Blog
In Culture We Trust
Saturday, September 18th, 2010As the saying goes “___ happens” and when it does, even the best laid plans go awry. I discussed this concept at the Diversity MBA Leadership Development Forum in Chicago last Friday as I was delivering a session on leadership under pressure. A participant in the audience had suggested that having a well developed organizational strategy was critical in guiding companies thinking and decision making during a crisis. Although in theory I couldn’t agree more with this sentiment, I suggested to the audience that in reality, when organizations find themselves under pressure or facing a crisis of some sort, strategy often becomes irrelevant.
Rarely do strategies account for the unexpected. The assumptions that go into the creation of an organizational strategy often suggest that the organization will progress along a linear and upward trajectory toward increased revenue, profits, market share, and more. The possibility that something will go wrong, that something might significantly and adversely interfere in a way that makes strategy obsolete is rarely taken into consideration. And why should it be? Crises after all are rare events. Yet, when a crisis does occur it requires an immediate response from firm leadership, and that response will generally require a departure from their well planned strategy. (more…)
Women Leading UP (Under Pressure)
Monday, August 2nd, 2010The past ten years has been marked by one crisis after another. The decade began with financial scandals in the earlier 2000’s (remember Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco) and ended with the near financial collapse in the latter part of the decade. In the midst of the financial calamities, countries and communities have been devastated by natural disasters, extreme acts of violence and terrorism, and the life threatening H1N1 pandemic. Add to this list the numerous notable organizational crises, including the BP oil spill and the Toyota recall, and you may begin to wonder whether crises, generally defined as rare and extreme occurrences, have become the new normal in organizational life.
Believe it or not, and despite the media attention that would have us believe otherwise, crises are still rare events. That said, it is undeniable that the state of business has become increasingly complex, and with that complexity comes a greater likelihood that things will go wrong, and sometimes in catastrophic ways. More often, however, organizations are simply experiencing a heightened level of pressure to compete globally, manage diverse stakeholder needs, and produce more with fewer resources.
There are several hallmarks that characterize an organization under pressure. (more…)
Neither heroes nor villians, just people.
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010In response to a question posed to me by the Washington Post’s On Leadership Web series, “Where have all the CEO heroes gone?” I responded first with, “The answer lies in part in the question.” For too long now we have glorified CEOs as evidenced by the increasing wealth, power, visibility, and celebrity that we have accorded to the select group of individuals holding the title. Do CEOs have a tremendous amount of responsibility? Absolutely! Do they shoulder an inordinate burden for the lives and livelihood of their employees? Of course! Can they influence the financial, political, and emotional tenor of a nation with their decisions and actions? Clearly! Yet they are still human beings, as imperfect and subject to mistakes and wrongdoing as any of us. Our expectations of CEOs are clearly out of whack. We expect them to live up to impossible standards and are then disappointed, and at times downright angry, when they do not.
Granted, the outrageous acts of indiscretion and impropriety that we witnessed throughout much of this decade are inexcusable. But just as it is inappropriate to say that those CEOs were merely heroes who fell from grace, it is equally inappropriate to suggest that the men and women who are admirably leading corporations are heroes. They are not. (more…)
Preparing the Future: Executive Development for Emerging Women Leaders
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
In October 2010 the Darden Business School will offer a new open-enrollment executive education program called Women Emerging in Leadership. The program has been, shall we say, “in the making” for at least the past decade, and on several occasions during that time period small groups of faculty convened to discuss the possibility and the need for such a program. In the end it was never brought to fruition - until now. I am pleased to not only be heading this new initiative but to be working with an adroit group of faculty colleagues to bring it to life.
Women Emerging in Leadership is designed primarily by women and specifically for women who have or will soon be crossing the threshold into significant positions of leadership. Its goal is to enhance women’s skill set in critical areas that will allow them to be even more effective as they continue to assume increasing positions of power and influence in their organizations. In doing so, not only will they increase the likelihood of their own personal career advancement, but will be better positioned to contribute to the successful performance of their organizations. In the end, both the individual participant and her respective organization will be primed for becoming more competitive. (more…)
The First, The Only…
Thursday, July 1st, 2010Today the U.S. senate will continue the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Nominee Elena Kagan. Should Kagan be appointed to the high court it will mark only the fourth time in this country’s history that a woman will be appointed to the Court, and will mark the first time that the Court will simultaneously hold three women judges, representing a third of the Court. This fairly dramatic shift in the demographic make-up of the Court comes on the heels of a number of remarkable accomplishments by women in the public and private sector, including the 15 women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Interestingly at least two of those former CEOs, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina are poised to enter the public sector themselves as they run for governor and senator, respectively, in California. Regardless of one’s political affiliation, their success, and the success of other women leaders is a cause for celebration! At the same time I am deeply saddened by the fact that we are still at the point where there is a need to call attention to women’s success. That, in and of itself, implies that the achievements of talented women are an anomaly. (more…)