Strengthening leadership capabilities

There is this interesting HBR article [How to make yourself Indispensible –John H. Zenger & Scott K. Edinger HBR October 2011] which talks about leadership competencies.


Key conclusions

• 16 key leadership competencies correlate strongly with positive business outcomes.

• Each have a dozen ‘competency companions’ whose development will strengthen the core skill

Actions required to improve leadership capabilities

• Self analysis on the 16 competencies  described above

• Attempt an informal 360 degree feedback

o What leadership skills do you think are strengths for me?

o Is there anything that I do that might be considered a fatal flaw –that could derail my career or lead me to fail in my current job if not addressed?

o What leadership ability, if outstanding, would have the most significant impact on the productivity or effectiveness of the organization?

o What leadership abilities of mine have the most significant impact on you?

• Based on analysis of above

• Identify a strength to focus on by asking the following questions regarding the 16 leadership competencies

o Do I look for ways to enhance this skill?

o Do I look for new ways to use it

o Am I energized, not exhausted when I use it?

o Do I pursue projects in which I can apply the strength?

o Can I imagine devoting time to improving it?

o Would I enjoy getting better at this skill?

• From table below pick the complementary competencies that will help you strengthen the key strengths.

• Find ways to improve on them

Business Model Generation

First of all, a big sorry for the slumber..Trying to get back into some of the GOOD habits of the past !!

I recently came across the book , Business Model Generation, ( Wiley, Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur). The book provides a different perspective of  'what' an organization can potentially change.

The 100 Billion USD valuation on a 3.7 Billion USD revenue  of Facebook is a clear demonstration of what business model innovation can achieve.

After defining a business model as the rationale of how an organization creates,delivers and captures value the book describes the components of a business model





The Business model canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas) provides a handy tool for describing an organization's business model

• Customer relationships
• Customer segments
• Value propositions
• Channels
• Revenue streams
• Cost structure
• Key resources
• Key partners
• Key activities

Using these components the book identifies various patterns of business model innovation. The models that the authors have identified include

• Unbundling business models
• The long tail
• Multisided platforms
• Free as a business model and
• Open business models

Some variants and examples of each of these are also described. The book also provides a set of tools that can be used to design a business model.These include customer insights,ideation,visual thinking, prototyping,Story telling and Scenarios.

Change agents looking for 'what to change' will find the concept of business model and how it generates value and how the interplay of factors affect an  enterprise valuable.. as they identify what to chaneg

The DuPont Analysis

I realise that a lot of my focus in recent times has been on personal skills. Here is a post on a related topic , what to change

Dupont analysis is used to illustrate how different factors impact important indicators of financial performance. As such, this can be used to compare companies in a specific industry.This can also be used to conduct 'what-if' analysis.

A change agent starting of analysis on what to change can enter basic information in the model (e.g. sales,liabilities,costs,equity etc) and then get a basic view of current profitability.

This can then be used to identify where possible improvements can be made and their effects.

Celebrating 1000 visitors

A personal milestone. onimprovementmatters has finally seen 1000 hits. Not sure how many unique readers that made up the 1000 hits. Took me two years (!) with many gaps in between .Interestingly most visitors come based on web searches .. and seem to come from all parts of the world. Most read area is benefit-dependency model.



Another set of 'characteristics' for change agents

There is this fairly old book, by Robert E. Kelly "Star performers" (1998, Orion). Here is a list of characteristics (which are very relevant in a change agent context too)

• Initiative : Blazing trails in the organization's white spaces
• Networking:Knowing who knows by plugging into the knowledge network
• Self management: Managing your whole life at work
• Perspective: Getting the big picture
• Followership : Checking your ego at the door to lead in assists
• Leadership : Doing small-L leadership in a big L world
• Team work:Getting real about teams
• Organizational savy :Using street smarts in the corporate power zone
• Show and tell :Persauding the right audience with the right message

I am hoping to dig deeper into each of them in subsequent posts..

Buy In .. Kotter strikes again

Had this wonderful idea.. which never got implemented ? Got shot down by colleagues and friends whom you thought were allies ? Sure you don't want the experience to repeat?

John P. Kotter, in his latest book 'Buy in'( HBR 2010) gives some practical advice on obtaining buy in. Like one of his previous books ,' The ice berg is melting' this is also written partially in the form a story. The focus is on meetings and how good proposals get derailed.The author(s) hopes the book would enable a proposer to get people to buy into a new idea

Based on the ways people tend to behave Kotter has identified 8 'typical' characters and their approach in meetings

• Pompus Meani [ Self importance above being good-wants to show power]
• Heidi agenda [Has an undisclosed personal agenda for opposing]
• Avoidus riski
• Spaci Cadetus
• Allis Wellis
• Lookus Smarti
• Divertus Attenti
• Bendi Wendi [Blows with the wind]

According to the author these people kill ideas using one of the following tactics

• Fear mongering (raise anxiety)
• Delay
• Confusion
• Ridicule (or character assassination)

Kotter has characterised these attacks into 24 types and also suggested a response. See attached table

The authors suggest the following

• Don't be afraid of distracters.Handled correctly,they can actually help you!
• Don't scheme to keep potential opponents,even the sneakiest attackers,out of the discussion.Let them in.Let them shoot at you.Even encourage them to shoot at you
• Always respon in ways that are simple,straight forward, and honest
• Don't try to overcome attacks with tons of data;logic and yet more logic;or lists of reasons why unfair,uninformed,or sneaky attacks are wrong,wrong,wrong.Instead do what might seem to be the oppoiste
• Show respect for everyone
• Do not try to crush attackers with ridicule,counterattacks or condescension,eben when it seems as though people deserve it,even when a part of you really want to do just that,and you have the skills to do so
• Watch the audience(not just the people shooting at you)
• Anticipate and prepare for attacks in advance

P.S. All content in this blog is from the book. Copyright acknowledged. This is only a summary of the book

On taking decisions

In the past I have provided links to how great leaders arrive at solutions to problems that apparently had no apparent solutions. Being able to make sense of and take the most appropriate decision is an key change agent skill.

