La Importancia Del Liderazgo en Una Empresa by pszlina

Liderazgo Empresarial: capacidades esenciales de un líder con impacto

Las compañías líderes a nivel mundial consideran el desarrollo del liderazgo un desafío crítico e invierten en sus futuros líderes. Sin embargo, muchas de estas organizaciones abordan estas iniciativas desde un punto de vista tradicional: el “líder es un experto del negocio” y el “liderazgo se refiere a cómo tratar con la gente”.

Muy raramente los líderes identificados como tales tienen experiencia en la gestión de múltiples funciones, o son reconocidos por haber alcanzado grandes logros en la cuenta de resultados, ya que las habilidades necesarias para liderar el negocio son mucho más complejas que la perspicacia financiera o aquella relacionada con los productos, clientes y ventas.

Históricamente los líderes efectivos poseen y despliegan una gran variedad de “talentos” que inspiran a sus seguidores.

Liderazgo de Personas vs. Liderazgo Empresarial
Los mejores líderes dominan habilidades que pueden clasificarse en dos grupos: liderazgo sobre personas y liderazgo sobre el negocio.

Muy a menudo, tendemos a enfocarnos en las habilidades para el liderazgo de las personas (el “Cómo”) tales como la habilidad de inspirar y enganchar, la colaboración, la influencia, el manejo de las expectativas de las partes interesadas, el desarrollo del talento y el liderazgo del cambio y la adaptación.

El liderazgo empresarial (el “Qué”), la parte más estratégica del espectro de las capacidades, recibe la mínima atención. Entre las capacidades que se incluyen son  el pensamiento estratégico, la comprensión del mercado, la perspicacia financiera, el análisis basado en datos, la planificación y la evaluación de escenarios, la gestión diversificada de negocios y la toma de decisiones.

Los líderes que ejemplifican un dominio de las capacidades de liderazgo sobre el negocio están mejor preparados para entender y articular la estrategia de la empresa, y pueden tomar mejores decisiones de negocio. Ellos conocen las claves de “las tres tensiones”: rentabilidad vs crecimiento; largo plazo vs corto plazo; y la centralización vs la descentralización.

Poniendo en práctica las habilidades de liderazgo sobre el negocio

El uso de metodologías como las simulaciones empresariales, los mapas de aprendizaje y otras técnicas de aprendizaje experiencial, pueden acelerar la adquisición de conocimientos y la práctica de las habilidades de liderazgo sobre el negocio y proporcionar resultados significativos. Diversos estudios e investigaciones han demostrado que mediante la práctica el impacto en el aprendizaje se incrementa de ocho a diez veces más que con las técnicas tradicionales.

Finalmente, sumergiendo a los líderes en las iniciativas de aprendizaje experiencial creamos experiencias valiosas que favorecen la aplicación de lo aprendido cuando regresen a su puesto de trabajo. Como Tim Mooney y Robert Brinkerhoff explican en su libro, Courageous Training, los líderes deben entender cómo sus nuevas habilidades y capacidades se conectan a sus objetivos estratégicos. Los participantes deben abandonar el programa de aprendizaje experiencial, “armados” con un plan de acción y una clara comprensión de cómo estas nuevas capacidades se alinean con la estrategia de la empresa.

Perspectivas contemporáneas del liderazgo

Es el arte o proceso de influir sobre las personas para que se esfuercen en forma voluntaria y entusiasta en la consecución de un objetivo.

Tendencias de un liderazgo

Actualmente la gente busca nuevos tipos de líder que le ayuden a lograr sus metas; históricamente han existido 5 edades del liderazgo:

·         Edad de liderazgo de conquista: la gente buscaba el jefe omnipotente; el mandatario despótico y dominante que prometiera a la gente seguridad a cambio de su lealtad y sus impuestos.

·         Edad de liderazgo comercial: a comienzo de la edad industrial, la seguridad ya no era la función principal de liderazgo, la gente empezaba a buscar aquellos que pudieran indicarle cómo levanta su nivel de vida.

·       Edad del liderazgo de organización: la gente comenzó a buscar un sitio a donde “pertenecer”.   La medida del liderazgo se convirtió en la capacidad de organizarse.

·   Edad del liderazgo e innovación: los líderes del momento eran aquellos extremadamente innovadores y podían manejar los problemas de la creciente celeridad de la obsolencia.

·       Edad del liderazgo de la información: las tres últimas edades se han desarrollado extremadamente rápido (década de los 20). Se ha hecho evidente que ninguna compañía puede sobrevivir sin líderes que entiendan o sepan cómo se maneja la información. El líder moderno de la información es aquella persona que mejor la procesa, aquella que la interpreta más inteligentemente y la utiliza en la forma más moderna y creativa.

