CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF HI-PO LEADERS
Mark Zuckerberg, the young upstart CEO of Facebook, recently declared that “someone who is exceptional in their role is not just a little better than someone who is pretty good,” he said. “They are 100 times better.”1 Whether his multiplier is accurate, Zuckerberg’s comment certainly spotlights the attention companies are paying to the value of key talent. Strategies for recruiting, developing and retaining high-potential leaders now range from conventional, internal succession planning to aggressive, external “acquiring”—buying a company primarily to capture its exceptional talent. Organizations are investing in their Hi-Po pipelines as never before. These rising stars are often publicly identified in order to reinforce their value, signal the company’s commitment to developing them, and, they hope, to improve the likelihood of retention—and success—once they transition into leadership roles. They are trained and mentored, offered stretch assignments and executive coaching to prepare and sustain them for the rugged corporate rodeo. So why all the focus on the care and feeding of the elite and the exceptional?
Given the convergent trends of economic distress (do more with less), flattening organizations (manage more people), and the hyper-complexity and pressured pace of today’s business environments (navigate perpetual whitewater), even seasoned leaders find themselves gasping for air as they try to keep up, much less see ahead of the competitive curve. Top executives have calendars that rival those of a campaigning politician. A recent report indicates that 47 percent of managers now sleep within reach of their iPhone or Blackberry. The volume of e-mail has exploded, with leaders often cc’d for information’s sake; even so, more than 90 percent of them still respond. Virtual teams that operate across time zones call for distance leadership that can build collaboration and bridge cultural differences with little or no face-to-face contact. Managers must assemble and deploy project teams, which may well include members who are not their direct reports, to deliver results quickly. Is it any wonder that the “exceptional” few are at the center of talent wars? Or that those seen as tomorrow’s leaders need to begin preparing today?
Flattering as it may to be regarded as an emerging leader, it is also the portal to what we call the “Hi-Po Paradox”: it is estimated that 70 percent of high-potentials are courted, groomed, and subsequently promoted because of their technical prowess and individual outcomes—both of which become immediately, and almost completely, irrelevant in their new roles. Instead, they need to rely on influence, networking, strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and resilience as the arsenal of effectiveness. It is as if you were promoted based on your reputation as a solo contemporary dancer, and now in the new job you are expected to choreograph an international dance troupe. So what happens? Consider this statistic: 43.6 percent of new-to-role leaders underperform in their role.2 And this problem is quickly compounded by the ripple effect that their initial struggles have on others in the organization, dragging productivity in the decidedly wrong direction.
The Triple Threat
For the new-to-role leader, there are three significant issues of capability at stake:
1. Transition Capability: Actively managing the transition itself
2. Position Capability: Exercising the skills necessary for effectiveness in the role
3. Development Capability: Simultaneously developing one’s self, the team, and the organization
In cases where the new leader is transitioning from individual contributor to managing others for the first time, the learning curve is precipitously steep. The basic deficit of all these capabilities—which are unrelated to the individual’s existing technical or functional expertise—comprise a serious triple threat. If the new-to-role leader has managed others before, position capability may be less of an issue, but the need for transition and development strategies still looms.
Transition Capability
The transition itself is the first hurdle that threatens to dim the potency of the Hi-Po upon moving into a leadership role. While the job description clearly details what the job is, it does not address how to get started in this job with this team, this boss, at this moment in time. What should my priorities be? How can I get to know my team and their current issues? What are my boss’s expectations? How quickly am I expected to deliver changes? Who are my peers and how can I begin building partnerships with them? These are the kinds of key questions that must be clarified before a new manager can begin to focus on developing position capability. And they point to the fact that effective transition plans are fundamentally about relationship building, which include the previous manager, new boss, colleagues, and the new team.
Position Capability
Speed to proficiency in a new position certainly serves the organization well, minimizing the inevitable disruption that accompanies a promotion from Hi-Po to new manager. But “speed” does not mean it happens instantaneously. And without a supported transition plan, a new-to-role manager can easily sink into quicksand: business pressure to produce quick results, or self-imposed pressure to be fully effective right away. This sense of urgency can lead to “me-driven” mistakes (see Table 21.1.)
