVonship focused on learning and development, we believe it appropriate to discuss the role of the mentor here. See the Consider Kathy Kram and Mentoring at Work boxed feature for a perspecVve from a leader in the field of mentoring.

Consider Kathy Kram and Mentoring at Work

Kathy Kram's 1988 book, Mentoring at Work: Developing Rela>onships in Organiza>onal Life, became the comprehensive, go-to guide for many HR professionals looking to understand, introduce, and capitalize on mentoring and mentoring programs in their organizaVons. Regarding the nature of mentoring, Kram (p. 2) describes it this way:

The prototype of a relaVonship that enhances career development is the mentor relaVonship. Derived from Greek mythology, the name implies a relaVonship between a young adult and a more experienced adult that helps the younger individual learn to navigate in the adult world and the world of work.

When leaders act as mentors they are expected to:

Provide mentees with honest feedback and percepVons Help mentees understand how their behavior impacts others Be nonjudgmental and safe sounding boards for their mentees Assist in the career and personal development of their mentees Offer contacts that can help with the career development of their mentees Help mentees understand and navigate the dynamics of their company Help mentees expand their network at their company Be regularly available for face-to-face meeVngs Be in contact with their mentees in between meeVngs

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Be role models of the company's core values

More specifically, leaders and managers can use the following best pracVces for being a mentor.

Mutual disclosure builds rapport. Be open. Reveal something about yourself that few people know. This will help eliminate any barriers between you and your mentee that are the result of your posiVon in the organizaVon, your level of experVse, or your accomplishments. Listen. Be conscious of "air Vme." Your mentee should be talking close to 60% of the Vme. Help your mentee talk through issues, explore opVons, and think out loud. Listening will enable you to ask appropriate open-ended quesVons that encourage self-reflecVon. Your quesVons should also guide your mentee to consider the effects and consequences of his or her acVons. Provide honest feedback. Your responsibility is to help your mentee recognize and capitalize on his or her strengths as well as to recognize specific shortcomings. Mutually examine ways to improve your mentee's performance, and by offering honest feedback, reinforce the role feedback has in your mentee's development. Schedule mee>ngs. Work with your mentee to schedule meeVngs that make sense for both of you. Use business travel to your advantage; company business may be coordinated in such a way that you can fit in a face-to-face meeVng with your mentee. Try to see or have a lengthy telephone conversaVon with your mentee twice each quarter. Ensure you are able to devote the necessary Vme required by the relaVonship. Communicate ojen. The Vme between meeVngs is valuable. ProacVvely maintain contact with your mentee via e-mail and telephone. Follow up. Take the iniVaVve to follow up with your mentee. Take notes during and aner each meeVng or phone conversaVon to help you recall your discussions going forward. Being specific in your follow-up discussions will also encourage your mentee to think before acVng and to reflect upon the outcome of a situaVon.

Mentoring Employees

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Being a mentor to employees provides more skills and opportun:es to workers and, in turn, cul:vates empowerment and enthusiasm within your work force. What should a mentee expect from their mentor?

Leadership in Review

Reflect on your learning by answering the following ques:ons:

What is the difference between learning and development?1. What is the difference between informal and formal learning experiences?2. What are the five characteris>cs that make for a challenging job?3. What is mentoring?4.

The Leader as Coach

We began our discussion of coaching in chapter 2. CEO coaching (see the boxed feature Consider ExecuVve Coaching to learn more about coaching at senior levels) was discussed earlier as one form of development. Next we focus on what leaders and managers can do to be effecVve coaches of their direct reports.

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Your goal as a leader is to provide coaching to your direct reports that will help them overcome professional challenges and achieve success.

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Consider Execu:ve Coaching

To learn more about coaching with the most senior leaders we suggest the following works.

Kilburg (2000). Execu>ve coaching: Developing managerial wisdom in a world of chaos. Morgan, Harkins, & Goldsmith (2005). The art and prac>ce of leadership coaching.

We also suggest viewing a short video by Marshall Goldsmith, the most widely known and popular execuVve coach today. In the video, Marshall discusses five criVcal skills to focus on when coaching future leaders. See Web Resources to access this video's website.

Purposes of Coaching

According to Jacques and Clement (1994), coaching has several purposes, including:

Help direct reports understand the full range of opportuniVes for work and challenge available to them in their roles Assist direct reports in learning new methods, technologies, and procedures Bring direct reports' values more in line with corporate values and philosophy Aid in the development of direct reports' wisdom Help direct reports smooth out any rough edges in their temperament

Coaching is a powerful tool for helping leaders build high-performing, empowered, and engaged individuals and teams. When leaders act as coaches, they engage in dialogue with their direct reports about specific aspects of their performance. Together they explore how to bring that performance to the next level of excellence.

Coaching can focus on a number of areas, including leadership development, behavior change, or business issues, such as strategy and innovaVon. When performed successfully, coaching becomes a

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self-directed interacVon, one in which the leader primarily offers support by encouraging reflecVon, and providing guidance more than answers. By engaging in this way leaders will help their direct reports to accept soluVons that they, in essence, would have developed mostly on their own.

There is an overarching goal for the leader as coach: to shin the worldview of direct reports in a way that opens up new possibiliVes for acVon. By listening, and by making inquiries, observaVons, and reflecVons, leaders help their direct reports idenVfy their values and passions and align them with their professional and personal goals. When leaders ask powerful, thought-provoking quesVons that tap the inherent wisdom and creaVvity of their direct reports, they allow them to discover answers from within themselves.

What are the keys to successful coaching? To be successful as a coach, leaders need to both (a) engage in formal planning before the coaching process begins, and (b) follow a series of steps to bring the coaching process to a producVve conclusion. Next we present best pracVces for each of these, drawing on London (2002, 2003) and Mone and London (2010). However, in general, when coaching others, keep in mind the frameworks of theories of ac>on and the ladder of inference, since coaching involves behavior change, and these frameworks provide useful concepts and tools in that regard.

Formal Planning for Coaching

Leaders should do some preliminary planning before engaging in a coaching process with a direct report. The leader should consider asking the following quesVons:

Do I know the overarching needs and desires of the direct report I will be coaching? Do I know the specific coaching concern/issue or opportunity and its impact? Have I determined how I will approach the contract for coaching? Have I decided the methods I will use to collaborate on acVons and measures? Do I know how I might be able to provide support and encourage reflecVon? Have I determined a possible Vme frame for evaluaVng progress?

Steps in a Typical Coaching Process

Just as you might find several different definiVons of coaching in a review of the leadership literature, you will also find authors idenVfying different, but fundamentally similar steps to define the coaching process. Here is a five-step coaching process and what each step entails:

Step 1: Iden>fy the concern, issue, or opportunity and its impact. Help your direct report understand what the concern, issue, or opportunity is that may be affecVng him or her, you, the team, the department, and/or the organizaVon, posiVvely or negaVvely.

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Describe the posiVve impact that taking acVon will have on the employee, customer, team, and others.

Step 2: Develop a contract for coaching. Clarify the purpose of coaching and what you and your direct report want to achieve. Explain that the coaching process is a series of conversaVons, through which you will help him or her reach the agreedto goal. The goal can range from improving relaVonships with key customers or stakeholders to achieving a new, higher level of performance. Ensure your direct report is commi[ed to moving forward.

Step 3: Collaborate on ac>ons and measures. Determine together the acVons necessary to meet the agreed-to goal for coaching. Make sure any goals set are specific and measurable, and idenVfy necessary resources and a Vme frame. Discuss, agree to, and document how you will measure results. Also consider any available feedback, including 360-degree feedback, to help you target the desired results and idenVfy metrics by which you will measure progress against the goal.

Step 4: Provide support and encourage reflec>on. Your direct report needs your support to meet his or her goals. Support can be as simple as listening while he or she figures out a difficult situaVon, or helping him or her to gather required resources. In a collaboraVve conversaVon, decide what acVons are necessary to meet set goals.

Consider asking key stakeholders for feedback throughout the coaching process. Feedback is important if you want to help your direct report make significant changes or achieve dramaVc performance leaps. Remember, coaching is a process that involves a series of conversaVons over Vme.

However, in order to change behavior, your direct report needs a balance of taking acVon and Vme for reflecVon. In fact, fostering reflecVon may be the most beneficial support you can provide. ReflecVon will help your direct report to see things differently, both while in the process of taking acVon and aner results are achieved. Some sample reflecVve quesVons include the following:

What major assumpVons have you been making about this project? Is this the same way you have approached this type of situaVon in the past? Why did you take that approach? What are some of the other ways of viewing this problem? Who else might you have considered asking for input or feedback? Given what we know now, what can you do differently going forward? How do you feel about your progress and why?