Perspectivas contemporáneas del liderazgo en las organizaciones

Atribución y liderazgo

La teoría de la atribución aplicada al liderazgo, sostiene que cuando se observan ciertas conductas en un contexto relacionado con el liderazgo, es probable que otros atribuyan diversos niveles de capacidad o poder de liderazgo a la persona que las muestra.

Alternativas de liderazgo.

·         Sustitutos de liderazgo: son características individuales, de tareas u organizacionales que suelen superar la capacidad del líder para afectar la satisfacción y el desempeño de sus subordinados. La capacidad individual, la experiencia, la capacitación, el conocimiento, la motivación y la orientación profesional se encuentran entre las características que pueden sustituir al liderazgo.

·         Neutralizadores del liderazgo: son factores que restan efectividad a los intentos de un líder por participar en distintas conductas de liderazgo. Además de los factores de grupo, es probable que los elementos en el trabajo mismo limiten la capacidad de un líder para “marcar la diferencia”. Por último, los factores organizacionales también pueden neutralizar al menos algunas formas de comportamiento del líder.

Naturaleza cambiante del liderazgo

Entre los cambios recientes en el liderazgo que los gerentes deben reconocer se encuentran el rol cada vez más frecuente de los líderes como coaches, así como los patrones de género y transculturales del comportamiento del líder.

Líderes como coaches

El líder debe convertir en coach, en lugar de ser supervisor. Mientras que en alguna época se esperaba que los lideres controlaran las situaciones, dirigieran el trabajo, supervisaran a las personas, monitorearan el desempeño muy de cerca, tomara decisiones y estructuraran las actividades, en la actualidad, a muchos líderes se les pide que modifiquen su forma de dirigir a las personas para convertirse en coaches.  Desde el punto de vista organizacional, es necesaria la perspectiva de un coach para que el miembro ayude a seleccionar a los miembros de su equipo y otros empleados nuevos, establezca la dirección general, ayude a encontrar y desarrollar a su equipo y las habilidades de sus miembros, y ayude al quipo a obtener la información necesaria  y los recursos que necesita.

Género y liderazgo

Otro factor que transforma la naturaleza del liderazgo es el número cada vez mayor de mujeres que avanza a niveles más altos en las organizaciones. Algunas investigaciones sugieren que de hecho, existen diferencias fundamentales en el liderazgo practicado por mujeres y aquel que practican los hombres. La única diferencia que parece existir en algunos casos es que las mujeres tienden a ser ligeramente más democráticas al tomar decisiones, mientras que los hombres presentan una tendencia similar a ser algo más autócratas.

Las mujeres suelen tener habilidades interpersonales más fuertes y por lo tanto, pueden entender mejor cómo involucrar de manera efectiva a los demás en la toma de decisiones. Además,  las mujeres pueden enfrentar mayor resistencia estereotípica ante la posibilidad de que ocupen puestos muy altos y pueden trabajar de forma más activa para involucrar a otros en la toma de decisiones con el fin de ayudar a minimizar cualquier hostilidad o conflicto.

Liderazgo transcultural

En este contexto, la cultura se utiliza como un concepto amplio para abarcar tanto las diferencias internacionales como aquellas basadas en la diversidad dentro de la cultura. Los factores transculturales también desempeñan un rol que aumenta en importancia en las organización es conforme su fuerza de trabajo se vuelve cada vez más diversa.

Cuestiones emergentes de liderazgo

·         Liderazgo estratégico: relaciona de forma explícita el liderazgo con el rol de la alta gerencia. Es la capacidad de entender las complejidades tanto de la organización como de su entorno y de dirigir el cambio en la organización con el fin de lograr y mantener una alineación  superior entre la organización y su entorno. Para ser efectivo en este rol, un gerente requiere un entendimiento profundo y completo de la organización; su historia, cultura, fortalezas y debilidades. Asimismo, el líder estratégico debe reconocer de qué maneta la empresa está alineada en ese momento con su entorno, en cuáles aspectos se relación a con éste de forma efectiva y de manera deficiente.

·         Liderazgo ético: Ahora más que nunca, se manejan altos estándares de comportamiento ético como requisito indispensable para el liderazgo efectivo. Los altos directivos están obligados a observar altos estándares éticos en su comportamiento, mostrar un comportamiento ético en todo momento y procurar que todas las personas en su organización sigan los mismos estándares.

·         Liderazgo virtual: Surge como un concepto importante para las organizaciones, en el mundo actual, tanto los líderes como sus empleados pueden trabajar en lugares lejanos entre sí. Desde luego, la comunicación entre los líderes y sus subordinados seguirá ocurriendo, pero quizá se lleve a cabo sobre todo por teléfono y correo electrónico.

Designing effective management-development programs

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Several research studies have shown a positive relationship between leadership development and business results. Organizations with high-impact leadership-development programs are seven times more effective at delivering improved talent and business results than organizations lacking effective leadership development functions. Management development (MD) programs in particular are becoming a prevalent way for organizations to develop this expertise and talent.

