4. Individual Leadership development

The Question of Future Performance 

Whether a Corporation is Assigning an Individual to a new Position, or Whether an Individual is Preparing for more Challenging and Rewarding Positions, the Question is the same—Will Future Performance Measure up to Job Requirements?  This Module (no.4), Addresses the Question of Future Performance in Terms of Placement of Individuals in Newly Created, or Existing Organizational Positions.

This Module Addresses the Corporate Environment as it Impacts Individual Performance and Considers Strategies and Behaviors that are Important for Individuals who want to Increase their Innovation Leadership Effectiveness

Individual Leadership

 Leadership Within the Corporate Environment means:

• Working Within the Organization’s Vision and Purpose, or—for Exceptional Outlying Opportunities—Working to Broaden and Deepen the Corporate Perspective of Innovation 

• Accepting the Responsibility to Deliver “Best for the Business” Results—Outcomes of Significant Value to the Company 

• Exercising Authority and Understanding its Limits—Achieving Results Even With Limited Authority

  • Utilizing Influence to Supplement Formal Authority

  • Being a Facilitator to Get the Right Decisions Made by the Right People to Achieve the Right Business Goals

• Communicating Intent, Results, Issues, Deviations, Mitigation Options, Opportunities, Needs, Solutions—While Corrections can Still be Made

• Solving the Complex Multi-functional Problems of Industrial Innovation (see Section on that Subject)

• Being Accountable for Decisions and Actions

• Increasing Personal Capability and Effectiveness

Preparing for more Challenging Assignments means:

• Continued Growth in Intellectual Capacity and Technical Ability

• Leading with Intent—Drive for Growth, Profitability, Sustainability and Protectability

• Improving Problem Solving Skills—Reality, Rigor, Creativity, Objectivity, Valid Assumptions, Fact-Based Decisions—Practicing a Systematic, Rigorous Inclusive Approach

• Maturing Judgment—Valid Decision Making Approach & Track Record

• Maximum Exploitation of Experience: Transferability, Leverage-ability

• Grasp of Socioeconomic Trends; Market and Customer Needs; Vision of Future State of the Project and Business

• Ability to Forge Relationships, Gain Support and Influence Beneficial Outcomes

• Effective Communication of Benefits, Needs, Risks, Progress, Failures

• Ethical Behavior: Act in the Best Interest of the Business & Respect People

• Drive to Meet the Challenge and Tenacity Get Results (Climb the wall to Catch the ball)

• Confidence, Determination, Tolerance of Uncertainty, Stamina

Working Within the Organization’s Vision and Purpose

Innovation is a key Force for Achieving an Aggressive and Profitable Corporate Vision

Because Innovation Requires Financial and Managerial Support, Innovation Ventures that lie within the Heart of a Company’s Vision are more Likely to Succeed than “Renegade” Ventures

A Supportive  Company Vision gives Innovation the best Chance of Success, however, should the Vision be less than Fully Supportive, the Innovation Leader can Play a Critical Role in Identifying Compelling Opportunities and Working to Broaden the Company’s Perspective

Accepting Responsibility

Responsibility: The State or Fact of having a Duty to Deal with Something, or Having Control Over Someone”… Apple Computer Dictionary

“The Responsibility of Every Manager Exceeds his Authority, and if he Tries to Increase his Authority to Equal his Responsibility, he is Likely to Diminish Both.” Second Maxim of Rufus E. Miles, Jr.
Corporate Attitude; Sometimes: “Just get it done—but, don’t Overstep your Bounds.” “Don’t Whine about Authority, Just get it Done”
You may not have the Authority, but you’re Accountable for Achieving the Results
Consequently, Successful Leadership Requires Effectiveness Beyond Officially Granted Authority—That Means Leading with Influence

More on Influence Management Later

Exercising Authority

Authority Can Take Various Forms:

