Embedding

Transformational
Leadership In Practice
Aditi Batheja

Purpose

Talk

about Transformational Leadership (TF)

What it is, what it really means
Why its so important
Practical things weve done to embed it and 360 degree
appraisal in various organisations
Some of the lessons learned along the way
Also here to learn from your experience

Quick Recap.

Why Do We Need Leadership?

Importance of Leadership
Vision,

direction and focus real skill is aligning people to it

Clear goals, dont know where you are going you are
unlikely to get there
Team spirit.
Managers

managing is important
Transformational Leadership has the biggest impact on
morale, motivation, stress, job satisfaction, productivity and
performance

Importance of Leadership
Poor

leadership costs in terms of

stress related absence, and has enormous cost in
terms of individual health and psychological well
being
Increased focus on leadership development and
assessment in our Corporate Performance
Assessment
Leadership is the single biggest factor that drives
change and organisational improvement LG White
Paper

Direct Relationship Between

Leadership, Motivation, Stress and
Performance

3 Variables That Affect Performance

Performance =

A + Ability and competence

M + Motivation
R + Resources

Motivation Over Time

PERF

pe
m
o
c

40-50%
effective

e
c
n
te

motivation

TIME

Leadership is about saying How

can I interact with people to improve
their performance, give them just
enough stretch to keep them
motivated and help them realise their
potential?

Whats The Biggest Cause Of

Stress In The Workplace?

Climate Studies 50s to 90s

60-75% of people said that in any organisation, the

most stressful aspect of their work was their
immediate boss!

Controlling Styles

Managers with controlling styles who fail

to clarify roles and responsibilities, who
exert undue pressure have working
groups with higher levels of stress and
tension

Climate Studies- Main Causes Of Stress

Unclear

roles and responsibilities

Lack

of autonomy

Lack

of social support

Levels Of Arousal

Unacceptable level

Perf.
Acceptable level of stress

Leadership Development
is both a financial and moral imperative.
Stress is increasing in
organisations at a phenomenal
rate
Cost of stress is also increasing
(in terms of absence as well as performance)

Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe

The Search for the Holy Grail

What makes a good leader?

Leadership Research: The Old Paradigm

1930s-50s

Great Man Approach

Traits Approach

1960s

The Behavioural Approach

1970s

Situational/Contingency
Approach

1960s Behaviour/Style Approaches

one best style
Levels of
Freedom

Levels of
Control

Levels of
Autonomy

Autocratic

Participative Consultative Democratic

Tannenbaum Schmidt

Blanchard-Situational Leadership

PARTICIPATE

SELL

DELEGATE

TELL

FOLLOWER MATURITY
HIGH

LOW

The New Paradigms of Leadership

Changing Paradigms of Leadership

Seismic

shift in thinking in the 70s

Old models only suitable for stable environments
Research conducted with first line supervisors
Need to engage with CExs with experience of managing
strategic and complex change
Existing research not particularly valid- all self rating

The Myths of Leadership

Its

rare
Its found mainly at the top
Its about being super-human
You can only do it if you are male!
(Well save that one for another time)

Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe

Research on Charisma
Early

research- charismatic leaders were the star

performers
Utter rubbish -completely discredited
You were perceived to be charismatic if you were
evangelistic, expressive, waived your arms about,
had blue eyes, were extrovert rather than
introvert
Leadership is about being quietly effective

Unrealistic Job Ads

Knight in shining armour

required to charge in on their
white horse and save the
organisation from ruin-

Mere mortals need not apply!

Another paradigm shift-leadership no

longer viewed as a subset of
management.

Whats the Difference Between

Leadership and Management?

Kotters Comparison of Management &

Leadership
Transactional Leadership

(Leadership)

(Management)

Creating

Transformational Leadership

Planning
Budgeting:

Establishing Direction:

Agendas
Developing HR
Organising &
Staffing
Execution

Controlling &
Problemsolving:

Outcomes

Produces a
degree of
predictability
& order

Aligning People:

Motivating & Inspiring:

Produces change - often to a

dramatic degree

Leadership Versus Management

Management is about coping with
complexity, provides stability, order and
consistency
-

Is transactional
Promotes the status quo

Leadership Versus Management

Leadership is having vision, a clear
sense of direction and aligning
people to it, helping people cope
with change
-Promotes transformation
and drives change

Leadership Versus Management

Management is about doing things right

Leadership is about doing the right thing
We need to develop both
But where did the terms transactional
and transformational come from?..

