Leadership - Art or Science?

“Leadership is intangible. No weapon, no impersonal piece of machinery
ever designed can take its place”- Gen Omar Bradley

As the world slowly edges out of global recession, we can’t avoid  reflecting how it all started and how people in leadership responsibilities played an ugly hand in directly starting it or indirectly allowing it into a downward spiral. Cyclical or prophetic, it sure has awaken all to call into question the role of leadership in shaping events and outcomes of not just businesses but livelihood, as well. We have witnessed how leaders, in the name of free market capitalism and innovative services, have exploited their positions in creating tsunamis on financial institutions, GDP growth, equity markets, reserve funds, export trade and job security. Many people have been laid off and struggle to put food on the table for their families. What does it take for a person to unleash greed, selfish acts and abuse of power. Was it the lack of regulatory measures that failed to ensure good corporate governance or the leadership behind its design and enforcement?.  Everyday, you can find reminders of disintegration in leadership ethics and integrity at all levels, be it political, business, government, enforcement agencies, management, professionals, contractors and even decorated public figures. Therefore, it is timely and critical to take a close study at leadership and see how leaders, through their decisions and actions, impact people.

How can we best understand the role and function of leadership, in the most fundamental and simplistic form. How does leadership differ at the national, corporate, business, non-profit, military or even household level. What are the governing philosophy, principles, rules, traits, styles needed for one to become an effective leader. We are told a leader must earn the respect, trust and admiration of his or her followers. If so, how come there is lesser attention and significance given to the people who honour this – the led. If the core focus of effective leadership is to motivate people for a common cause or goal, why do we see union disputes, political uprising, white collar crimes, employee victimisation resulting from unilateralism, individualism, creative greed, economic disparity, social imbalance, ethnic clashes, religious conflicts, generation gaps, and the like.

Let’s take the current situation of companies struggling to stay above water. Laying off workers is one of the most common and fastest cost cutting remedies. Some innovatively use redundancy to rid of poor performers and excess fat. The question that begs asking the leadership conscience is, “Are the rats abandoning the ship or is the skipper throwing them overboard?. A business leader has to dig deep in asking, “which would it be ?” – to lay off workers or take an across pay-cut or trade off all those ego boosting perks and luxury assets accruing depreciation?. How many would do what Herb Kelleher did at South West Airways. When it ran into financial trouble in 1971, he was faced with a dilemma - either sell one of the 4 planes or lay off some employees. Herb made the unconventional choice - he sold the plane!.
 

So, what is this hard to grasp, intangible and elusive thing called leadership?. Leadership is the art of influencing people to get things done, willingly. This is the definition I learned way back in 1979, whilst serving as a young military officer. Though initially, I did not understand nor appreciate the essence of it’s deep calling, I began to realize the intrinsic value when the big Q hit me, “How do I get soldiers to believe in following me into battles and to sacrifice their life for a cause”. Yes, they would do it for the patriotic love of the country, but would they follow me in doing so?. It was a deep soul searching thought that raised doubts yet challenged me to embark on a passionate journey into the realm of leadership. After 22 years of soldiering and navigating the corporate scene for the past 9 years, I have come to declare that the art of leadership is the same, everywhere. I would say it is the only facet of management function that cuts across business, cultures, race, religion, gender, age, place and situation, including the current recession.

When does one become a leader?. Whether you like it or not, the moment they place a person under your charge, you technically become a leader. It would mean that you are entrusted to motivate and guide the way for your people to accomplish a project, task or activity. Whether that “people” happens to be your child, employee, volunteer or nation’s citizen. This is where most bosses or managers miss the essence - the need to lead, not manage. Most executives and managers fail to recognize that they are wholly responsible and accountable, not just for the end results but also for the capability and capacity building of people. Leaders are responsible to provide meaning to the future direction – vision, mission and strategy. He need to be a provider of resources, including training, development and inspiration for his people to perform to their best potential. We often hear leaders champion, “people are our most valuable asset”, yet sadly whenever a crisis develops there is little evidence by way of actions. Bottom-line financial results is crucial for survival but equally so critical is capacity building and performance improvement. All these require sharpening the tool of leadership – people factor – and tending to the development of worker competency, teambuilding and creating a healthy work culture. Instead, what we have is management shifting blame on workers, technology, HR department, system, culture and a host of other lame excuses other than their very own leadership style or approach.

Borrowing the punch-line from Spiderman, “With great powers come great responsibilities”, what sort of powers do leaders possess or wield in their role. Is the source derived from position of authority or some supernatural powers out of this world?. Is it an art or science or both?. For me, it has always been an art because it is learnable. Anyone can become a good leader, so long as you are humble to learn and recognize the potential ability in people. A leader has to master the people skills and profile through character development. As I vividly recall, leadership is nothing more than the application of 3 fundamental characteristics. You can further explore, expand and refine it. However, in the context of work experience, I have simplified it into:

 