TABLE 21.1: ME VERSUS THEM
| It’s About Me | It’s About Them |
| Taking credit | Giving credit |
| Having all the answers | Asking the right questions |
| Discounting the perspectives of direct reports | Actively seeking and listening to their views |
| Withholds information | Shares information |
| Micromanaging | Empowering strengths |
The desire to establish “my” credibility, based on one’s own thinking, effort, and decisions, is not surprising. Why? Because that is the way these leaders have gotten results in the past! Michael Watkins, who has written extensively on the critical nature of the first ninety days in a new role, concurs that “perhaps the biggest pitfall you face is assuming that what made you successful in your career to this point will continue to do so.”3
For executive coaches, helping a new-to-role manager make the shift from a “me” to “we” mindset and skill set is central to accelerating position capability. Let’s go back to our example of the contemporary dancer who was selected for a coveted role as a choreographer. She will now have to design the movements of the troupe, not execute them flawlessly as an individual performer. She will have to give directions, not take them. She will have to choose who gets the spotlighted solo, not position herself for the opportunity. What she needs most now are people skills, not technical dance skills, to effectively motivate, facilitate, coordinate, communicate with, and influence the members of the troupe.
Once a Hi-Po enters a transition, the value of effective people skills will forever outweigh and add more value than the technical skills that were once the basis of proficiency. Research has shown that the greatest impact on leader performance (57.9 percent) comes from people management skills, particularly team building and developing direct reports.4
Many organizations define position capability from “successful manager” profiles or leadership competency models they have developed. Manager skill-building programs are usually built around these models, which are often level-specific. While the training experience may be a dynamic launch to developing people skills, application, and follow-up are the mitochondria that can truly drive skills into leaders at a more cellular than surface level. Becoming competent at using people skills requires people interaction: using that four-quadrant model to coach and adapt your style to one of your direct reports, asking your boss or coach for feedback, soliciting ideas for improvement from coworkers.
As leaders gain vital people skills, the cycle may repeat again. Being promoted to a more senior level is likely to require more conceptual skills, strategic thinking, and business acumen. Consider that our choreographer has now become director of the dance company. Her concerns shift again: How can we sustain our fundraising efforts in the current economic climate? How many new members of the company should we hire this season? How can we capitalize on the current resurgence of interest brought on by competitive dance shows on television? But the ability to think and act with the entire company in mind is an additive skill set to the people skills, which now become exercised more politically and systemically than in the previous role.
Development Capability
Although the disruptive nature of the transition may take many forms—an upward or diagonal move from individual contributor to manager, a shift across functions or businesses, a stretch rotation (which could mean a new product, service or geography), or a highly visible strategic project—the need to develop oneself continually as a leader and to develop others in their roles is imperative. Development capability is about learning how to learn, being continually ready to recognize what you don’t know, to be vulnerable and uncomfortable. It is also about building the next level of proficiency within the same skill set or competency. For example, cultivating emotional intelligence (EQ) has exponentially increasing relevance and impact, transcending any one leader’s self-awareness or ability to “read” others. Strong EQ fuels the ability to coach individual direct reports effectively at different levels of ability and willingness. It also shapes a team as it creates emotionally intelligent behavioral norms that support and build trust, group identity, and group efficacy. This is more complex and challenging than it is for individuals. Why? Because the team must pay attention to the emotions of its members, its own emotional currents, and the emotions of other relevant groups and individuals outside its boundaries.5 At more senior levels, EQ will influence buy-in to large-scale changes and encourage organizational learning, even create partnerships with other organizations.
Hamlet for Hi-Pos: Its Relevance and Relationship to Situational Leadership®
In Shakespeare’s great tragedy Hamlet, the protagonist repeatedly ruminates about when to take action, memorably concluding, “The readiness is all.”6 The concept of readiness remains evergreen and highly relevant for those coaching Hi-Po leaders—and the leaders themselves. The Situational Leadership® Model provides coaches with a framework for assessing the Performance Readiness® of the Hi-Po leader committed to building transition, position, or development capability. After all, executive coaches must first help their transitioning clients identify clear goals through initial assessment, and what and how to focus their efforts.