In his book ;"Why Great Leaders don't take Yes for an answer", Michael A Roberto talks about how leaders can enhance the quality of their decision making processes. According to him, leaders ( and in our context;change agents) must cultivate constructive conflict so as to enhance the level of critical and divergent thinking,while simultaneously building consensus so as to facilitate the timely and efficient implementation of choices that they make.

The author distinguishes between cognitive conflict     ( Constructive debate that can enhance the decision to be made) and effective conflict(when personality clashes emerge).Similarly consensus in more about every one understanding the rationale of the decision than uniformly agreeing to it. The author then build the following picture on decision success..

For a decision to be a success, it seems what is needed is a process.. a process that effectively balances conflict and consensus. The key elements to be considered in establishing a process of taking a decision include

• Composition: Who should be involved
• Communication:What are the means of dialogue among the participants
• Context: In what types of environment does the decision take place
• Control : How will the leader control the process and the content of the decision?

Many approaches ( e.g. Edward Debono's Thinking hats) have been recommended and practiced to enable organizations find the right balance.

Winning with integrative thinking

As people responsible to bring in change, we are sometimes faced with problems that seem unsurmountable.I have rarely come across directions on what could be called 'good' problem solving.

Roger Martin in his book 'The Opposable Mind' consolidates research he has done on how some of the most outstanding men and women of our century think (and solve problems). That the research included K V Kamath and (our own) Ramalinga Raju probably makes the book more interesting.

This is what Martin says

Most of us think and decide in almost a sequential manner: To quote the author "We arrive at our choice by considering a set of features we deem salient;creating a mental model of the causal relationships among these features;arranging those causal relationships into an architecture intended to produce a specific outcome;thereby reaching a resolution of the problem at hand". This approach is many cases lead to 'sub optimal' results.

The author then goes on to provide examples like how A.G. Lafley reinvented innovation at P&G to introduce the concept of integrative thinking. Integrative thinking is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in their mind at once , and then reach a synthesis that contains elements of both but actually improves on each.By refusing to accept unpleasent trade-offs and conventional options,integrative thinkers are able to find creative solutions to difficult problems.

Here is a list of take aways regarding integrative thinking that would be useful to us as we attempt to find solutions to problems

• Seperate (mental) models and reality
• The author talks about the 'factory setting' each of us have, which in turn means we think in a certain manner
• Dancing through complexity
• The need NOT to over simplify
• Mapping the mind

The author then goes about to talk of how 'integrative thinkers ' connect the dots or the leap of mind.,
The skills required include

•  Generative reasoning ( a form of reasoning that inquires into what might be rather than what is)
• Causal modeling and
• Assertive inquiry ( an ability to explore opposing models)

The author then goes on to talk about the personal knowledge system of an individual as what makes a difference.Time all of us build one, clear in the understanding that ; may be out there; there is an innovative solution to THE problem , that we just have not thought about..





















P.S. I attempted to put some of this theory into practice .. end result I started car pooling with some of my colleagues. While saving on fuel was defenitely a goal, what led us to this was too things : Pooling meant that we got out of our offices atleast two days a week on time and we got time to talk together

Reasons for a short break - Started writing again - will post by Nov 15 !

I was out in the field travelling till the 28th of May.Post which, some additional responsibilities and organizational realignment took up a lot of my time.

I also realised that while I met my 'quantity' targets of a post a week, I was not very happy with the 'quality' of my posts. I also saw myself repeating almost the same stuff

Please bear with me till I return with more detailed posts. My target date for the same is 15th of August

Deciding what to change: Role of a diagnostic

It has always been a struggle to me to clearly establish an approach to identifying what to change. Six Sigma has its X's and Y's; process consultants have their maturity framework...but how does a CEO decide what needs to be changed in an organization..

Though newly arrived CEO's probably don't ; most consultants seem to recommend some form of diagnostic as the first step to starting a transformation journey.

Mark Gottfredson and Steve Schaubert (of Bain), in their book 'Breakthrough Imperatives (2008,Harper Collins) recommend a three step approach. The authors divide the transformation into steps of

• diagnose the points of departure
• envision the point of result and 
• (build) the road to results

The authors build their diagnostic around the following defined rules ; 

• Costs and prices always decline
• Competitive position determines your options
• Customers and profit pools don't stand still
• Simplicity gets results

We will discuss building diagnostics around these rules in subsequent posts. Any diagnostic will need identifying appropriate measures or performance indictors, finding ways to know the existing performance and establishing some form of benchmarks

What has been your experiences with building a diagnostic

P.S. Apologies for the break of previous weeks. I had another 'writing assignment' for my organization !!