1 Leading from the Middle Meeting the Challenges of Leadership in the Federal Government Cathy Kreyche Communications Strategist Management Concepts FMA Zone 4 Meeting August 6, 2004

2 Training Overview  From Managing to Leading  Generations at Work  The “Ideal” Leader  Leading Yourself  Practicing Leadership in the Federal Government  Leadership Development Plan

3 Ground Rules

4 I. From Managing to Leading

5 EXERCISE  What do leaders do?  What do managers do?

6 What do managers do? What do leaders do?  Managers manage things – processes, models, and systems  Leaders lead people – work with people and their emotions  Managers do things right; leaders do the right things  Managers control; leaders think about the future – dreams, missions, strategies, purpose

7 Supervisors and Managers as Leaders in the Federal Government “In the 21 st century, first-line supervisors must do more than manage a budget, review work for technical accuracy, and analyze program. They also must communicate their organization’s vision, lead change, build high-performance work teams, and coach and mentor employees—all while coping with enormous challenges and change.” (First Line Supervisors in Federal Service: Selection, Development and Management, February 2003, Report by NAPA, the National Academy of Public Administration, p. 13)

8 What Is Leadership? Leadership is the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants. The man who successfully marshals his human collaborator to achieve particular ends is a leader. W.C.H Prentice (Harvard Business Review, 1961)

9 What You Need to Lead  Goal – something you want to accomplish  People – “resources to help you achieve the goal  Vision – to inspire people to achieve the goal

10 Who do you think of when you think of a leader?

11 Exercise Picture Yourself-- When Have You Exercised Leadership?

12 Looking at Leadership  Leadership is service (not sacrifice)  Leadership is a process, not a one-time event  Leadership needs followers  Leadership (often) occurs in the context of an organization

13 The Organizational Context  Industrial Revolution –Manufacturing –Repeatable processes –Focus on output  Parallel Rise of Bureaucracies –Based on hierarchy – Goal of bureaucracy – achieve large-scale goals through rationalization, regularity

14 19 th - and 20 th -Century Changes In Organizations  growth of technology  rise of service industries, information industries, “knowledge-based” organizations – what is valuable lies in what people know!

15 21 st -Century Organizations  A mix: bureaucracy, production-oriented, knowledge-based (with changing technology!)

16 Private Sector Leadership Trends  Participative Leadership  Analytic Command and Control Leadership  “Hot Groups” (high tech companies)  Persistence of hierarchy

17 Private Sector/Public Sector Exchange of Ideas  Industry to government: performance management/measurement, entrepreneurial government  Government to industry: project management, command-and-control, finding a mission/higher purpose

18 Kinds of Leadership  Charismatic  Command  Situational  Participative  Values-based

19 II. Leading Across Generations

20 Four Generations at Work  Veterans/Traditionalists ( )  Baby Boomers ( )  Gen Xers ( )  Nexters ( )

21 Source on Generations Zemke at al. Generations at Work

22 Federal Government Demographics

23 Veterans: Defining Cultural Events  1929: The Depression 1932: FDR Elected  1933: The New Deal  1934: Social Security established  1941: Pearl Harbor  1944: D-Day  1950: Korean War  1954: Brown v. Board of Education  Cold War

24 Veterans: On the Job Assets  Stable  Detail oriented  Thorough  Loyal

25 On the Job Liabilities  Difficulty with ambiguity and change  Reluctant to buck the system  Uncomfortable with conflict  Reticent when they disagree

26 Baby Boomers: Defining Cultural Events  1955: Salk Vaccine Tested on the Public; Rosa Parks (Montgomery)  1957: First Nuclear Power Plant; Civil Rights Act  1960: Birth control pills introduced; John F. Kennedy elected president  1963: Martin Luther King leads March on Washington; JFK assassinated  1965: U.S. sends ground troops into Vietnam  1966: National Organization for Women (NOW) founded; Cultural Revolution in China  1967: American Indian Movement (AIM) founded  1968: Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy assassinated  1969: First lunar landing; Woodstock  1970: Kent State University shootings; EPA established

27 Baby Boomers: On the Job Assets  Service oriented  Driven  Willing to go the extra mile  Good at relationship  Want to please  Good team players

28 Baby Boomers: On the Job Liabilities  Uncomfortable with conflict  Reluctant to go against peers  May put process ahead of result  Overly sensitive to feedback  Judgmental of those who see things differently  Self-centered  Not naturally “budget minded”

29 Gen Xers: Defining Cultural Events  1972 Arab terrorists at Olympic Games  1972: Arab (Palestinian?) terrorists at Olympic Games  1973: Watergate; Energy Crisis begins  1976: Tandy and Apple market personal computers  1978: Mass suicide in Jonestown  1979: Three Mile Island; U.S. corporate layoffs; Iran holds 66 Americans hostage  1980: John Lennon shot and killed; Ronald Reagan inaugurated  1986: Challenger disaster  1987: Stock market plummets  1988: Terrorist bomb blows up Flight 103 over Lockerbie  1989: Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill; Fall of Berlin Wall  1991: Operation Desert Storm  1992: Rodney King beating videotaped; Los Angeles riots

