Page 13 - index
P. 13
RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS
participants up according to their different psychological ing them, you don’t need a course in follow through.
types – introverted/extroverted etc. During a five-year You need a project manager.
period he hypothesized that there are certain patterns
or clusters of behavior which predict team success and Going forward, companies who embrace a diverse
that individuals often have a preference for one or more workforce with complementary strengths will be better
of these clusters. Another discovery included that no equipped to compete than those who demand conform-
one team is ever perfect for every task. ity.
Be prepared to be challenged
At the end of the study, he was able to accurately pre-
dict which teams would succeed at projects by analyz- Warren Bennis, an early pioneer in the field of leader-
ing the strengths a group of individuals brought to a ship studies, wrote in his book ‘Co-Leaders’ that to-
specific team engaged in a specific task. His analysis day’s world is complicated and that the days of solo
reinforces the fact that team success relies on interde- leadership are gone. In other words – autocracies are
pendence and the right ‘mix’ of its members’ strengths. out – teams of leaders are in. Bennis believes that in
today’s complicated business environment, leaders
For industry, is this a clear call for change? Now more who can combine the skills of their followers will pro-
than ever, amid world volatility and seemingly insur- gress.
mountable problems that include climate change and
the growing health crisis, there’s a need for diversity of The prerequisite to this ability is a leader who isn’t in-
thought. We have had so many people that looked ex- timidated by difference or uncomfortable with being
actly like us running the world before and this hasn’t challenged. Surrounding ourselves with those who al-
(yet) resulted in significant improvement. We need a ways agree with us dramatically increases our likeli-
radical shift away from what we’ve done before, if we hood of being wrong or failing.
want results that are different to what we’ve always
achieved. What’s your signature?
Dr Ute Hülsheger, an Associate Professor of Work and Richard Branson has made a career out of challenging
Organizational Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology the status quo. He infiltrates businesses that have be-
and Neuroscience at Maastricht University, is also a come ‘lazy’ and brings unconventional thinking to busi-
proponent for diversity of thinking. She advocates for ness conundrums in order to awaken potential. He is
diversity in skills (job-relevant diversity) as a major con- good at competing and disrupts traditional thinkers in
tributor to innovation, although she does caution that his space. His signature style is a ‘rebel brand’.
careful thought and curation are required in terms of
diversity of backgrounds on a team in order to achieve Estée Lauder, of the cosmetic giant by the same name,
the diversity sweet spot. built her success through sheer hard work and her sig-
Interestingly, each one of the nine team roles Belbin nature ‘I don’t take no for an answer’ courage. “To sell
formalized has what he calls an ‘allowable weakness’ – a cream, you sold a dream,” said Lauder – and it was a
reinforcing the fact that we do not have to be good at dream she worked on in her tiny flat day in and day out,
everything all the time. We just have to be really good knocking on doors for hours on end to peddle her
at what we are good at! There is great strength in the wares before securing contracts. She became famous
right mix of strengths. for saying: “I never dreamed about success. I worked
for it.”
Hire for your weakness
But what if you aren’t an Estee Lauder… a Branson… a
Some of the world’s best inventors were known to be Jobs… or a Zuckerberg? One of the non-negotiable
weak at certain things. Mark Zuckerberg and Steve skills that leaders should have is an ability to manage
Jobs didn’t become famous for their tolerance of others. outcomes – but let’s not forget: there are several thou-
sand ways to get there. An authentic leader who has
Yet weaknesses often make us uncomfortable and this found their signature style and is focusing on their
tendency to want to be ‘perfect’ spills over into our lead- strengths is far more powerful than emulating tried and
ership style. We look at weaknesses during annual per- tested leadership principles.
formance appraisals and how to improve these. We
come up with ‘development plans’ focused on improving In 2017, isn’t it time we threw away the formulaic blue-
our ‘blind spots’. print of leadership or what a successful employee
‘should’ look like? What businesses today need are
In reality, we should be hiring for our weaknesses, not leaders courageous enough to advocate for a diverse
improving them. If you’re great at meeting with new cli- workforce who are unleashed to work on their
ents to seal the deal but poor at the follow-up paper- strengths. Forget the New Year’s resolution and im-
work, you don’t need a course in administration. You proving what might never be. Each of us has
need an effective personal assistant. If you’re a whizz at enough strengths to contribute to the table
designing new processes but get bored with implement- already – what’s yours? ◊
MediaBUZZ Pte Ltd - Independant ePublisher for Asia
participants up according to their different psychological ing them, you don’t need a course in follow through.
types – introverted/extroverted etc. During a five-year You need a project manager.
period he hypothesized that there are certain patterns
or clusters of behavior which predict team success and Going forward, companies who embrace a diverse
that individuals often have a preference for one or more workforce with complementary strengths will be better
of these clusters. Another discovery included that no equipped to compete than those who demand conform-
one team is ever perfect for every task. ity.
