Leading in Turbulent times July 25, 2013 Carl Robinson – Vantage Leadership Consulting BIG TEN DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE

Opening Thought If you wake up in the morning and aren’t confused, you are in big trouble!

The Challenge Significantly and meaningfully accelerate the development of very talented and successful leaders in a period of extraordinary transition and demand NO EASY TASK!

Your Challenge the Next Couple of Days Behave as if your professional development actually matters….it does Focus on becoming a “difference maker” for your university– a leader with even bigger impact and contribution Experiment and explore…push your comfort zone

A Little Advice… Write down any and every smart idea Your colleagues – beg, borrow, and steal from them; “extreme networking” Our distinguished speakers – engage, listen, and learn; ask terrific questions! Your assumptions – temporarily suspend them

PLAY HARD..! “Let’s pretend that this is your life we’re talking about!”

Let’s begin with a few thoughts on the dynamic world in which we find ourselves…

It’s still crazy out there!!!

In demanding, turbulent times….. Organizations become increasingly irrational places Employees become at greater risk of disengaging And leaders cast very long shadows! Three Core Lessons

Indicators Your Team is Struggling… Heightened politics, gamesmanship, noise, distortion, and distraction Unfair follower demands, weak leadership responses Increased rigidity and escalating commitment to failing courses of action An increasingly wary workforce prone to learned helplessness

Unable to keep up Lucy and Ethel resort to eating the chocolates, stuffing them into their clothes and finally into their hats

A Few Questions for Reflection In general, how are your employees holding up? What is shaping the way they perceive their environment, think about their work, and feel about their futures? What do you personally need to be doing differently as a result?

The Unspoken Conversation “We will just have to do more with less.” Are you crazy? We can hardly meet our objectives now! “We will need to become a leaner organization.” “Lean! We are past lean!” “I am here to tell you how to expand capacity.” Go ahead, let’s see what you’ve got.

Where Do Your People Stand 1. “On Board” Eager, proactive, engaged, supportive, committed 2. “On the Fence” Anxious and wary but hanging in there, persuadable 3. “Against It!” Cynical, defensive, resistant, uncooperative or angry 4. “Don’t Get It??” Lost in action, dazed and confused, satisfied for the wrong reasons

In-Place Breakout - Does Leadership Actually Matter? Pair up with another person for a 5 minute discussion Think of a person who had significant positive impact on your growth and development during a tough or formative period – a “great boss” Discuss Who was it? What impact did they have? What specifically made the difference?

The Way It’s Always Been….Characteristics Shared by Great Leaders Very high standards for both self and others Terrific Emotional Intelligence and a genuine passion for seeing people excel Core optimism – a belief in possibility A solid and practical grasp of what’s needed

Is This Enough? All necessary, but perhaps not sufficient

The Keys to Leading People Who are Paid to Think Autonomy The lightest possible “management” Mastery Work that plays to personal strengths Purpose A straight line connection to a compelling mission

For Discussion and Journaling Where do you personally need to show more leadership? Which of these dimensions would make the biggest difference for you? What should you be focusing on during your Conference?

Finally, a Thought or Two on Diversity “Unlikeness” or “dissimilarity” “Variety and variation” “A point of difference” Dictionary.com

The Business Case for Diversity “Research demonstrates that complex problems are best solved by diverse teams” True or False?

Closing Advice Prepare yourselves to be outstanding students again… “What you know is increasingly less relevant than your ability to learn new things”