Every organization seeks to protect its stability by installing structures, rules, and procedures. But, as we all know, agility is an essential characteristic in today’s fast-changing world. This begs the question whether these two things – structure and agility – are compatible? When recently we were able to watch a horse and carriage parade in a resort town on Belgium’s North Sea coast, the answer became evident. As the carriages in the parade passed us with great elegance, we fortunately had an expert on hand to fill us in on all the important details. We were particularly intrigued by the fact the carriages were being pulled by two horses, and that they were behind and not alongside each other, as generally would be the case. Our expert explained that this was known as a tandem hitch, with stronger horse closest to the carriage, which is firmly attached to the carriage shafts, known as the wheeler. He then proceeded to explain that this was the horse doing most of the hard work to pull the carriage. The second horse, he said was called the lead horse, which was only loosely coupled with leather straps, and therefore running relatively freely ahead of the wheeler. In days gone by, the idea was to have the lead horse should do little work as possible whilst on the way to the hunt, the lead horse would be on arrival be uncoupled and saddled for use by the owner during the hunt. The poor old wheeler, who had done all the hard work getting to the hunt, was left behind, still firmly strapped to the carriage. Applying this principle to organizations in the business world, the wheeler represents the fixed company structure, which is a requirement for predictable work based on acquired knowledge and routines, whereas the free roaming, unrestricted lead horse represents the enthusiasm, freshness and flexibility, which is essential if a company is to continuously explore the new horizons of the ‘hunting ground’.
Research findings
Legend
No correlation
☺ Positive correlation
☺☺ Most determining positive correlation
Negative correlation
Most determining negative correlation.
Findings
THE LEADER’S DEEP-SEATED VISION AND HOW THE CO-WORKERS EXPERIENCE IT:
Job
satisfaction Conscientiousness Job
fit Leader/co-worker
rapport in-role
performance Management by exception
✪ ☺☺ ✪ ☺ ☺
THE LEADER’S DEEP-SEATED VISION & HOW HE EXPERIENCES IT:
Job
satisfaction Conscientiousness Job
fit Leader/co-worker
rapport in-role
performance Management by exception
✪ ☺ ✪ ☺ ☺
MCC Leadership Programme Reader I Volume 1.
Surprising:
Don’t be afraid to startle: employees appreciate it, and their trust in you as leader increases.
A startle to blossom attitude is associated with strong in-role performance (dixit both leader and co-worker).
Remember!
The more a leader inspires co-workers to reflect, the less likely he is to indulge in management by exception (dixit leader and co-worker).
Startle to blossom is the opposite of management by exception!
Startle to blossom contributes more than any other Beyonder characteristics to conscientiousness (dixit co-worker).
Be aware!
Leaders who aspire to agreeableness are less tempted to startle to blossom. ‘Nice guys’ are less likely to jump-start employees into creative thinking!
I Volume 1.
Endnotes
1 Barack Obama (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama.
2 Martin Luther King (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/Martin_Luther_King_ Jr.
3 Hu Jintao (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu_Jintao.
4 Aung San Suu Kyi (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi.
5 The top 50 women in world business (2010). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://womenatthetop.ft.com/ articles/women-top/396bb974-f182-11df-8609-00144feab49a ; http://womenatthetop.ft.com/articles/women- top/2166c5d8-00cf-11e0-aa29-00144feab49a ; http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/fortune/1009/gallery.most_ powerful_women.fortune/5.html. You should definitely remember the names of: Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo), Carly Fio- rina (Lucent, Hewlett-Packard), Susan Ivey (Reynold’s), Irene Rosenfeld (Kraft Foods), Brenda Barnes (Sara Lee), Marissa Mayer (Google), Oprah Winfrey (Harpo), An Verhulst (L’Oreal) en Marlies Dekkers (Marlies Dekkers Group).
6 Steve Jobs (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs ; Bill Gates (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates ; Richard Branson (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Branson ; Anita Roddick (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Roddick.
7 Tony Hayward (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hayward.
8 Taleb, N.N. (2007). The Black Swan: The Impact of the highly improbable. New York: Random House.
9 Herman Van Rompuy (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Van_ Rompuy.
10 Angela Merkel (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel ; Nicolas Sarkozy (n.d.).
Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Sarkozy ; Silvio Ber- lusconi (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi.
11 Furnham, A. (2010). The Elephant in the boardroom. The causes of leadership derailment. New York: Palgrave Mac- millan.
12 Hogan, J., Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. (2009). Management derailment. Personality assessment and mitigation. In: Zedeck, S. (ed.), American Psychological Association Handbook of Industrial and Organisational Psychology. Washington DC: APA.
