Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty

Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty

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  B R IE F MIT Leadership Center R ES E A RC H Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty by Deborah Ancona Highlighting Seley Distinguished Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management Faculty Director of the MIT Leadership Center Leadership The Romans wondered whether force or inspiration was more effective as a motiva- > tor. Our own culture glorifies the charismatic while preaching participation. Interest in this question has only intensified as we watch a new world order unfold Leadership is not solely the in the aftermath of September 11th, and as we are bombarded with images of cor- porate corruption and attempts at reform. We all hunger to know what leadership responsibility of the CEO, but can is, yet the concept remains amorphous. and should permeate all levels of The history of leadership theory started with an emphasis on traits—the notion that it is the make-up of the leader that makes all the difference. This approach the organization. dominated research up to the late 1940’s. Current research suggests that our admired leaders today are honest, inspiring, self-confident, and adaptive. But traits > do not always predict leadership effectiveness, and so researchers have shifted to look at the behavior or style of the leader. Every leader has his or her distinct This research brief seeks to provide a framework that allows us to integrate prior way of using these capabilities leadership theories, while focusing on what leaders actually do. It is a framework that views leadership as a capacity that both individuals and groups possess. The to make change happen. This framework—developed by four MIT Sloan faculty members, Deborah Ancona, Wanda Orlikowski, Peter Senge and Tom Malone—carries several core assump- unique pattern is called a “change tions: signature”. That is, leadership is not solely the purview L E A D E R S H I P I S D I S T R I B U T E D. of the CEO, but can and should permeate all levels of the firm (Senge, 1996)1. > There is no single L E A D E R S H I P I S P E R S O N A L A N D D E V E L O P M E N TA L . The capacity for leadership is way to lead. The best way to create change is to work with the particular capabili- ties that you have, while constantly working to improve and expand those capabili- both individual and collective.> ties. Leadership is about L E A D E R S H I P I S A P R O C E S S T O C R E AT E C H A N G E . making things happen, contingent on a context. Leaders may create change by playing a central role in the actual change process, or by creating an environment in which others are empowered to act. L E A D E R S H I P D E V E L O P S OV E R T I M E . It is through practice, reflection, fol- lowing role models, feedback, and theory that we learn leadership.
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  Leadership Framework 2 ) R E L AT I N G : D E V E L O P I N G K E Y R E L AT I O N S H I P S W I T H I N A N D AC R O S S O R G A N I Z AT I O N S . Leadership Visioning is not an individual sport, and in our networked age the abili- ty to connect and build trusting relationships is a key compe- tency. While leaders try to create trust, optimism, and harmo- ny, they often get anger, cynicism, and conflict instead. The core capability of relating centers on the leader’s ability to Sensemaking Relating engage in inquiry, advocacy, and connecting. Inquiry and advocacy are terms coined in the pioneering work of Chris Argyris and Don Schon (1996)4, as well Peter Senge (1990)5. In order to enable effective interpersonal relationships, both practices are necessary. Inventing Inquiry means the ability to listen and understand what oth- ers are thinking and feeling. It also involves trying to under- Change Signature stand how the other person has moved from data to interpre- tation to assessment, rather than simply reacting to the assess- ment itself. It requires the leader to suspend judgment and to listen without imposing his/her personal point of view. And Inventing a Framework in which to Lead yet leadership requires having opinions and taking a stand. The framework begins with four key leadership capabilities: Sensemaking, Relating, Visioning, and Inventing. Added to The second area of relating is advocacy. This involves taking a these capabilities is the notion of a change “signature” —your stand and trying to influence others of its merits while also own unique way of making change happen. Leaders in busi- being open to alternative views (Pfeffer, 1992)6. It means tak- ness settings need all of these capabilities to be successful, and ing responsibility for your own biases and leaps to judgment cycle through them on an ongoing basis. while being able to say, “I was wrong, I jumped to conclusions based on insufficient data and overreacted.” Yet often in busi- 1) SENSEMAKING (term coined by Karl Weick, 19952): ness there is a great deal more advocacy than inquiry. MAKING SENSE OF THE WORLD AROUND US. Sometimes we are so busy trying to push our own ideas that The act of Sensemaking is discovering the new terrain as you we do not really listen to what others are saying. are inventing it. In the very process of mapping the new ter- rain, you are creating it. Building on the work of Sutcliffe and The third area of relating is connecting. It is the ability to Weick, 20023, here are some tips for Sensemaking: build collaborative relationships with others and to create > Seek many types and sources of data; coalitions for change. Tips for effective connecting are: > Involve others in your sensemaking; > Understand the perspective of others within the organiza- > Do not simply apply your existing frameworks and overlay tion and withhold judgment while listening to them; them on the situation; > Encourage others to voice their opinions; > Move beyond stereotypes; > Be clear about your stand and how you reached it; > Learn from small experiments; and > Think about how others might react to your idea and how > Use images, metaphors, or stories to try to capture and you might best explain it to them; and communicate critical elements of your map. > Think about your connections. 2 | MIT Leadership Center