• Delegated—Authorization to Utilize Resources and the Efforts of Others to Achieve a Mission—Granted by an Empowered Individual—Usually Transferable

• Garnered (Charismatic)—Derived from Mutual Consent of a Group or Other Constituency based on an Individual’s Demeanor or Record of Effectiveness—Not Transferable—the Mark of an Effective Leader

• Borrowed—Limited Use of an Empowered Individual’s Authority for a Defined, Usually Short-Term Purpose (Think, “Task Force”)

• Ownership—Gained Through Financial or Hereditary Control

Gaining Authority and its Skillful use are key to Success in Leading Innovation—more on this Later

Leadership Means Communicating Effectively in the Corporate and External Environment 

The Innovation Leader Needs to Communicate Effectively Upward, Downward, Outward with Peers and Externally with Influence Groups

Leadership means Being Accountable

In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for… 

action, products, decisions, and policies… 

including the administration, governance, and implementation within the scope of the role or employment position,… 

and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resulting consequences. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountability

Leadership Brings Opportunities

Leadership: Accepting Responsibility; Exercising Authority; Communicating in a Factual and Timely Manner; Meeting Multifunctional Complex Development Challenges; and Being Accountable

Leadership Brings Opportunities, for:

• Growing Existing Businesses

• Creating New  Businesses

• Developing Enabling Platform Technologies

• Achieving Proprietary Protection that Leads to Enduring Competitive Advantage 

• Building Effective Organizations of Sustained Viability

• Developing Strong, Productive Employees

• Making Personal Career Advancements 

Leadership Brings Rewards, but also Risks

Leaders of Industrial Innovation can Incur Risk by:

• Driving a Venture Forward when Market / Customer Interest has Faltered

• Committing to Deliver a Complex Development that is Beyond the Organization’s Understanding, Ability to Support, or Interest Level—This Leaves a Leader Exposed, Alone and Struggling

• Not Grasping, or Refusing to Recognize, Fundamental Flaws that will Eventually Doom a Venture to Failure

• Championing a Venture with Variable Performance and Marginal Value—Project Characteristics that are Likely to Lead to Failure

• Getting Caught in Changing Strategic Direction Brought on by Financial Restructuring or Merger / Acquisition Activities

Leaders of Industrial Innovation can also Incur Risk by:

• Attempting to “go it alone” to Achieve a Strategic Goal, no Matter how Desirable, Without Maintaining Broad Corporate Support 

• Failing to Maintain Constructive Relationships with Regulatory Agencies and other External Influence Bodies

• Failing to Build an Organization of Competent Individuals who are Leaders in their own areas of Responsibility

• Pursuing Self Aggrandizement to the Expense of Best-for-the-Business Outcomes 

• Focusing Exclusively on Success to the Detriment of a Satisfying Life Balance (Historian Doris Goodwin)

Leaders, However, Persevere in the Face of Risk

• Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat…Theodore Roosevelt

• Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly…Robert Kennedy

• We need to risk, we need to dare to risk and fail greatly because that’s the only way we grow…Emilio Estevez

• I don’t want a manager working for me who does not have scar tissue… (and hard earned wisdom) Bill Williams R&D Director Monsanto Textiles Company

• Success in Difficult Ventures often comes at the Limits of a Leader’s or an Organization’s Capabilities and Efforts—When the Fundamentals of a Venture are Sound and Display the “Signature of Success”, Don’t give up. “Climb the Wall to Catch the Ball”

Leadership Means Increasing Personal Capability and Effectiveness

The Competitive, Dynamic Nature of Innovation Places Demands on Leadership—What’s Needed is: 

• Continued Growth in Intellectual Capacity and Technical Ability

• Leading with Intent—Drive for Growth, Profitability, Sustainability and Protectability

• Improving Problem Solving Skills—Reality, Rigor, Creativity, Objectivity, Valid Assumptions, Fact-Based Decisions