Comprehensive management development

A management-development program is a comprehensive curriculum designed to develop the core competencies of managers and supervisors for leadership success. A MD program supports the development of employees over a period of time. Leadership and MD programs have helped companies of all sizes transition into high-performing organizations.

Training as a winning strategy

Effective management-development programs help organizations create more positive and engaging workplaces. Every organization with managers can benefit from MD programs. By maximizing the effectiveness of your leadership pool, your entire workforce can reap the benefits outlined in the list that follows.

Encourages Team Vision. The more aware leaders are about organizational and team dynamics, the better they are at creating and attaining a solid set of actionable, achievable goals.

Builds Employee Morale. Having strong managers and leaders within your organization will have an immediate impact on the workplace environment, resulting in higher productivity and increased employee retention.

Increases Productivity. Effective leaders are able to guide their teams, minimize obstacles, orchestrate resources to achieve work objectives, and obtain the best results from their employees.

Stimulates New Ideas. One of the main benefits of leadership training is the transfer of new ideas among participants, providing participants with new ideas and

strategies they can try in their own work groups.

Fosters Effective Communication. Leadership training provides employees of different backgrounds, ages, genders, and work styles the tools necessary to understand the communication styles of others and thus to more effectively communicate and manage a diverse workforce.

Teaches Self-Reflection and Personal Assessment.  Through leadership- development training, managers assess their own leadership styles and learn how to improve. This personal assessment enables managers to understand how their skills directly correlate with the success of other employees.

Best practices for designing md programs

Designing a management program will allow you to maximize your return on investment. What follows are some critical factors to consider in designing an effective program.

Align programs with organizational strategy. As leaders move up in their organizations, their skills must shift from people and project management to strategic business and operations management. Align leadership-development initiatives to the organization’s mission, strategy, and goals, so learning connects to real issues and work.

Define desired leadership competencies. A leadership program should identify the expected skills and competencies leaders need for organizational success. By identifying and agreeing on those leadership competencies most important to your business, you will have the foundation for leadership development, as well as succession planning, career development, and other talent-related processes.

Involve senior management. The commitment of senior executives means that the program will be highly regarded, aligned with corporate strategy, and focused on the right business issues.

Ensure the content is specific to the audience and relevant to their situations. The learning content provided is not only both engaging and relevant to the workplace, but is also appropriate for the knowledge and experience levels of the participants. Place participants at the center of the learning process by giving them responsibility for shaping the goals and actions that will serve as the focus of their learning.

Apply a comprehensive and ongoing approach. A key element of a sound MD program includes applied learning opportunities and detailed action planning that link to current work projects or practical challenges. Encourage participants to establish reflection as a business practice.

Use adult learning principles. Incorporating adult learning principles in your MD program is fundamental to developing a successful program that engages trainees and facilitates learning.

Sample Program

The Management Advantage is a developed comprehensive MD program; it is a suite of seven programs and series for participants whose responsibilities fall within the roles of individual contributor, team leader, supervisor, manager, and director. The curriculum includes five programs and two series. these courses offer a progression of learning options that provide prospective leaders the tools needed to grow at a pace that aligns with their company’s needs.

Md program implementation

The program should focus on helping participants learn the best ideas and practices about today’s most important leadership topics. Use the following principles to guide its design and delivery.

Include well-developed learning tools. Rich, detailed workbooks and toolkits allow participants to leave with materials that will continue to provide them guidance in their regular job duties.

Use the awareness-practice-application model to guide learning. All activity should be based on a learning model of awareness, practice, and application.

Incorporate learning activities that engage all learning styles. Offer diversity in learning activities so participants of all learning styles will benefit.

Make sure learning is transferable. To help accomplish this, your program should engage participants in role-plays, action plans, and case studies.

Include opportunities for self-evaluation. The most profound and meaningful learning for participants often comes from their own reflections based on personal experiences

Facilitate collaborative learning experiences. Your program will foster behaviors among managers that can help them play a more active role in driving workplace productivity with a strong emphasis on classroom interaction and collaborative learning among peers.

Use pre- and postassessments of manager skills. The results of a postassessment are used to compare with the preassessment, to help verify that behavior changes will actually result from the program.

Liderazgo

El liderazgo es influencia, esto es, el arte o proceso de influir en las personas para que se esfuercen voluntaria y entusiastamente en el cumplimiento de metas grupales. Los líderes contribuyen a que un grupo alcance sus objetivos mediante la máxima aplicación de sus capacidades.

