following the leaders or leading the followers -...

Following the Leaders or Leading

the Followers Developing Effective Leadership in the

21st Century

Summary of key findings from Leadership Management Australasia’s (LMA)

Leadership, Employment and Direction (L.E.A.D.) Survey

November 2016

P 1800 333 270 | E [email protected] | W www.lma.biz

Creating exceptional results through people


New information to help leaders understand what is expected of them in their roles and how best to identify and develop future leaders with confidence and success.

Summary of key findings from the Leadership Management Australasia’s (LMA) Leadership, Employment and Direction (L.E.A.D.) Survey (November 2016)

Following the Leaders or Leading the Followers: Developing Effective Leadership in the 21st Century

OVERVIEW

New findings from LMA’s latest Leadership, Employment and Direction (L.E.A.D) Survey reveal…

• The strategic importance of leadership development in our organisations

• The less than satisfying processes currently being used and less than inspiring success being enjoyed to develop our future leaders

• The competencies effective leaders are expected to possess and the behaviours they are expected to exhibit in their roles

• The extent to which change impacts on leadership and the vital role communication plays in reassuring people about the future of their organisation as well as their personal future

• The power and potential of tapping into the diversity in our workforce to identify talent and development opportunities, particularly in the leadership arena.

These issues are among the most profound to emerge from this wave of the L.E.A.D. Survey and they implore leaders and managers to invest the necessary time and energy to understand and leverage the leadership potential that exists within their organisations.

The smarter leaders are those that have already identified the talent in their midst, have developed appropriately tailored career pathways, training and development regimens and succession plans to guarantee the future leadership of the organisation.

The rest are running to catch-up and will find some critical insights to help them do so in the pages that follow. As Ralph Nader once said:

“I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”

Ralph Nader


Strategic importance of leadership development

More than two-thirds of employees at all levels of organisations believe leadership development is either the most important or one of the top few strategic challenges facing their organisations:

1. To lead or noT To lead? Is ThaT really The rIghT quesTIon?

Leaders (Executives/

Senior Managers)

%

Managers (Middle

Managers and

Supervisors)%

Employees (Non-

Managerial/Supervisory Employees)

%The most important strategic challenge for my organisation 15 11 15

One of the top few strategic challenges for my organisation 64 56 57

Just below the top few strategic challenges for my organisation 17 20 16

Not an important strategic challenge for my organisation 3 8 4

Unable to rate 2 5 8

Q. Which of the following best describes how strategically important leadership development is for your organisation’s future?

Leaders themselves see the strategic importance of this issue (79%) to a greater extent than Non-Managerial Employees (72%) and Middle Managers/Supervisors (67%). The prominence of the issue in the minds of Leaders highlights the importance of succession planning and the need to consistently work to develop the capabilities of emerging leaders.

Where is the leadership in our organisations? And a more important question – where is the leadership development in our organisations?

Asked for the first time in this wave of the L.E.A.D. Survey, we can now confirm that leadership development is either the most important or one of the top few strategic challenges facing our organisations. However the processes used by organisations to develop their leaders appear to be lacking and may fail to adequately prepare future leaders.


Satisfaction with current leadership development processes

However, in looking to fulfil the pressing need for leadership development, it is deeply disappointing that between 21% and 41% at each level are dissatisfied with current leadership development processes used in their organisations – a sad situation given this is where leaders of the future learn necessary skills and build their capabilities in leadership:



Senior Managers)

%

Managers (Middle

Managers and

Supervisors)%

Employees (Non-


%Very satisfied 11 7 11

Quite satisfied 55 49 61

Quite dissatisfied 23 34 17

Very dissatisfied 8 7 4

Unable to rate 4 4 7

Q. How satisfied are you with the leadership development processes currently used in your organisation?

It is amongst Middle-Manager/Supervisor ranks that dissatisfaction is at its greatest suggesting that development processes lack the relevance or potency needed by this next level of leaders. This result suggests they are feeling the weight of expectation but are not receiving the support to deal with that expectation.

