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GOOD LEADERS FALL BETWEEN THE TWO EXTREMES – AUTOCRAT OR ABDICATE?

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In the lead up to the upcoming elections “Collective Leadership” is receiving some pretty bad press. Professor Dave Ulrich the world thought leader on HR practises believes Collective Leadership is the key to sustainable future intangible value, be that, in a corporate organisation or political community. So I asked Dave Ulrich to clarify his thinking around Collective Leadership. Are our political and corporate leaders practising good leadership?

GOOD LEADERS TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FINAL DECISION
Leaders often fall between two extremes of being autocratic or abdicate. Autocratic leaders command and control and tell people what to do. Abdicating leaders let people do whatever they want. Good leadership generally falls in between. Based on the competence and commitment of employees and on the situation, good leaders generally engage others, then take responsibility for making the final decision. They make sure that where they decide they are going is where they end up; leaders who do not ensure this, destroy trust.
GOOD LEADERS LISTEN & OBSERVE
Collective leadership does NOT mean leadership abdication. Collective leadership means that a leader listens, observes, and involves others before acting. The leader, by nature of the role, has responsibility and accountability. The value of engaging others is that they may have ideas the leader did not think of and that by engaging them earlier in the decision process, they are more likely to be committed to the decision once it is made.
Nicola Tyler, CEO of Business Results Group says, “The closer someone is to the origination of an idea the more likely they are to act on it.” She advocates this in her strategic interventions with many of South Africa’s C Suite leaders. This is what she believes is a key driver of strategy execution.
GOOD LEADERS ACT DECISIVELY TO GET THINGS DONE
Under the rubric of participative management, some employees think they always get their way. Not so. Leaders who practice participation, listen and make sure others are heard, but then they act decisively to get things done.
A leader told me once that participative management meant, “If you and I agree on everything, one of us is not necessary …. And it won’t be me! But, when we go public, we go with one voice.”
In 2014, BRG & GIBs will present Dave Ulrich – Live and in Person: The 13 Milestones for HR to transcend the way they deliver measurable value to their organisations. Become architects of talent, culture and leadership for 21st Century Organisations.
Professor Dave Ulrich has consulted and done research with over half of the Fortune 200. His honours exude a consistent track record of global influence and authority in human resources and business management. His research is based on collective feedback from over 60 000 line managers and HR professionals on the competencies required to improved business performance.
An accomplished and celebrated educator Dave is sought after the world over to present his findings and educate businesses. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters and over 25 books which he has co-authored with numerous fellow thought leaders.
Follow Dave Ulrich on twitter: @dave_ulrich

Good Leaders Fall Between the Two Extremes – Autocrat or Abdicate?

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In the lead up to the upcoming elections “Collective Leadership” is receiving some pretty bad press. Professor Dave Ulrich the world thought leader on HR practises believes Collective Leadership is the key to sustainable future intangible value, be that, in a corporate organisation or political community. So I asked Dave Ulrich to clarify his thinking around Collective Leadership. Are our political and corporate leaders practising good leadership?

GOOD LEADERS TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FINAL DECISION
Leaders often fall between two extremes of being autocratic or abdicate. Autocratic leaders command and control and tell people what to do. Abdicating leaders let people do whatever they want. Good leadership generally falls in between. Based on the competence and commitment of employees and on the situation, good leaders generally engage others, then take responsibility for making the final decision. They make sure that where they decide they are going is where they end up; leaders who do not ensure this, destroy trust.

GOOD LEADERS LISTEN & OBSERVE
Collective leadership does NOT mean leadership abdication. Collective leadership means that a leader listens, observes, and involves others before acting. The leader, by nature of the role, has responsibility and accountability. The value of engaging others is that they may have ideas the leader did not think of and that by engaging them earlier in the decision process, they are more likely to be committed to the decision once it is made.
Nicola Tyler, CEO of Business Results Group says, “The closer someone is to the origination of an idea the more likely they are to act on it.” She advocates this in her strategic interventions with many of South Africa’s C Suite leaders. This is what she believes is a key driver of strategy execution.

