The Right Leader E-Book

Nat Stoddard

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 554

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Beschreibung

A trailblazing approach to choosing executives who both match the needs and fit the cultures of the organizations they will lead Leadership failures damage or even destroy companies every day. To reduce the costs of leadership failure, the author has developed a revolutionary process for selecting executives based on his years of consulting for some of America's largest corporations. The Right Leader details this new approach and how it eliminates the leadership failures that plague so many companies around the world today. When executives don't address the right needs, or can't lead the organization because of a poor fit with the corporation's cultures, the company loses competitive advantage, talented people, and momentum. The Right Leader introduces the revolutionary Match-Fit Model and explains how it reduces the risks and costs of executive failure by changing the factors that are considered and by taking into account the cultural dynamics at play in any organization. Nat Stoddard (New York, NY) is Chairman of Crenshaw Associates, a New York-based consulting firm specializing in career and transition management for senior executives. Claire Wyckoff (New York, NY) is an accomplished writer and editor, who has held executive positions in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Praise

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Table of Figures

List of Tables

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Preface

The Territory Ahead

Setting Expectations

Avoiding Culture Shock

Chapter 1 - Introduction

The Rising Rate of Leadership Failures

The Costs of Leadership Failure

The Bottom-Line Impact

The Human Cost

The Rules Have Changed and So Has the Game

How Much More Perfect Can We Get?

A More “Holistic” Approach to Hiring

Find a Need and Meet It

Culture—A Matter of Fitting In

The New Leadership Selection Strategy

Takeaways

PART ONE - The New Paradigm for Leadership Selection

Chapter 2 - Design for a New Selection Model

What’s Now Showing Is Probably a Rerun

How it Works (or Doesn’t)

The Basic Script

The Plot Thickens

Take Me to Your Leader

When to Improvise

The Actors Lurking in the Shadows

Introducing the Match-Fit Model

Shaping the Match-Fit Model

Multi-Cultures Do Not Make You Multicultural

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Takeaways

Chapter 3 - The Abilities Bucket

The Importance of A•BIL•I•TIES [ǝ bil’ǝ tēs]

Interviewing Executives

The Job Description

Interviewer Styles

Types of Interviews

The “Director’s Cut” Version of an Earlier Rerun

Reference Checks

Specialized Tools for Assessing Abilities

Shifting the Paradigm

Interviewing’s Never-Never Land

Takeaways

Chapter 4 - The Personality and Energy Bucket

Personality Traits That Spell Success (or Failure)

Actions Really Do Speak Louder Than Words

The Importance of Personality in the Match-Fit Model

When It Comes to People, What You See Is Not Always What You Get

People With That “Special Something”—Energy

Takeaways

Chapter 5 - The Character Bucket

What Is Character?

The Winning Combination

The Value of Values

Universal Character Traits of Successful Leaders

The Mirror Image

Beliefs Are to Be Believed

How Character Is Fed

Where Character Is Formed

How Character Can Change

It’s All About Trust, Satisfaction, and Retention

Looking for Alignment Today and Tomorrow

Takeaways

Chapter 6 - The Company’s Needs

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Descriptions vs. Definitions

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Executional Needs

Directional Needs

First Steps in Measuring the Shape of the Hole

Takeaways

Chapter 7 - Corporate Culture

The Meaning of Culture

Culture Is Not Something You Get at the Met

Global Cultures

Debunking the Myths of Culture

The Subtle Implications of Culture

The Insider vs. the Outsider

It’s All About Trust

Some Clues to Lack of Fit

Takeaways

Part Two - Fixing a Flawed Selection Process

Chapter 8 - The New Hiring Process

A Useful Military Metaphor

The Twin Benefits of Knowing the Lay of the Land

What Lies Ahead

Takeaways

Chapter 9 - Changing the Way Candidates Are Vetted

Overall Process Improvements

“Three to Get Ready . . . ”

