The Challenges Leaders Face Around The World More Similar .
WHITE PAPERThe Challenges Leaders Face Around the WorldMore Similar than DifferentBy: William A. Gentry, Regina H. Eckert,Sarah A. Stawiski, and Sophia Zhao
ContentsOverview2Why Look at These Challenges?3Main Finding: Six Common Challenges across Seven Countries4What Can Be Done to Help Leaders Overcome These Challenges?5Develop Managerial Effectiveness5Develop Relationship Skills8Develop Skills to Enact Change10Develop Skills to Cope with Organizational Politics11Conclusion14About the Research15Endnotes16About the Authors17
OverviewWhat are the challenges of those who are leading from the middleand executive levels of organizations? Many people speculateabout them. Our research at the Center for Creative Leadership(CCL ) identified these challenges from a proven and reliablesource—from the words of those leading from the middle andexecutive levels of organizations facing these challenges everysingle day. We gathered data from 763 participants of leadershipdevelopment programs from seven different places in the world(China/Hong Kong, Egypt, India, Singapore, Spain, UnitedKingdom, and United States). Though they come from all parts ofthe world, these leaders consistently face the same six challenges: Developing Managerial EffectivenessInspiring OthersDeveloping EmployeesLeading a TeamGuiding ChangeManaging Internal Stakeholders and PoliticsWe explain what these six challenges are, and how leaders cancope with them. We also implore those who design and implementtraining and development initiatives to understand thesechallenges. If you understand the challenges leaders face, you willbe better able to design initiatives aimed at their development.2 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.
Why look at these challenges?The life of a modern-day leader clearly is noteasy. Inside their organizations, they need tolead and motivate a diversified group of people,work across organizational boundaries, improveefficiency, and achieve growth. Externally, theyface a complex and globalized environment;they have to manage the requirements ofgovernment, keep up with competitors, andmeet the expectations of other stakeholders.And within this global environment, there aremany cultural considerations leaders must faceto be effective. They must work across culturalboundaries and alongside others who, at times,are very different from them and have differentways of getting work completed.These are difficult challenges, and many leadersfeel ill-prepared to tackle them. Developingleaders who can face these challenges is trickyindeed. Of course, some training needs andcontent can be derived from organizationalstrategy and planned change initiatives. Yetmany leaders have other needs and challengesthat strategy or change initiatives do notcover. So what are those challenges, and howcan a company ensure that training actually isdesigned to meet the development needs of aspecific leader?To help companies clarify these issues, weinvestigated the main challenges leaders facearound the globe and whether the challengesdiffer depending upon geographic location.The findings will not only help practicingleaders understand what they and othersaround the world are going through, but alsoinform training and development initiatives toensure that developmental opportunities areappropriately targeted. Our research examineddata from 763 participants of leadershipdevelopment programs from seven differentplaces in the world: China/Hong Kong, Egypt,India, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, andUnited States. Through their own words, themost significant challenges these leadersface are relatively similar across all sevenlocations. In this white paper, we review eachof these challenges and ways leaders caneffectively deal with them. 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.3
Main FindingSix Common Challenges across Seven CountriesLooking across the countries, there are six main categories that comprise morethan half of all challenges. In addition, these six are ranked among the Top 10challenges leaders face in each country. In order of frequency, they are: Developing Managerial Effectiveness—The challenge of developing therelevant skills—such as time management, prioritization, strategic thinking,decision-making, and getting up to speed with the job—to be more effectiveat work. Inspiring Others—The challenge of inspiring or motivating others to ensure theyare satisfied with their jobs; how to motivate a workforce to work smarter. Developing Employees—The challenge of developing others, including topicsaround mentoring and coaching. Leading a Team—The challenge of team-building, team development, and teammanagement; how to instill pride in a team or support the team, how to lead abig team, and what to do when taking over a new team. Guiding Change—The challenge of managing, mobilizing, understanding, andleading change. How to mitigate change consequences, overcome resistance tochange, and deal with employees’ reaction to change. Managing Internal Stakeholders and Politics—The challenge of managingrelationships, politics, and image. Gaining managerial support and managing up;getting buy-in from other departments, groups, or individuals.Table 1 displays the frequency and rank of the Top 10 challenges in each country.It may be surprising to find so much consistency in these challenges, given thatleaders came from all corners of the globe, as well as different industries andorganizations. It seems that, overall, these six challenges are inherent in therole of being a middle/senior manager regardless of the context one needs tofulfill this role. Thus, the challenges should be core focus areas for managerialdevelopment, everywhere in the world, and in all organizations.4 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.
