By George A. Hofheimer, CAE
If given the opportunity to assess the leadership capability of an entire organization would you spend the entire day with the top person (CEO) or allocate your time equally among the top eight individuals in that organization? For example, if you really wanted to get a sense of Disney’s corporate structure would you spend eight hours trying to get into the mind of Michael Eisner or would you spend an hour with Eisner and then an hour with each of his direct reports from ABC, Disney Theme parks, etc.?
Michael Useem, professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and faculty member at CUES’ CEO Institute, posed this question to approximately 60 CEO Institute attendees last week at Wharton. The opinions were wide and varied among participants and centered around the question of how much can one person influence the tenor of the organization.
Ultimately the professor and attendees felt dividing their time equally among the CEO and senior staff was the most appropriate solution. Said Useem: “Leadership is not quality of a single individual, but rather the quality of an entire team/group. In fact, the quality of the senior leadership group is a better forecaster for the health and future of the organization than any one individual.”
This discussion sparks a question for readers of this blog: “If an outsider walked into your credit union and interviewed your senior management team, what conclusions would they make?” According to Useem’s “leadership template,” would they find the following qualities of good leadership practice:
- Honor the room…do leaders honor their colleagues?
- Optimism/Opportunity…do leaders have a positive view of the future?
- Personal consequences …do leaders take responsibility for their decisions?
- Empathy…do leaders understand the feelings of others?
- Listen…do leaders actively listen?
- Character/Authenticity…do leaders present themselves in an authentic manner?
- Strategy & Vision…do leaders formulate an exciting view and path to the future?
- Say it so it sticks…do leaders communicate in a clear and effective manner?
- Motivation…do leaders spur others into action?
- Decisiveness in decision making…do leaders make clear decisions?
- Strategic intent without micromanagement…do leaders trust others to make strategy a reality?
- Flexibility of leadership style … do leaders’ styles change with different situations and people?
- Explain your decisions …do leaders elaborate on their reasons for going in a specific direction?
- Strong #2…do leaders across the organization develop strong next-generation leaders?
- Ask for affirmation…do leaders ask others for their support?
How do you foster these qualities among your management team? Share your thoughts by clicking on “Comment” below.
George Hofheimer, CAE
VP/Chief Learning Officer
CUES
Read about the two leadership qualities most lacking across past attendees of CUES’ CEO Institute III at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business Administration. Also, read more from CEO Institute I.