Componentes del liderazgo:

·         Poder

·         Conocimiento de los individuos

·         Capacidad para inspirar a los seguidores para que ejerzan todas sus capacidades

·         Estilo del líder y el ambiente que éste genere

El más importante principio del liderazgo es aquel en el que los individuos tienden a seguir a quienes, en su opinión, les ofrecen los medios para satisfacer sus metas personales. Por ello, cuanto mayor sea la compresión de los administradores de lo que motiva a sus subordinados y de la forma como operan estas motivaciones, y cuanto más demuestren comprenderlo en sus acciones administrativas, tanto más eficaces serán probablemente como líderes.

Líder carismático

Es aquel que poseen ciertas características como tener confianza en sí mismos, poseer convicciones firmes, articular una visión, emprender un cambio, comunicar expectativas elevadas, sentir la necesidad de influir en los seguidores y apoyarlos, manifestar entusiasmo y emoción y mantener los pies sobre la tierra.

Líder autocrático

Es aquel que impone y espera cumplimento, es dogmático y seguro y conduce por medio de la capacidad denegar y otorgar premios y castigos.

Líder democrático o participativo

Consulta a sus subordinados respecto de acciones y decisiones probables y alimenta su participación.

Líder liberal

Hace un uso muy reducido de su poder, en caso de usarlo, ya que les concede a sus subordinados un  grado de independencia en sus operaciones.

Líderes transaccionales

Identifican qué necesitan sus subordinados para cumplir sus objetivos, aclaran funciones y atareas organizacionales, instauran una estructura organizacional, premian el desempeño y toman en cuenta las necesidades sociales de sus seguidores. Trabajan intensamente e intentan dirigir a la organización con toda eficiencia y eficacia.

Líderes transformacionales

Articulan una visión e inspiran a sus seguidores. Poseen asimismo la capacidad de motivar, de conformar la cultura organizacional y de crear un ambiente favorable para el cambio organizacional

Rejilla administrativa tiene 2 dimensiones:

·         La preocupación por las personas: cómo se interesan los administradores en su personal.

·         La preocupación por la producción: incluye las actitudes de un supervisor como la calidad de las decisiones sobre políticas, procesos y procedimientos, la calidad de los servicios de staff, la eficiencia laboral y el volumen de producción. Incluye el grado de compromiso personal, la preservación de la autoestima de los empleados, la asignación de responsabilidades con base en la confianza, etc.

El liderazgo como continuo

Es un conjunto de una amplia variedad de estilos, desde el extremadamente centrado en el jefe hasta el extremadamente centrado en los subordinados. En esta teoría se reconoce que la determinación de un estilo de liderazgo como adecuado depende del líder, los seguidores y la  situación.

La teoría del camino meta

Postula que la principal función del líder es aclarar y establecer metas con sus subordinados, ayudarles a encontrar la mejor ruta para el cumplimiento de esas metas y eliminar obstáculos. 

La conducta del líder se clasifica en 4 grupos:

·         Liderazgo de apoyo: se mesta  interés por el bienestar del subordinado  y se crea un ambiente organizacional agradable

·         Liderazgo participativo: permite a los subordinados influir en las decisiones de sus superiores y puede resultar en mayor motivación.

·         Liderazgo instrumental: ofrece a los subordinados orientación y aclara lo que se espera de ellos.

·         Liderazgo orientado a logros: implica el establecimiento de metas ambiciosas, la búsqueda de mejoras del desempeño y la seguridad en que los subordinados alcanzara metas elevadas.

The Neuroscience of Talent Management

Today, neuroscience is providing powerful insights into cognitive and behavioral processes and is changing the way we think about thinking. There’s a new game in town, leaders who adopt the new science will quickly benefit from these new insights into what really drives employee motivation, satisfaction, and performance.

What is neuroscience?

The study of brain functioning encompasses everything from the brain’s basic unit, the single neuron, to the complex neural networks or maps that represent every concept, thought, and action we experience.

How will neuroscience affect talent management?

Neuroscience is new to talent management because the brain is at the center of everything we do, it offers a new way to understand how people approach work and respond to everyday workplace situations.

Neuroscience brings back the balance of cognition—understanding why people are doing what they are doing and whether it can be made more effective.

Our conscious mind

Thanks to the prefrontal cortex, we can comprehend abstract concepts and elements not present in our sensory environment, as well as think in three dimensions: past, present, and future. It also orchestrates and balances the functioning of most other parts of the brain. It is the only part of the brain that can inhibit other parts, such as our instincts and emotions

Our subconscious mind

Beneath the layers of the cortex are a combination of structures known as the limbic system known for their role in automating our daily functions—writing, storing, and retrieving the code of neural networks that allow us to complete so many tasks, mental and physical, with minimal conscious effort. The basal ganglia are a vast storehouse of repeatable thoughts and behaviors, integrating all our past experience with the events that present themselves each day.

In the amygdala reside the neural networks that associate how we feel about what we do, what we think, and who that involves.

Applying neuroscience to talent management

A core function of any leader is the attraction and development of talent. 