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Step 5: Evaluate progress. At an agreed-to point in Vme, you need to make a final assessment of progress. The assessment should consider the acVons and measures that were established in step 3. Also, review other potenVal areas of impact, such as those related to your direct report's sense of self, the team, the department, and the organizaVon. Strongly consider going back to the same stakeholders you solicited feedback from earlier in the process, and see how their percepVons have changed. Take Vme to reflect on and celebrate success.

How does a leader know when coaching might be the answer? Coaching is most beneficial when it focuses on behavior change, or when helping individuals to develop or generate new perspecVves or worldviews. It typically is not seen as the most appropriate and cost-effecVve way to gain new funcVonal or general business knowledge. So, some specific reasons for choosing coaching include, helping

A valued employee overcome a performance issue that has its basis in style or behavior High-potenVal leaders to further develop their leadership capacity Senior leaders to increase their overall effecVveness

OrganizaVons that are undergoing change or transformaVon, and expect to see behavior change and performance improvement in general across the most senior levels of leadership and for those who might be high potenVal, may want to consider implemenVng a programmaVc approach to coaching. This means creaVng and launching an overall coaching program that is introduced to a large number of employees. The major reasons for insVtuVng a programmaVc approach to coaching include these two:

There are significant changes in business strategy, goals, or culture, requiring new ways of behaving and thinking.

1.

There are a large number of individuals, usually at the more senior levels, who must learn new behaviors or new ways of thinking to ensure company success.

2.

Leadership in Review

Reflect on your learning by answering the following ques:ons:

What is the primary focus of coaching?1. What are the key steps in a coaching process?2. What are the key reasons for considering coaching an individual?3. Why might you consider launching a coaching program?4.

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Recognizing an employee's performance is a form of feedback that can produce desired behavior and offer encouragement. Reflect on how encouragement could affect one's produc:vity and goals acquisi:on.

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Recognizing Performance

The ability to reward or recognize performance is one of five major sources of a leader's power (French & Raven, 1959). Within the framework of full range leadership, using conVngent rewards to moVvate and reinforce performance is the most acVve and effecVve form of transacVonal leadership. What is recogniVon, however, and how can leaders effecVvely use this source of power?

Recogni:on can be considered a form of feedback, and it tends to be defined similarly by those discussing it within the context of organizaVon development, leadership development, and performance management.

Providing conVngently informal genuine acknowledgment, approval, and appreciaVon for work well done (Luthans & Stalkovic, 2009) Giving praise and showing appreciaVon to others for effecVve performance, achievements, and contribuVons (Yukl, 2006) A message of appreciaVon or posiVve reinforcement Ved to a direct report's behavior or accomplishment of a specific task or goal (Mone & London, 2010)

RecogniVon, therefore, can be viewed as a posiVve reinforcer of desired behavior. In fact, when conVngently applied, its posiVve effect on performance management might be considered one of the most agreed-upon principles in psychology (Luthans & Stalkovic, 2009). Note, however, that recogniVon is onen provided in celebraVon of nonperformancerelated events as well, such as birthdays, service anniversaries, and safety milestones. RecogniVon also tends to fall into two major categories: formal and informal. Formal recogni>on is usually programmaVc and companywide, and can include, for example, a CEO-granted award for outstanding performance, innovaVon, or customer service. Informal recogni>on, which is the focus of this secVon, is typically provided one-to-one, supervisor to direct report, and is usually performance based. RecogniVon takes one of three forms (Yukl, 2006):

Praise (in the form of oral or wri[en comments)1. Awards (e.g., medals, plaques, ribbons, cerVficates, nominal financial rewards, etc.)2. Ceremonies (e.g., when the CEO announces and grants an organizaVonwide award)3.

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Add to the list recognizing others for their performance by giving them special assignments, such as leading a task force or cross-funcVonal team, or enlarging the scope of their job responsibiliVes, or perhaps by allowing them to a[end a desirable, work-related conference or parVcipate in an execuVve educaVon program.

Recogni>on: CEO and Direct Report Performance

Within Yukl's framework, ad hoc recogniVon, other than praise, as a rule, is not something the board gives to the CEO, nor the CEO to his or her direct reports, given their overall compensaVon levels and the numerous financial incenVves in place to moVvate their performance. In fact, compensaVon and incenVves for the most highly paid execuVves in large corporaVons must be fully disclosed and thus becomes public informaVon. GranVng addiVonal financial rewards to the CEO on an event basis would reflect poorly on the board's governance pracVces and raise ethical quesVons. Again, the recent and numerous corporate scandals, as discussed previously, have all but eliminated these discreVonary acVons.

However, the board, when providing feedback to the CEO, might offer recogniVon in the form of praise as appropriate. The CEO would do the same with each direct report. Praise serves to increase intrinsic moVvaVon as it reinforces desired behaviors (Mone & London, 2010) and fosters self-efficacy—the belief in one's capabiliVes to produce desired outcomes or results (Bandura, 1997).

Given some of the constraints on recogniVon discussed above, our experience has been that CEOs may choose a direct report, or working with their direct report teams, choose a senior leader to chair a special task force as a form of recogniVon. Although the acVon is recogniVon based, senior execuVves generally consider these types of assignments developmental, and they provide the execuVve team with the opportunity to evaluate the senior leader's potenVal for further growth. One example we have witnessed of this form of recogniVon includes appoinVng the head of the global real estate funcVon to lead a team of cross-funcVonal, senior-level peers charged with analyzing employee opinion survey results and making companywide recommendaVons for improvement and acVon, as well as guiding the implementaVon of those acVons.

Obstacles to Recognizing Employees and How to Overcome Them

The following is a list of reasons why managers and leaders find it difficult to pracVce recogniVon and ways to address them.

Not having enough >me to recognize employees. Your recogniVon can come as part of your day-to-day performance management in the form of feedback—offering a sincere statement of praise such as "thank you for . . ." can be accomplished in no Vme at all.

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Being inconsistent and showing favori>sm. Find opportuniVes to recognize each of your direct reports—you can always find at least a small achievement you recognize or demonstraVon of the right behavior you want to sustain and reinforce. Recogni>on losing its meaning. Use different forms of recogniVon, reward appropriately to the achievement, reward for different achievements—and do it on a Vmely basis. Only cash awards maHer. Remember, feedback is an important form of recogniVon— it is free—and feedback is important to engagement and overall performance management; Frey and Stutzer (2007) tell us recogniVon works without having to provide monetary rewards. Embarrassing your direct reports. Simply ask your direct reports how they would like to be recognized—publicly or privately—and then honor their wishes. Recognizing direct reports who are not mee>ng expecta>ons 100%. Recognizing direct reports for their successes may help to build their self-efficacy, increase their career moVvaVon, and help them gain the confidence to improve in areas where they may not be as effecVve. (Adapted from GosVck & Elton, 2007; Mone & London, 2010)

Ways to Recognize Performance

There are many ways to recognize performance. Try the following suggesVons, which have no financial cost to the organizaVon and do not take much Vme to implement:

Send an e-mail Write an acknowledgment and thank-you le[er Invite your direct report to a senior management meeVng Provide the chance to make a presentaVon to senior management Assign a new, exciVng project Arrange for your direct report to join an important commi[ee Invite your direct report to act in your place when you are away on vacaVon

Ask your senior management to

Place a phone call Write a le[er Send an email

Publicize an achievement

In your company newsle[er On your company's website On department bulleVn boards (Mone & London 2010)

Strategies for Making Recogni>on Effec>ve

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The following strategies will help leaders make their recogniVon as effecVve as possible.

Be inclusive. Recognize everyone involved in an accomplishment, not only the key contributor; consider those in "the back room" who are providing support.

1.

Be varied. Remember to use a number of recogniVon methods with your direct reports to keep your efforts fresh and unexpected.

2.

Be spontaneous. Don't necessarily wait for an informal or formal meeVng with a direct report to provide recogniVon.

3.

Be frequent. Make recogniVon a habit and build it into your daily acVviVes list. Put it on your calendar. Take the opportunity with longer term projects to recognize efforts at key milestones.

4.

Be sincere. Be open and honest with your recogniVon. Demonstrate your sincerity by leong your direct reports know you truly appreciate their efforts and successes.

5.

Be propor>onal. Try to match the level of recogniVon to fit the achievement. RecogniVon that is out of proporVon—either too much for a small accomplishment or too li[le for a major achievement—will diminish its value as a reinforcer.

6.

Be specific. Be specific and clear about what you are recognizing to reinforce the behavior that you desire.

7.