Top 10 (of 34) Challenges Mentioned by Leaders in Each CountryRankTABLE 1ChinaEgyptIndiaSingaporeSpainUKUS(% mention)(% mention)(% mention)(% mention)(% mention)(% mention)(% oldersand PoliticsGuiding Change Guiding Change(17.0%)Leading a nternalStakeholdersand Politics(20.5%)Leading a Team Guiding %)ManagingRetentionand eading a Team Guiding agingPerformanceGuiding AchievingResultsManagingRetention andSelection (14.0%)LeadingVisionLeading a ersand ed as aLeader ldersand PoliticsManagingInternalStakeholdersand 22.6%)DevelopingEmployeesLeading a Team Guiding Change(13.0%)Guiding Change(20.8%)(16.0%)ManagingRetention andSelection (15.2%)(11.1%)Leading a TeamManagingInternalStakeholdersand eholdersand Politics(11.3%)Driving Growth(9.4%)LeadingVision(13.0%)Leading a Team(11.6%)LeadingWith Less(7.5%)(10.6%) 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.5
What Can Be Done to Help LeadersOvercome These Challenges?In addition to targeted, planned, formal developmentinitiatives and training so that leaders can deal withand overcome these challenges, other means that relyon learning in a more social and informal way are alsoappropriate. In the sections that follow, we give somehelpful tips for leaders who are facing these challenges.Develop Managerial Effectiveness“I am definitely going to take acourse on time management . . .just as soon as I can work it intomy schedule.”—Louis E. Boone, Poet and NovelistThe most frequently mentioned challenge for China, India, and the United States is developingmanagerial effectiveness. This reflects the challenge of leaders to have a range of very specificskills such as prioritization, time management, and decision-making. Though this sort of skilldevelopment has been noted for decades,1 it still seems to be one that is relevant in today’s worldof work.My biggest leadership challenge is:“Workload is very challenging attimes. Lots of different criticalprojects and activities going onwith limited resources in the group.Juggling priorities is always atthe forefront.”(Manager from the United States of America)6 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.
So what can a leader do?Here are some recommendations:Goal-setting is important. Be proactive in setting goals, and with setting the timelines anddeadlines required to meet those goals.Delegate more. Delegating can, in fact, make you more productive. The act of delegation canalso empower the people to whom you have given work.Work on tasks that maximize your unique value-add. Among all the organizationalpriorities, there will always be important tasks that only you can do. These are the tasks onwhich you should focus. As a result, you will maximize your specific value to the organization.Everything else, try to delegate.Gain some role clarity. Understand what your work does and does not entail. With that, youmay have to practice and be comfortable saying “no.” 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.7
Develop Relationship Skills“Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost theself-esteem of their personnel. If people believe inthemselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”—Sam Walton, businessmanknown for founding Walmart and Sam’s ClubThree of the challenges—inspiring others (topchallenge in Singapore), developing employees(top challenge in Egypt), and leading a team(top challenge in Spain)—are all related to therelationship-oriented part of leadership. This ismore important in today’s context of work, whereorganizations are encouraging leaders to pursueand participate in relationships that develop theirdirect reports and team members.2The division between task- and relationshiporiented leadership has been around for decades;leaders must focus on production, as well asdemonstrate behaviors that tap into interpersonalconcerns.3 So leaders need to build and maintainrelationships by inspiring others, developingothers, and leading their team.My biggest leadership challenge is:“To motivate a group of 70 staff who had been workingwith the organization for more than 10 years. Someof the staff have been in the same position withoutpromotion for more than 6 to 8 years.”(Singaporean manager)“Qualify my direct reports to fill in for me in the taskspreviously done by myself, mainly on two fronts, 1stto develop their business knowledge and sense ofperfection which will, 2nd, help them gain their teammembers’ trust and dedication.”(Egyptian manager)“Creating a really collaborative team in a newlyestablished unit.”(Spanish manager)8 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.