Be prepared to be challenged
At the end of the study, he was able to accurately pre-
dict which teams would succeed at projects by analyz- Warren Bennis, an early pioneer in the field of leader-
ing the strengths a group of individuals brought to a ship studies, wrote in his book ‘Co-Leaders’ that to-
specific team engaged in a specific task. His analysis day’s world is complicated and that the days of solo
reinforces the fact that team success relies on interde- leadership are gone. In other words – autocracies are
pendence and the right ‘mix’ of its members’ strengths. out – teams of leaders are in. Bennis believes that in
today’s complicated business environment, leaders
For industry, is this a clear call for change? Now more who can combine the skills of their followers will pro-
than ever, amid world volatility and seemingly insur- gress.
mountable problems that include climate change and
the growing health crisis, there’s a need for diversity of The prerequisite to this ability is a leader who isn’t in-
thought. We have had so many people that looked ex- timidated by difference or uncomfortable with being
actly like us running the world before and this hasn’t challenged. Surrounding ourselves with those who al-
(yet) resulted in significant improvement. We need a ways agree with us dramatically increases our likeli-
radical shift away from what we’ve done before, if we hood of being wrong or failing.
want results that are different to what we’ve always
achieved. What’s your signature?
Dr Ute Hülsheger, an Associate Professor of Work and Richard Branson has made a career out of challenging
Organizational Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology the status quo. He infiltrates businesses that have be-
and Neuroscience at Maastricht University, is also a come ‘lazy’ and brings unconventional thinking to busi-
proponent for diversity of thinking. She advocates for ness conundrums in order to awaken potential. He is
diversity in skills (job-relevant diversity) as a major con- good at competing and disrupts traditional thinkers in
tributor to innovation, although she does caution that his space. His signature style is a ‘rebel brand’.
careful thought and curation are required in terms of
diversity of backgrounds on a team in order to achieve Estée Lauder, of the cosmetic giant by the same name,
the diversity sweet spot. built her success through sheer hard work and her sig-
Interestingly, each one of the nine team roles Belbin nature ‘I don’t take no for an answer’ courage. “To sell
formalized has what he calls an ‘allowable weakness’ – a cream, you sold a dream,” said Lauder – and it was a
reinforcing the fact that we do not have to be good at dream she worked on in her tiny flat day in and day out,
everything all the time. We just have to be really good knocking on doors for hours on end to peddle her
at what we are good at! There is great strength in the wares before securing contracts. She became famous
right mix of strengths. for saying: “I never dreamed about success. I worked
for it.”
Hire for your weakness
But what if you aren’t an Estee Lauder… a Branson… a
Some of the world’s best inventors were known to be Jobs… or a Zuckerberg? One of the non-negotiable
weak at certain things. Mark Zuckerberg and Steve skills that leaders should have is an ability to manage
Jobs didn’t become famous for their tolerance of others. outcomes – but let’s not forget: there are several thou-
sand ways to get there. An authentic leader who has
Yet weaknesses often make us uncomfortable and this found their signature style and is focusing on their
tendency to want to be ‘perfect’ spills over into our lead- strengths is far more powerful than emulating tried and
ership style. We look at weaknesses during annual per- tested leadership principles.
formance appraisals and how to improve these. We
come up with ‘development plans’ focused on improving In 2017, isn’t it time we threw away the formulaic blue-
our ‘blind spots’. print of leadership or what a successful employee
‘should’ look like? What businesses today need are
In reality, we should be hiring for our weaknesses, not leaders courageous enough to advocate for a diverse
improving them. If you’re great at meeting with new cli- workforce who are unleashed to work on their
ents to seal the deal but poor at the follow-up paper- strengths. Forget the New Year’s resolution and im-
work, you don’t need a course in administration. You proving what might never be. Each of us has
need an effective personal assistant. If you’re a whizz at enough strengths to contribute to the table
designing new processes but get bored with implement- already – what’s yours? ◊
MediaBUZZ Pte Ltd - Independant ePublisher for Asia