Be >mely. RecogniVon is more effecVve when it occurs closer in Vme to the acts or behaviors you want to reinforce.

8.

Follow the Pla>num Rule. "Treat others as they wish to be treated." Try to tailor your rewards to meet the needs of the person you are recognizing. (Adapted from Jeffries, 1996; Yukl, 2006)

9.

Leadership in Review

Reflect on your learning by answering the following ques:ons:

What are the two major categories of recogni>on?1. What are at least two obstacles to providing effec>ve recogni>on?2. What are at least three strategies for making recogni>on effec>ve?3.

Performance Appraisals

Earlier in this chapter we highlighted best pracVces related to CEO performance management and CEO appraisals. Here we define and describe performance appraisals briefly, further discuss CEO appraisals, and then provide strategies leaders can use for effecVve performance appraisals.

A performance appraisal typically refers to an evaluaVon conducted at the end of a performance period, focusing on assessing both the demonstraVon of criVcal behaviors and the level of expected results achieved (Pulakos, 2009; Mone & London, 2009). Formal appraisals of performance are usually

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Performance appraisals assess behaviors and levels of achieved results in order to determine progress and modify goals.

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conducted on an annual basis and tend to be linked to and drive other human resource processes. The formal, annual appraisal brings closure to the performance year and provides the opportunity for a summaVve or overall evaluaVon of development and performance efforts. On the other hand, appraisals that are conducted quarterly or at midyear, or at the end of criVcal projects for those on project management teams, tend to be less formal, and allow the opportunity for the following:

Checking progress toward the achievement of performance goals Determining if goals are sVll valid, and modifying goals as appropriate Providing feedback on development efforts Providing an interim evaluaVon of overall performance to date. (Mone & London, 2009)

Performance appraisals will be based either on absolute or relaVve raVng systems. Simply speaking, within an absolute raVng system, individual performance is evaluated against one's set goals, regardless of the performance of one's peers; within a rela>ve raVng system, performance is primarily based on a comparison to the performance of one's peers.

CEO and Direct Report Performance Appraisals

The forward-facing CEO appraisal for fostering CEO development was discussed previously. It is important to ensure that the evaluaVon of a CEO has a backward-facing component as well (Charan, 2006)—to evaluate organizaVonal goal accomplishment based on agreed-to, previously established quanVtaVve measures. Of course, all employees of an organizaVon, including the CEO, are usually required to complete a self-appraisal, which is considered a best pracVce. For example, we know of several execuVves who have used The CEO Evalua>on (see Web Resources to access this evaluaVon) from Boardroom Metrics as a self-appraisal of their yearlong performance. Key elements of this CEO EvaluaVon form include the following:

The CEO's leadership performance

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The CEO's management performance RelaVonship of the CEO with the board of directors The CEO's financial stewardship of the organizaVon Key accomplishments of the CEO and assessment versus board-set goals Areas of CEO improvement Performance Development AcVon Plan

Much of what we address in the remainder of this secVon is also applicable to CEOs when appraising their direct reports. The most important step, of course, is for CEOs to actually write and deliver their appraisals, which happens less frequently than you would think. The second step is to ensure both an emphasis on evaluaVng performance results and opportuniVes for development.

Errors in Performance Appraisal Ra>ng Strategies

Errors in raVng strategy can seriously impact the effecVveness of appraisal raVngs. Avoid the following key rater errors, which can lead direct reports to believe that the appraisal process is unjust and unfair.

Leniency. When favorable raVngs are given on all aspects of performance, but they are not usually deserved, your standards are probably too low. This might happen because you don't want to create ill feelings by raVng a direct report low; you are giving him or her the benefit of the doubt. So look carefully at each raVng you provide, and be sure you have evidence of support to back it up.

Severity: When unfavorable raVngs are given on all aspects of performance, but they are not usually deserved, your standards are probably too high. This might result from having set very difficult stretch goals, or being unsaVsfied with a direct report for any number of reasons, for example, always coming in late, or interrupVng you during team meeVngs. Try not to let your overall disposiVon or aotude get in the way of being fair in your evaluaVon.

Central Tendency. When you tend to rate all performance areas as average, but this is not the real case. You find yourself raVng most direct reports close to the middle of the performance scale, and you rarely, if at all, use the lower or upper ends of the scale. In this case, you are not choosing to differenVate performance across the dimensions available. Look for examples of performance that truly impressed you, or that you were very unsaVsfied with and rate the dimensions accordingly. Don't be afraid to branch out!

Similarity. Just because a direct report is similar to you, maybe in terms of age, sex, educaVon, or experience, you rate him or her favorably when it is not deserved. This

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could easily be considered an unconscious form of favoriVsm; you probably believe that because your direct report is like you in some significant way, he or she has to be performing well. Step back and look at the actual performance of the individual, and if need be, compare that person's performance to someone in a similar role or to others you supervise to ensure your raVngs truly represent the person's performance.

First Impression. When you determine your direct report's end-of-year performance evaluaVon based largely on how well he or she did early on in the cycle. You tend to ignore later performance data, whether posiVve or negaVve. This may be due to how you track performance, or to the fact that the early performance on key projects was outstanding and that len a strong impression. It is good to think favorably of your direct reports, but when it comes to evaluaVng performance, be sure you are looking at performance on all key or significant projects throughout the performance year.

Recency Effect. When you determine your direct report's end-of-year performance evaluaVon based largely on how well he or she did at the end of the cycle. You tend to ignore earlier performance data, whether posiVve or negaVve. Again, this may be due to how you track performance, or to the fact that performance on the latest key projects was outstanding. Be sure you are looking at performance on all key or significant projects throughout the performance year. (Mone & London, 2010)

Before starVng to write the appraisal, Mone & London (2010) recommend asking your direct reports to complete a self-appraisal. This gives them the opportunity to share their perspecVves and provide input to their appraisals in a formal way. Once completed, you should meet with your direct reports to discuss their self-appraisals so that you can best understand how they viewed their performance and why they rated themselves as they did. Doing this effecVvely will help them feel that their voices were heard and understood, and helps to make this component of performance management more of a collaboraVve effort.

Once a leader has reviewed the self-appraisal and any other performance informaVon collected from colleagues or the direct report's team members, it is Vme to write the appraisal. Once wri[en, the leader should reflect on the raVngs given and verify that rater errors were avoided, and if not, to correct them; then it is Vme to discuss the appraisal with the direct report. This is probably one of the most difficult challenges for leaders, as well as managers—to have a construcVve conversaVon about performance. Following are some interesVng challenges:

When lower or poor performance is the case, leaders will either tend to minimize the issue and avoid the discussion, or be too harsh in providing feedback. In either instance, the direct report is not receiving construcVve feedback that would help to improve performance. When performance meets expectaVons—typically the midpoint of a 5-point raVng scale—leaders

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have difficulty ensuring the posiVve message of achieving expected results is heard. More onen than not, their direct reports view meeVng expectaVons as a "bad" raVng, and believed that they would be rated much higher. When performance exceeds expectaVons, leaders onen say they do not reinforce the raVng with too much posiVve feedback, assuming that the direct report is aware of his or her level of performance and worth. As a result, these high performers onen feel that their performance was not adequately recognized, perhaps taken for granted, and in fact, they onen miss out on development discussions given their performance.

Effec>ve Performance Appraisal Strategy

What might be some guidelines for ensuring what to discuss and how to discuss it during the appraisal review meeVng? Consider the following, high-level strategies based on Dessler (2011):

Discuss efforts in terms of objec>ve work data—Try to uVlize and talk about the kinds of measures we discussed earlier in this chapter under the topic of goal seong; the more objecVve the measure the be[er. Focus on behavior and results, and avoid being personal—Avoid pejoraVve comments about the person's work style, such as, "You just don't seem smart enough to get that done." Don't do all the talking, engage your direct report in conversa>on—Facilitate a good dialogue and help understand the perspecVve of your direct report by using open-ended quesVons, such as, Can you tell me more? or, How would you go about changing that process? Gain agreement—Be sure your direct report is clear on the next steps, including the development acVons that should be taken.

For a more detailed look at a step-by-step guide for what leaders and managers should cover in the appraisal review meeVng, see the A Step-by-Step Guide for Structuring the Appraisal MeeVng boxed feature.

A Step-By-Step Guide for Structuring the Appraisal Mee:ng

Welcome your direct report, make sure that he or she is comfortable, and check to see that your appraisal, which you forwarded ahead of >me, was read.

1.

Explain how you will conduct the mee>ng and how long the mee>ng will last. Make it clear that you want a dialogue—and that you don't want to do all the talking.

2.

