and control is the default position of leaders when under intense deadlines and profit pressure. While leaders may wish to adopt a different posture, the culture invariably drives them to conform to “the way things are done around here.”
We've worked with many executives to help them change their leadership style, but when new ideas are introduced, the cultural “antibodies” drive out the change agents. The inertia is caused by other leaders in the business who don't walk the talk, and everyone knows it except them!
In the previous century, leadership referred to the C-Suite. But business leadership exists in every department and inside every person.
The twenty-first century demands a shift in leadership to be one of engagement, collaboration, and adaptability. These are also the hallmarks of organizations that can innovate.
Without leaders who can appreciate other points of view and engage with others in an authentic way, organizations will not survive. Globalization, demographic shifts, and technological advances are here to stay. Leaders today must not only accept this fact but embrace it. They must be transparent, because others will find them out – and quickly.
Leadership is the critical factor. Without a shift in our leadership mind-set and our leadership behavior, none of the following factors will be future-proofed.
2. Culture
In the late twentieth-century, the notion of corporate culture was beginning to get some traction. Leaders realized they could have the best strategy on earth, but if the organizational culture did not embrace the strategy, it was going nowhere. Strained relationships and lack of trust could effectively erode any efforts for strategic implementation, let alone innovation.
We remember talking to leaders many years ago about trust, respect, and other factors that affect culture. Very few “got it.” The prevailing view was this is “fluff” and like other soft skills, it didn't matter because it didn't contribute to the bottom line. Most leaders we spoke with said, “We don't have time for this. We are focused on shareholder value.”
When there was a deeper understanding of company culture, it focused around uniformity, respectability, and conformity. People were supposed to look and act the same, to give customers a sense of comfort and predictability.
The twentieth-century IBM model comes to mind, with the company-mandated blue suits and briefcases.
The concept of company culture was only understood in the more sophisticated companies, and, in some cases, culture's impact on the bottom line was measured. In fact, a recent Harvard Business Review article showed that certain positive cultures could increase productivity.2
In the twenty-first century most organizations understand that culture and values have everything to do with profitability. As Peter Drucker once said, “culture eats strategy for lunch.”
Leaders now realize that values are the underpinnings of their culture. If they want a culture that truly empowers people, they must behave consistently with those values.
Companies like LinkedIn start their business meetings with a discussion of the culture and how they are living up to those ideals. Decisions about what companies to partner with include serious consideration about compatible cultures. Even at the bottom-line-focused Wall Street Journal, you'll often see references to corporate culture as the driving force in success…and failure.
A healthy culture, and living the values in daily behaviors, is essential for growth, adaptability, and innovation. No one can be left behind in the creativity department.
3. Organizing Principles
In the twentieth century, almost every medium to large organization had to have a mission and vision. In addition, these organizing principles of mission, vision, and strategy sometimes had values tacked onto the framework.
You'd read the same verbiage on the walls: “We are collaborative,” said the poster, which was written and posted by the CEO without input from other employees. “We're customer-centric,” read the banner, in plain sight of everyone in the long line waiting to speak to a customer service representative.
Companies spent millions developing clever statements, which were highly polished and completely ignored in day-to-day operations.
Everyone knew the real focus was profit and shareholder value. These mission-vision tools did not make a measurable difference in the workplace no matter how hard we consultants tried.
Today, in the twenty-first century, a compelling and impactful purpose, around which teams can get excited, is key. We know from studying the brain that people need an emotional connection to what they do. They need to feel inspired and believe they're making a difference if they are to make a real contribution. It's not enough to keep making a better widget or take more cost out of a process. People want to contribute to the greater good and have pride in what they do, whether they are keeping an airport bathroom clean or figuring out how to provide clean water for everyone on the planet.
Members of the younger generation assess a company based upon their view of the real purpose of the enterprise and how well it is living up to that purpose.
And today, with access to the Internet and the wealth of information at our fingertips, everyone can make an informed decision in about five minutes.
4. Relationships
Historically, many organizations played down the role of personal relationships at work. Work was a place where you did your job and got paid in return. Relationships and social connections happened outside of the office.
If relationships were encouraged, it was in the name of teamwork. But we all know from personal experience that many teams don't work well and are often painful to be a part of.
Efforts at team-building training, Robert's Rules of Order, and using facilitators all got put into play to help people relate better to each other. In some cases it worked and in some it did not. Engagement experts discovered that having good relationships at work was directly correlated to employee retention, but it was still not understood as a key component of successful work environments.
Today a greater understanding of the role of relationships, not only at work but in business is general, is coming to light. Google began an interesting study in 2012 to examine its high-performing teams and determine exactly what made them great.3
As it turned out, results had nothing to do with the processes that were put in place to keep teams on track and everything to do with the emotional connection between team members. As humans, we are hardwired for connection, and especially for emotional connection.
This emotional connection made all the difference in what appeared, in some cases, to be a very messy team process.
Reid Hoffman, former chairman of LinkedIn, in his book, The Alliance, points out that building alliances and mutual relationships with one's employees is essential. This is the secret glue that keeps people engaged and emotionally connected to the work while they are there. The added benefit is that if an employee leaves, which is happening much more frequently than in the past, they leave as a friend.
5. Diversity and Inclusion
Let's be frank. Diversity has been the focus of many organizations in the latter part of the twentieth century largely because of government mandates and laws – not necessarily because we value differences.
Linda's
Emma Seppälä and Kim Cameron, “Proof That Positive Work Cultures Are More Productive,”
Charles Duhigg, “What Google Learned from Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team,”