How well does your organisation develop leaders at each of the following levels?

Reflecting the levels of dissatisfaction, there is clearly a great deal of room for improvement in the development process with just 49% to 68% at all levels believing their organisations develop leaders at all levels very well or quite well – or conversely, as many as half believing the organisation does poorly on this front:

How well do organisations develop leaders?

(% very well or quite well)


Senior Managers)

%

Managers (Middle

Managers and

Supervisors)%

Employees (Non-


%New/first time leaders 61 52 61

Next generation/emerging leaders 61 54 63

Senior/experienced leaders 59 49 68

Q. In your view, how well does your organisation develop leaders at each of the following levels?


Managers in particular identify that the development process requires urgent attention in order to deliver the desired outcome.

The challenge to organisation leaders then is to identify the leadership development needs and deliver this development in a meaningful and timely fashion to protect the organisation’s future from a leadership perspective.

Leadership competencies

The recipe for developing and delivering effective leadership is reasonably simple to follow with the appropriate level of training and development. People working at all levels of organisations have a succinct and focused set of expectations that leaders can fulfil – if they put their minds to it. The main areas of focus in terms of leadership competencies expected are communication, developing and coaching others and problem solving and decision-making:

Leadership competenciesEmployees

2016(Rank)

Managers2016

(Rank)

Leaders2016

(Rank)

Communication skills 1 1 1

Developing and coaching others 2 2 2

Problem solving and decision-making 3 3 5

Planning and organising 4 5 8

Building relationships (external and internal) 5 7 4

Teamwork 6 6 9

Strategic thinking 7 4 3

Q. Looking at this list of leadership competencies, please nominate which you believe are the five most critical competencies that leaders and senior managers need to do their job well today.

The similarity in rankings highlights that generally speaking, everyone knows what competencies make a leader effective in their role – it’s just developing and delivering those competencies consistently that many organisations struggle to do.

Leadership behaviours

Echoing the leadership competencies, many of the leadership behaviours seen from leaders – and which leaders themselves believe they exhibit – are related to core leadership competencies. There is a strong focus on communication, problem solving and decisiveness and on developing and supporting their team.

However, there are some major disconnects between what Leaders believe they exhibit most and Managers and Employees see most from their Leaders. For example, whereas Leaders believe they are most likely to exhibit motivation and bringing out the best in others, this behaviour is ranked well down in the eyes of Managers and Employees who see a strong results orientation as the most prominent behaviour shown.


Likewise, Managers and Employees see composure and confidence from their Leaders at a far greater level than the Leaders themselves do:

Leadership behavioursLeaders

Exhibited(Rank)

ManagersSeen (Rank)

Employees Seen

(Rank)Motivating and bringing out the best in others 1 18 16

Developing others 2 17 7

Being supportive 3 4 3

Operating with a strong results orientation =4 1 1

Solving problems effectively =4 6 4

Remaining composed and confident in uncertainty 6 2 2

Facilitating group collaboration 7 14 17

Developing and sharing a collective mission 8 11 6

Championing desired change =9 9 11

Role modelling organisational values =9 13 14

Keeping groups organised and on task 11 5 5

Communicating prolifically and enthusiastically =12 7 13

Seeking different perspectives =12 8 12

Fostering mutual respect 14 20 19

Making quality decisions 15 12 9

Clarifying objectives, rewards and consequences 16 16 10

Recovering positively from failures 17 10 15

Offering a critical perspective =18 3 8

Giving praise =18 19 18

Differentiating among followers 20 15 20

Q. Leaders – Looking at the list of leadership behaviours below, please identify the FIVE behaviours you exhibit most as a leader/senior manager of your organisation

Managers – Looking at the list of leadership behaviours below, please identify the FIVE behaviours you see most from the leaders/senior managers in your organisation

Employees – Looking at the list of leadership behaviours below, please identify the FIVE behaviours you see most from the leaders/senior managers in of your organisation



WHAt doeS tHiS MeAn for exiSting LeAderS And LeAderSHip deveLopMent generALLy?