Ways to Achieve Overall Process Improvements

Getting the Most Out of the Assessment Tools

Assessing Personality and Energy

Personality Assessment Summaries

Energy Assessment Techniques

Assessing Character

Character Interview Tips

Assessment Tools for Values

Takeaways

Chapter 10 - The Missing Links to Selecting the Right Leader

Selecting Your FAC (Forward Assessment Consultants)

The Functions of the Forward Assessment Consulting Team

The Role of the Forward Assessment Consulting Team

Determining the Business Terrain

Developing the Business Terrain Research

Processing and Use of the Business Terrain Data

Assessing the Team Topography

The Individual Assessments

The Team Assessment

Uses of the Team Topography Assessment

Mapping the Corporate Lay of the Land

Historical Roots of Mapping

The New Mapping Research

The Malleability of “Pegs”

The Field Guide of Vital Information

Creating the Guide

The Contents of the Field Guide of Vital Information

Takeaways

Chapter 11 - The FAC Process at Work

The Situation

A High-Altitude Snapshot of SDI

The CEO Search

The Final Candidate

The Findings

James and the SDI Culture

James and the Executive Leadership Team Subculture

What to Do About James?

Takeaways

Chapter 12 - Putting It All Together

Creating Your Leader Selection Process

The Meaning of Time

The Preselection Actions: Steps 1-23

Post-Selection Actions: Steps 24-26

Takeaways

Part Three - Conclusion

Chapter 13 - Why Boards Should Care

Putting the Problem in Perspective

State of the Planning Art

Why It Is Taking So Long

The Pressure Is On

How the New Leader Selection Process Can Help

Succession Planning Best Practices

From Ideal to Real

Takeaways

Chapter 14 - “You’re Cleared in Hot”

The Journey in Retrospect

More About FAQs, FACs, and Other Facts

Final Perspectives

3. It Is All About Trust

One Final Flyby

Notes

Appendix A - LEADER ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS

Appendix B - CROSS-CULTURAL VIRTUES

Appendix C - FIELD GUIDE OF VITAL INFORMATION REQUEST LIST

Bibliography

Index

Table of Figures

FIGURE 1.1 U.S. CEO Departures 2002-2007

FIGURE 1.2 Traditional Selection Process

FIGURE 2.1 The Traditional Selection Model—v.1

FIGURE 2.2 The Traditional Selection Model—v.2

FIGURE 2.3 The Match-Fit Model—v.1

FIGURE 2.4 The Match-Fit Model—v.2

FIGURE 2.5 The Match-Fit Model—v.3

FIGURE 4.1 Comparison of Traditional and Match-Fit Models

FIGURE 5.1 Universal Character Traits of Leaders

FIGURE 10.1 Eliza’s Predisposition vs. Corporate Culture

FIGURE 11.1 SDI Needs and Culture—Company Overall

FIGURE 11.2 James’s Predisposition vs. Company Culture

FIGURE 11.3 James’s Predisposition vs. Company Climate

FIGURE 11.4 James’s Predisposition vs. Company Values

FIGURE 11.5 James’s Predisposition vs. Senior Management Subculture

FIGURE 11.6 James’s Predisposition vs. Senior Management Subculture Climate

FIGURE 11.7 James’s Predisposition vs. Senior Management Subculture Values

FIGURE 12.1 Accelerated Leader Selection Process

FIGURE 12.2 Advice/Adviser Matrix

FIGURE 13.1 Global CEO Turnover Rates 2001-2007

FIGURE 13.2 Nine Steps to CEO Succession Planning

FIGURE 13.3 Extented Leader Selection Process

FIGURE 14.1 The Complex Leadership Situation

List of Tables

Table 1.1 Estimated Costs of CEO Failures at 18 Months in Job ($000)

Table 7.1 Debunking the Myths of Culture

Table 10.1 Mapping the Corporate Lay of the LandOriginal Survey Design

Table 10.2 Mapping the Corporate Lay of the Land Current Survey Design

Table 13.1 Ten Best Practices for CEO Succession Planning

Table 13.2 The NEW Best Practices for CEO Succession Planning

Praise for THE RIGHT LEADER

“In my various roles as a former corporate division president as well as current chairman of a not-for-profit organization and board director, I am keenly aware of issues around CEO succession and found the principles discussed very relevant for all types of organizations.”