GOOD LEADERS ACT DECISIVELY TO GET THINGS DONE
Under the rubric of participative management, some employees think they always get their way. Not so. Leaders who practice participation, listen and make sure others are heard, but then they act decisively to get things done.
A leader told me once that participative management meant, “If you and I agree on everything, one of us is not necessary …. And it won’t be me! But, when we go public, we go with one voice.”
In 2014, BRG & GIBs will present Dave Ulrich – Live and in Person: The 13 Milestones for HR to transcend the way they deliver measurable value to their organisations. Become architects of talent, culture and leadership for 21st Century Organisations.
Professor Dave Ulrich has consulted and done research with over half of the Fortune 200. His honours exude a consistent track record of global influence and authority in human resources and business management. His research is based on collective feedback from over 60 000 line managers and HR professionals on the competencies required to improved business performance.
An accomplished and celebrated educator Dave is sought after the world over to present his findings and educate businesses. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters and over 25 books which he has co-authored with numerous fellow thought leaders.
Follow Dave Ulrich on twitter: @dave_ulrich

HR the Architects to Build Their Organisation’s Collective Leadership Brand

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Architectural advice from Professor Dave Ulrich for HR professionals to build their organisation’s collective leadership brand and inspire investor confidence.

LEADERSHIP VS LEAD-A-SHIP 

Leadership is not about one single charismatic individual leading an organisation. That could be called “lead-a-ship”. A mighty “tug boat” can, single-handedly, indeed lead an organisation, in the same way that a tug boat manoeuvres a large ship by towing and pushing it along, but collective leadership inspires more investor confidence with less reliance on a single individual.

BUILDING BLOCKS FOR COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP BRANDING

  1. Organisations with strong and effective leadership at all levels achieve superior business results.
  2. Organisations with inconsistent leadership achieve inferior business results.
  3. Leadership Brand represents the identity and reputation of leaders throughout the company.
  4. Leaders demonstrate a brand when they think and act in ways that are congruent with the desired product or brand promise.
  5. Leadership Brand results are determined by how customers and investors perceive the value delivery.
  6. Leadership rhetoric is not about fuzzy terms such as transformation, vision or aspiration; it is about quantifiable business terms of customer share and market value. Leadership ROI show up in a firm’s stock price.
  7. A Leadership Brand pushes leaders to move from generic leadership to targeted leadership.
  8. Brands are reinforced by sustained choices in design and delivery. Leadership Brand is no different; it is reinforced by dozens of decisions about relationships, resources, strategy etc..; Leaders are branded when the array of decisions they make on a daily basis reinforce and support a clear identity.
  9. Leaders who do not reflect the firm’s leadership brand must be identified and upgraded or removed.
  10. Leadership Brand must not be tied to one person, no matter how charismatic or talented. It must be embedded throughout the organisation.
  11. Leadership Brand efficacy occurs when employees, customers and investors believe and see that promises made, at any level, are promises that are kept.
  12. Leadership Brand is about an organisation’s capacity to develop future leaders.
  13. Leadership Brand final advice. Leaders need to make sure that where they are saying they going is achieved. This is how they build trust with employees, investors and customers.

Source: Leadership as a Brand – Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood.

In 2014, BRG & GIBs will present Dave Ulrich – Live and in Person: The 13 Milestones for HR to transcend the way they deliver measurable value to their organisations. Become architects of talent, culture and leadership for 21st Century Organisations. … both in the Private and Public Sector.

Professor Dave Ulrich has consulted and done research with over half of the Fortune 200. His honours exude a consistent track record of global influence and authority in human resources and business management.  His research is based on collective feedback from over 60 000 line managers and HR professionals on the competencies required to improved business performance.

An accomplished and celebrated educator Dave is sought after the world over to present his findings and educate businesses. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters and over 25 books which he has co-authored with numerous fellow thought leaders.

Follow Dave Ulrich on twitter: @dave_ulrich

HR THE ARCHITECTS TO BUILD THEIR ORGANISATION’S COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP BRAND

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Architectural advice from Professor Dave Ulrich for HR professionals to build their organisation’s collective leadership brand and inspire investor confidence.

LEADERSHIP VS LEAD-A-SHIP 

Leadership is not about one single charismatic individual leading an organisation. That could be called “lead-a-ship”. A mighty “tug boat” can, single-handedly, indeed lead an organisation, in the same way that a tug boat manoeuvres a large ship by towing and pushing it along, but collective leadership inspires more investor confidence with less reliance on a single individual.