The great news is that we know what is expected from our leaders. We also know that developing leaders is fundamental to creating sustainable organisations. And we know what competencies and behaviours demonstrate effectiveness in the role.

So existing leaders need to work hard to fulfil the expectations people have about your leadership and ensure it impacts on them positively. Thinking about and acting in accordance with the competencies expected of you will help develop quality leadership and quality leaders for the future. Given the critical importance of leadership development, you owe it to the next generation of leaders to do it well, be the example they should follow and help them to learn how to do it better in future – not just do what it takes to retain the formal leader role or title.


2. CopIng wITh Change

One of the main pressures on the leadership development process is change. Our organisations are changing like never before and at all levels we’re being forced to accept that change is not just good for us, it’s essential – for sustainability, functionality, efficiency and profitability. Coping with change has therefore evolved to become a core skill for leaders, managers and employees at all levels.

So how well are you coping with change in a fast-paced, ever-changing organisational world?

Since the L.E.A.D. Survey began, we’ve been asking how well people at all levels cope with change:

• Employees believe they personally cope with change better than their leaders and managers believe their employees do – 93% very or quite well compared to 79% of leaders and 76% of managers. Even so, the proportion of employees believing they cope Very Well with change is steady at a little over a quarter (28%), down from 35% a decade ago.

• On the other hand, leaders and managers believe they personally cope with change better than their employees believe their leaders and managers do – 91% of leaders and 89% of managers compared to 81% of employees. Again, the extent to which leaders and managers feel they cope Very Well has settled at around a third for leaders (37%) and a quarter for managers (24%) – both down around 10 points over the past decade.

It would seem that at all levels we’re comfortable with change and do not fear it. Over the long-term our ability to adapt has held us in good stead and enabled organisations and their employees to address significant global, national and local challenges.

However, our confidence in coping with change appears to have waned somewhat, presenting leaders and managers with an opportunity to help their people become more resilient.

employees coping with change

Employees coping with change (Employee view)

2000%

2005/06%

2009/10%

2013%

2014%

2016%

Very well 36 35 29 29 27 28

Quite well 58 57 66 65 67 65

Not very well 3 6 4 4 4 5

Not at all well 1 - - - - -

Not sure 2 2 1 2 2 2



Employees coping with change (Manager view)

2000%

2005/06%

2009/10%

2013%

2014%

2016%

Very well 7 10 9 9 7 8

Quite well 68 70 70 66 69 69

Not very well 21 19 18 22 20 20

Not at all well 1 1 2 3 2 2

Not sure 1 1 1 1 1 -

Employees coping with change (Leader view)

2000%

2005/06%

2009/10%

2013%

2014%

2016%

Very well 20 14 13 12 13 17

Quite well 70 65 76 67 69 62

Not very well 8 18 10 18 16 18

Not at all well 1 1 - 3 1 1

Not sure 1 1 1 - 1 1

Q. Change affects people at different levels in organisations in different ways. When it comes to dealing with the magnitude and pace of change affecting your organisation, how well would you say you personally (your staff) are coping with change?

WHAt do LeAderS And MAnAgerS need to be doing?

• Provide appropriate support to enable change to be undertaken – very often change is implemented and then we move onto other more pressing matters, forgetting that ongoing support for change and feedback is vital to ensure the change continues to work as planned.

• Continue to skill the workforce to embrace and deal with change – equip them with tools and techniques to successfully plan, lead and embed change. Celebrate successful change and learn from less successful change initiatives.

• Involve people early and deeply in change - as drivers of change rather than victims of change – the earlier and more deeply we involve our people in change, the greater their commitment to planning and implementing the change to deliver success. They begin to own the change and support it rather than being victims or spectators of the change process.

• Communicate widely, regularly and consistently about change that is taking place – communication underpins our leadership competencies and therefore our ability to successfully lead change. Communication provides the opportunity to seek input, gain commitment and buy-in and work collaboratively to make the change a reality.