Transactional versus Transformational

Transactional

- negotiation exchange or bargaining

Transformational - a vision that things would be
different or better

George McGregor Burns

1980s Basss Model of Transformational

Leadership
Idealised

Influence (Vision)
Inspirational Motivation (Charisma)
Intellectual Stimulation
Individualised Consideration

Bass, B.M. (1985) Leadership &

Performance Beyond Expectations.
London: Free Press

Vision
Vision is the dream that invents the future
Developing

a shared vision
Direction, aligning people
Painting pictures
Make people believe its achievable

Be a Good Conductor
The task is to get the orchestra
working to deliver the music in your
head. Its a three stage operationhear the music, get it over to the
orchestra get them to give it to the
audience
Leonard Bernstein

Redefining Charisma
Quietly

effective
Positive role models others look up to and want to
follow
Encourage people to give more of themselves, go
the extra mile
Can be positive or negative
Beware the pseudo-charismatics

Pseudo- Charismatics
Often

do well at interview
All gloss and no substance
Highly visible
Good at self promotion/taking credit for the
work of others
Dont deliver results
Can generate compliance cultures

Potentially Worrying !!

Zero correlation between charisma

and performance, strong correlation
between charisma and pay!

Intellectual Stimulation
Encourage

people to question the way things are done

and are not defensive
Take a collaborative approach to problem solving
Intelligent and use a range of behaviours-adjust pitch
and style according to whom they are dealing with, gain
credibility quickly

Individualised Consideration
Genuine

concern for others and their welfare

Communicate positive expectations of people
Treat them with dignity and respect
Not interested in status and hierarchy- treat everyone as
equals
Value diversity and difference
Are you ok?

Does The Soft and Fluffy Stuff Really

Work?
Research has shown that:
Transformational Leadership has a significantly greater
impact than Transactional Leadership on a variety of
subjective and objective outcome measures, including:
job

satisfaction, motivation, and performance of followers

lower levels of stress & burnout amongst staff
more collaborative, innovative, harmonious teams
financial performance of organisations
performance in public sector organisations

The Importance Of Balance

Its about being transactional in a transformational way

Managers Managing Is Also Important

Clarifying roles and expectations

Competency Framework

Managing poor
performance
Structures

Appraisal

Delegations
Decision making

Training on personnel
policies and procedures

Constitution

Training on key skills

Reward/sanction

Why Conduct Further Research?

Most

leadership research was from the US

Based

on commercial & military organisations

Focus

was typically on male white top managers who

were self rating

Gender

& race bias

How Was The Research Conducted?

Interviews with 150 male and female managers, LG and
NHS
using
Rep Grid
Think
about leaders you have known
2

outstanding, 2 average, 2 poor

Write their initials on a card
Shuffle cards and pick out 2
To what extent are they similar but different from the
rest?
Elicit and group constructs

New Model of Transformational

Leadership (2)
(2) Personal Qualities
Honest and consistent
Acting With Integrity
Being Decisive
Inspiring Others
Resolving Complex problems

New Model of Transformational

Leadership (3)
(3) Organisational Skills
Political sensitivity and skills
Networker, promoter, communicator
Manages change sensitively and skilfully

Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe & John

Alban-Metcalfe

Transformational Leaders
Are

outward looking
Drive change in organisations and make things
happen
Clear sense of direction and focus
Develop a shared vision and bring people along with
them
Communicate positive expectations
Accessible, approachable, are honest consistent
and act with integrity
Motivate and empower employees, help them cope
with change

The Relationship Between

Leadership and Self Awareness
Leadership and self awareness
are inextricably linked- to be a
leader you first need to know
yourself
Robert Greenleaf

 Leadership is connecting what

I do to who I am to those I
serve

You are not a leader if no-one is

following you!!!

Problems with Traditional Appraisal

BOSS

LINE
MANAGER

TEAM
LEADER

360 Is a Great Tool for Developing SAw

Multiple

perspectives on your leadership style

Encourages a culture of openness and feedback
Studies have shown it improves all aspects of TF ( if
development needs are addressed)
Performance improvement is sustained for at least two
years

Particularly As..
Direct

reports are the best predictors of performance

Over and above assessment centres for the first
seven years
We all have blind-spots
Everybody sees me differently but me!

UK Model, Based on a 360

Approach
Manager
0.3

0.6
.18

Self
.24
Staff

0.6

Colleagues

Activity
How

transformational is your organisation?

How do you know?
Are you doing enough to develop TF, if not what
practical things do you need to do?
(Think specifically about the implications for
recruitment, A and D, competency frameworks,
development/ succession planning etc)?
What practical things would you need to consider
prior to implementing 360?

