Leadership Management and Development
The below is a module submission for the CIPD Level 7 certification, kindly shared by one of our clients to help you on your own HR journey. This submission is about leadership management and development.
1.0 What Contribution Can Leadership as Opposed to Management Development Make to Successful Performance in the Garvey Group?
Management vs Leadership
When considering the contribution leadership development can make as opposed to management development, it is useful to explore the differences between the two, as people can often mistakenly think they are the same thing. Nowadays there is a wealth of theory relating to this subject, however it was back in 1990 that Kotter famously made the distinction between the two. Following a wealth of research, he describes leadership as an ageless topic, whereas management is a means to an end in driving outcomes and delivering results. He summarises management as bringing order and consistency through processes such as:
- Planning and budgeting.
- Organising and staffing.
- Controlling and problem solving.
All of which are important in an organisation, particularly where there is complexity such as staff located across different geographies and in shift patterns, as is the case at Garvey Group. Leadership on the other hand doesn’t produce order and consistency, Kotter argues that it produces ‘movement’ through what he calls three subprocesses, which are summarised as:
- Establishing direction – creating a vision for the future, along with strategies to support the achievement of that vision.
- Aligning people – communicating the direction to the people who you need to be committed to enable its achievement.
- Motivating and inspiring – keeping people moving in the right direction by appealing to basic human needs, values and emotions.
Leadership at all Levels
The Garvey Group clearly places importance on leadership skills, evidenced through the emphasis on the softer skills needed to motivate people in the additional core competencies for managers. However, leadership skills should not just be given to those who are managers if the business wants to accelerate its performance. As Lynch (2021) explains, businesses who embrace a ‘leaders at all levels’ mindset can achieve transformative results. She talks about three different domains of leadership:
- Self-leadership, which focuses on building key skills around time management, creative problem solving, and initiative-taking.
- Team Leadership, who are usually also managers, develop their skills around learning how to coach and develop others, delegating work and dealing with difficult employees.
- Enterprise Leadership, who are likely to be in senior positions, or on their way towards, therefore the skills they need to develop include managing managers, developing a strategic perspective, and managing change.
To embed this culture even further it could be weaved into the recruitment and on-boarding process so that the moment an employee joins Garvey Group they are aware of it and empowered to take the same approach.
By increasing this investment in leadership at different levels, the organisation can get ahead of the competition. There have been any studies correlating investment in leadership skills to improving profits in business. Anderson (2017) says that intelligence is no longer a differentiator in business – it is leadership training that will help a company to separate great organisations from average ones.
The Family Business Dynamic
As a family-owned business, it is likely that senior leaders in Garvey Group historically may have been made up of family members. This is a potentially challenging dynamic. As Foster (2020) says ‘Family and business can be like oil and water – The two dynamics are often complete opposites.’ Family decisions can be emotional and in a family, everyone gets a decision, whereas in business you need to be unemotional and a business can be stifled if there is indecision.
The family-feel culture can be beneficial in creating that sense of belonging for people, however with the size of the business and in such a competitive sector as the hotel industry, Garvey Group would be mindful to ensure that there is a clear vision and set of values which are driving the right behaviours across the business. Tearle (2021) says that they are the most effective tools a leader can use to transform a business or team. The vision describes ‘what’ the business is there to do and the values are ‘how’ we will behave in order to achieve our goals.
The Importance of Diversity and Leadership
In addition, to retain a competitive advantage, ensuring diversity in the most senior leadership of that in the boardroom, as well as the workforce, is vital. This has been well documented in recent years and the International Management Group (IMG) (2020) says that the depth of perspective that comes from having a diverse board really helps businesses to represent the stakeholders that they are there to serve.
Some family-owned businesses run the risk of becoming ‘echo-chambers’, as Musyoka (2017) advises against. Encouraging different views and a degree of challenge can help to avoid this, as Taylor (2022) outlines. Having a mechanism which supports strong employee engagement and two-way communication will support the culture of leaders at all levels and that diversity of opinion.
If it isn’t possible to change the senior leadership of Garvey Group, a modern way to invite that diversity of thinking and opinion to the boardroom is through the establishment of a shadow board. As Tyfting (2019) outlines, this can significantly help bridge the generational gap that so often exists in well established businesses. A shadow board (sometimes called a mirror board) could be beneficial if their input is listened to and considered. It is also a great career development tool for individuals and would really reinforce the culture that leaders exist at all levels in Garvey Group.
The Overall Benefit of Leadership Investment to the Business
As a business that clearly recognises the benefits of investing in learning and development, as demonstrated using the theory of Kaplan and Norton (1996) balanced scorecard, the contribution of investing in leadership skills as opposed to management skills shouldn’t be a hard sell. As well as tracking the benefits to the business financially, we should look to track some qualitative metrics, such as employee satisfaction surveys and external reviews on employee feedback platforms such as Glassdoor. It would undoubtedly have a positive impact on the Employer Value Proposition, which leads to reduced turnover, attracts talent, enhances reputation and ultimately increases profitability, as outlined by Heaslip (2021).