Our prefrontal cortex is critical to the conscious mental efforts necessary to execute new, complex, or challenging mental processing. Our limbic system provides the stored knowledge and behaviors associated with every conscious activity, putting it into the context of our prior experience and assisting with its interpretation. Our combined conscious and subconscious minds allow us to produce the thoughts and actions that make up our talent.

Threat versus reward

At a limbic level, our brain completes an instantaneous assessment of our circumstance and sends rudimentary signals to our prefrontal cortex: this is good or bad, a threat or reward opportunity. What follows are the thoughts and behaviors your brain has developed to deal with this situation.

Neuroscience is helping talent managers understand what drives talent throughout the employee life cycle.

Talent Acquisition

The recruitment of talent immediately confronts both candidate and recruiter with the threat versus reward dynamic. The limbic system will be on high alert for first impressions and quick signals that assist with a “gut feel” assessment of like or dislike, trust or distrust.

Recruitment policies are already introducing practices that support what neuroscience suggests about managing the threat state: use equitable, merit-based selection methods; recognize that assessment is a two-way process, with the candidate assessing the organization just as the recruiter assesses the candidate; and utilize modern technologies available to facilitate onboarding and engagement.

Talent Performance

Goal setting and planning are excellent ways to motivate performance and set achievement criteria.   Part of the reason performance management so often creates a negative experience is our strong sensitivity to social threats. This high sensitivity predisposes us to look first for the negative and to over-weight this compared with the positive.

The skill of holding constructive and empowering performance conversations is one that organizations still need to harness in their current and future leaders.

Talent Development

Designers of learning and development initiatives should work with the needs of the brain to refresh and optimize cognitive resources rather than deplete them.

The optimal arousal curve reminds us that too much or too little mental stimulation results in underperformance, whereas the right amount of stimulation allows us to be highly functioning, achieving our best.

Overstimulation induces a stress state, and a stress state shuts down prefrontal activity in favor of the survival instinct this invokes in the limbic system. In this state, we are unable to learn new information. Real learning takes time and reinforcement. Neural pathways require repetition to strengthen and for the basal ganglia to “automate” the function

Talent Succession

The management of the succession process can create a threatening environment, particularly if closed-door approaches are used. In this environment, little or no information is provided to potential successors, and decisions can be perceived to be unfair, personally biased, or preferential.

The future of talent management

Talented employees are in high demand and short supply. The more challenging our world becomes, the more this will be true. Leaders and talent managers should welcome and grasp this new information, for the insights and advantages it can create for the optimization of workplace performance and the unleashing of human potential.

Giving Employees What They Want Can Provide Employers with What They Want

All employees want is a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t

As a way of describing what motivates employees to perform at their highest levels, we have used the letters in respect as an acronym for conveying the seven fundamental desires of employees:

• Recognition. They want to be recognized and appreciated as valued team members. Managers should make the time for recognition and integrate it into the normal routine. They shouldn’t ignore employee performance until the annual review—and they should never focus solely on criticism.
• Exciting work. Employees are significantly more likely to feel excited about their work if they are learning something new, are involved in a pioneering project, or are empowered to operate with autonomy.
• Security of employment. Managers should be persuaded to consider the morale, welfare, and well-being of their teams. If they can empower employees and give them a say in how they work, it will create trust and provide a greater sense that employees are expanding their skill sets and controlling their own destiny.
• Pay. Employees want to be compensated fairly for the work they do and the contribution they make. The trick is to identify what employees feel is fair pay. Having transparency about the salary decisions helps employees to set realistic expectations and creates an environment of fairness.
• Education and career growth. Employees want to be given opportunities to develop their skills and to advance their career. Managers should be encouraged to give people the autonomy, authority, and encouragement to use their skills and to do their jobs in their own way.
• Conditions. The social working conditions are even more important than the physical conditions. Managers should also be encouraged to listen and respond to employee complaints and to help individuals achieve their own work–life balance.
• Truth. Employees want to be told the truth, they want to work for honest and transparent managers who act with integrity and who communicate openly and directly. Employee perceptions of dishonesty and lack of transparency breed skepticism and distrust.

Why should organizations provide employees with what they want?

The tangible business benefits that can arise from giving employees what they want can perhaps best be expressed through the framework of the balanced scorecard. The balanced scorecard is a popular and proven methodology that leadership teams use to help translate strategy into action.

• Employee Engagement Organizations with a more engaged workforce consistently outperform their competitors.
• Operational Performance Employees are the eyes and ears of an organization, and their perceptions provide valuable insight into how well things are working. Employees whose organizations fulfill their most important wants also report that their organization is well positioned for success.
• Customer Satisfaction Companies use the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) evaluations to improve and maximize their customer relationships, and this, in turn, drives customer loyalty and profitability. Loyal customers not only are repeat customers, but also tend to buy more products and services, thus further increasing the organization’s revenue and market share.