• Maturing Judgment—Valid Decision Making Approach & Track Record 

• Maximum Exploitation of Experience: Transferability, Leverage-ability

• Grasp of Socioeconomic Trends; Market and Customer Needs; Vision of Future State of the Project and Business

• Ability to Forge Relationships, Gain Support and Influence Beneficial Outcomes

• Effective Communication of Benefits, Needs, Risks, Progress, Failures

• Ethical Behavior: Act in the Best Interest of the Business & Respect People

• Drive to Meet the Challenge and Tenacity Get Results (Climb the wall to Catch the ball)

• Confidence, Determination, Tolerance of Uncertainty, Stamina 

• Choose Success, not Obsession—Know when to Declare Victory and Move On (skip ads)

Leadership Means Utilizing Influence

Influence:  “The Act or Power of Producing an Effect Without Apparent Exertion of Force or Direct Exercise of Command”, Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary

Why Influence?

• Complex Challenges Require Integration of Contributions from Diverse Organizations, Functions, Regions, Cultures and Disciplines

• Multiple Constituencies must be Served

• Expertise and Technological / Business Capabilities are Usually Shared Among Distinct, and Sometimes Competitive,   Organizational Entities 

• Command and Control Don’t Work

• For Leaders of Major Endeavors, Responsibilities Frequently Exceed Authority

• Influence can fill the Gap Between Responsibility and Authority 

Utilizing Influence to Supplement Authority

An Approach:

• Accept Limited Authority, but Full Responsibility

• Follow a “Business-to-Technology” Pathway

• Think Strategically—Focus on the Desired End State

• Act in the best Interest of the Business—Drive for “Best-for-the-Business” Decision Making

• Engage Essential Resources and Manage Conflict

• Act Cooperatively

• Provide Operational Plan, Manage Resources—Get Good at Setting Priorities

• Be a “Facilitator” to Achieve Broad Goals

Follow a Business-to-Technology-to-Results Pathway

Practice Best-for-the-Business Decision Making

• Act in the Best Interest of the Business, and Value People 

• Lead when the Responsibility is Yours… 

  • • Follow When It’s not

• Respect Other People’s Authority—Partner to Achieve the Desired End Result

• Find and Support the Appropriate Decision Maker

• Get the Right Decisions Made by the Right People to Achieve the Right Result —Be a Facilitator to Achieve Broad Goals

• Maintain Total Objectivity!

Maintaining Total Objectivity Can Be Difficult When the Myth is Strong

“There is no danger that Titanic will sink. The boat is unsinkable and nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by the passengers.”
Phillip Franklin, White Star Line vice-president, 1912

“Manager of the Line Insisted Titanic was Unsinkable, Even After She Had Gone Down”

NY Times Headline, April 16, 1912

Be a Facilitator to Achieve Broad Goals

A Facilitator is one who:

• Knows the Processes of the Business and His/Her Role

• Works by Influence, and by “Dotted Lines”

• Leads When the Responsibility is His or Hers; Follows Otherwise

• Willingly Supports Other Decision Makers by Providing Quality Input and Professional Expertise

• Identifies and Focuses on Important Goals—Helps Create Project/Program/Organization Vision and Strategic Intent

• Gets the Right Decisions Made by the Right People to Achieve the Right Business Goals

• Understands Priorities and Acts Accordingly

• Knows When Progress is Being Made Toward Goals and Takes Remedial Action When Necessary

How Can a Facilitator Influence Strategy And Success?