Lessons Learned
Embedding Transformational Leadership

Embedding Leadership Cultures in

Organisations

Leadership & culture are 2 sides of same coin

-you cant change one without the other

Schein

The Culture Behaviour

Cycle
Culture

Influence
s

Reinforce
s
Behaviour

Focus At An Organisational and An

Individual Level..

Embedding TF-Research
Clear

statement about which leadership and

management skills the organisation values
Core competency framework which assesses
management (the what) and TF leadership (the
how)
Dont run out-dated re-cycled management
development programmes
Assess the right behaviours when you recruit or
promote (handout refers)
Send a clear message-you only get on here
if you do x!!!

Challenge The Unwritten Rules

Explore the
contradictions

Some Examples
We

want a high performance culture but reward

loyalty/length of service
We want to reward TF but Job Evaluation
rewards the task/ we dont look for TF in
recruitment
We are committed to equalities but few women
make it to the top
We want to focus less on hierarchy and more on
empowerment- but only senior managers can
present to members
Hull research-no contradictions in excellent
organisations

Other Lessons Learned

Never

under-estimate the effort it takes to embed

this down to grass roots-change agents can help
Have a clear communications strategy that tackles
the soggy sponge
Then do some mystery shopping to find out
whether employees at different levels know what
TF is, what they can expect in terms of their
managers and leaders?
Training is just the beginning-the days of just
running a conference and expecting it to happen
are over!!!
Focus on tangible results.

Other Lessons Learned..

Managers

at all levels need to work with their teams

and identify practical things they will do to to
engender TF in their team/service and enhance their
own style
Publicise quick wins (articles, certificates, recognition
etc)
Its not just about training
Recruitment and succession planning are key
(recruitment fact-sheet refers)

Other Lessons Learned

Dont

forget to bring your policies into line- reward,

recognition, bullying and harassment, managing poor
performance
This is also about how we do business- the how we go
about projects is as important as delivering to time

Dont Forget The Importance Of Balance

Its about being transactional in a transformational way

Individual as well as organisational behaviour contribute to

culture.

Embedding a Culture of Transformational

Leadership
Commitment

from CEx and senior managers is vital

Studies show there are three major blocks to TF in
organisations:
Senior managers
Senior managers and
Senior managers!!!
and they are crucial in terms of role modelling
the right behaviours
Bass, B.M. & Avolio, B. J. (1993) Transformational leadership & organizational culture. Public
Administration Quarterly, 17, 112-121.

Essentially, Culture Management is

Message Management
Culture is created and sustained through
the messages people receive about how
to behave.

Managers Are Carriers Of Culture

Send important messages about what s

acceptable and what isnt through the way
they
lead,manage and interact with others

Whether they are open to feedback and

suggestions

By what they choose to reward, how fair

they are in this process

Whether they deal with inappropriate

behaviour, and how well they tackle it

We must invest in their development

Quick Levers to Pull In Terms of

Culture Change
Behaviour

Training and role

modelling

Myths and Stories

Mavericks, heroes and

villains
Positive reinforcementintegration

Signs and Symbols

Eg: Creating a high

performance culture,
performance dashboards,
displaying evaluation data
Pace and choice-see
reward

Systems

Reward-measure
recognise and reward the

Can Leadership Really be Developed?

It depends..
On

the attitude of the individual

Preparedness to accept others views as valid
Whether they are open to feedback
Quality of feedback
The organisations commitment to reinforcing
what is important- supporting developmentwhats the sanction if people dont change?
Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe

Lessons Learned
Embedding 360 Degree Appraisal

Critical Success Factors

Be

clear about why you are using it

Is the organisation ready?
Ethics/confidentiality agreement- the person owns the
data
360 should be used primarily for development purposes
rather than performance assessment (360 should not be
linked to performance pay)

Critical Success Factors

Supplements

rather than replaces A and D

Chose a valid, reliable instrument which reflects your
strategic aims
Cost and complexity can be a problem
Pilot-light small fires
Start at the top
Develop feedback skills first

Get People To Admit There Is a Problem!!!

When

was the last time you asked for feedback about your
personal style?
How frank were the conversations?
Do you know how your team would describe your style,
your strengths, what you bring?
Do you know what they want you to stop doing/ do
differently?
Is there two way or one way feedback in A and D?

Critical Success Factors

Clear

advice on choosing raters

Brief raters on TF- they need to understand
what they are assessing
More detailed briefings may be required for
instruments which also assess competence
Online briefings
Credible qualified facilitator
Prioritised Personal Development Plans with
no more than three key objectives
Get commitment to resourcing development
needs

Embedding
Transformational
Leadership In Practice
A Question to close..
Can an organisation be transformational or is it
the people that make it?