1. Knowledge. Knowledge is that all information and wisdom needed to successfully plan and execute a mission, job or task. It covers a wide spectrum of areas such as technical, managerial, leadership, psychological, problem solving, strategy, creativity, communication, etc. This is important to demonstrate, convince and influence your people that you know exactly what you want them to do or need to be done. A leader should never hold back in sharing knowledge or be shy of lacking it. There is no room for ego status when it comes to learning from team members and best people on the job. What is most important is a leader’s sincerity, honesty and willingness to learn from, irrespective of rank or status. How often have we, in our own backyard of experience, come across leaders who hide or contradict invaluable information and discredit themselves in the process. Whether it is on the hardened battlefield, customer counter or greasy shop-floor, leaders should always recognize the experience of those who have walked the corridors before them. Being street smart in learning form the old timers may be far more important and useful than what the books could help. All these requires the virtue of humility and integrity, crucial traits that has far reaching impact in building confidence and trust in people. Knowledge is the intellectual dimension that allows a leader to build positive power of influence. When you have it, people will listen and follow you because of wisdom, not because of fear that they have to if they wish to stay on the job!.

2. Courage. Courage can be measured in terms of physical and moral perspective. Whilst physical courage has its significance in the military, it is moral courage that separates the professionals from amateurs. A leader without moral courage is someone without a backbone and one who would not stick up for his people in times of trouble or desperate need. Moral courage is the foundation for integrity because it gives you the strength of character within to never fear anyone or anything in leading your people. This is the elusive “trigger” that inspires people to do things willingly, sometimes beyond logical and rationale comprehension such as the world had witnessed in Nazi Germany during WW2 and all those suicide terrorist. In a corporate context, this would mean upholding at all cost the values espoused by the business, defending righteousness, standing by your people in bad times, fighting against injustice and mistreatment, rewarding people fairly and punishing them for misconduct, including termination. Do you agree with the transfer of problematic employees from one department to another, as a solution. A leader must, when the situation demands, choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, even if it could cost him unpopularity. Another feature that is seriously lacking in leaders nowadays is in owning up to failures and making amends to redeem their mistake, instead of waiting for the law to catch up, if they could using the tax payers money. Courage should not be misconstrued as driving fear into people until it breakdowns communication, creativity and feedback.

3. Compassion. This is the emotional dimension that underscores the caring nature of a leader towards his fellow workers, particularly when the chips are down and the going gets tough. It is a reflection of the degree of willingness to listen with your mind and heart. Compassion is not about treating people with sympathy and “welfare” outlook, but rather treating people with all the common right, decency and care they deserve as human beings. If an employee has weaknesses or fails to perform his job up to expectations, then it is incumbent upon leadership to jointly help the employee overcome effectively and efficiently. I learned this painfully from my own staff when I became blind to the obsession in producing results. A leader who is willing to listen, analyse, identify and offer win-win solutions will earn the respect, sacrifice and even care of their people. Leaders must have the moral conscience to realize that they shoulder the burden of not only employees but also the extended dependents. Making hasty or rash decisions without due consideration of its consequential impact on their dependents is not only inhumane but reflects bad leadership. I once had the displeasure of seeing a manager sacked for failing to appear at meeting, because he was on emergency leave tending to his dying father. It will take many incidents like these to unveil the true colour of leadership and pave the way to the ultimate test of all leadership – winning the heart and soul of your followers willingly.

That, in a nutshell, is what leadership is all about, be you from any organization, place or walk of life. According to Jim Collins of “Good to Great”, the common thread among elite companies was a leader with a simple duality - modest and willful, humble and fearless. The basic equation is Humility + Will = (great, effective) leadership. Therefore, wherever you are or go, as long as you are thrust into the position of leadership you shall be judged and measured by these characteristics. Some of the great leaders who left a positive print on us are Lincoln, Tunku Abd Rahman, Mother Teresa, Ghandi, Lady Diana, Mandela, Hendry Ford, Matsushita and others. On the flip side, we have seen such infamous leaders such as Hitler, Jeffrey Skilling, Pol Pot, Ramalinga Raju and Bernard Madoff.

In concluding, leadership is not about management numbers, positional authority, wondrous charm, armchair tactics, driving fear, manipulating politics or dangling money as carrots. It concerns with inspiring and influencing people to do things, willingly. This is what makes successful companies led by great leaders. The people are highly motivated, connected and engaged at work. They draw purpose, meaning and inspiration from those who lead them. Have you ever conducted an evaluation of how your people feel towards your leadership?. If Managers really want to turnaround the business performance during rough times, take a serious review and focus on your leadership, as Jack Welch exhorts, “Lead more, Manage Less”.

JW on HR

Thanks to Success Factor and Youtube, I have edited to show the most important 55 seconds clip on HR that every CEO and Manager should watch. No, I am not refering to the mundane backend payrol administration or the hire and fire chore. I am talking of HR as a strategic partner and contributor to organisational growth. And, who better to convey the truism than the legendary CEO of the 20th century, Jack Welch. With utmost candour, "Neutron Jack", shares his take on how leaders should manage employee performance and questions why CEOs don't spend more time with HR, as opposed to ...........

What escapes the god given common sense is, "why pick on HR who are employed  to support  the very people who need them to serve - CEOs, Line Managers and Employees?". No wonder HR is a thankless job!. And to add salt to the wound, some elitist leaders insist that HR must deservingly earn their seat at the table. They ridicule the payroll background HR person as incompetent to think strategic and contribute to improving the business performance!.