Talent and the shift from bureaucratic to dynamic

The principles of RESPECT can help an organization to shift its culture and practices from the bureaucratic to the dynamic.

• Bureaucratic organizations are well suited to a stable business environment. With centralized decision-making and standardized procedures, they can scale quickly, reduce costs, generate profits, and satisfy mass needs.
• Dynamic organizations offer a more flexible workplace. Employees typically work in crossfunctional teams and are empowered to innovate, solve problems, and work where they are most efficient. this way of working makes employees more committed to their jobs because they are typically given more challenging and complex assignments.

Do the right thing

RESPECT means having employees who want to be recognized, who want to perform at their peak and accomplish their work with a sense of security and confidence in their economic future. Yes, they also want to be fairly compensated. In addition, they want the opportunity to grow and develop their skills, and they want positive working conditions.

Providing RESPECT is not only good for business; it is also the right thing to do.

Who’s Up Next? Most Companies Fail to Plan for Leadership Succession

This article reviews a sample of small, medium, large, for-profit, and not-for-profit organizations to determine the strategy used, internal or external, to fill leadership roles and assess the efficacy of these strategies to meet future leadership transitions.

Why succession planning is a challenge

Succession planning will increase paranoia for the current leader and create an expectation for the individual identified as the successor.

Most organizations do not have a deep bench that can make it both easy and difficult to identify a successor.

The majority of organizations have no stated commitment or goal for filling positions internally or externally.

Developing a succession plan takes time, and executives are focused on the short term. A succession plan has many to-dos, forms, charts, meetings, due dates, and checklists.

A review of succession strategies of a diverse sampling of organizations

The findings for hiring source reveal at least 50 percent of the organizations, regardless of size, and for-profit or nonprofit status, are internal.

The results for tenure show approximately 50 percent of the organizations, regardless of size, and for-profit or nonprofit status, have CEOs with less than five years of tenure.

A CEO who remains in that position longer than the average tenure affects the development or lack of development of other successors.

Organizations will face increasing pressure to plan for succession

Because there are only two choices in sources of succession candidates—from within the organization or outside of it—this statistic reveals that companies have not made even the basic decision of where their leadership successors will come from.

Most experts describe an effective CEO succession process as a partnership between the board of directors and the CEO, and, in some instances, HR.

According to Stephen Miles, there are five trends that will significantly influence succession planning for the next ten years.

• Shareholders will demand transparency in the organization’s succession planning.
• HR will play a critical role in “operationalizing” the organization’s succession plans.
• There will be a demand for more qualified board members to provide advice and counsel on succession planning.
• Changing market conditions will usher in a new era of CEOs
• The trend will generate more internal candidates and require organizations to build a leadership pipeline by developing people.

Global Business Operations Require Increased Efforts in International Background Screening

Some hiring managers incorrectly assume that international screening could take months to complete. However, a company that fails to rigorously screen applicants or repeat screening for current employees and contractors may face much larger issues than a few days’ delay in on-boarding a new hire. Workplace violence, employee theft, fraud, and a host of other issues can arise when hiring an employee who has not been properly screened.

Employees represent the employer’s ethics, values, and character

International and national background screenings are important because employees are representatives of the company. Organizations with international hiring needs must educate themselves and understand the importance of selecting the right background-screening partner.

Debunking myths about international background screening

Here are ten of the most popular myths, each followed by the facts to help HR understand what is actually entailed in international background screening.

• Ordering an international background check is difficult. Expert providers with established channels can efficiently conduct international background checks via secure websites and web-based applications.
• It takes weeks or months to receive a status, or results, for an international check.
• There is too much paperwork. Most often, the disclosure and authorization forms and information that are used for a domestic order are the same as for international orders.
• Results cannot be trusted when dealing with a foreign country. The rigorous and trustworthy screening that is conducted can help you to find the right candidate for the position and eliminate those who will not represent your brand to your standards.
• It is not legal for companies in the United States to do international searches.
• Applicants with a work visa do not need to be background checked. Individuals can hide the fact that they have a questionable past and can falsify work and educational experience to gain a visa.
• There are limited identifiers in many countries that make it impossible to be sure search results do pertain to a particular candidate. There are measures in place to help make sure information pertains to the correct individual.
• It is impossible to stay on top of an international source’s performance. International background-screening providers should be staying on top of their source’s abilities and conduct especially in key countries where clients need a high volume of screening.
• General online databases are an easy and inexpensive way to conduct searches.
• No single company can provide worldwide coverage for screening needs. International background-screening providers are able to leverage a worldwide network of sources that provide both on the- ground research in local countries and access to relevant local databases.

During 2010, the global government-services providers experienced intense growth that swelled some demand for international civilian workers. Integrating state-of-the-art background screening technology with a network of agents that includes on-the-ground local country support is vital to the accuracy and comprehensive nature of the screening process. Each country has individual requirements for searching criminal records, which is why on-the-ground local support is crucial.