Begin by thanking your direct report for his or her performance contribu>ons and the success achieved. You should do this regardless of the overall ra>ng, as there is generally always something posi>ve on which to report.

Make a summary statement regarding performance, such as, "Bill, you had an excep>onala.

3.

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performance year" or "Bill, your performance this year shows significant improvement over last year."

Move into the details of the appraisal. Review and discuss each performance (individual and/or team) goal, strategy, tac>c, or other.

a.

Provide feedback about how you think each was accomplished, and explain why you have rated each goal as such.

b.

Compare and discuss any differences between your ra>ngs and those appearing in the self-appraisal.

c.

Ask your direct report for comments along the way, and be open to ques>ons to be sure that your direct report understands your evalua>on correctly.

d.

4.

Review and discuss each development goal, commen>ng on the progress you have seen. Ask for feedback. Try to determine if con>nued development in the same areas is warranted.

5.

Explain and discuss how you have arrived at your direct report's overall performance ra>ng. This should be an obvious outcome based on the evalua>on of each performance goal.

6.

Ask about and discuss any addi>onal comments, concerns, or ques>ons your direct report might have about his or her performance or the appraisal. Then ask your direct report to sign the appraisal if that is part of your company's process.

7.

If compensa>on is a related process, explain how and when this will be handled.8. Determine and agree to a >me when you can have a goal sefng mee>ng for the next performance year.

9.

The steps outlined here will help you to conduct an effecVve appraisal meeVng, but feel free to modify them to fit your parVcular management style or to saVsfy your company's human resources policies and pracVces.

Adapted from Mone & London, 2010

We have looked at each component of performance management in some detail, as performance management is the overarching framework for guiding a leader's acVons in the one-to-one role. It important to determine whether or not the overall process is working effecVvely, or in other words, to explore how to determine gaps in performance management, which we discuss next.

Leadership in Review

Reflect on your learning by answering the following ques:ons:

What is a formal performance appraisal?1.

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Performance management may some:mes have gaps. What can be done to measure and address these gaps?

Imagezoo/SuperStock

What is meant by absolute and rela>ve ra>ng systems?2. What are at least three ra>ng errors in performance appraisals?3.

Measuring Gaps in Performance Management

We have now presented and discussed the key phases of performance management: Goal Seong, Feedback, Development, Coaching, RecogniVon, and Performance Appraisal. So how does one proceed in measuring gaps in performance management? First, as an enabling process, ask the quesVon, Does it support the business? For that to occur, each of the phases of performance management should contain the elements of design and best pracVces presented in our discussion of performance management. So check to be sure those are in place. Second, all of the phases must be well integrated. You need to check on that as well, and we have provided this set of quesVons to enable you to do so.

Are the Goals set and aligned with the strategic plan? Are Feedback and Coaching provided throughout the performance period based on goal progress? Are the Development acVviVes in place helping to improve performance in pursuit of those goals, and/or to prepare for future assignments consistent with the organizaVon's strategic direcVon? Are Rewards based on achievement of goals set during the goal-seong phase? Do Appraisals focus on the fair evaluaVon of the individual's performance against agreed-to goals?

Next, verify that the process is supported by senior management and uVlized effecVvely throughout the organizaVon as a key business process important to achieving the company's overarching goals. Yes, we have onen found that managers and leaders tend to comply with the performance management acVons HR requires, but do not embrace them. Over the years the authors have designed survey quesVons to evaluate how well the performance management process works and is supported by senior leadership. We find this to be an effecVve way to measure both leadership and organizaVonwide gaps in performance management. For example, we have asked employees to rate the extent to which they agree with the following statements (see Mone, 2009; Mone & London, 2010):

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Overall, performance management is valued in this company (a measure of leadership support). I had the opportunity to set goals with my manager. My manager provides me with ongoing feedback that helps me improve my performance. I am saVsfied with the amount of recogni>on I receive from my manager. I have a clear understanding of how my performance is evaluated. My most recent year-end performance appraisal was fair.

These and other statements or quesVons based on them can also be used in interviews and focus groups with leaders, managers, and employees to determine the extent to which there are gaps and what acVons can be taken to close them and make performance management, overall, a highly effecVve enabling process.

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3.5 Conflict in an Organization Conflict, as it pertains to organizaVonal life, is pervasive, and has a long history. Katz and Kahn (1978, p. 617) state:

Every aspect of organizaVonal life that creates order and coordinaVon of effort must overcome tendencies to acVon, and in that fact lies the potenVality for conflict.

In addiVon, every school of organizaVonal thought fundamentally has at its core the need to work interdependently and to manage ensuing conflicts (Dreu & Gelfand, 2008). So the quesVon becomes, What is conflict?

A widely held view, iniVally offered by Pondy (1967), is that conflict is a process. For example, Katz and Kahn (1978) refer to conflict as a parVcular kind of interacVng behavior that can be best understood as a process. They define conflict as the interacVon between two parVes in such a way that the acVons of one party tend to prevent or moVvate some outcome against the resistance of the other. Quite similarly, De Dreu and Gelfand (2008) define conflict as "a process that begins when an individual or group perceives differences and opposiVon between itself and another individual or group about interests and resources, beliefs, values, or pracVces that ma[er to them" (p. 6).

More simply, in the leadership and management seminars we facilitate, we define conflict as "a problem that exists between two or more parVes, which does not appear to have a mutually beneficial soluVon." In other words, the iniVal percepVon by both parVes is that they have incompaVble wants—"if you get what you want then I can't get what I want." This definiVon resonates well and helps leaders and managers to recognize that conflict can occur between individuals, departments, and organizaVons, and can be about deadlines, product design, product delivery, markeVng strategies, and more. These seminars include a process for managing conflict and bringing it to a saVsfactory resoluVon, which we will discuss later in this secVon. What are some of the reasons why conflict may surface?

There are many reasons why conflicts may emerge. Leaders are more likely to encounter conflict when they are less open to new experiences, less agreeable, and less willing to consider new perspecVves. In addiVon, leaders whose resilience is low may feel less confident and resist changing their posiVons, and leaders who rely on their legiVmate or expert power to influence others may face resistance to their ideas leading to conflict. Leaders' theories of acVon present another source of conflict if their theories are in opposiVon to those held by others, which might occur between senior leaders in markeVng and finance when discussing strategies for increasing profitability, for example, by reducing costs, increasing revenues, or both. Finally, conflict can also occur within groups or

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teams, which we discuss in chapter 4.

Today's environment also brings new challenges that are likely to engender conflict. For example,

The increasing pressure to change and adapt to new markets, which can lead to conflict about roles. For instance, consider the various ways an organizaVon can sell in a new market, which is bound to challenge the current sales paradigm and model. The impact of technology, including Web 2.0 and 3.0, which can generate conflict as interpersonal communicaVon becomes less personal—just think about the nature of email and consider the likelihood for misinterpretaVon that presents. GlobalizaVon and the diversity of the workforce bringing new and different perspecVves that must be integrated or resolved, tapping into the cultural way work gets done, for example, in different countries, and the implicaVons for organizaVon effecVveness.

How can CEOs manage conflict? The best approach is a win–win philosophy for conflict resoluVon. Win–win means each party involved in the conflict feels like a winner, and each feels like his or her needs were met. This kind of resoluVon to a conflict makes both parVes feel good about the immediate outcome, and encourages them to feel opVmisVc about resolving any future problems or conflicts they may experience. For suggesVons on further reading about win–win, see the boxed feature Popularity of the Win–Win Approach.

Sources of Conflict

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Conflict in the workplace develops from contras:ng points of views or differing mo:va:ons. As a leader, one must have the skills to resolve conflict by seeking out other alterna:ves than appealing to either party's wants. How would you go about resolving conflict amongst your direct reports?

Popularity of the Win–Win Approach

The win–win approach was iniVally popularized by the book Gefng to YES: Nego>a>ng Agreement Without Giving In (1981) by Roger

Fisher, Bill Ury, and Bruce Pa[on. Many other volumes have followed within this tradiVon, including the more recent and popular New York Times bestseller Crucial Conversa>ons (2002) by Kerry Pa[erson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler.

CEOs and Conflict Management

The CEO is the senior-most leader in the organizaVon; however, that does not mean that CEOs don't have to deal with conflict in one-to-one situaVons. Regardless of the legi>mate power they have granted by their posiVons, they sVll face challenges and opposiVon from board members, or at least at a minimum, from their direct reports and possibly other senior leaders within their organizaVons.

A CEO's interacVon with the chairman of the board and other board members certainly has ramificaVons for the enVre organizaVon, even when potenVal or ongoing conflicts exist. These conflicts, however, are certainly less visible to most organizaVon members. So in some ways more important is how CEOs work to resolve conflicts with their direct reports one-to-one, and as a team. Why? Let's look at an example.