While developing relationships with others is a hugechallenge, here are some things to consider:Take an active role in mentoring, coaching,and developing others. Provide challengingopportunities for others, promote youremployees to upper management (i.e., trumpettheir successes), and empower others toincrease their area of competence. Supportyour employees by providing guidance andfeedback. Assume roles such as being asounding board, role model, or shoulder tolean on, while ensuring that organizationalstructures and systems enhance collaborationand accountability.Meet the needs of your employees. It’s notjust making sure that your employees have theright software or enough office supplies. Youalso have to meet their psychological and socialneeds. Many people need to be validated byothers and desire to be part of something. Aleader must try to meet the differing needs ofthe many individuals with whom they work on adaily basis.Manage team effectiveness. Make sure yourteam has a clear purpose, strong support, andeffectively shares information among the groupand with important stakeholders outside thegroup. 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.9
Develop Skills to Enact Change“The nature of the global business environment guaranteesthat no matter how hard we work to create a stable andhealthy organization, our organization will continue toexperience dramatic changes far beyond our control.”—Margaret J. Wheatley, writer and management consultantGuiding change is a top challenge for leaders, particularly in the United Kingdom. Organizationsexist in a VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous).4 Leaders need to be adept atmanaging, mobilizing, leading, and dealing with change. Incorporating change management andenhancing resourcefulness should be at the forefront of leadership development initiatives. Here aresome suggestions to develop your change leadership skills even further:“Try it, you might like it.” This old televisioncommercial slogan can help you incorporatechange. It’s natural that people do not likechange. Leaders should try to transform theirown thinking, and be more open to fresh ideas.If leaders are able to do that, they can be anexample to others to embrace change as well.People may witness that shift in attitude andembrace it.Embrace emotional reactions to change.Human cognition and emotion are integratedsystems. When convincing people that changeis needed and desirable, it’s not enough to userational arguments. Leaders also need to besensitive to employees’ emotions and showempathy. Engage people emotionally by beingvisionary, passionate, and authentic.Since you cannot be clairvoyant, be clear.Nobody can tell others what the future willbe, but you definitely can tell others about thepresent and what you’re doing to reach thedesired future stage. Let people know what isgoing on. If you reduce as much ambiguity aspossible, control over the situation increases,enabling people to become proactive changeagents. They will feel like masters of their owndestiny.My biggest leadership challenge is:“Leading the organisation through a business-widetransformation programme as part of the executive team.This involves the consolidation of product offerings,driving customer centricity, well-managed agendas,substantial outsourcing and headcount reduction.”(Manager from the United Kingdom)10 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.
Develop Skills to Cope with Organizational Politics“Just because you do not take an interest in politicsdoesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.”—Pericles, Greek statesman, orator, and generalAnother frequent challenge that is in the Top 10 for all seven countries in our study is managinginternal stakeholders and politics. This goes to show that no matter where you are in the world,organizations are inherently political.5 To more effectively manage internal stakeholders and politics,leaders need to develop and enhance their political skill and savvy, defined as “the ability to effectivelyunderstand others at work and to use such knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhanceone’s personal and/or organizational objectives.”6My biggest leadership challenge is:“The ability to convince and influence other stakeholdersto follow the regional and global direction.”(Manager from India)“How to enhance the department position in theorganization to add more value to the organization inboth operational and strategic perspective.”(Manager from China) 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.11
There are several ways leaders can enhance their political savvyso that they can navigate inherently political environments andmanage internal and external stakeholders:7,8Mingle strategically and build strongnetworks and relationships with people. Mapout your network by writing your name in themiddle of a sheet of paper. Put the names ofthose with whom you have a strong relationshipclose to you, and those with whom you have aweak or distant relationship farther from you.Then ask if some of your close connections canhelp you meet with your distant connections.Manage up. Keep your boss informed. Beproactive in telling your boss what is going on,the struggles you and your team are having,and what is going well. Ask what you’d like toknow about yourself if you were in your boss’sshoes—and purposefully manage this perceptionof yourself. You can do this by enhancing someof the characteristics and talents your bossmight consider the most important ones forthe company, while making sure you keep yourauthenticity.12 2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.Read the situation. Observe and gatherinformation from others and the environment.Do this by actively listening to others, payingattention to the verbal and, especially,nonverbal behaviors of others to understandwhat is really being said.Leave people with a good impression. Beingpolitically savvy is not being manipulative.Having integrity and being authentic are ofthe utmost importance. Get feedback on howyour message and behavior really come acrossto others. Avoid gossiping. Keep confidences.Deliver on the promises you make.