—Rita V. Foley Director, Dresser Rand, PetSmart Chair, Pro Mujer 2007 NFP Director of the Year

“What greater challenge can there be than hiring right the first time? The Right Leader gives every leader a step-by-step guide to making sure you get the proper Match-Fit for your organization—saving you time and money.”

—Robert Rigby-HallSVP Human ResourcesLexisNexis

“Following the principles in The Right Leader will bring about a true metamorphosis in the hiring decision. It crystallizes the process, creating a way to reduce the costs and risks of leadership failures plaguing business—by selecting the right leaders in the first place.”

—Mary E. KierVice ChairmanCook Associates, Inc.

“Put this book on your reading list.The Right Leader presents a true paradigm shift and changes how we think about selecting leaders. It replaces a framework that provides only short-term solutions for making decisions about key people with a pragmatic way to balance cultural and business needs.”

—Hy PomeranceGlobal Head, Talent Management, Human ResourcesUBS

“No single board responsibility looms larger than selecting the right leader to compete in today’s fast-paced, global economy. The Right Leader provides a comprehensive, yet practical, way to identify the leadership every business organization needs to excel. Congratulations on writing a first rate book!”

—William E. StevensChairman, BBI GroupDirector and Chair of the Compensation CommitteeMcCormick Inc.

“For the first time I was really able to see the limitations of the traditional interview process and to understand why some selections just didn’t work out. The Match-Fit model is one that I know will make a profound difference to the executives I hire, to those I coach, and to the Agency as a whole.”

—Susan R. Symington Senior Executive at Central Intelligence Agency and Executive Coach

“As the CEO of a public corporation who was selected through the exact process described in The Right Leader, I can say without any reservations that (IT WORKS)! It takes the guessing and uncertainty out of early decision-making and gets everyone focused and on the proper page quickly.”

—Finbarr J. O’NeillSVP and GM, International OperationsJ. D. Power and AssociatesFormer CEO, Reynolds and Reynolds, Inc.

“The Right Leader puts ‘fit’ not just into perspective but into practice so even the most seasoned, top executives can get it right . . . even deans.”

—James B. ThomasDean, Smeal College of BusinessThe Pennsylvania State University

“Having recently been through succession planning, (my own), I heartily agree that the normally missing elements so clearly, concisely, and logically presented in The Right Leader are essential for success.”

—Timothy F. LeathermanCo-founderLeatherman Tool Group

“The Right Leader constitutes a significant advancement in understanding how leaders and cultures interact.”

—Richard BarrettAuthor, Building a Value-Driven Organization andLiberating the Corporate SoulChairman and FounderBarrett Values Centre

“I think this book will be very valuable to executives, boards, recruiters and HR for decades to come.”

—Marcella Arline Retired Chief People Officer, Hershey Company

Copyright © 2009 by Nat Stoddard and Claire Wyckoff. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

A list of Crenshaw Associates trademarks will be found on page 279.

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eISBN : 978-0-470-52773-3

For their years of selfless listening and enduring presence, this book is dedicated to: Mark W. Smith Former Dean of Men, Denison University Barbara L. Bridendolph President and CEO, Crenshaw Associates

Foreword

Almost every company in almost every industry claims that its people are its most valued asset. Yet our understanding of how to pick the right people has lagged behind the development of other management tools, such as approaches to allocating financial capital, offsetting risk, and even redesigning the organizational structures in which these most valued assets—people—operate. As a result, even the otherwise most sophisticated companies often stumble when it comes to picking their top leaders.

We live in an era when there is greater scrutiny than ever of the core responsibilities of boards of directors and other representatives of owners, yet there is widespread agreement that few companies do a good job at the central duty of picking the right leaders. As a result, almost two-thirds of all chief executives are replaced within four years—some 40 percent within eighteen months.

This book is the first systematic analysis of the problem, with a solution that is both innovative and simple to apply. Like many business issues, it turns out that the key to success in picking leaders is defining the problem correctly.