Consider this situaVon: A CEO was interacVng with her direct report team members and was observed to be conflict-adverse. She avoided conflict with a direct report, the chief administraVve officer (CAO). This occurred both one-to-one and when challenged in the team situaVon in the presence of all of her direct reports. The CAO refused to execute in accordance with the strategies, plans, and processes already agreed to by the enVre execuVve team. In specific, the CAO did not want to support an organizaVonwide leadership development program for high-potenVal senior leaders, now claiming that it was not the right Vme in the business cycle to launch such a program. Of course, all the factors we have been talking about so far come into play, parVcularly the personaliVes of the execuVve team members and their desire for power in the organizaVon. We witnessed a very poliVcally charged environment, to say the least. So again, why is this important?

Some of the team members were frustrated by witnessing the CAO's behavior and the subsequent behavior of two of their colleagues in the team situaVon. For example, the two colleagues quickly sided with the CAO's perspecVve, seemingly changing their posiVons without much thought. Those who were frustrated by this acVon and its poliVcal nature wanted the CEO to "take charge and

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Conflict arises from compe:ng wants. What can a leader do to resolve these issues?

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confront those causing the conflict," but the CEO was reluctant to do so. As a result those members who wanted the CEO to confront the conflict started to lose confidence in the CEO, a fact shared with the authors in later private conversaVons. Those who were actually in direct conflict with the CEO lost respect for her, feeling they won and the CEO lost. The ramificaVons for the organizaVon were clear. What the organizaVon witnessed, ulVmately, was the lack of consensus around important strategies and goals, and approaches to employee development, the market, product development cycles, and such, as the execuVve team members resorted to, in many ways, just doing what they wanted to do—within some limits of course. For example, some decided not to send any parVcipants to the leadership program, while others uVlized their favorite consultants to create their own versions of a leadership program specifically for their own funcVonal organizaVons. As a result, because the CEO did not effecVvely resolve conflicts about the organizaVon's direcVon or strategies, in either the one-to-one or the team situaVons, the board stepped in and got the CEO an execuVve coach. Although this help was made available, within a year or so the CEO was asked to step down, mostly because of this inability to resolve conflict. The conclusion was, frankly, that the CEO was largely seen as powerless, and that is not the kind of CEO a board wants.

Managing and Resolving Conflicts

Suppose that all behavior is moVvated, and that according to many conflict resoluVon experts, our needs are our primary moVvators. Our needs, however, can be saVsfied in any number of ways. Think about a need for recogniVon, or the need for achievement.

When we try to saVsfy our needs "we want . . ." is what we typically say. For example, to meet a need for recogniVon, a person might say, "I want a promoVon" or "I want a bigger office."

In a conflict situaVon, the conflict tends to result from compeVng wants. Remember our definiVon of conflict? We defined conflict as "a problem that does not appear to have a mutually beneficial soluVon." The lack of apparent soluVon is owing to the focus on wants. But remember, a want is an expression of a need, and the want we onen choose is the most obvious alternaVve to saVsfying that need. Therefore, the road to resolving conflicts involves looking for other ways to saVsfy the underlying needs. This is where creaVvity and brainstorming play a key role. To effecVvely resolve a conflict, you'll want to explore and test out possible ways of meeVng

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the needs of everyone involved.

Again, take the example of the need for recogniVon. You might insist on wanVng a promoVon or a bigger office, but for argument's sake, let's say these wants can't be met. Would you be happy then, for example, with a more senior-sounding Vtle, a raise, a bonus, the opportunity to take the visible lead on an important companywide project? Once you start to explore different ways of meeVng the needs of the parVes involved in the conflict situaVon, you are effecVvely working toward solving the problem that seemed to not have a mutually beneficial soluVon. This, in essence, is the idea of working toward a win–win soluVon.

Four Approaches to Resolving Conflict

There are four major styles or approaches to managing and resolving conflicts (see Figure 3.4). As you read them, you might want to think about which of the following approaches is most characterisVc of your own:

I make sure I win, not the other party. I use whatever strategies or techniques seem appropriate to get what I want, even if it is at the expense of the other party.

1.

I help the other party win. I am willing to sacrifice what I want if it means the other party gets what they want.

2.

I avoid conflict situaVons. I am more comfortable not addressing conflict even if it means no one really gets what they want.

3.

I make sure everyone wins. I will use whatever strategies and techniques I can to develop a soluVon that lets everyone get what they want.

4.

Figure 3.4: Four approaches to resolving conflict

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We emphasize and recommend, of course, the Win–Win (4) approach we have been describing. It has a number of benefits which lead to higher producVvity, including its ability to meet the needs of all parVes, strengthen the relaVonship, reduce the risk of deadlock, and develop creaVve soluVons.

At Vmes, it might be necessary or just make good business sense to uVlize one of the other three approaches. For example:

Use Lose–Lose (3) . . .

When it is important to be diplomaVc and stay away from the issue because the cost of dealing with the conflict is higher than the benefit of resolving it.

Use Win–Lose (1) . . .

When you know a certain way is right and the need is pressing to make a decision soon, or when another party refuses to engage in a win–win dialogue.

Use Lose–Win (2) . . .

When you want to repair a relaVonship, or when you value the soluVon less than the other party and can afford to give in.

In general, strive for a win–win soluVon. It will be worth the effort. You might say that is easier said than done. However, we next present a four-phase approach to managing conflict, and also provide

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you with an assessment following that which will enable you to idenVfy your strengths and areas for improvement when it comes to working toward win–win soluVons.

Phases in Managing Conflict

As we said, the process for managing conflict can be thought of in four phases, defined as:

Phase 1: Collect InformaVon

Phase 2: Work to Understand Differences and Agreements

Phase 3: Manage the Conflict

Phase 4: Follow Through on Agreements

In Phase 1, you try to idenVfy all the key stakeholders, gather as much informaVon as you can about the overall problem, including hidden resources that can help, for example, other stakeholders, objecVvely examine both sides of the issue, and idenVfy needs versus wants. As you might recognize, some of these acVons can be taken prior to any formal meeVng with the other party engaged in the conflict.

In Phase 2, the goal is to analyze the informaVon gathered in the first phase and to try to understand the differences that exist. It is important to be open to other ways of doing things and to understand how alternaVve approaches might work. In specific, you accomplish this by exploring the other party's posiVon in detail, establishing what the needs are versus what the wants are, idenVfying any possible areas of agreement and disagreement, and ensuring and gaining confirmaVon that both parVes understand what was said.

In Phase 3, the effort is placed on addressing the conflict situaVon given that the differences between parVes are now clearly understood. You begin by framing the issues, in other words, how each party's concerns are defined. Given that basis, you then proceed to idenVfy the areas of agreement to further strengthen the relaVonship. You can then focus on where you disagree, trying to find creaVve soluVons that meet the needs of both parVes to ensure a win–win.

In Phase 4, you are basically following through with your acVons given that the outcome of phase 3 was reaching a win–win soluVon. Now, it is important to do what you promised to do, ensuring that you conVnue to maintain the trust and respect of the other party. It is also important to ensure that the other party, of course, does what it said it would do. Finally, you can use the lessons learned from resolving this conflict when working with the other party in the future. At this stage, it is probably helpful to discuss how similar conflicts might be avoided in the future.

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Since resolving conflicts is a process, you might be revisiVng a previous step, perhaps to gather more informaVon or because a new stakeholder might be idenVfied that has a major interest in the outcome. That is to be expected, and should not be thought of as a problem—remember this is a dynamic process that requires at Vmes, stepping back, and as well, resisVng the urge to jump to a resoluVon just to avoid the tension of the conflict situaVon.

Finally, look at Assessment 3.1, Conflict Management Skills Assessment, to help you determine the extent to which you embrace a win–win philosophy, and the extent of your skills in each of the four phases of the process. Therefore, the assessment covers five different areas, with a certain number of key behaviors in each. You will score each behavior on a 5-point scale, yielding a results score for each of the five areas. Following the assessment, you will find the scoring instrucVons. Some items are reversed-scored, so be sure to make those adjustments before totaling your scores for each secVon. When you review your results, first idenVfy those areas in which you scored a low or medium overall. Then look at the low to medium scores for the behaviors in those areas. We recommend taking acVon to improve your skills, where necessary, starVng with the lowest scoring areas and the lowest scoring behaviors, and proceeding from there.

Assessment 3.1: Conflict Management Skills Assessment

Click here (hXps://media.thuze.com/MediaService/MediaService.svc/constella:on/book/AUMGT460.12.2 /{pdfs}assessment_3.1.pdf) to take this assessment.