2016 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.13
Conclusion“Human beings are more alike than unalike,and what is true anywhere is true everywhere . . .”—Maya Angelou, poet,memoirist, novelist, and civil rights activistThere is no doubt that the work ofmodern-day leaders is complicatedaround the world. And our researchshows that the challenges these diverseleaders face are more similar thandifferent. Even though they may feelalone with the problems and challengesthey have, it is likely that one leader’schallenge is the same as others severaltime zones away.So leaders out there, take solace inthe fact that you are not alone. Helpothers who probably have the samechallenges. At the very least, listen.Give peer feedback if you are askedfor it—you probably have some greatadvice since you probably went throughit (or are going through it).For those who work in training anddevelopment, knowing the challengesleaders face can be the catalyst fordevelopmental initiatives aimed athelping leaders. Developmentalinitiatives are more effective ifthey are in line with the challengesleaders face. So, we suggest that amajority of the content could be thesame no matter where the training is14taking place or who is going throughthe training. However, we alsorecognize that there may be a culturalappropriateness or awareness of howto do certain things; what is acceptedin one culture may be unacceptable ortaboo in another. As the second partof the aforementioned Angelou quotegoes “ . . . yet I encourage travel to asmany destinations as possible for thesake of education as well as pleasure.”Some behaviors may be the norm inone country but different in another.One does not know unless one iseducated about or knows the culture. Indeveloping training and developmentinitiatives aimed at helping leaderswith these challenges, it is essential tobe aware of the cultural nuances. Withleaders around the world having thesame challenges across six areas, thosedesigning training and
Leading a Team—The challenge of team-building, team development, and team management; how to instill pride in a team or support the team, how to lead a big team, and what to do when taking over a new team. Guiding Change—The challenge of managing, mobilizing, understanding, and leading change.
May 02, 2018 · D. Program Evaluation ͟The organization has provided a description of the framework for how each program will be evaluated. The framework should include all the elements below: ͟The evaluation methods are cost-effective for the organization ͟Quantitative and qualitative data is being collected (at Basics tier, data collection must have begun)
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̶The leading indicator of employee engagement is based on the quality of the relationship between employee and supervisor Empower your managers! ̶Help them understand the impact on the organization ̶Share important changes, plan options, tasks, and deadlines ̶Provide key messages and talking points ̶Prepare them to answer employee questions
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Le genou de Lucy. Odile Jacob. 1999. Coppens Y. Pré-textes. L’homme préhistorique en morceaux. Eds Odile Jacob. 2011. Costentin J., Delaveau P. Café, thé, chocolat, les bons effets sur le cerveau et pour le corps. Editions Odile Jacob. 2010. Crawford M., Marsh D. The driving force : food in human evolution and the future.
Le genou de Lucy. Odile Jacob. 1999. Coppens Y. Pré-textes. L’homme préhistorique en morceaux. Eds Odile Jacob. 2011. Costentin J., Delaveau P. Café, thé, chocolat, les bons effets sur le cerveau et pour le corps. Editions Odile Jacob. 2010. 3 Crawford M., Marsh D. The driving force : food in human evolution and the future.