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PRESENTS GROWING TREND WORLDWIDE

Although maintaining a safe workplace is an important goal for most organizations, many companies, both small and large, fail to engage in a comprehensive international background screening program for current employees, applicants, and contractors.

Developing and implementing a workplace-violence-prevention plan that serves the needs of an international organization is essential. Ongoing reviews, training, and drills are needed to ensure that the plan remains effective. Procedures and hotlines can be established for employees who need assistance, or for those who recognize the warning signs of workplace violence from a coworker.

People who have histories of domestic abuse, assault and battery, or drug and alcohol abuse often demonstrate anger management and personal-control problems, which may be red flags for employers.

Whether you are a property manager, HR representative, or business leader, it is important to understand that a secure workplace means screening not just employees, but also contractors, vendors, and temporary staff.

Ongoing Screening

Employees who keep their personal lives private may be involved in activities that could negatively impact your workplace.

Violence-Free Culture

Employees will appreciate your dedication to creating a corporate culture and daily working environment that is focused on safety and security. Information to promote awareness and reminders to participate in company sponsored training can be distributed when background checks are initiated

International screening is a critical component of the hiring process

When background screenings are performed, companies see lower employee turnover, less employer liability, higher productivity, and a well-qualified workforce. When you are trying to secure the best candidate and protect your organization and its brand, it is critical to screen all applicants, regardless of where the search is conducted.

Behavior Can “Make or Break” Professional Relationships and Business Success

Behaving badly has a cost

Consider an organization with target revenue of $100 million. If management and direct reports routinely display dysfunctional behavior and create ineffective relationships, the organization is set up to lose $28 million.

as much as 39 percent of the variability in corporate performance is directly related to the level of employee engagement. 69 percent of the variability in employee engagement and work fulfillment is attributable to the capability of the immediate leader.

The extent to which organization members can rationally and emotionally connect behavior with the organization’s mission and vision fuels higher levels of engagement that drives performance by any measureable criteria on the organization’s dashboard.

What does it take to be on your best behavior?

• Build and maintain a core foundation linked to behavior-based expectations. If you lack the clarity of knowing what you believe, you will lack consistency in behavior that drives peak performance.
• Accept responsibility and take initiative for performance. The simple adage to drive this behavior is doing the right thing the right way for the right reasons. Don’t make excuses, don’t shift blame to someone else, and don’t allow yourself to become a victim to avoid accepting personal responsibility and taking initiative to get technical things done on the one hand and managing your behavior performance on the other.
• Hold yourself accountable. Accountability is a moral skill aligning values to behavior. Influential leaders and their highly functional teams are able to hold themselves and others accountable in a culture of mutual respect to drive performance.
• Pursue effective communication. Effective communication, as a highly influential trust behavior, requires caring first and then seeking to understand before demanding to be understood.

Creating a culture of accountability

Integrated teams, functioning in a culture of accountability, are the performance driver of choice in today’s high-performing organizations. There is one obvious exception to this rule: when a team is conflicted or dispirited, decision making takes a dramatic turn for the worse. The key to peak performance is maintaining mission focus—fulfilling the purpose for why the organization exists. improving the performance of an organization requires improving the behavioral performance of its people. An organization cannot become what its people are not in their behavior. A commitment to a culture of accountability requires:

1. Effective communication

2. Cooperative attitudes

3. Integrated teamwork

4. Mutual respect.

The real power of a culture of accountability is the capacity to bring people together to create something of greater value than any one person could have created alone.

Sustaining effective relationships

Our ability to build and maintain healthy relationships is the single most important factor in how we succeed in every area of life.

The power of apology

The ability to confront and apologize for behavior missteps is a critical component in engendering the support of peers and subordinates and keeping them engaged in their work. The unwillingness to express a legitimate and sincere apology creates more harm to relationships and contributes to more unproductive response in performance than any other interpersonal flaw.

How to Make an Effective Apology

• Make it genuine. A genuine apology is aimed solely at taking responsibility and overcoming a disturbance.
• Don’t justify your actions. Brief explanation may help understanding, while a justification may just fuel the disturbance. Never use the word “but” in an apology. The word means you are not apologizing, only justifying your behavior.
• Make a commitment to change. If you can’t confirm that you mean to improve, then you aren’t committed to an apology.
• Phrase your apology carefully. Make sure the other person knows why you are apologizing.
• Be prepared for an awkward conclusion. Some people will behave indifferently or coldly, and some will react in a downright hostile way. This is out of your control. If you have made the step to apologize in a productive way, it is the best you can do.

Behaving well and knowing when to say you’re sorry

Sustaining productive relationships at work creates cohesion, collaboration, and connection— the ingredients necessary to fuel engagement and drive performance. Adding an ability to apologize when necessary links people to organizational values and behaviors. Behaving well and learning how and when to express an effective apology make us better people and better able to sustain effective relationships in all contexts.

