Tag Archives: management

Organisational Politics Can Be an Asset to Strategy Execution

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michael_jarrettby Michael Jarrett

Identifying the types of political behaviour in your organisation is the first step to using it for positive change.

Dysfunctional politics can sink an organisation, but it can also be a force for good. This makes many executives frown, but the reality is that politics is normal – and too often a hidden barrier to effective strategy execution. In fact, without it, some strategic changes may not be possible.

Political behaviour allows differences to be shared and methods to be employed in strategy execution that go beyond the rules and norms of the organisation. Thus it’s important for leaders to understand the forms it can take and how they can harness it.

While we would be naive to ignore the potentially destructive nature of politics, when deployed effectively it can actually help the company meet its strategic goals and live up to its values, especially during change efforts.

Defining politics

Organisational politics refers to a variety of activities associated with the use of tactics to influence or improve personal or organisational interests.

Studies have shown that those with political skills do tend to outperform their politically naive counterparts. However, political behaviour is relative. It is implicit in many cases. For example, it may be the case that a manager or leader needs to exert a large amount of pressure on a team to get something done by using the power of their position over others. It is also occasionally necessary for employees to work behind the scenes to build coalitions of believers in a new vision. Politics is driven by the conditions of scarce resources, social and structural inequalities and individual personal motivations.

Thus, the first step to using politics requires executives to map their organisation’s political landscape and understand the sources of political capital they have.

 

The political terrain

Most organisational maps are characterised by four metaphoric domains; the weeds, the rocks, the high ground and the woods. Each has a different set of rules for skilful navigation.

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The Biggest Mistakes New Executives Make

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sabina-nawazby Sabina Nawaz

Organizations invest a lot of time and money in hiring the right CEO or senior executive to set a vision and make the changes in their company. Yet within the first 18 months, there’s a 50% chance the executive will leave the organization. This failure comes with enormous costs, not only in disruption to the organization but financially, too. One estimate puts the cost at 10 times the executive’s salary – sometimes more.

The reasons these individuals leave are many. They often cite poor cultural fit, inadequate onboarding, or the lack of appropriate expectations. But in reality, many new executives inadvertently set themselves up for failure within the first few months of their tenure through their own actions.

As an executive hired from outside the firm, you’ll naturally want to add value and assure your employers and employees that you are the right hire. But based on my work helping executives transitioning into new organizations, I’ve discovered common traps new executives tend to fall in, even as they try to solve problems, make decisions, and improve the company. Fortunately, there are ways to sidestep these traps so you can assimilate successfully into your new organization. Continue reading →

Pivots are for leadership — not just strategy

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By Tori Utley

The entrepreneurial journey is not linear – and it’s certainly not easy. Because of this, it’s easy to go the wrong direction, make the wrong decision, or choose a faulty business strategy.

Whether you’re a social entrepreneur solving community or social problems or an entrepreneur bringing new technology to market, there’s one thing you must remember – sometimes you need to admit your mistakes.

Whether it’s pride, aggressive timelines, or keeping your donors or investors happy, it’s difficult to say “we messed up” or worse – “I messed up.” This pride or fear can keep us ignoring both gut feelings and hard data – and ignorance in the face of truth about a mistake doesn’t get your company or your movement anywhere.

If entrepreneurs don’t know how to correct their own shortcomings – leadership style included – it puts the entire organization at risk of failure. Similar to how you run a startup, pivots are relevant in your leadership style, too. Learn to embrace the pivot to become a better leader – and watch your movement benefit in the process.

As a young social entrepreneur, I’ve had to learn the leadership pivot the hard way: after getting it way wrong. Although it’s never comfortable to go through these pivots, this kind of leadership and acceptance transcends through your team – which gets you closer to your ultimate goal of making an impact. Continue reading →

What is top talent and how is that identified?

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As a part of our talent acquisition engagements, we ask our clients how they define “top talent” and how they would assess those traits in the interview process.  Reflecting on the insightful comments we hear every day, we thought there would be great value in a new blog in which senior executives/thought leaders share their “Take on Talent.”

This is the thirteenth in a series of blogs/interviews with senior executives who are thought leaders in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Leadership who will share their perspectives on this ever present question.

 

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Steve Rudderham, Vice President, Global Business Services,  Kellogg Company

Steve Rudderham join Kellogg in 2016 as Vice President, Global Business Services. In this role, he is responsible for leading the current operations within GBS, continuous improvement, and global expansion. As well as the day to day operations, Steve is responsible for understanding industry trends, bench-marking against peer companies, and developing programs and projects that drive significant improvements in cost, process quality, and service delivery for multiple functions and global markets. He is also required to identify and leverage best practices, and standardize processes, policies, and practices to deliver significant improvements and savings in line with committed business cases and budgets.

He has 20 years of global experience across Business Process Outsourcing, Insurance and Lighting. He also has a broad operational background having led teams on the ground in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and India. Continue reading →

How to retain employees through ‘servant’ leadership

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zeynepBy Zeynep Ilgaz

The term “servant leadership” was coined nearly 50 years ago in an essay written by Robert K. Greenleaf; and since then, the business world has slowly but surely embraced this concept of empathy in leadership.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen top-notch companies like Zappos, Whole Foods and the Container Store publicly proclaim their affinity for this philosophy. And, in late 2016, Starbucks joined the ranks when it called its brand-new CEO a “true servant leader,” explaining that he embodies characteristics the company wants to see in all its leaders.

Servant leadership certainly seems to be growing in popularity, but it also continues to be quite misunderstood.

So, what exactly is servant leadership?
Some people see the word “servant” and mistakenly assume that servant leaders are slaves to their employees, pushovers who say “yes” to everything and are willing to sacrifice the company’s well-being to give employees what they want.

In reality, though, servant leaders are very much in charge of their companies; they just aren’t authoritarians who boss everyone around. Instead, they’re great listeners who are humble and empathetic — but still successfully balance organizational growth with these feel-good attributes. Continue reading →