Instruc:ons: For each item, circle the raVng that indicates the extent to which the item is characterisVc of your behavior or beliefs.

1 2 3 4 5

LiXle Extent Some Extent Moderate Extent Considerable Extent Great Extent

Item No.

In a conflict situaVon, to what extent do you: 1 2 3 4 5

1 Believe one party has to lose for the other to win? 1 2 3 4 5

2 Believe it is necessary for the other party to agree with you? 1 2 3 4 5

3 DifferenVate what you want from what you actually need? 1 2 3 4 5

4 Discuss the situaVon in a way that enables a win–win soluVon?

1 2 3 4 5

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5 Ask the other party to differenVate what they really need from what they want?

1 2 3 4 5

6 Believe both sides would be be[er off if the conflict was addressed later?

1 2 3 4 5

7 Talk with the other party involved to discover the reasons for the conflict?

1 2 3 4 5

8 Try to understand the other party's side? 1 2 3 4 5

9 Keep the promises you make? 1 2 3 4 5

10 Save Vme by idenVfying ahead of Vme the most apparent soluVon to resolve the conflict?

1 2 3 4 5

11 Try to understand the other party's interests, desires, and moVvaVon?

1 2 3 4 5

12 Believe it is possible for both sides to win? 1 2 3 4 5

13 Work with the other party to develop creaVve alternaVves for a win– win soluVon?

1 3 4 5

14 Usually explain your side first? 1 2 3 4 5

15 Ensure that other party keeps his or her promises to you? 1 2 3 4 5

16 Usually break deadlocks by choosing to end the discussion with "we will agree to disagree"?

1 2 3 4 5

17 Explore a variety of potenVal soluVons to resolve the conflict before deciding a course of acVon?

1 2 3 4 5

18 Try to step back to understand the overall situaVon? 1 2 3 4 5

19 Focus on helping everyone involved get what they need? 1 2 3 4 5

20 Examine your own posiVon to see how much you may be contribuVng to the conflict?

1 2 3 4 5

21 Confirm that the other party understands what you have communicated?

1 2 3 4 5

22 Focus on how to avoid similar conflicts in the future? 1 2 3 4 5

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Scoring the Conflict Management Skills Assessment

Transfer your ra>ng for each ques>on in the assessment next to the matching ques>on number in the table below. Reverse the ra>ng if reverse scoring applies to the ques>on.

Total the scores in each area to determine the total score for that area.

Consider further development for low and medium scores as appropriate.

Win–Win Philosophy Low 3—6 Medium 7—11 High 12—15 1. _____* (Reverse Score) 6. _____* (Reverse Score) 12. _____ Total _____

Gather Informa:on (Phase 1) Low 4—8 Medium 9—14 High 15—20 3. _____ 7. _____ 10. _____* (Reverse Score) 20. _____ Total _____

Understand Differences and Agreements (Phase 2) Low 7—15 Medium 16—25 High 26—35 2. ____ * (Reverse Score) 5. _____ 8. _____ 11. _____ 14. _____* (Reverse Score) 18. _____ 21. _____ Total _____

Manage Conflict (Phase 3) Low 5—11 Medium 12—18 High 19—25 4. _____ 13. _____ 16. _____* (Reverse Score) 17. _____ 19. _____ Total _____

Follow Through (Phase 4) Low 3—6 Medium 7—11 High 12—15 9. _____ 15. _____ 22. _____ Total _____

*Reverse Score Items Reverse the scoring of these items as follows: Score of 1, Change to 5 Score of 2, Change to 4 Score of 3, Stays at 3 Score of 4, Change to 2 Score of 5, Change to 1

Determining Leadership Gaps in Conflict Management

At the individual level, collect data from a number of sources to determine the effecVveness of any one leader in managing and resolving conflicts. Obviously, one can use the assessment in this secVon,

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either as a self-assessment, an assessment by the leader's supervisor, or as an interview guide used with the leader, the leader's supervisor, or the leader's direct reports or colleagues. A 360-degree feedback survey can also be used as long as there are quesVons that focus on the appropriate skills. These approaches can also be uVlized to assess the enVre leadership populaVon directly as defined by the organizaVon, which can include, for example, the CEO and direct report team, the top "100" leaders, or broader pools of high-potenVal leaders.

At the organizaVon level, leadership's ability to manage conflict can be measured by an employee opinion survey, using quesVons such as "the leadership in my organizaVon resolves conflicts effecVvely." It is important to measure how well leaders manage and resolve conflict within their department or funcVon and across departments or funcVons. In our survey work with client organizaVons, for example, we have repeatedly found that employees see a big gap between these two measures—generally raVng leaders be[er at resolving conflicts within their funcVons by about 10 points, for example, a 77% favorable response versus a 66% favorable response.

Unresolved conflicts can also be uncovered by closely examining organizaVon results and trying to understand why expected levels of results were not achieved, or how results could have been be[er. In these instances, improvement areas are onen found when results depend on cross-funcVonal cooperaVon, such as the design, development, and sales of a new sonware product, which typically generates conflict between those in sonware engineering and design, the markeVng team, and the sales organizaVon. In fact, in situaVons like these, unresolved conflicts might be traced back to a lack of agreement regarding the overall strategic plan, a problem we discussed in chapter 1.

Leadership in Review

Reflect on your learning by answering the following ques:ons:

What are the four major approaches to resolving conflict?1. What does a win–win solu>on mean to both par>es engaged in a conflict?2. Describe the four phases for managing conflict.3. What are some ways to measure leadership gaps in conflict management in organiza>ons?4.

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Finding the right person to hire for the job is a challenge. A leader must choose the person who will offer the most success.

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3.6 Selecting Job Candidates for Success Many problems in organizaVons, parVcularly problems with an individual's performance or organizaVonal fit, have to do with who is in the organizaVon, as well as who hired the person. As a result, in some ways, a leader's challenge begins when making the right hiring or selecVon decision—in essence when the leader is choosing his or her direct reports. Obviously, if leaders hire the right people for the job, the enVre performance management process becomes much more posiVve and focused on growth. However, leaders have been prone to and conVnue to make mistakes in their hiring. This has been said onen of CEOs involved in their own succession planning. CEOs have been known to hire people like themselves, rather than consider the strategic needs of the business and the competencies necessary to lead the organizaVon going forward. As a result, we see selecVng job candidates as an important leadership competency, almost a first step, when possible, for leaders to begin the one-to-one relaVonship with their direct reports. Of course, it makes a good deal of sense to hire the best possible candidate you can. However, how do you go about selecVng job candidates, parVcularly at the more senior levels?

In this secVon we will do the following:

Stress the importance of cogniVve ability in selecVon Highlight the value of personality in selecVon Discuss the state of CEO and execuVve selecVon Explore how to determine gaps in leadership selecVon

On what basis does one select job candidates? There are two major strategies to consider (Murphy, 2010). The first is to begin with a job analysis, under the assumpVon that it will reveal the important knowledge, skills, and abiliVes to perform successfully in the job. This is known as a

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work-oriented strategy. On the other hand, when you begin with the idea of individual differences, and consider the domains of cogniVve ability, personality, interests, and value orientaVons, you are uVlizing a person-oriented analysis. Given our primary topic—leadership—our focus here is on the person-oriented strategy and the two domains that are most criVcal to leadership success: general cogniVve ability (intelligence) and personality.

General Cognitive Ability

General cogniVve ability or intelligence is defined as the capacity to grasp and reason correctly with abstract concepts and solve problems (Schmidt, 2009). Recent reviews point overwhelmingly to the conclusion that cogniVve ability—or "g"—which we commonly refer to as IQ, should be the primary basis for selecVon (Murphy, 2010; Schmidt, 2009).

But can we count on measures of cogniVve ability? Just how valid are they? Schmidt and Hunter (1998) suggested .51 as the validity of general cogniVve ability and job performance, although the validity is higher (.56) for complex jobs and lower (.23) for the least complex jobs. Schmidt (2009), using new and more accurate staVsVcal methods reports validiVes of .74 for professional and managerial jobs and .56 for semiskilled jobs. Other important, evidenced-based data you should know when it comes to cogniVve ability and selecVon include these points:

General cogniVve ability is the major determinant or predictor of job performance—for all jobs at all levels. The relaVonship between general cogniVve ability and performance is a linear one—those assessed with higher levels of cogniVve ability will perform be[er on the job than those with lower ability. As a result, candidates can be ranked-ordered based on their assessment scores. Measures of general ability will usually be equal to, if not be[er than, measures of specific abiliVes at predicVng job performance. In the long run, hiring based on intelligence yields greater returns for the organizaVon than hiring based on experience. You cannot be too intelligent—the higher the intelligence, the be[er the job performance. Intelligence predicts job performance because those who are more intelligent learn more job knowledge and learn it faster, and because it helps in solving new problems experienced on the job. (Based on reviews by Murphy, 2010; Schmidt, 2009)

Although g is the best predictor of job performance, other predictors, of course, should be factored into the selecVon decision. When this is done, it increases the overall validity of the decision. For example, when using a structured interview, which you can learn about in the appendix, you may achieve a 14% increase in validity over intelligence alone.