Of course, none of this negates the need for strong management skills as well. As outlined above, management of tasks and responsibilities is essential for any well performing organisation, and in the hotel industry where there is a quick turnaround of guests and a need for efficiency, this will remain the case with Garvey Group. The investment in leadership skills will only aid to enhance their effectiveness.
2.0 How Can Theory Related to Leadership Inform Leadership Development in the Group?
Leadership is an over-arching term which is widely used in business circles, however there are many different leadership styles which in turn deliver different results. Theory relating to leadership can help to inform the way we develop leaders in Garvey Group, as it will create a common style which can be reinforced and embedded.
Great Man & Trait Theories
It is useful to look back to put the development of leadership theory into context. The earliest notions of leadership were the Great Man Theories, which emerged in the late 1800s, originally as a concept of Scottish Philosopher, Thomas Carlyle. It was deemed that only men could make leaders at this time. As Cuofano (2021) summarises, this theory is that leaders are born and not made, something which has been discredited by modern research. It also clearly isn’t relatable to today’s drive for gender equality amongst leaders.
In many companies, people are promoted into leadership roles because they have succeeded in their technical abilities but it is now widely accepted that this doesn’t mean that they will make good people leaders. As Valcour (2021) explains, technical ability doesn’t always translate into effective leadership. Again, this is where leadership theory can inform the development of Garvey Group leaders. For instance, exploring Trait theory. Cherry (2021) suggests that this theory is based on a belief that all good leaders share the same character traits and that a person’s ability to succeed as a leader will be based on the possession of these mental, physical and social traits. These are things such as:
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Assertiveness
- Decisiveness
- Emotional stability
- Intelligence
- Trustworthiness
- Self-confidence
As you would expect, there is controversy surrounding this theory too, largely because it doesn’t consider any situational analysis. However, Lindberg (2021) explains that this is one of the theories of leadership that has been explored and built upon for decades and has been commended for bringing about significant advances in studying human characteristics and personality. Nowadays personality assessments are regularly used in recruitment, particularly for senior and executive leadership roles.
However, the main criticism and flaw with purely relying on Trait theory is that there have been various authors suggesting various different traits, thus diluting the overall theory, along with the fact are no definitive tests for the measurement of these traits. I would also add that this theory could potentially narrow the diversity of our leaders, as there could be a temptation to assume only extroverted and outwardly confident people make good leaders, when we know the opposite to be the case, as is outlined through the rise of the introverted leader, as explained by Shams (2019).
Situational Leadership Theories
With regards to more modern theories of leadership, I believe the Garvey Group would benefit from exploring situational theories due to the nature of the business, the fast-paced industry of hotel management and the many different situations that a people leader is likely to be faced with.
Hersey and Blanchard developed the Situational Leadership Model in 1982. According to de Bruin (2020), Hersey and Blanchard’s approach was all about the leader adapting their style to the needs of the follower. Unlike other leadership theories, it disregards the notion that an organisation needs one approach to leadership. It focuses on the ability and willingness of individual employees and the situation. For instance if the situation is that you have a competent and highly skilled, motivated employee, as a leader you will treat this individual very differently to a new member of the team, or to someone who isn’t performing well. Kruse (2019) explains that Blanchard evolved this theory, which resulted in litigation between the two companies they owned respectively. The main difference was in how the model labelled the approaches as behaviours. The original model labelled the approaches as:
- Telling
- Selling
- Participating
- Delegating
The revised Blanchard model labels them:
- Directing
- Coaching
- Supporting
- Delegating
Miller (2022) says that Situational Leadership is one of the most effective ways of leading an organisation. In a nutshell, situational leadership is a flexible and adaptable style which is designed to get the best out of people in any given situation. For instance, a leader will make a judgment around whether they need to adopt a directive or supportive approach based on the needs of their sub-ordinate at that given time. It can be summarised in the following five headings and sentences:
- Analysing – a manager seeking to understand what is going on for an individual so that they can tailor their approach accordingly (this assumed a high degree of emotional intelligence on the side of the manager).
- Adapting – transitioning between different approaches according to the needs of the other person – even if they are all in the same room.
- Influencing – instead of flexing their authority, they use trust and relationship skills to influence a change.
- Serving – in being flexible to the needs of the individual they are serving the employees needs.
- Developing – the growth and development of an employee is the ultimate goal of a situational leader and therefore they often act as a coach in helping the other person to succeed
Servant Leadership Theory
Another leadership style which has gained a renewed focus for many businesses since the Coronavirus pandemic is that of Servant Leadership Originally developed as a theory by Robert Greenleaf in 1970, it is now described by the Greenleaf organisation as a ‘non-traditional leadership philosophy, embedded in a set of behaviors and practices that place a primary emphasis on the well-being of those served’.