13 Kay, J. (2004). Obliquity. London: Profile Books Ltd.
14 Nokia falls into the arms of Microsoft (2011). Retrieved June 17, 2011 from http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/
02/mobile_handset-makers.
15 Torrance, E.P. (2002). The Manifesto. A Guide to Developing A Creative Career. Westport: Ablex Publishing. See also:
http://books.google.be/books?id=PDD5IZp-dbAC&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=Ellis+Paul+Torrance+(The+manife sto,+2002):+%E2%80%9CThe+word+%E2%80%9CBeyonder%E2%80%9D+is+not+in+th&source=bl&ots=uxbEevIayw
&sig=QiVmukRxxF5Ds6B-jsLdcW575us&hl=nl&ei=0vK_TZSuC4nbsgaO2rnCBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=resul t&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false.
16 Kouzes, J.M., & Pasner, B.Z. (2010). The truth about leadership. The no-fads, heart-of-the-matter facts you need to know. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Although to some extent we are able to follow the reasoning of Kouzes and Pasner, we would argue that the leaders who avoid disasters may be less ‘eye-catching’, but are nevertheless the better leaders.
17 Dewitt Jones makes this comment in his highly enjoyable DVD ‘Celebrate what’s right with the world’. Star Thrower Distribution.
www.starthrower.com.
18 Idem.
19 Buelens, M., Knockaert, M., & Van den Broeck, H. (2010). Bedrijfskunde. Leuven: LannooCampus.
MCC Leadership Programme Reader I Volume 1.
/resourcesandcpd/research/summaries/rsfosteringcreativity.asp.
21 Goldman Sachs (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2011, from http://www.company-statements-slogans.info/list-of-companies-g/goldman-sachs-group.htm.
22 Marcel Proust (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2011, from http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Proust.
23 Friedman, T.L. (2005). The World Is Flat. New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux.
24 Herb Kelleher (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ewcGP75w8Y.
25 Al Dunlap used to say: ‘Trust no one, and if you want take a dog, and to be sure take two of them’.
26 Stanley, R., & Burrows, G. (2001). Varieties and functions of human emotion. In R. L. Payne & C. L. Cooper. (2004). Emotions at work: theory, research and applications for management (pages 3-19). Chichester (UK): John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
27 Ekman, P. (2003). Gegrepen door emoties: wat gezichten zeggen. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Nieuwezijds.
28 Kruml, S. M., & Geddes, D. (2000). Exploring the dimensions of emotional labor. Management Communica- tion Quarterly, 14 (1), 8-49.
29 Stanley, R., & Burrows, G. (2001). Op. cit.
30 Smith, N., Cacioppo, J., Larsen, J., & Chartrand, T, (2003). May I have your attention, please: electrocortical responses to positive and negative stimuli. Neuropsychologia, 41,171–183. Retrieved February 16, 2011, from
http://webpages.acs.ttu.edu/jelarsen/PDFs/SmithCacioppoLarsenChartrand2003.pdf; http://www.psychologytoday.
com/articles/200306/our-brains-negative-bias; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cacioppo.
31 The almond core is also characterized by different zones (a dozen or so in number) that each fulfill a different role. As far as fear conditioning is concerned, it is the lateral core of the amygdala that receives the signals form the thalamus and transmits these on to the central core. The central core of the amygdala is also linked to brainstem, which controls, amongst other things, heart rate.
LeDoux (1998) pages 158-159.
32 Ultimatum game (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimatum_game.
33 Goleman, D. (2006). Social Intelligence: the new science of human relationships. New York: Bantam.
34 Barsade, S.G. (2002). The ripple effect, emotional contagion and its effect on group behaviour. In Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(4), 644-675.
35 Wager, N., Fieldman, G., & Hussey, T. (2003). The effect on ambulatory blood pressure of working under favourably and unfavourably perceived supervisors. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60(7), 468-74.
36 Pagels, H.R. (1988). The dreams of reason. New York: Bantam. In: Zander, R. & Zander, B. (2000). The Art of Possibility. New York: Penguin Books.
37 Optimist versus Pessimist: see things in a different light (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piie7qDUPxg&feature=related.
38 Mobile commerce: The decade Ahead (n.d.) Retrieved June 14, 2011 from http://www.livestream.-com/newintelligence/video?cli-pld+pla_97f899c2-6dee-4fd4-9a43-268d405f0c27&utm_medium+ui-thumb. Barsh, J. Capozzi and Davidson also described how 70% of senior executives inIT identifyinnovation as one of the three strategic pillars for their organization. Barsh, J. Capozzi, M.M., & Davidson, J. (2008). Leadership and innovation. The McKinsey Quarterly, 1, 37-47.