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Of course, even though g is a strong predictor of performance, managers, leaders, and HR professionals sVll looked for ways to improve their ability to select the right candidate. One way that has recently gained a great deal of a[enVon is to include a measure of personality along with a cogniVve measure to increase selecVon accuracy. Today personality as an important predictor is acknowledged by researchers and pracVVoners even though the validity measures for personality tend to be lower than those for general cogniVve abiliVes. While intelligence focuses on predicVng the ability to perform, personality can help predict long-term, disposiVonal moVvaVon levels to perform (Barrick & Mount, 2009). Both are important to overall, effecVve job performance. We discuss personality in the next secVon.

Finally, let us say a few words about emoVonal intelligence (EQ), which we introduced in chapter 2. As menVoned previously, there is sVll some controversy surrounding the topic of EQ. We raise that issue in this secVon because evidence would suggest that EQ is not related to other cogniVve abiliVes, which casts doubt on it truly being an "intelligence" (Murphy, 2010). However, given EQ's popularity and the ongoing research regarding EQ, it might sVll be valuable to assess candidates for their emoVonal intelligence.

Personality

Personality can be defined simply as "an individual's relaVvely stable and enduring pa[ern of thoughts, feeling, and acVons" (Barrick & Mount, 2009, p. 20). We discussed personality in chapter 2, and here present a sample report from a well-recognized measure of personality—the NEO PI-R (see Appendix B (hXp://content.thuzelearning.com/books/AUMGT460.12.2/sec:ons/appendix_a#appendix_b) for figure). It measures the generally agreed-to structure of personality dimensions, referred to as the Big Five:

EmoVonal stability (being calm, steady, self-confident, and secure)1. Extroversion (being gregarious, sociable, ambiVous, and acVve)2. Openness to experience (being cultured, intellectual, imaginaVve, and analyVcal)3. Agreeableness (being courteous, helpful, trusVng, cooperaVve, and considerate)4. ConscienVousness (being dependable, industrious, efficient, and achievement oriented). (Wiggins, 1996)

5.

Personality measures can be used to predict performance, like intelligence, for all jobs at all levels. Overall validity measures for intelligence, determined by meta-analysis across studies, can be calculated because intelligence measures are highly intercorrelated. However, personality measures are not highly intercorrelated, so validity is generally determined based on using a single measure, such as the NEO PI-R, across a number of studies. One such study, using the five-factor model,

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predicted the relaVonship between each of the factors and leadership effecVveness, with validiVes ranging from .08 to .31 (Judge, Bono, Illies, & Gerhart, 2002). What do these validity measures tell us? Though potenVally not as strong as the measures for intelligence, personality measures will increase the overall validity of the selecVon decision, parVcularly when combined with an intelligence measure.

Some important data to consider regarding personality as a predictor include:

ConscienVousness and emoVonal stability are the most valid predictors of performance outcomes, and so selecVon, in general should be based on those factors. ConscienVousness and emoVonal stability are predicVve of organizaVon ciVzenship behaviors (such as providing assistance to coworkers) and counterproducVve work behaviors (such as inappropriate use of Vme and resources). ConscienVousness and emoVonal stability predict entrepreneurial acVvity; they both predict leader effecVveness, as does extraversion and openness to experience. Finally, conscienVousness and emoVonal stability were also found to predict expatriate performance. (Based on Barrick & Mount, 2009; Hogan & Kaiser, 2009; Murphy, 2010)

In chapter 2 we discussed a recent study (DeRue et al., 2011) that linked leader traits and characterisVcs to leader behaviors and leader effecVveness, and reported the following findings related to personality, which are appropriate to summarize here:

ConscienVousness was the trait most consistently related to leader performance EmoVonal stability helped to predict a leader's task-oriented behaviors Extraversion and openness were likely to predict a leader's relaVonship-oriented behaviors Leaders who were high in extraversion and conscienVousness were viewed more posiVvely Leaders who were high in extraversion and agreeableness were more likely to improve team performance

In conclusion, both personality and cogniVve ability will be predicVve of successful performance and contribute extensively to the validity of hiring and selecVon decisions. So how does one best measure or assess both personality and cogniVve ability?

Personality can be assessed through self-report measures, such as the NEO PI-R or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator; via observer raVngs, using a 360-degree survey, for example; through employment interviews designed to measure job-related personality characterisVcs; and by using projecVve tests, such as the ThemaVc AppercepVon Test.

When it comes to cogniVve ability, the best way to assess it is to use a standardized employment test that measures general intelligence, such as the Wonderlic Personnel Test; other measures, such as

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When it comes :me for an organiza:on to appoint a successor, it is common for the CEO and board to collaborate over the decision.

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class rank or GPA can be proxy measures; and through employment interviews.

The CEO and Selection

The CEO plays two key roles when it comes to selecVon: idenVfying a successor and choosing direct reports. UnVl recently, the CEO primarily selected a successor. Throughout the process, the CEO would have kept the board apprised of the steps taken, and ulVmately would have sought the board's concurrence on the successor selected (Nadler, Behan, & Nadler, 2005). Today, given the pressure on boards to ensure organizaVon results, the board and the CEO work collaboraVvely. In fact, the board will probably make the final decision, and the process is more likely to be led by an independent director rather than

the CEO. This collaboraVve effort ensures a more successful outcome, and helps to prevent the classic selecVon problem of CEOs choosing someone like themselves to be their successors. However, the problem remains that most CEOs and boards are sVll reluctant to uVlize more formal assessment processes, such as the cogniVve ability and personality tesVng we have discussed, based on the somewhat widely held belief that they will know capable senior leaders when they see them (Stamoulis, 2009).

Senior execuVves also feel that relying on more rigorous selecVon processes takes control away from them, may not result in selecVng their favorite candidates, and may have personal, poliVcal consequences. For example, one first-Vme CEO very acVvely pursued and then hired execuVves she had worked with at a prior, top Fortune 500 company, even bringing one or two out of their professed reVrement. This CEO felt comfortable with those execuVves and felt they could be trusted. As a result, the CEO refused to launch a normal execuVve search process, and in the long run, may not have hired the best possible candidates for the jobs. In another instance, one internal candidate considered on the succession planning list for the CEO flatly refused to partake in an formal assessment process to further idenVfy his potenVal for the role and crystallize areas for development.

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This execuVve felt there was too much at stake—a poliVcal stance—and lobbied so hard against this process that the CEO and the board reluctantly put a halt to the iniVaVve.

So what should be assessed at the execuVve level? Stamoulis (2009) recommends a number of factors, including cogniVve ability and personality; learning agility, or knowing how to apply one's learning in a given situaVon; and fit, in its broadest sense, to include fit with the nature and scope of the challenge of the job, fit in terms of being able to execute against the company's strategies and goals, and fit with the organizaVon's culture. For example, the authors know of one CEO who was primarily selected for his technical savvy and ability to bring credibility to an organizaVon having a challenging Vme in the marketplace. In essence, he faced a turnaround, do-or-die situaVon, but his background indicated a good fit for the organizaVon at that Vme. However, once the organizaVon was successfully rebuilt and on track, it showed li[le year-over-year growth in revenues. As a result, the board determined that a new and different kind of CEO was needed to fit the important challenge of growing the business and meeVng the stakeholders' demand for industry-rate growth. So a new CEO was brought onboard, one who had the experience to be a be[er fit for the Vme and meet the changing expectaVons of the board and stakeholders.

Finally, Stamoulis (2009) recommends four approaches for assessing senior leadership, which we have discussed already at various points in this book. These approaches include the following:

Interviews, including those that are behavioral and situaVonal in nature Self-report personality and cogni>ve ability ques>onnaires, such as the NEO PI-R for personality or the Watson Glaser CriVcal Thinking Appraisal for cogniVve ability Simula>ons, such as assessment centers 360-degree or mul>-source feedback, focused on the behaviors necessary for success in the role

Consult Appendix C (hXp://content.thuzelearning.com/books/AUMGT460.12.2/sec:ons/appendix_a#appendix_c) for informaVon on the key types of selecVon interviews, guidelines for conducVng effecVve selecVon interviews, how to construct various types of interview quesVons, and to review a sample interview guide.