The Right Leader notes that we have learned a lot about what it takes to be an effective leader in general, and we try to apply that understanding carefully when reviewing candidates. The problem is that few companies have looked closely at the positions they are trying to fill, especially the sometimes amorphous, but often critical, cultural issues. In other words, companies need to know the shape of their “holes” if they are to do a better job of finding square pegs for square holes and round pegs for round holes.

Some of those holes turn out to be exceedingly difficult to fill because of the nature of the environment in which the new leader is expected to operate. A new focus on the actual job to be done—not the paint-by-the-numbers approach of many job specification memos—is required. So too is understanding leaders in a deeper way, including topics that are so old-fashioned that they are nearly taboo, but that, as our grandmothers could have told us, can also make all the difference. Character, this book claims, turns out to be a critical factor, but one that we too often fail to explore adequately.

Most executives have seen this issue from both sides of the table. As pegs, we have positioned ourselves for particular jobs. As participants in hiring decisions, we have been responsible for defining the hole to be filled. If your experience is anything like mine, you will recall the more than occasional disconnect between the job description and the actual job, for ourselves, for our peers, and (despite our best efforts) for our team. It does not always have to be this way.

The experts at Crenshaw Associates have great experience in avoiding peg-hole mismatch—especially relevant for situations where the new leader is likely to come from the outside. Job candidates have their skills, increasingly including career strategies and campaigns based on sophisticated self-assessments. Now companies can become as skilled, by understanding what Nat Stoddard and his colleagues call Mapping the Corporate Lay of the Land.1 This includes identifying the true executional and directional needs of the company that a new leader will encounter. The approach defines, describes, and measures the overall organization’s culture—what the author calls the “implicit, explicit, rational, irrational and nonrational, guides for behaviors that exist within all organizations.” And of course each team within each company has its own related subculture, with which the new leader also needs to fit.

This is not a theoretical exercise, so do not be misled by the reference to topics we have been trained to minimize or even dismiss as soft and non-quantifiable, such as culture. The book recounts, example after example, how a poor fit can undermine leaders and damage companies. It is time to take culture out of the “that’s soft stuff ” category into the realm of hard facts and data-driven decision-making. Think of the “Match-Fit Model” as just as revolutionary a way of looking at finding the right leader as Six Sigma was to quality control. Both are tools to allow leaders to make better decisions, and both are systems that increase the likelihood of success.

Whichever side of the table you are currently on—hiring or being hired—the lessons in this book can make the difference between a great fit and a misfit.

—L. Gordon Crovitz, former Publisher, The Wall Street Journal

Acknowledgments

One of the responsibilities of leadership is to assemble a strong team. In the course of writing this book, we were fortunate to be able to draw on the resources of a team of individuals whose knowledge and support are reflected throughout the book. We are extremely grateful to each and every one of them for their unique and generous contributions.

From the beginning we felt it was important to supplement our own experience and that of Crenshaw Associates with the knowledge of executives from other organizations who have in-depth knowledge of this field. To this end, we created an HR Advisory Council. It is made up of six outstanding executives who have been gracious enough to take time out of already packed schedules not only to read the manuscript but to provide detailed criticism and suggestions. They include: Marcella Arline, the former Senior Vice President, Chief People Officer at The Hershey Company; LeighAnne Baker, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for the Hertz Corporation; John Corness, Vice President of Human Resources at Polaris Industries; Peter Mani, former Vice President of Global Human Resources for Warnaco; Hy Pomerance, Director of Learning and Development for UBS; and Robert Rigby-Hall, the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Lexis-Nexis.

Our Crenshaw team provided equally strong support and expertise of a different kind. For this we are especially grateful to: Natasha Taylor, for her creative figures, being a sounding board, spiritual support, and sharing an occasional good cigar; Phebe Annan, for her 10,000 administrative support activities, friendship, and dedicated patience; Mary Green for an incredible job of coordinating our Web-based Mapping beta test; Nitza Jones, for her attention to detail; Erin Worth, for being our true “Type-Thing” transcriber for nearly all 100,000 words in this work; Marisol Luna, for many extra hours of inputting our edits; and Kim Stoddard, for early comps of book jacket promo materials and coining the term “field guide.”