Leaders and managers coping with change

Q. How well would you say you (your leaders and senior managers) are coping with change?

Leaders and managers coping with change (Leader view)

2000%

2005/06%

2009/10%

2013%

2014%

2016%

Very well 47 25 39 34 41 37

Quite well 49 54 57 59 52 54


Not at all well 1 4 - - - -

Not sure - 2 - - 1 -

Leaders and managers coping with change (Manager view)

2000%

2005/06%

2009/10%

2013%

2014%

2016%

Very well 31 32 30 26 27 24

Quite well 62 62 65 69 68 65


Not at all well - - - - - 1

Not sure - - - - 1 -

Leaders and managers coping with change (Employee view)

2005/06%

2009/10%

2013%

2014%

2016%

Very well 23 21 17 15 18

Quite well 56 61 62 63 63

Not very well 14 13 15 16 14

Not at all well 2 3 2 2 2

Not sure 4 2 4 3 3



Robert McCloskey once famously said “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant”. Or in other words, communication is fraught with enormous potential for misunderstanding, misinformation and misinterpretation such that we can never be quite sure what people have really heard.

One thing is for certain though – if you’re NOT communicating at all or are doing so intermittently or poorly, there will be large gaps between what you think you’re saying and what others think they are hearing (or not hearing as the case may be).

Nearly half the leaders (47%) believe they’re communicating to a great extent about the future of the organisation yet just 29% of employees and 16% of managers believe this is the case.

Communication about your personal future

Employees about leader/manager communication

Managers about leaders communication

Leaders about their communication to staff

Great extent 24 15 39

Moderate extent 46 43 51

Small extent 21 29 6

Not at all 9 13 4

great/moderate extent 70 58 90

small extent/not at all 30 42 10

Employees - To what extent have your business leaders and senior managers reassured you about your future with your organisation?

Managers - To what extent have your business leaders and senior managers communicated with you about your future with the organisation?

Leaders - To what extent have you communicated with your staff about their future with the organisation?

Leaders and managers need to recognise that reassurance about the organisation’s future and the future of individuals is paramount to securing a stable, productive and harmonious workforce.

Periodically ‘settling the horses’ by providing information, vision, direction and purpose to the people who make the organisation perform will help enable them to deliver results as a team. When this focus also highlights the future for each individual, their meaning and purpose become clearer and their performance improves as a result.

3. CommunICaTIon – The Two-way sTreeT To dealIng wITh Change and unCerTaInTy



4. dIversITy – leveragIng The gold ThaT lIes wIThIn

A lot of airtime has been devoted to the topic of diversity lately – particularly cultural or ethnic diversity.

On the world stage, the US Presidential election front-runners continue to exchange vitriolic and hurtful diatribes about building walls (physical and emotional) to protect ‘our values’ from those who would threaten ‘our way of life’. In response, leading global recording artists have recently joined forces to send a clear message through song about the need to work together more effectively as a diverse world community.

In Australia (and to some extent in New Zealand), diversity in workplaces, communities, family structures and personal relationships has been at the forefront of societal debate of late through, for example:

• The emotionally-charged discussion around legalising same-sex marriage in Australia

• The prospect of a referendum to formally recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution

• The introduction of Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the subsequent snail’s pace in enabling eligible claimants access to service under the scheme

• Discussions around balancing gender ratios in high-profile organisations and the perceived potential negative impact (e.g. Victoria’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade)

It seems every time you turn on the TV or radio someone is questioning the merits and value of diversity and amplifying the negative impact they believe it is having on our way of life – like it’s a Yes/No decision as to whether diversity ‘should be permitted’ – or worse still ‘tolerated’.

Are we too diverse or not diverse enough? Are we too accepting of different world-views or becoming increasingly intolerant or even xenophobic? Are we suffering because we’re too pluralistic or failing to truly capitalise on the many benefits of the diversity that surrounds us?