Determining Leadership Gaps in Selection

When selecVng senior leaders, "fit" is a very important criterion. Fit is also important for selecVng the right candidates throughout the organizaVon's hierarchy. Leaders and others must also deliver results, so the ability to perform and meet or exceed expectaVons is of utmost importance and proof of a successful hire.

Measuring gaps in selecVon aner the fact centers on whether or not leaders are a good fit and can

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deliver results. When evaluaVng the ability to perform, the board of directors can look at the CEO and the senior leadership team and determine the extent to which overall organizaVon results are achieved. When looking more closely at his or her direct reports' performance, a CEO could rely on the performance appraisal process to evaluate results, just like anyone else in the supervisor role in the organizaVon will do.

At the CEO and execuVve levels, 360-degree feedback can be used to validate the perceived fit. The board and the CEO will play a criVcal role in idenVfying those whose behaviors demonstrate, for example, the company's core values and desired personality a[ributes. For others in the organizaVon, you can evaluate fit through the performance management process, and if appropriate, 360-degree feedback.

At the organizaVon level, the company's employee opinion survey could also be used to collect the views of employees regarding the performance of the overall organizaVon, and of the major funcVons, as well as the extent to which senior leaders fit with espoused values. For example, we designed one organizaVon survey that included the quesVon, "Is this company managed well, overall?" to capture employees' opinions on company performance, and the quesVon, "Do senior leaders cooperate across the organizaVon to achieve results?" to reveal the extent to which leaders demonstrated the core value of Teamwork and CollaboraVon.

Remember to carefully evaluate the company's enabling process—how it a[racts, recruits, and selects employees at all levels. For an interesVng look at how Zappos approaches the interview process and makes hiring decisions, see the video under Web Resources. One thing you will note is a lot of discussion about culture and culture fit, which, given our overall discussion of predictors of success, comes down to how well the candidate's personality is suited for the Zappos environment.

Leadership in Review

Reflect on your learning by answering the following ques:ons:

What are the two most important criteria upon which to make any selec>on decision?1. What is the strongest predictor of performance?2. What are the two personality factors that are the strongest predictors of successful leadership performance?

3.

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Summary In the one-to-one role, leaders build on their self-leadership capabiliVes and are expected to role-model how to interact with others. This sets the tone for the organizaVon's climate and culture. Of course, this is extremely important for CEOs and their execuVve teams to do, because all leaders, managers, and employees take behavioral cues from those at the top, learning what is important and valued to be successful in the organizaVon. In addiVon, expected behavior is, in essence, cascaded in a series of top-down interacVons, from the chair of the board to the CEO, the CEO to his or her direct reports, and so on.

Working one-to-one can onen be challenging, and certain frameworks can be useful for being effecVve in this leadership role. First, keep in mind that people hold theories of acVon—espoused and theories-in-use—which guide their day-to-day behavior. Note that their theories might not always align. Being aware of that dynamic, and using the ladder of inference, can serve to increase the effecVveness of working one-to-one with others. The ladder of inference, the second framework, serves as a tool that can successfully guide leaders as they advocate their own perspecVves and inquire into the perspecVves of others.

Performance management is the third frame, one that covers the majority of interacVons that leaders have with their direct reports to ensure their successful performance and ongoing development. From goal seong to feedback, development, coaching, recogniVon, and appraisal, leaders have a myriad of opportuniVes to be an effecVve role model of best pracVce behaviors, encouraging others to act similarly with their own direct reports. Being competent in the one-to-one role means being competent in execuVng each phase of performance management. It also means being able to manage conflict successfully—aiming for the win–win soluVon; and selecVng the right candidate for the job, emphasizing the criteria of cogniVve ability and personality factors, parVcularly when it comes to the more senior levels in the organizaVon.

When leaders understand how to interpret the behavior of others, know how to select the best possible candidates for a given role, are skilled in managing the performance and development of others, and can effecVvely resolve any disagreements and conflict that can impede progress and performance, they will be successfully meeVng the expectaVons of the role: leading one-to-one.

Leadership Exercise: Part 3

Select an individual direct report. You might choose someone who works for you now or imagine someone who might work for you in the future. Answer the following quesVons.

A.

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What challenges do you face working with this individual? Consider the difficulty of the person's responsibili>es and the individual's strengths and weaknesses.

1.

How do you work with the individual to set goals and strategies for accomplishing them?2. Suppose the individual fails to meet a performance target. How do you give this individual feedback?

3.

What developmental opportuni>es do you recommend for this person?4. In what ways are you or can you be a coach or mentor to this individual?5.

Now, select a supervisor with whom you have worked, or you work with now. Or, imagine a supervisor you might work with in the future. Answer the following quesVons.

What challenges do you as a direct report face in working with this leader? Consider your view of the leader's competencies.

1.

How do you or would you like to work with this leader to set your goals and strategies for accomplishing them?

2.

Suppose you fail to meet a performance target. What would you expect your leader to do or say?

3.

What developmental opportuni>es do you want to be available to you?4. In what ways can this leader be a coach or mentor to you? How can you encourage this leader to be a coach or mentor to you?

5.

B.

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Ch 3. Learning Resources

Key Terms to Remember

balanced scorecard An approach for translaVng an organizaVon's mission and strategy into a comprehensive set of performance measures that provides the framework for a strategic measurement and management system.

conflict A problem that exists between two or more parVes, which does not appear to have a mutually beneficial soluVon.

development The accumulaVon and applicaVon of new knowledge and skills over Vme, including the capacity to view the world through a more informed, inclusive perspecVve.

development goal Goal set to improve performance in the current job or to enhance or build the skills necessary to prepare for future jobs.

empowerment A psychological state in which someone feels accountable and responsible to act.

espoused theory A theory of acVon described as what an individual says about how they will act or believe they will act to achieve results.

feedback InformaVon or data provided to ensure performance is on track and to provide guidance for further development.

goal measurements The processes, tools, or measurements used to provide the evidence or collect the data necessary to show whether or not success (a goal) was achieved.

goal se^ng The process of establishing mutually agreed-to goals, strategies, tacVcs, and measures to provide direcVon for performance and development.

goal statement Defines the output or end result.

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ladder of inference An approach for understanding, resolving, and improving interpersonal communicaVon.

learning The process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, or a change in perspecVve.

measure of success The level of performance that describes the results you expect.

performance appraisal An evaluaVon conducted at the end of a performance period, focusing on assessing both the demonstraVon of criVcal behaviors and the level of expected results achieved.

performance goals Goals that are generally task focused and contribute to higher level business outcomes, such as increases in customer saVsfacVon, profits, or revenue.

performance management A process that includes goal seong, feedback, development, recogniVon, coaching, and performance appraisal, built on a foundaVon of trust and empowerment, with a constant flow of communicaVon.

propensity to trust A personality trait that affects the extent to which individuals tend to trust others.

recogni:on A form of feedback that is a posiVve reinforcer of desired behavior.

strategy Defines how a goal will be achieved.

SuperLeadership Style of leadership in which leaders facilitate in others self-leadership capability and pracVce, and make the self-leadership process the central target of external influence.

tac:cs The major steps to support and implement a strategy in order to achieve a goal.

theory-in-use A theory of acVon, the means for reaching goals, which specify strategies for how people will conduct themselves.

theories of prac:ce Ways to understand and interpret an individual's approach to acVon.

trust The willingness to be vulnerable to the acVons of others regardless of one's ability to monitor or control performance.

Web Resources

InformaVon about Sonoco's Corporate Sustainability Commi[ee can be found at: hXp://www.sonoco.com/sustainability/corporatesustainabilitycommiXee.aspx (hXp://www.sonoco.com /sustainability/corporatesustainabilitycommiXee.aspx)

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Watch the following video to hear execuVve coach Marshall Goldsmith speak about coaching five criVcal leadership skills: hXp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ARtWgAEvs (hXp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ARtWgAEvs)

A CEO evaluaVon can be requested at this site: hXp://www.boardroommetrics.com/business-tools/corporate-governance/ceo-performance- evalua:on (hXp://www.boardroommetrics.com/business-tools/corporate-governance/ceo-performance-evalua:on)

For informaVon about the hiring process at Zappos, with an emphasis on culture fit: hXp://blogs.zappos.com/blogs/ceo-and-coo-blog/2009/01/03/your-culture-is-your-brand (hXp://blogs.zappos.com/blogs/ceo-and-coo-blog/2009/01/03/your-culture-is-your-brand)

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