The complexity of today’s leadership is not be underestimated. Ask any leader (also including managers within this term) on a development programme what their role is and they will give you a convoluted and incoherent picture. Ask an organisation the same question, and you will get a broader, but still rambling imprecise answer. The fact is that most organisations have NO real understanding nor agreement on what they want from their leaders. They (HR and the senior team) have not identified, and therefore not brought clarity to the organisational role and purpose of their leaders.
Working with a leadership team recently, none were aware of the expectation from their organisation that it was their responsibility to develop their team! As such there is absolute confusion and re-interpretation of the role leaders across organisations. This results in leaders being both ‘all things to all men’ and ‘jack of all trades and masters of none’.
Changing nature of organisations
As organisations (and society) has gone from historically simple in nature to contemporarily complex, so this complexity is transferred onto the nature of leadership. The systemic components and landscape of leadership have increased significantly. Whilst the organisation has written and unwritten expectations of their leaders, they have not fully consolidated and articulated these into a living reality for their leaders. Something tangible for leaders to embrace, follow and lead with. Few organisations have actually considered the roles and purpose they place on the shoulders of their leaders. As such, everything is increasingly placed on these shoulders! By identifying these roles, we can more fully appreciate the challenges faced by today’s leaders. This non inclusive list of roles includes:
- Deliverer of own business objectives and task performance
- Performance manager of own team(s)
- Team leader of a multi-generational diverse workforce
- Team player
- Developer of own team
- Coach and/or mentor to team
- Change / transition manager
- Trainer
- Technical expert (depending on subject area)
- Strategist (at team and or organisational level)
- Developer of team engagement
- Understand and apply legislation around people, working, diversity, discrimination
- Organisational and values role model
- Culture shaper
- Advocate and counsel for and of employees
- Project manager
- Finance manager
- Sector knowledge experts and horizon scanner
- Embracer of technological innovation
- Nurturer of graduates and apprentices
Is it any wonder leaders are doing less leading?
In reviewing these roles is it any wonder that perhaps fewer people may want to take on a leadership mantle, or that leaders often neglect key parts of their people role, or that they often resort to their own technical areas, rather than lead. Is it any surprise that many leaders still are directive in nature, to simply bring some control and structure to everything they have to do. I would love leaders to be coaching leaders, but many simply see this as ‘another’ thing to do or be. Whilst many people sign up to be ‘people leaders’ they weren’t aware they were signing up to everything else as well! Organisations are blindly stacking role after role, responsibility after responsibility without due diligence towards the impact of this. Then when individuals buckle, without doubt it is individuals, not the system, that will blamed.
The need for a sea change
There needs to be a sea change in the organisational view and understanding what they want their leaders to be and do. Are they people leaders? Technical leaders? Strategy implementors? Leaders of performance? Pseudo HR practitioners? Project leads? An honest conversation of what is realistic and fair for all parties should be had. Presently, it would be fair to say the majority of organisations are failing their leaders. Without presenting a clear framework around their organisational role, they place leaders and employees at risk. To stop leaders becoming more and more rudderless, organisations need to come up with a clear organisational leadership manifesto to unpick today’s complex leadership. Simply… ‘This is what we want out leaders to do and be…‘
With leaders balancing these multiple roles and responsibilities, it results in employees, the organisation and leaders themselves being adversely impacted. So, it is all very counter-productive. Simply having leadership competencies and development is only part of the picture, there is a more fundamental understanding, conversation and organisational leadership model required. So, organisational thinking redesign is required, not a patch fixes.
Leaders step up!
Leaders themselves, need to push for clarity from their organisations as individuals. And also collectively challenge and push back. Currently, by absorbing and accepting these assumed roles they are enabling the organisational system to work, to their own detriment. When actually perhaps the system needs to fall over, to rebuild itself in a more healthy way.
In reading around this area, there are no end of articles that take elements of leader’s roles in isolation (motivator, delegator, inspirer, communicator etc, etc). But none which consider the organisational leadership role holistically. The only writing that comes close is around Complexity Leadership, however, this is a model rather than an organisational systemic approach. Perhaps there needs to be more research and writing on this issue, as it is one that is going to become more prevalent and pressing.
Nick Howell is a Leadership Coach, Author (Great Coaching Questions) and Facilitator. For a conversation around this or other leadership and coaching matters, please do contact him – nick@abintus.co.uk