• “Borrow” the Authority Needed—Limited Use of an Empowered Individual’s Authority for a Defined, Usually Short-Term Purpose
• Use Tools Designed to Elucidate and Align
• Utilize a Rigorous, Systematic Process for Solving the Complex Problems Inherent in Industrial Innovation ( see section entitled, “Solving the Problems of Industrial Innovation”) 
• Resolve Direction at the “Horizon” (where Technology and Business Merge)
• Take a Business-to-Technology Pathway
• Learn to Live With Chaos and Profit from It
• Drive to Reduce Uncertainty
• Maintain Total Objectivity even Though it may be Difficult—Remember, Titanic did Sink

Engage Essential Resources And Manage Conflict

• Identify Specific Expertise, Capabilities and Alliances Necessary for Success

• Link Independent Parties—and Perhaps Competitive  Factions—to Over-Arching ”Best-for-the-Business”  Objectives that all can Embrace

• Redirect Local Conflict Energy to Meet Inherently Non-Conflictive Objectives

• Realize that People Participate Voluntarily, have a Choice, but Many are Motivated by Challenge and Contribution

Act Cooperatively

• Learn to Work Harmoniously and Still Get the Job Done

• Commit Equally to Constructive Interpersonal Relationships and Business Results; Find Ways to Accomplish Both

• Translate the Vision and Strategic Objectives into Operational Objectives

• Develop a Comprehensive Qualitative Plan, then make it Quantitative

• Develop a Necessary and Sufficient Set of Objectives

To Summarize

• You Must Influence the Big Decisions—You Don’t Have the Authority to Make Them

• But, You Do Have the Responsibility

• Borrow Authority; Build Relationships 

• Elucidate Strategy, Set Objectives, Get Alignment

• Take a Business-to-Technology Pathway

• Identify Decisions & Appropriate Decision Makers

• Keep Your Objectivity; the Titanic Did Sink

• But, You Won’t if You Master Influence Management

Get Good at Setting Priorities

Challenges in Industrial Innovation can be Thought of as Issues

• • • Where Issues are Uncertainties of Significant Magnitude that Help or Hinder in Achieving Business Objectives

• Technology-Enabled Businesses Usually face Multiple Issues, Some of Which are Critical to Success and Survival 

• In an Environment of Resource Limitation (capital, human, technological) it is Crucial that Priorities be Established to Assure that Critical Solutions are Achieved Expeditiously, with Maximum Beneficial Effect

• Characteristics of Issues that Need to be Considered when Setting Priorities:

  • Urgency—Immediate to Long Term) 

  • Impact —Big Loss to Big Gain

         A Priority Setting Scheme Follows Based on these Characteristics 

Losses

• Chemistry-Based Innovation Is Characterized by High Development Costs and Long Lead Times for Major Developments

• “Immediate” Gains are Unlikely 

• However, Immediate Big Losses are Likely and Consequently a no. 1 Priority Rating is Appropriate

• Mid-term Moderate Losses Require Time, Resources and Development Effort to Avert— Therefore a Priority Rating of  2 is Appropriate

Gains

 

Once Immediate and Mid-term Losses are Stemmed, Immediate Big Gains (if they are feasible) and Mid-term Moderate Gains, can be Pursued as Priorities 3 and 4, Respectively

Long Term

• Averting Long Term Big Losses, May Involve Long Lead Times and Require Substantial Development Activity, hence a Priority Rating of 5 is Appropriate

• Once Threats to the Business (losses) are Under Control and the Readily Accessible Gains are Being Realized, Long Term Big Gains can be Addressed, as the Number 6 Priority

• Priority of Long Term Gains can be High in Situations, such as well Funded Start Up Companies that have no at-risk Operations 

.

Issues of no Impact are Rated 7

Unfortunately, the Corporate Environment may Generate Issues of Little Impact, but Great Perceived Urgency

These Issues are to be Disposed of as Quickly as Possible with as Little Effort as Feasible

• Find the Fatal Flaw in Logic to Encourage Advocates “to move on” 

• Devise a “Mental” Solution that Demonstrates the Lack of Impact

• If the Issue Persists, Lay out what Effort and Resources would be Required for a Resolution only to Achieve no Value in the End 

 

• Conduct the Definitive, but Quick Experiment

• Redirect the Responsibility to Someone Who has the Authority to make the Issue go Away; “Upward Delegation”