Once those goals are established, the executive coach must consider the client’s readiness for each action step needed to develop the desired capabilities and then coach appropriately.
Performance Readiness® in Situational Leadership® is defined as the extent to which a leader demonstrates the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task in a given situation. In this model, “ability” is the demonstrated knowledge, experience, skill, and “willingness” is the extent to which the individual has demonstrated confidence, commitment and motivation. Even though the concepts of ability and willingness are different, it is important to remember that they are an interacting influence system. This means that a significant change in one will affect the whole. The extent to which leaders bring willingness into a specific situation affects the use of their present ability, and vice versa. It is critical that the assessment of readiness is task specific, not a global description of the person or a high-level competency. Why? Because task specificity increases the likelihood of success, or at least completion of a task. Additionally, readiness varies from task to task. For example, a Hi-Po might excel at budget projections and not need any coaching. The same Hi-Po, for the task of providing feedback to their team members, may need a lot of hand-holding to accomplish the task.
As described in earlier editions of this book, Situational Leadership® has been adapted for executive coaching. The executive coach who can accurately diagnose Performance Readiness® has an excellent platform for designing coaching interventions. The level of Performance Readiness® can help the coach define and delimit not only what the appropriate intervention might be, but how the coach can best adapt his/her style to meet clients where they are. Coaches often have ideas for interventions at the ready, and it is easy to succumb to the trap of prescribing what the client needs to do. Like the client he is coaching, style flexibility is a strength for executive coaches, allowing a far greater range of interventions over time as the client faces different tasks and situations and continues to develop.
Whether the Hi-Po client needs to create a transition plan, develop key skills for a new role, or identify development strategies for the team, an executive coach has an opportunity to model the kind of style flexibility the leader ultimately needs to demonstrate. Of course, executive coaching may be only one possibility integrated within a broader talent management strategy, given that many companies are investing in their Hi-Po pipeline with an entire portfolio of targeted learning and development offerings for their future leaders. Other companies and clients fumble forward without them, some to astounding success. A recent New Yorker profile revealed that during the early years of Facebook, there was a fast-revolving door of senior executives, some coming and going within ten days of being hired.7 Apparently, the company has stabilized since then! But the war for talent rages on. And executive coaches may well find themselves on its front line.
Paul Hersey is chairman of the Center for Leadership Studies, Inc., providers of leadership, coaching, sales, and customer service training. He is one of the creators of Situational Leadership®, the performance tool of over ten million managers worldwide and has personally presented Situational Leadership in 117 countries, influencing the leadership skills of four million managers in over a thousand organizations worldwide. He is the coauthor of the most successful organizational behavior textbook of all time, Management of Organizational Behavior, now in its seventh edition, with over one million copies in print. Contact: www.situational.com; ron.campbell@situational.com.
Notes
1. Miguel Helft, “For Buyers of Web Start-Ups, Quest to Corral Young Talent,” New York Times (May 17, 2011).
2. Corporate Executive Board Learning and Development Roundtable, “Setting Leaders Up to Succeed: Tactics for Navigating Leaders Across Critical Upward Career Transitions” (Washington, DC: Corporate Executive Board Company, 2004), 3.
3. Michael Watkins, The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels (Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2003), 12.
4. Corporate Executive Board Learning and Development Roundtable, “Setting Leaders Up to Succeed, 41.
5. Vanessa Urch Druskat and Steven B. Wolff, “Building the Emotional Intelligence of Groups,” Harvard Business Review (March 1, 2001). Online. http://books.google.com/books?id=BuSUCK19ZggC&pg=PA175&dq=Building+the+Emotional+Intelligence+of+Groups&hl=en&ei=gYvJTp-LPOaTiAL-zYTMDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Building%20the%20Emotional%20Intelligence%20of%20Groups&f=false.
6. William Shakespeare, Hamlet, V, ii, 234–237.
7. Jose Antonio Vargas, “The Face of Facebook.” The New Yorker (September 20, 2010).