Why Smart Companies Hire Performance Coaches to Turn Managers into Leaders

One of the most important challenges facing HR professionals is developing their organizations’ managers into tomorrow’s leaders. Within the next 20 years, 76 million baby boomers in the United States alone will retire from the workforce. This loss of talent is of great concern to most companies. The use of coaches for management development is increasing rapidly among companies. Given that HR professionals can draw on a variety of activities to prepare future leaders why are more and more companies turning to performance coaches to turn managers into leaders? It’s important to look at the differences between consultants, trainers, counselors, and coaches and how each of them works.

Coaches vs. Consultants, trainers, and counselors

Consultants are paid to analyze current problems in an organization and give advice on how to improve the bottom line, they focus their attention on diagnosing and treating what went wrong in a person’s past, including offering psychological guidance and support.

Trainers transmit a body of knowledge to their students.

Coaches focus primarily on an individual’s present and future performance in an organizational context.  There are four primary reasons companies are engaging performance coaches to support their high-potential employees

• Greater levels of output—and retention— from high-potential employees.
• More engaged and happier employees who work for the coached leader.
• Increased use of “emotional intelligence” throughout an organization, resulting in more productive teams and higher market performance.
• Improved communications among all levels of the organization, which leads to higher morale, stronger employee commitment, and increased long-term organizational success.

Greater output and retention of high-potential employees

Studies show that companies that invest in the development of high-potential employees not only improve success in the short term, but also significantly increase the retention rate of these individuals in the long term.

Assigning performance coaches to high potential employees, therefore, not only boosts their personal success, but also proves that you care about them and their future.

More engaged employees on all levels

“51% of “disengaged” employees said they would get rid of their leader if they could. What turns a disengaged employee into an engaged employee? The employees who doubt that their direct supervisors care about them as individuals are far more likely to be disengaged and want to fire their bosses. Employees want three things:

To be listened to, known, and understood, to be trusted to use their talents, knowledge, and skills on challenging assignments and to be coached by their bosses or outside experts to become more successful.

In short, these are the leadership traits that performance coaches strive to improve among their clients.

• To increase their empathy quotient.
• To become better listeners and communicators,
• To improve management skills in terms of delegating responsibility, trusting their staff with appropriate projects, and mentoring and training their employees for future success.
• Increased use of emotional intelligence

25% of all companies have implemented emotional-intelligence initiatives. Those companies that had such programs were the top performers in their categories.

Higher-performing organizations are more likely to have initiatives than those that are at the bottom of the performance ladder.

An individual’s capacity to recognize, understand, value, and apply emotions is even more critical than technical skills and experience to the organization’s overall success.

Emotional-intelligence development occurs within a relationship, when a supervisor, mentor, teacher, coach, or even a friend or family member is present throughout the process to support and encourage.

Assessment

The first phase includes assembly, analysis, and appraisal of the data and provides clients a perspective, a current measure of themselves and their situation.

Assembly of Data: includes: direct interview of the client, selected objective testing, and coworker feedback through confidential one-on-one interviews and/or online surveys.

Analysis: The information collected in the first phase is separated into discreet parts for purposes of individual study and then examined together to see what patterns, inconsistencies, or unanswered questions emerge.

Appraisal: Once the review is completed, the client is walked through the written interview report, the coworker feedback, and each of the tests.

Awareness

During the awareness phase, the client becomes fully conscious of his or her own talents, knowledge, and skills. As the clients further study their data, they are encouraged to decide what to accept as true about themselves, their strengths to develop, and the adjustments to be made.

Action

Once the plan is fairly well defined, we engage the support of an on-site supervisor or colleague, someone who knows and cares about the success of the individual. Sharing the plan and getting commitment from this inside support person helps during the coaching engagement and provides on-site support once the coach is out of the picture.

Accountability

Emotional intelligence can be learned. Through this coaching process. The common elements of successful emotional intelligence development include self-awareness; learning new ways of feeling, thinking, and acting; practice; feedback; more practice; and more feedback.

Improved communications

The vast majority of successful leaders pointed to their ability to mobilize their troops, sustain the energy within their organizations and communicate their objectives clearly and creatively. Communications coaching, therefore, is a vital part of improving performance of current executives and managers who are being groomed to assume leadership positions. The most effective communication in an organization still occurs in face-to-face interactions, including group and team meetings, presentations and demonstrations, and one-on-one discussions.

What are the organizational risks to hiring performance coaches?

the occasional loss of a manager in whom you have invested is offset many times over by the positive impact coaching has had on those who remain in your organization—and have benefited from the individual’s improved performance prior to his or her departure. Once HR executives have narrowed the field of candidates, the individual who will be coached must make the final selection.