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In an unpredictable economy, companies that have a
network of leaders throughout the organization are the ones most
likely to thrive. Employees who are given the opportunity to develop
leadership skills are more inclined to take responsibility and feel
pride in their work. When they are empowered to make decisions and be
accountable for their actions, potential leaders take ownership in the
success of the company, and often become superior performers.
"The velocity of business is increasing and the pace of change has
picked up," says Jim Concelman, manager of leadership development at
the Pittsburgh office of DDI, an employee selection and development
company. An employee's ability to make independent decisions is
especially critical as products and customer expectations evolve. In
the wake of this change, the role of leadership is shifting as well,
Concelman says. Front-line employees are expected to lead teams,
mid-level managers are heading up strategic initiatives, and downsized
staffs are expected to take responsibility for more work with less
guidance.
These new opportunities call for more than management skills. They
also require managers to arouse enthusiasm and establish an
environment of respect and dependability in which employees are
encouraged and expected to contribute their opinions.
Historically, leadership development has been limited to the executive
team and the few up-and-coming people who are groomed to replace them.
That was fine in an economy in which the core business strategy could
go unchanged for years and a stable corporate culture was the mainstay
of success. This strategic model is no longer viable. Today, employees
are given leadership titles and expected to figure out how to handle
their new roles, but aren't effectively trained. Not surprisingly,
they often flounder. The title "leader" in many organizations is met
with scorn when the person assigned to the role has no idea how to
behave in the new position.
"Offering leadership training is not just a feel-good issue, it's a
critical business strategy," says Will Pilder, senior vice president
of KnowledgePool Americas, a talent-management company in Nyack, New
York. As companies battle for customer loyalty and new products emerge
weekly, employees must have a developed set of leadership skills to
foster the balance between freedom and reliability.
A successful leader must be able to communicate, motivate, and solve
problems, Concelman says. But many managers aren't getting the
necessary support to develop these skills. "Managers are taught to do
things by the book, whereas leaders need to think of new ways to do
things," he says. "The two skill sets are somewhat contradictory."
Jon Katzenbach, senior partner of Katzenbach Partners LLC, a
performance consulting firm in New York City, adds that leadership is
about more than following a set course. "It's a mind-set of adaptive
responsiveness." This quality is particularly important at the front
lines, where performance is directly linked to a leader's ability to
inspire a team, and a service rep's freedom to respond to unique
customer needs can make or break a company's reputation.
"Everyone benefits from leadership development," Pilder says. It
prompts employees to work harder for the company and set more
challenging career-development goals; it teaches managers to be better
coaches to their own direct reports; and it prepares the entire
population to react more effectively to a shifting workplace
environment.
"Leadership at every level is the only way to infuse an organization
with the values and morale to maintain productivity, even in the face
of change," Pilder says. It's also the most effective
succession-planning technique. No longer can you groom one individual
for a specific job; you must have a pool of talented people who can
assume any leadership role when the need arises, he says. When
companies downsize or management positions open, companies must have
the skills and in-house experience to respond to the change
immediately.
SMALL COMPANY
Nurturing the Entrepreneurial Spirit
Name: Remarketing Services of America, Inc., a unit of Fiserv, Inc.
Headquarters: Amherst, New York
Type of organization: Manages sales of repossessed and leased vehicles
for banks and automative manufacturers
Number of employees: 650
RSA attributes its surprisingly low turnover ate-20 percent
annually-to its corporate values, which promote self-motivation,
idea-sharing, and personal growth. Every employee is encouraged to set
career goals, and leadership development is the foundation of the
company's program to advance its most promising staff members. "We are
a highly entrepreneurial organization that was founded by strong
leaders," says Rita Proulx, a manager in the company's center for
learning and development. "We want to drive those leadership skills
down to everyone."
To achieve this goal, every new manager is expected to complete a
rigorous leadershiptraining curriculum. Regardless of whether they are
promoted from within or newly hired managers receive a complete
evaluation to determine their leadership strengths and gaps, she says.
After six months on the job, they participate in a 360-degree
assessment that rates them on 14 established leadership competencies
such as building trust, coaching, communication, and delegating
authority Based on the results, a custom training program is
established to meet their individual needs and potential." The
assessment process gives us an opportunity, early on, to guide their
development as leaders," Proulx says.