BUILDING BLOCKS FOR COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP BRANDING

  1. Organisations with strong and effective leadership at all levels achieve superior business results.
  2. Organisations with inconsistent leadership achieve inferior business results.
  3. Leadership Brand represents the identity and reputation of leaders throughout the company.
  4. Leaders demonstrate a brand when they think and act in ways that are congruent with the desired product or brand promise.
  5. Leadership Brand results are determined by how customers and investors perceive the value delivery.
  6. Leadership rhetoric is not about fuzzy terms such as transformation, vision or aspiration; it is about quantifiable business terms of customer share and market value. Leadership ROI show up in a firm’s stock price.
  7. A Leadership Brand pushes leaders to move from generic leadership to targeted leadership.
  8. Brands are reinforced by sustained choices in design and delivery. Leadership Brand is no different; it is reinforced by dozens of decisions about relationships, resources, strategy etc..; Leaders are branded when the array of decisions they make on a daily basis reinforce and support a clear identity.
  9. Leaders who do not reflect the firm’s leadership brand must be identified and upgraded or removed.
  10. Leadership Brand must not be tied to one person, no matter how charismatic or talented. It must be embedded throughout the organisation.
  11. Leadership Brand efficacy occurs when employees, customers and investors believe and see that promises made, at any level, are promises that are kept.
  12. Leadership Brand is about an organisation’s capacity to develop future leaders.
  13. Leadership Brand final advice. Leaders need to make sure that where they are saying they going is achieved. This is how they build trust with employees, investors and customers.

Source: Leadership as a Brand – Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood.

In 2014, BRG & GIBs will present Dave Ulrich – Live and in Person: The 13 Milestones for HR to transcend the way they deliver measurable value to their organisations. Become architects of talent, culture and leadership for 21st Century Organisations. … both in the Private and Public Sector.

Professor Dave Ulrich has consulted and done research with over half of the Fortune 200. His honours exude a consistent track record of global influence and authority in human resources and business management.  His research is based on collective feedback from over 60 000 line managers and HR professionals on the competencies required to improved business performance.

An accomplished and celebrated educator Dave is sought after the world over to present his findings and educate businesses. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters and over 25 books which he has co-authored with numerous fellow thought leaders.

Follow Dave Ulrich on twitter: @dave_ulrich

HR are the Architects of Intangible Value

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If an investment analyst sat in on your HR meeting or learning intervention – what would they decide? Buy, Sell or Hold?

In Professor Dave Ulrich’s, most current, soon to be published work, he proposes that leadership is the key underlying value factor in organisations and is about being able to keep promises, set clear and compelling strategies, align core competencies and build organisational capabilities. He suggests, that, when leaders at all levels of a firm guide these four domains, they create sustainable intangible value which is becoming a major influence for investors and investment analysts.

INVESTORS ASSESS LEADERSHIP ABILITY TO VALUE THE FUTURE INTANGIBLE VALUE OF THE FIRM

His latest research centres primarily on the impact of leadership on both equity and debt investors who want to accurately value the intangible assets of a company and in particular how they assess the leaders and leadership who make the intangibles happen. He further emphasises that leadership is not about the one charismatic CEO in the organisation, but rather about the collective leadership capability and succession planning throughout the organisation.

He asks this, “Does your organisations’ intangible value trade at a premium or discount to your industry?”

Two firms in the same industry with the same financial results may have dramatically different market valuation. This differentiated market valuation is often attributed to intangibles. Intangibles show up in business by boosting – or undercutting investor’s confidence. Baruch Lev has shown that the importance of intangibles as indicated through the market-to-book value [the ratio of capital market value of companies compared to their net asset value] of the S & P 500, has risen from 1 to over 6 in the last 25 years – suggesting that for every $6 of market value, only $1 occurs on the balance sheet. This shows that the value of many firms comes as much from perceived value as from hard assets.

HR professionals who design and deliver leadership improvement efforts could well be served by facilitating conversations from “Outside-In” with their shareholders and investment analysts. At a recent conference, with senior HR professionals in attendance, Dave Ulrich asked the group to consider what their investors would like to know about their quality of leadership? Almost none of the people present had considered this question. At the same conference one of the world’s leading investors shared their desired list of leadership attributes.

Almost no-one was taking notes. This is why Dave believes that HR have the number 1 opportunity to create value in their organisations. Becoming the architects of culture, capability and competence can vastly improve investor and shareholder confidence, beyond the tangibles. “Spend time with your investors and establishing what leadership traits they look for and you will ensure your leadership investment, architecture and efforts are aligned and stimulate confidence beyond the traditional tangibles.”