For contributing to the content itself, we are most deeply indebted to the original pioneers of the Mapping concept: Barbara Bridendolph, Crenshaw CEO; Bob Aquilina, for early Mapping project leadership; Beth Powers, for research expertise in early stages of Mapping; and Dr. Kerry Sulkowicz, for counsel, support, insight, and encouragement. Helping us to keep the details current and accurate also required a great deal of specialized knowledge. Those whom we need to thank especially for serving as advisers in this way include: Dr. Gary Hayes, for his critique of Appendix A; Alan Renne, for numerous tips on today’s search practices; Bill Rogers, for editorial insights; Bill Stevens, for his review and input regarding boardroom realities and practices; Ken Suelthaus, for detailed governance advice and experience; Lt. Col. (Ret.) Mike “Scoop” Jackson, for his technical guidance and his service to our country as a true FAC; Wendi Lazar for timely input on points of employment law; Tom Pomeroy, for his experience and accounts about transitioning; and The Genesys Team: George Weathersby, Geoff Weathersby, and Suzanne McBride, for the patient and persistent partnership in taking the Mapping Process to new heights. Others who have read the contents from cover to cover and shared their thoughts on how we could make it clearer, more informative, and a better read all the way around include: Fred Pugh and Bob Bean, who read, edited, and critiqued our manuscript; and Jack Stoddard, for proofreading, inputting content, and structural ideas. Thanks to you all!

From the start, we were honored that such a venerable firm as John Wiley & Sons would have lent their support to our work by agreeing to publish us. They have lived up to their great reputation throughout. In particular, we have been fortunate to have had excellent editorial guidance from Editors Lauren Lynch and Emily Conway and Publishers Larry Alexander and Matt Holt. Our thanks also to Brian Neill, Maureen Drexel, and Christine Kim for sorting out all the production matters for the book and support materials.

Before anyone ever read a page, however, there were others we turned to for guidance of a more general sort. They were the people who advised us where to set out on various stages of the journey and encouraged us to try it. They include: Kathy Berlowe, for opening doors and providing thoughtful guidance and spiritual support; Dr. Dan Fisher, for input on Appendix A; Mike Rice, our questionnaire straw man and long-time friend; Jack Wilson, for starting the ball rolling with his original Match-Fit Model concept; Marcia Markland and Ellen Scordato, for their earliest encouragement and guidance; and Gordon Crovitz, for his support, encouragement, and eloquent Foreword.

In any creative endeavor, families always deserve a special mention for their patience and tolerance of the process. My daughter Kim and my son Jack certainly do, as do Claire’s daughter, Jenny, and husband, Dan Maguire.

Preface

If you have ever been involved in the search for a C-Suite executive (whether on the company or the candidate side), you know how difficult it can be to find a winning person/situation. We all want the outcome to be a success—where what was expected at the start is what actually occurs. But achieving the right combination is rarely the case today. In 2007 the estimated turnover rate of North American CEOs alone was 15.2 percent—roughly 50 percent higher than a decade earlier.1 During the same ten-year period the terminations of CEOs for performance-related reasons increased threefold.2 According to a number of reliable sources, 40 percent of all leaders fail in their new roles and are replaced or retired in their first eighteen months on the job.3 Clearly success at the top is becoming more and more difficult to achieve.

No matter at what level, executive turnover is exacting an enormous toll on American business. Although not within the scope of the research undertaken to write this book (we have limited our focus primarily to the U.S. workplace, where we have a unique vantage), many overseas companies are being affected as well. In this country severance packages make headlines regularly. In addition there are hidden costs, such as the expense of finding replacements, lost market capitalization, stock price volatility, missed opportunities, and the loss of confidence that turnover engenders within the organization. For the companies, the individuals and, in the case of CEO failures, for the directors on the board, there is the cost of damaged reputations too.