39 Maslow (n.d.). Retrieved June 13, 2011, from http://www.altfeldinc.com/pdfs/maslow.pdf. James Altfeld made a synthesis of the book Maslow On Management, written by Abraham H. Maslow, with a foreword by Warren Bennis and published in 1998 by John Wiley & Sons Inc. Also see Raelin, J. A. (2003). Creating leaderful organizations: how to bring out leadership in everyone.
San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
40 Business as usual (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_as_usual_ (policy).
I Volume 1.
The Creative Problem Solving Group surveyed 140 people from 103 different companies in a dozen or so countries. Zhang and Bartol came to the same conclusion in their study of the importance of leaders in an IT environment: Zhang, X., & Bartol, K.M.
(2010). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: the influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 53, 1, 107-128.
42 Neethling, K., & Rutherford, R. (2004). Am I clever or am I stupid. Halfway House: South Africa, Solutionsfinding 43 Winsemius, P. (2004). Je gaat het pas sien as je het doorhebt: Over Cruijff en Leideskap. Sint-Niklaas: Uitgeverij Balans.
(Abook about vision of J. Cruijff on leadership).
44 Perkins, D. (1981). The Mind’s Best Work. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Referred to in: McAleer, N. (1991). The Roots of Inspiration. In: Henry, J. (eds.), (1991). Creative Management. London: Sage.
45 Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2010). Switch. How to Change Things when Change is Hard? London: Random House.
46 Heath & Heath also point this out in their book Switch.
47 Randy Pausch’s last lecture (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVIvHKTNsqg. Also mentioned in Kouzes, J. M. & Pasner, B. Z. (2010). The Truth about leadership. The no-fads, Heart-of-the-matter facts you need to know. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
48 DHL (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aioN3k8N0nE.
49 Drucker, P. (1980). Managing in Turbulent Times. New York: Harper & Row. And also: Barker, J. A. (1992). Paradigms. The Business of Discovering the Future. New York: Harper Business.
50 Berns, G. (2008). Iconoclast: a neuroscientist reveals how to think differently. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
51 Also see Lavoie, Jim: BIF-2 Collaborative Innovation Summit (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2011, from http://www.
businessinnovationfactory.com/iss/video/bif2-jim-lavoie.
52 Janusian thinking: the Roman god Janus had two faces, each looking in a different direction.
53 Maxwell, J.C. (2000). Failing Forward. Nashville: Nelson Publishers.
54 Chris Church is chief executive for the Americas and global head of securities (2011) at Swift. Chris Church referred to this concept during an interview with him on 1 March 2011.
55 Perkins, D. (1981). The Mind’s Best Work. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Referred to in: McAleer, N. (1991). The Roots of Inspiration. In: Henry, J. (eds.), (1991). Creative Management. London: Sage
56 Mental model (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_model;
http://www. tcd.ie/Psychology/other/Ruth_Byrne/mental_models/.
57 Berns, G. (2008). Iconoclast: a neuroscientist reveals how to think differently. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
MCC Leadership Programme Reader I Volume 1.
Introduction
B
oards of directors in private sectors cope with a bad image. Nearly 50 years ago, a Harvard Business School professor observed that too many boards of directors were passive and rather decorative. They were called mere“ornaments on a corporate Christmas tree”
(Bryne, 2002). Also Drucker (1974) described boards as follows: “. . . the board of directors is an impotent ceremonial and legal fiction . . .”.
Lorsch and MacIver (1989), in studying Amer-ican boards, concluded that too many acted more like pawns of their CEO rather than the potentates the law intended them to be. The growing interest in the underperformance of boards is by no means restricted to the US.
Much attention has been given to the “crony capitalism” found in many parts of East Asia, the “gangster capitalism” found particularly in Russia and the “political cronyism” found in Japan and many other countries (Garratt, 1999).
Perhaps not surprisingly, passive boards often came under attack first by corporate raiders during the 1980s. From then onwards, boards of directors were scrutinised by
insti-tutional investors and other market parties.
Major institutional investors have put pres-sure on incompetent directors and have been demanding enhanced disclosure of board practices. Some of these investors are very active and do not shrink from attacking boards in public. In this respect, one of the most cited examples is the full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal by Robert A. G. Monks, calling the directors of Sears, Roebuck &
Company “non-performing assets” (Monks and Minow, 2001). An indicator of the in-creased interest of other market parties in corporate boards is the rise of board rating tools and the scoring of boards as part of the broader corporate governance rating systems.
Recent scandals have again put the spotlight on the board of directors. In the wake of cor-porate failures, numerous suggestions have been made about how to improve the gover-nance of companies in order to rebuild trust.
These corporate governance reforms focus pri-marily on the make up and the working of the board. According to Adrian Cadbury (1999) this is understandable, given the fact that boards of directors are the bridge between the shareholders and the management in charge
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2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. Volume 12 Number 4 October 2004