But leadership development isn't limited to managers. It's also aimed
at employees just below the first tier of management jobs who show
management potential. "We want to build their leadership skills so
that when a need arises for a new manager, we have a pool of talent to
choose from," she says.
Potential managers receive management and leadership training in
skills they are most likely to need immediately on the job, such as
relationship-building and conflict resolution. Training in other
skills, such as teambuilding and peer assessment, which they may not
need until they've been managers for a few months, is offered after
the new position has been assigned, she says.
To ensure that the training department is targeting the right people
and effectively managing their training needs, RSA recently rolled out
the Leadership Emerging and Development program. The 12-month program
exposes motivated employees to leadership opportunities through formal
training, job rotations, and mentoring. Candidates nominate themselves
and are chosen by the management team on the basis of their
experience, skills, and past performance. Proulx expects to enroll 2
percent of the staff in the program annually.
The company chose self-nominations over manager recommendations to
eliminate favoritism and to be sure that only the most proactive
employees participate in the program. "We want people with
entrepreneurial spirit who are focused on their own growth and desire
to develop their career potential," Proulx says.
While there is no promise that a management job will be waiting when
they complete the leadership program, it does ensure that when a job
opens, students of LEAD are the most likely candidates. It's also an
opportunity for employees to expand their potential for future roles,
whether it's with the company or elsewhere, she says.
When responsibility for career advancement is in the hands of
employees, Proulx believes, the most innovative associates will
naturally rise to the top. "We give them the infrastructure and
opportunities to advance, but they are in charge of pursuing their own
development. We don't push it."
Leaders Are the Only Differentiator
Name: Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc.
Headquarters: Dallas
Type of organization: Technology solutions supplier for retailers and
financial-services companies
Number of employees: 1,000
The FTS executive team believes that employees in leadership roles are
more dedicated to making the business successful and will take the
extra steps to support the needs of customers. The company's culture
and vision statements are grounded in a commitment to professional
development, leadership, and accountability, says Steve Becker, chief
human capital officer. It is the foundation of the company's business
strategy and the filter through which every management decision is
made, he says. "Everyone is expected to take a leadership role,
whether they are service reps or management. It's the most
constructive way to take on new business challenges and shape the
company for the future."
That doesn't mean employees are free to take control and run with
their own ideas. The goal is to achieve a balance of freedom and
responsibility, he says. Employees have the flexibility to pursue
their own ideas--as they relate to the business and the corporate
culture-but they are also held accountable for their actions. "It
creates a culture where people are more likely to invest their blood,
sweat, and tears in the job."
For example, an important part of the FTS culture is community
involvement. "It would be easy for the executive staff to choose some
charity and contribute corporate dollars," Becker says. Instead, a
small group of employees is responsible for researching charitable
foundations and making recommendations. Then the entire employee
population votes on which ones they want to support.
From a business perspective, FTS computer salespeople help clients fit
individual products into their existing software instead of tying to
sell them a brand new system. "We want them to help customers drive
the costs of their operations down," Becker says.
To support the company's leadership initiative and to hone employees'
decision-making abilities, FTS recently launched the Career Resource
Center, a Web-based training and development system from KnowledgePool.
The system guides employees and managers through the career-planning
process. It tracks skill assessments, maps career goals, and offers
competency evaluations to help employees build individual development
programs. Once a career plan has been created, employees have access
to more than 200 Webbased training courses, ranging from technical to
negotiation and communication skills.
The tool also gives management an easyto-access overview of the
talents and aspirations of all employees for more thorough succession
planning. In the past, promotions were based largely on management
recommendations, Becker says. Now the company has a single database
cataloging the skills of the entire population, which allows for a
more informed, less prejudicial selection process.
The tool is the infrastructure, he says, but employees are expected to
take the initiative to use it. With the career-planning feature,
employees can set their sights on job promotion and actively develop
skills to meet the requirements of that role.
Although the Center has been in place only a few months, employees are
pleased that the company is actively supporting their desire to pursue
career goals, Becker says. "When employees know that you value them
and the contributions they can make, you create a winning culture in
which everyone is excited about delivering their best."
A Culture of Leadership
Name: Unisys Corp.