30 Gen Xers: On the Job Assets  Adaptable  Technoliterate  Independent  Not intimidated by authority  Creative

31 Gen Xers: On the Job Liabilities  Impatient  Poor people skills  Inexperienced  Cynical

32 Nexters: Defining Cultural Events  Child focus  Both parents working  Oklahoma City bombing  Technological advances  Columbine

33 Nexters: On the Job Assets  Collective action  Optimism  Tenacity  Heroic spirit  Multitasking capabilities  Technological savvy

34 Nexters: On the Job Liabilities  Need for supervision and structure  Inexperience, particularly handling difficult people issues

35 Leadership Styles  Veterans – Directive – Executive  Baby Boomers – Collegial – Consensual – Benignly despotic – Participative

36 Leadership Styles (cont.)  Gen Xers – Reaction vs. command-and-control system – Fair, competent, straightforward – Blunt – Skilled at corporate politics  Nexters???

37 Exercise: Generational Perspectives

38 Bridging the Gap  Mentoring (up and down)  Just understand me  Channeling positive qualities

39 III. The “Ideal” Leader

40 Exercise: The “Ideal” Leader  Best leaders you know personally  What characteristics and qualities make/made them a good leader?

41 Key Leadership Qualities Identified in the Govt: ECQs ECQs = Executive Core Qualifications (see handout)

42 Leadership Challenge in the Federal Government  OPM Study: 36% of federal workforce does not see federal leaders as great, or even good

43 How Do You Build Great Leaders? Lessons from the IRS Leadership Development Program - James Trinka, Office of Strategic Human Resources

44 IRS’s Problem  Leaders affect –employees’ commitment to agency mission and business goals, –how they assess their career and personal development opportunities, –how employees judge their own level of empowerment, –how employees see the skills – interpersonal and technical—of their immediate supervisor

45 IRS’s Belief Developing great leaders can create commitment and connection to agency mission needed to achieve high-performing, effective government

46 Leadership Development at IRS  360-degree assessments of 695 executives, managers, and first-line supervisors  Identified 21 leadership competencies  Asked: What distinguishes good leaders from great leaders?

47 What IRS Found  11 strengths found in great leaders  5 “fatal flaws”  Address “fatal flaws”  Focus on developing strengths

48 Fatal Flaws  Technical credibility  Business acumen  Influencing/negotiation  Develop others  Communication

49 11 Strengths Found in Great Leaders  Communication  Service motivation  Strategic thinking  Developing others  Group leadership  External awareness  Influencing/negotiating  Business acumen  Political savvy  Problem solving  Technical credibility

50 IRS’s Conclusion  Leaders make a great difference  Building strengths more important than focusing on weaknesses

51 Old and New Models of Leadership Development  Old: Improve Weaknesses  New: Build on Strengths

52 Exercise: Assessing Your Leadership Strengths

53 IV. Leading Yourself

54 Leadership Is Service, Not Sacrifice!

55 3 Keys to Leading Yourself  Self-knowledge  Self-care  Identifying your purpose

56 Self-Knowledge: Our Internal Resources  Thoughts  Feelings  Desires  Voice  Risk-taking

57 How do we develop our internal resources?

58 Developing Our Internal Resources  Noticing, observing ourselves, practicing  Meditation, quiet time, writing, creative pursuits  Practice  Lightening up!

59 Leading Yourself through Self-Care  Get enough sleep  Eat healthy foods  Exercise regularly

60 Taking Charge of Your Workday  Identifying “emergencies”  Practice good time management, management  Take time out for the important/not urgent

61 Developing a Network of Consultants  Both inside and outside the government  Provide sanity checks, fresh ideas, expertise, feedback, perspective

62 Exercise: Identifying Your Purpose What goal would you like to see accomplished in your organization? How can you exercise leadership to see it accomplished?

63 V. Practicing Leadership in the Federal Government

64 Exercise: Obstacles to Exercising Leadership

65 Leading Bosses and Other Stakeholders

66 Groups and Leadership  Role of groups in achieving goals –Greatest accomplishment by groups –Organizing Genius (Warren Bennis)  Harnessing the power of groups –Vision/motivation/expertise –Establish expectations –Grow the team Develop bonding rituals Create inclusive atmosphere Share knowledge and power Tap into people’s strengths Re-channel energy

67 Exercise: Leading Up and Down the Organization

68 VI. The Leadership Development Plan (Handout)

69 Exercise: The Leadership Development Plan (Handout)

70 Contact Information Cathy Kreyche (703)