Still not convinced. In a recent Deloitte survey with 445 analysts from investment banks, private equity firms and hedge funds in 6 countries, 52% factored corporate leadership into their assessment, second only to financial results and ahead of 7 other criteria. This is what they call “The Leadership Premium”. Leadership is more important to them than competitor analysis, historical performance or event debt/equity ratios.

In 2014, BRG & GIBs will present Dave Ulrich – Live and in Person: The 13 Milestones for HR to transcend the way they deliver measurable value to their organisations. Become architects of talent, culture and leadership for 21st Century Organisations.

Professor Dave Ulrich has consulted and done research with over half of the Fortune 200. His honours exude a consistent track record of global influence and authority in human resources and business management.  His research is based on collective feedback from over 60 000 line managers and HR professionals on the competencies required to improved business performance.

An accomplished and celebrated educator Dave is sought after the world over to present his findings and educate businesses. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters and over 25 books which he has co-authored with numerous fellow thought leaders.

Follow Dave Ulrich on twitter: @dave_ulrich

HR ARE THE ARCHITECTS OF INTANGIBLE VALUE

/in

If an investment analyst sat in on your HR meeting or learning intervention – what would they decide? Buy, Sell or Hold?

In Professor Dave Ulrich’s, most current, soon to be published work, he proposes that leadership is the key underlying value factor in organisations and is about being able to keep promises, set clear and compelling strategies, align core competencies and build organisational capabilities. He suggests, that, when leaders at all levels of a firm guide these four domains, they create sustainable intangible value which is becoming a major influence for investors and investment analysts.

INVESTORS ASSESS LEADERSHIP ABILITY TO VALUE THE FUTURE INTANGIBLE VALUE OF THE FIRM

His latest research centres primarily on the impact of leadership on both equity and debt investors who want to accurately value the intangible assets of a company and in particular how they assess the leaders and leadership who make the intangibles happen. He further emphasises that leadership is not about the one charismatic CEO in the organisation, but rather about the collective leadership capability and succession planning throughout the organisation.

He asks this, “Does your organisations’ intangible value trade at a premium or discount to your industry?”

Two firms in the same industry with the same financial results may have dramatically different market valuation. This differentiated market valuation is often attributed to intangibles. Intangibles show up in business by boosting – or undercutting investor’s confidence. Baruch Lev has shown that the importance of intangibles as indicated through the market-to-book value [the ratio of capital market value of companies compared to their net asset value] of the S & P 500, has risen from 1 to over 6 in the last 25 years – suggesting that for every $6 of market value, only $1 occurs on the balance sheet. This shows that the value of many firms comes as much from perceived value as from hard assets.

HR professionals who design and deliver leadership improvement efforts could well be served by facilitating conversations from “Outside-In” with their shareholders and investment analysts. At a recent conference, with senior HR professionals in attendance, Dave Ulrich asked the group to consider what their investors would like to know about their quality of leadership? Almost none of the people present had considered this question. At the same conference one of the world’s leading investors shared their desired list of leadership attributes.

Almost no-one was taking notes. This is why Dave believes that HR have the number 1 opportunity to create value in their organisations. Becoming the architects of culture, capability and competence can vastly improve investor and shareholder confidence, beyond the tangibles. “Spend time with your investors and establishing what leadership traits they look for and you will ensure your leadership investment, architecture and efforts are aligned and stimulate confidence beyond the traditional tangibles.”

Still not convinced. In a recent Deloitte survey with 445 analysts from investment banks, private equity firms and hedge funds in 6 countries, 52% factored corporate leadership into their assessment, second only to financial results and ahead of 7 other criteria. This is what they call “The Leadership Premium”. Leadership is more important to them than competitor analysis, historical performance or event debt/equity ratios.

In 2014, BRG & GIBs will present Dave Ulrich – Live and in Person: The 13 Milestones for HR to transcend the way they deliver measurable value to their organisations. Become architects of talent, culture and leadership for 21st Century Organisations.

Professor Dave Ulrich has consulted and done research with over half of the Fortune 200. His honours exude a consistent track record of global influence and authority in human resources and business management.  His research is based on collective feedback from over 60 000 line managers and HR professionals on the competencies required to improved business performance.

An accomplished and celebrated educator Dave is sought after the world over to present his findings and educate businesses. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters and over 25 books which he has co-authored with numerous fellow thought leaders.

Follow Dave Ulrich on twitter: @dave_ulrich