Headquarters: Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
Type of organization: Information technology services and solutions
company
Number of end users: 37,000
Company culture is founded on an infrastructure of leadership, says
Ray Jackson, associate dean of the leadership school at Unisys
University. The firm encourages employees from all ranks to take
advantage of the comprehensive training program.
"Leaders set the tone of an organization. If you want to influence the
business, you have to focus on leadership development," he says. "Our
goal is not to develop 25 key leaders, it's to develop 2,500 leaders
throughout the organization."
It's a radical approach in a world where leadership development is
usually saved for a few high-performing individuals. "Corporate
America beats the leadership skills out of most managers," Jackson
says. "The work routine is so task oriented, they lose sight of the
primary strategic goals of the company." In the three and a half years
since the leadership school was launched at Unisys, 2,200 employees
have gone through the program, which is open to anyone interested in
expanding his or her leadership skills.
Unisys CEO Larry Weinbach started the program and opened it up to all
levels of employees to foster a culture in which leadership skills are
celebrated and encouraged, Jackson says. Weinbach is the leadership
school's acting dean, a frequent class speaker, and a vocal champion
of the program. He believes that developing leaders across the company
will create an environment that can change and adapt to the economy,
making Unisys a better company.
The leadership curriculum at Unisys features six courses within two
tracks focusing on culture and leadership skills. The classroom-based
courses are two to five days long and cover core topics such as
developing management and team leadership skills, understanding
culture-change issues, and understanding the impact that leaders have
on performance. "We built a simple curriculum that drives consistency
and shapes our culture of leadership," Jackson says.
The skills courses use traditional leadership-training formats, such
as practicing communication skills with peers and working with
assessment tools, whereas the culture courses are more informal,
employing a conversational tone. In fact, the culture courses are
referred to as "conversations," in which course leaders introduce
specific topics, such as how to influence the Unisys culture through
leadership or the roles that leaders play as learners and teachers.
Participants discuss how those issues relate to their own job
performance and brainstorm solutions to specific workplace problems.
Even though some courses last five days, the school has no trouble
filling seats. Leadership training is seen as a priority at Unisys,
even in lean times, because it's part of the culture, Jackson says.
The entire executive team has gone through both training tracks, and
they regularly return to day sessions, both as speakers and as peers,
to share a problem or to monitor the leadership concerns of other
employees. "That's a powerful and unique show of executive support,"
Jackson says.
The programs are not mandatory, nor are they limited to management.
Almost anyone can sign up with the support of his or her superiors,
and many of those junior employees who attend come at the urging of
their bosses. At a recent junior session of the five-day
cultural-leadership course, for example, 95 percent of attendees had
been referred to the course ofter their managers completed it.
Jackson feels that recommenlotions are a large part of the school's
success. "It's a real shot in the arm when a manager tells an employee
to take the class, and it says a lot about the value of the program."
And when managers know that subordinates have taken the training, they
feel more compelled to incorporate what they learned into their
management style. For example, in a recent cultural-leadership course,
a participant said that her manager had taken the training but nothing
changed. Then, two weeks later, Jackson received an e-mail from her.
She said she was working late one night and her boss stopped in to
chat about changing their approach to a project. The most compelling
part of the e-mail, says Jackson, was the last sentence. She said that
in the six years she'd worked at Unisys, he'd never stopped by her
office to chat. "That tells me he was enlightened by the program,"
Jackson says. And because he knew that others on his team had gone
through the training, he realized that it was time to change his
behavior and to take action. "When everyone is exposed to an idea,
they hold each other accountable."
To further support and encourage attendees after class and to maximize
the impact of the training, Jackson helps attendees set up ongoing
networking opportunities. It's not a required part of the course, but
people are so excited about the leadership experience that they want
to continue to discuss it, he says. The school hosts a moderated
online message board and promotes weekly lunch discussion groups in
various offices, many of which regularly have 30 or more attendees.
"The response has been enormous," Jackson says. He receives dozens of
e-mails weekly from former students, some of whom took the pilot
course in 1999. "The training is so compelling, some people keep
coming back," he says. "It has had a powerful impact on the Unisys
culture."
(C) 2002 Workforce. via ProQuest Information
and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
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