In what has been termed ‘The Great Resignation’ (Wikipedia, 2022) post-pandemic, much media attention has been given to fact that employees are seeking more from their employers than simply a pay packet. Garvey Group can therefore capitalise on their clear commitment to learning and development as a retention and attraction mechanism for employees. As Loeb (2022) outlines in his article in Financier Worldwide, the ‘soft stuff’ matters to people.
Of course, when it comes to informing leadership development in the Garvey Group, we will want to develop a style of our own where people feel our culture of belonging and ultimately know we value their contribution. However, we can fast-track this through adopting the elements of Situational and Servant Leadership theories, which we know work well for other organisations.
3.0 How Can and Should HR Professionals Work with Others Within the Group to Ensure Effective Leadership Development?
Human Resources (HR) is the function of Garvey Group which can really champion the investment in leadership development. As custodians of learning and development, the HR professionals in the team should look to business partner the different functions of the organisation to understand what leadership challenges they are facing. For instance, operational teams on the ground working in the hotels will have different challenges around getting the most out of their people than those say working in a head office function such as Finance.
Building strong relationships with these department or functional leaders is crucial to this. The CIPD (2021) suggests that partnering with colleagues and creating connections is crucial to the success of this type approach. The managers leading the different teams need to be coached by the HR team to identify those future leaders and talented individuals who are coming up through the ranks and seek to identify their development areas to help them build their leadership skills.
Regular 1-1’s with employees
This can be identified through further developing the competency framework to emphasise these skills in individuals outside of those who are already managers. Much has been written regarding the value of regular employee one to one discussions as a means of managing performance. Famously Grove (1995), the former CEO of Intel, said “Ninety minutes of your time can enhance the quality of your subordinate’s work for two weeks, or for some eighty-plus hours”. His theory was that when done right they help a manager to be able to fix issues while they are small, as well as spotting people’s potential and supporting their development.
If we adopt a Situational and Servant leadership style where we want people to think on their feet and support our people to succeed, having these regular touchpoints with people will be vital. The other concept which Grove (1995) highlights is that of Task Relevant Maturity, which is to tailor your management approach to be more or less hand-on dependent on the strengths and experience of the individual.
The Value of Mentoring
This could be coupled by a Mentoring programme where we match more experienced Managers with either new managers or those we identify as having future managerial potential. As Abbajay, (2019) explains, organisations who embrace mentoring are rewarded with higher levels of knowledge sharing and employee engagement and she goes on to say that 71% of Fortune 500 companies offer mentoring programmes to their employees. Her elements of success are based on the mentor having a growth mindset and a desire to help others, the mentee being clear about their career goals and development areas, and the relationship between the two being approached as a joint venture where there is confidentiality and a clear focus on goals and accountability.
The HR team could provide a clear framework for the mentoring relationships to ensure that individuals get the most out of mentoring relationships and that there is a clear purpose to the relationships, linking back to the individual’s learning and development plan.
Succession Planning
Being a Small & Medium Sized Enterprise (SME), Garvey Group may not be able to compete with some of the larger corporate hotel chains with regards to career progression, as there will be less people and therefore potentially less opportunities to progress. However one thing that stands them apart from larger corporates and being a family-owned business is that the opportunities to progress could be limitless, even all the way to future ownership of the company. The Institute for Family Business (IFB) (2019) suggests that it is never too early to think about succession planning in a family business. Whether the next generation of the family are looking to enter the business or we are seeking to progress non-family members, the ‘grow our own leaders’ approach that we are seeking at all levels of the organisation will significantly help Garvey Group success. Again, through adopting the business partnering approach and closely collaborating with existing managers, the HR team can support with talent spotting and development for these future leaders.
Active and Proactive HR
Barcelos (2022) says that HR professionals are uniquely qualified to play an active role in leadership development and coaching. If the HR function is closely involved in recruitment, on-boarding and inducting individuals into the business, this can begin on day one. The value is then in playing an active role operationally as well as strategically, by regular visits to the 13 stores and hotels – shadowing individuals on the ground to really understand their challenges and where the HR team can support with additional learning and development interventions. This is about HR being active in the organisation’s workforce management, as Walsh (2017) suggests. If the HR professionals understand both the strategic direction of the organisation as well as the ongoing workforce related pressures at the sharp end of the operation, they are far more able to create learning and development programmes activities which are focused on improving and addressing these issues.
In conclusion, this is about the HR professionals in the business taking an active and proactive role in the whole of the organisation’s learning and development practices, with a particular eye to accelerating the leadership skills which exist at every level.
References for Leadership Management and Development
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