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  3 ) VI S I O N I N G : C R E AT I N G A C O M P E L L I N G V I S I O N These capabilities can also create tensions that need to be OF THE FUTURE. While sensemaking creates a map of managed. It is difficult to hold an image of the future and the what is, visioning is a map of what could be. Visions are present simultaneously. Balancing people and processes, action important because they provide the motivation for people to and understanding, individual and collective aspirations, can give up their current views and ways of working in order to be challenging. Yet it is inherent in the framework that man- change. Perhaps most importantly, visioning provides people aging these very tensions is the essence of leadership. with a sense of meaning about their work. It answers the question “why am I doing this?” Thus good leaders are able to While individuals need to exercise all four capabilities they frame visions in a way that emphasizes their importance along must also work with others who complement their skill port- some key value dimensions. Tips for effective Visioning are: folio. In this way leadership can be shared among many. > Develop a vision about something that excites you or that Where one might be planning the future, another is working you think is important; with others to invent ways to improve current operations. > Frame the vision with an ideological goal; Thus, leadership is both individual and collective. > Use stories, metaphors and analogies to paint a vivid picture of what the vision will accomplish; Developing a Signature Style > Practice creating a vision in many arenas; The four capabilities, like the compass that they form, are > Enable co-workers by pointing out that they have the skills only a tool. It is the change signature that determines how and capabilities needed to realize the vision; and and what the tool is used for. While the capabilities focus on > Embody the key values and ideas contained in the vision— what leaders do, the change signature is about who a leader is. “walk the talk.” It develops slowly based on experience and skills. It is a key part of the leadership model because it represents who we are 4 ) I N V E N T I N G : C R E AT I N G N E W WAYS O F W O R K - as leaders. ING TOGETHER. Inventing entails creating the processes and structures needed to make the vision a reality. It involves implementing the steps needed to achieve our vision of the future. Tips for effective inventing include: > Maintain focus on improving the ways that people work together in your team and organization; > When a new task or change effort emerges, think through By engaging in these activities over how it will get done—who will do what, by when, and in what configuration; time leaders begin to develop their own > Play with new and different ways of organizing work— examine alternative ways of grouping people together, distinct way of making things happen. organizing their internal interaction, and linking across dif- ferent groups; Through a variety of experiences leaders > Blend sensemaking and inventing. can further develop their capabilities, The four capabilities of sensemaking, relating, visioning and inventing are complementary. Without inventing, visions may build leadership capacity in an remain dreams that never get realized. Inventing without a clear sense of the current situation and where you want to go organization, and create a better under- can result in chaos. People want to know that they are operat- ing with an accurate map of reality, not one that is outdated standing of their own values and skills. or based on wishful thinking. They also want to know that they are working for something that is important. Finally, while visions and new structures can result in great activity, without a base of people who are committed to working together towards the goal, any success may be short-lived. Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty | 3
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  Each person’s changesignature, like a fingerprint, is unique. NOTES Each person brings his/her unique values, skills, experience, 1. Senge, P. 1996. “Leading Learning Organizations: The Bold, the Powerful, and the Invisible.” In F. Hesselbein, et al., The Leader of the Future. tactics, and personality to the role of leader. Each person has San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. his/her personal way of making change happen, although there certainly are patterns across individuals. The change 2. Weick, K. 1995. Sensemaking in Organizations. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. signature is made up of a credo and the characteristic way in which the leader creates change. The term “credo” refers to a 3. Sutcliffe, K., and K. Weick. 2002. “Managing the Unexpected: person’s core values and beliefs both for themselves and for Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity.” European their organization (this concept is built on that of Kouzes Management Journal, 20, pp. 709-710. and Posner, 1993)‚. 4. Argyris, C. and Schön, D. 1996. Organizational learning II: Theory, method and practice. Reading, Mass: Addison Wesley. The second aspect of the change signature is the way an indi- 5. Senge, P., 1990. The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning vidual typically embodies the four capabilities and the charac- Organization. New York: Doubleday. teristic way in which that person makes change happen. For example, what are the skills, abilities, tactics and modes of 6. Pfeffer, J. 1992. Managing with Power: Politics and Influence in Organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. operating that characterize how you carry out your leadership activities? Some people might carry out sensemaking in a very 7. Kouzes, J. and B. Posner. 1993. Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, interpersonal manner, moving from office to office learning Why People Demand It. San-Francisco: Jossey-Bass. from everyone they meet. For others it might be a purely analytic process that starts and ends on the computer. Leaders learn through experiences what is most important to them and how they can be most effective with others. This process is facilitated when leaders take the time to reflect on their experiences. Often people report that they learn more from failure than success, but all experience can help shed light on what kind of leader you are. Leadership, as presented here, is a combination of four capabilities and a change signature. It is distributed across individuals, and involves sensemaking, relating, visioning and inventing. By engaging in these activities over time leaders begin to develop their own distinct way of making things happen. Through a variety of experiences leaders can further develop their capabilities, build leadership capacity in an organization, and create a better understanding of their own values and skills. About the MIT Leadership Center Contact: The MIT Leadership Center is changing organizations. The Center transforms MIT Leadership Center the way leadership is researched, prac- intensive study into multifaceted 30 Wadsworth Street ticed and taught by fusing MIT’s preem- action-oriented practices that combine Cambridge, MA 02142 inence in technological innovation with learning and doing to give leaders the management and leadership. Working tools and experience to solve complex Telephone: 617.253.6222 with faculty, students and leaders from problems, boost business performance, Facsimile: 617.253.6765 business, academia and industry, the and create positive social change. http://sloanleadership.mit.edu Center creates cutting-edge theory, pragmatic tools and curricula to devel- Deborah Ancona, Faculty Director op leaders at all levels of all types of Mary Schaefer, Executive Director © 2005 MIT Leadership Center, Cambridge, MA 02142