Diversity is used as shorthand or code for multiculturalism or ethnic diversity – when clearly it is so much more than the shade of one’s skin or shape of one’s eyes. By limiting the discussion in this way, organisations are seriously missing golden opportunities to tap into and leverage the richness, the colour and movement of their workforce.


Latest Leadership Employment and Direction (L.E.A.D.) Survey results highlight that diversity is very much part of our organisational cultures and, by definition, is a part of our lives that will increasingly need to feature in the thoughts and plans of modern leaders and managers.

However, there is plenty of scope to harness, leverage and benefit from diversity to an even greater extent than is currently evident – it just takes courage and commitment from all of us.

Capitalising on workforce diversity

Looking at the extent to which organisations are currently capitalising on the diversity in their workforce, we note that all segments (employees, managers, leaders) believe their organisations are capitalising on the diversity of skills and experience of their workforce to a far greater degree than other diversity categories (age, gender, ethnic/cultural):

%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Emp

loy

ees

Ma

na

ger

s

Lea

der

s

Emp

loy

ees

Ma

na

ger

s

Lea

der

s

Emp

loy

ees

Ma

na

ger

s

Lea

der

s

Age Gender Ethnic/cultural

6% 4% 6% 7% 9% 12% 8% 6% 9%

8% 14% 12% 10%16% 12%

10% 17% 12%

18%

25%18% 20%

20% 18%21%

24%21%

46%

44%

47% 41%

43%41%

40%

39%

37%

22%13% 17%

22%15%

17% 21%15%

20%

Unable to rate Not at all Small extent Moderate extent Great extent

Q. To what extent do you believe your organisation is capitalising on the following aspects of diversity in your workforce?



Overall, 80% of employees, 76% of managers and 83% of leaders believe their organisations capitalise on diversity in skills and experience to a great or moderate extent. Contrast this with just 61% of employees, 53% of managers and 57% of leaders who believe their organisations capitalise on cultural or ethnic diversity in their workforces. Only marginally better ratings are reported for organisations capitalising on age and gender diversity in the workforce:

Age Gender Ethic/cultural Skills/experience

EMP%

MGR%

LDR%

EMP%

MGR%

LDR%

EMP%

MGR%

LDR%

EMP%

MGR%

LDR%

Great extent/moderate extent

68 57 64 63 58 58 61 53 57 80 76 83

Small extent/ Not at all26 39 30 30 36 30 31 41 33 18 23 13

EMP – Non-managerial/supervisory, MGR – Middle managers/supervisors, LDR – Executives/senior managers)

So what doeS thiS mean for today’S leaderS and managerS?

Clearly, there is a great deal of room for improvement for organisations to make better use of the rich tapestry that exists on these and other dimensions of diversity – such as religious, sexual, ability/disability, work history, working conditions and so on. so, here are some important questions to ask yourself:

• What am I doing to identify, understand, harness and leverage the diversity of my workforce?

• When was the last time I focused some energy on better understanding what lies within each of my team members?

• And perhaps most importantly, how can I embrace, celebrate and amplify the positive impacts and benefits that a diverse workforce brings to my organisation?

We’re sure you’d agree – this is a far more productive use of the airwaves than to simply shut down the diversity conversation because it’s all too hard or threatens our ‘local village’. Bottom line – this is the new way of life for the village – you’d better get used to it!


summary

The latest findings from LMA’s L.E.A.D. Survey remind modern leaders and managers that:

• one of the core commitmentS a leader makeS to their organiSation iS to develop the leaderS of the future – to in effect stabilise and strengthen the organisation to enable it to deal with the challenges it faces.

• leaderShip development proceSSeS muSt work to identify, develop, enhance and capitaliSe on the leaderShip talent and potential of an organiSation’S human reSource – processes that either don’t exist or don’t work will ultimately bring the organisation to its knees when the leadership needed for the future cannot be found and harnessed.

