Leading in Turbulent times

July 25, 2013Carl Robinson – Vantage Leadership

Consulting

TheseV

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 DaysBehave 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…

7.25.13

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 distractionUnfair follower demands, weak leadership

responsesIncreased rigidity and escalating

commitment to failing courses of actionAn increasingly wary workforce prone to

learned helplessness

Unable to keep upLucy and Ethel resort

to eating the chocolates, stuffing

them into theirclothes and finally into

their hats

A Few Questions for ReflectionIn 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 Stand1. “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

discussionThink of a person who had significant

positive impact on your growth and development during a tough or formative period – a “great boss”

DiscussWho was it?What impact did they have?What specifically made the difference?

The Way It’s Always Been….Characteristics Shared by Great LeadersVery 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 ThinkAutonomy

• 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”