• the leaderShip equation iS not an overly complicated one – there is a clear set of expectations around competencies and desired behaviours that allow the leader to be effective. It’s just a matter of focusing effort and investment to deliver on these expectations.

• change that iS well-planned, well-implemented and well-led will deliver on itS potential and will be embraced and Supported acroSS the organiSation – far from being a barrier to leadership development, we see change increasingly being the catalyst or opportunity that affords emerging leaders the chance to demonstrate their potential.

• reaSSurance about the organiSation’S future and the future for the individual iS fundamental to StabiliSing and SuStaining the workforce overall – understanding and tapping into the diversity that lies within is central to this reassurance. When the talent and development potential of the workforce is understood, the sky is the limit for tapping into leadership potential and developing tomorrow’s leaders.


LMA’s L.E.A.D. survey is a year-round survey of people working at all levels within organisations in Australia and New Zealand. It focuses on the issues, needs and expectations of employees, frontline managers, supervisors and business leaders and senior managers.

The survey has been conducted since 2000, originally as an annual survey, and provides a sound basis for identifying different perspectives from several key organisational audiences. It is now being conducted year round and entirely online to maximise the opportunity for people to be involved. Adopting a consistent approach over the last decade, supplemented by strategic evolutions and changes, the survey delivers a comprehensive data source and trend information that few other surveys can match.

In addition to providing the most up-to-date picture of life in today’s organisations via responses from the three key audiences (Non-Managerial Employees, Frontline Managers / Supervisors, Business Leaders / Senior Managers) it identifies commonalities, differences and major gaps as well as areas for stronger connection and collaboration.

Further, it provides the ability to predict where organisations may need to change, evolve or simply consolidate to provide the environment that employees want to be part of into the future.

The audience for the research is drawn from organisations of all types (public, private, quasi-government, franchises, not for profit), sizes (micro, small, medium, large), locations (metropolitan and regional) and industries (20+ sectors).

The diversity and mix of those involved is one of the features of the survey and their response provides the foundation for trend analysis, gap analysis and robust assessments of the current state of play in Australia and New Zealand.

In the latest L.E.A.D. Survey, reported in this summary, the total number of participants involved was 2,712:

Sample sizes of this scale provide robust data and present a very accurate picture of the current state of play in organisations overall and within key sub-groupings. The margin of sampling error at a total sample level is less than 4%.

ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP, EMPLOYMENT AND DIRECTION (L.E.A.D.) SURVEY

130Business

Leaders / Senior Managers

294Middle

Managers / Supervisors

2,288Non-managerial

Employees



The profile of the audience in the latest survey is as follows:

organisation type

The profile of the respondents by level in the latest survey is as follows:

Location

The survey design and implementation is overseen by an experienced, independent research practitioner and the systems and process used to conduct the survey ensure valid, reliable and representative samples.

The audience is designed to replicate the structure and nature of organisations at an overall level to create an appropriate representation of the population of people working in organisations across Australia and New Zealand.

gender

Leaders

Managers

non-managerial employees

68%Metropolitan

Australia

22%Regional Australia

10%New

Zealand

69% 31%

71% 29%

65% 35%

Age

Leaders

Managers

non-managerial employees

5%Under 35 years old

22%35 - 44

years old

41%45 - 54

years old

32%55+ years

old


31%35 - 44

years old

35%45 - 54

years old

15%55+ years

old


30%35 - 44

years old

24%45 - 54

years old

10%55+ years

old

16%

20%

54%

4%4% 2%

Government/quasi Public Company Private Company

Franchise Not for Profit Other


WE CAN’T SOLVE PROBLEMS

by using the same kind of

THINKINGWE USED WHEN WE

CREATED THEMAlbert Einstein


Summary of key findings from the Leadership Management Australasia’s (LMA)Leadership, Employment and Direction (L.E.A.D.) Survey

November 2016

For further information, please callaustralia 03 9822 1301

new Zealand 0800 333 270

[email protected]

www.lma.biz

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