It is ironical that despite holding a supportive and advisory role, HR is expected to be accountable for employee performance, more so when the results are not desirably forthcoming. But, don't line management have a part in it?. For example, HR can help the hiring manager to recruit the best talent, but who really sows and reaps the performance?. Is it HR who is accountable when performance turns turtle and the manager faces talent turnover. If whatever happens between acquisition and exit is not considered strategic to HR and leadership, I don't know what else is ?. 

Many articles have appeared in the media (e,g http://www.recruiter.com/i/hr-gets-poor-performance-grade-from-business-execs/), criticising and undermining the value of HR contribution in helping businesses face-off talent challenges. And, it  has drawn mixed responses from both sides of the equation, seeing the glass half empty or half full. For me, it is a good sign and provocatively healthy. HR is finaly getting the attention, even if in negative light!. It's a wake up to the dinosaur scenario, one that challenges HR to come to the forefront of true potential in driving strategic change and improvement at all fronts. Perhaps, the time has come for HR to take on the larger than life role and walk down the path of professionalism, in acquiring the appropriate competencies, capability and recogntion it deserves. HR is fast approaching a critical inflection point which may dictate it's relevance to the future. HR can no longer remain at the backend office. It needs to step up the game and be seen as the equal partner to leadership and human capital.                                             

The takeaway lesson for top leadership in reviewing the partnership with HR is to introspect if they are doing anything 'a..e backwards". Don't let your most important asset manager to come to work and wander without direction as to why s(he) was employed.      

Ronin Spirit

You may wonder, "why HR Ronin?". I guess it's only appropriate to explain the rationale behind it and save readers the hassle of having to google what Ronin means.   

Originating in Japanese feudal period, the traditional meaning of Ronin carries several meanings and contextual usage. According to Wiki , it refers to a masterless Samurai warrior, renegade mercenary, social drifter, soldier, etc. In modern usage, it can refer to a salaryman between employers or secondary school graduate who is yet to get admitted to university. Yet, in media, marvel comics and video gaming, Ronin is interchangeably portrayed as heroes and villains. In 47 Ronin and 1998 movie Ronin, the characters played the role of mercenaries in honour of loyalty and courage.

So, what is my angle in using Ronin?. Well, to tell you the truth, it is more to reflect the crusade in my HR career through the character I am, in person. Though I may have had a short excursion into the corporate HR world, I have experienced samples of the good , bad and ugly shades of how it all fits together, enough to form a fairly conclusive impression. Believe me, more than 90% of HR out there suffer from an identity and recognition crisis. This is so because HR is still very much under-rated,  unappreciated and under-optimized, far from the immense potential it offers. In most places it is still a payroll administrator instead of being the a strategic business 'game changing' partner. Some leaders have misgivings that HR, after being hired, must earn their seat at the executive table. This sort of perception leaves a widening gap between organizational leadership and HR. It's a lose-lose situation that creates serious effectiveness gaps, opportunity lost and failed goals.  I see an acute need to replace this sort of outdated notion with a more dynamic, holistic  collaborative framework in bridging how leaders can leverage HR in driving corporate success. And, this is what the HR Ronin aims to do - to reveal  painful truths, share perspectives, provoke critical thinking, foster radical ideas and shift paradigms. Towards that end, I  see myself operating in the spirit of the Ronin "Waveman", crusading the need to standby the leadership values that we preach to others  Character rather the personality is what leadership is about, so says Stephen Covey in his book 7 habits. The good old military indoctrination has instilled in me why upholding integrity, conscience, compassion, candour and discipline serves out the true meaning of leadership, especially in the HR profession. HR folks are often confronted with "on who's side do they stand on?". Well, HR don't take sides nor do they sit on the fence. The function of HR is to serve the interests of all stakeholders, by offering their best technical advice and leadership judgment. They add value to the strategic plan, operational process, legal interpretation, leadership coaching and people well being. HR does not make unilateral decisions but offers value based advice, even if it's not politically correct or expedient to what the leader wants to hear or do. And, where HR faces adversarial dispositions, then it ought to stick to the values it champions, despite the accompanying unpopularity. That to me, is the fulfillment of a HR true professional's calling. The measure of success to a HR professional varies in many forms and substance. For me, it's about doing an honest day's work (adding value and making a difference in the lives of people who come to me for help). That's why I am a contended and happy person. No matter what happens at work, I can go home, look in the mirror and sleep peacefully, without guilt or regret of having compromised my values or wrecked someone's career/life.  

So far, I have served in 5 companies, but I only mentioned 3 on my resume because 2 were not worthy of acknowledgment, having lasted less than 3 months due to cultural dissonance !.    

That's it. Without fear or favour, the spirit of Ronin to guide what ought to be spoken and practiced by HR and Leaders.

The Beginning

After years of procrastination, I am finally taking the plunge into blogging. I really don't know how long I can sustain it or what will come out of it. But, one thing is for certain, I am going to speak out my mind on two things that I am dead passionate about - HR and Leadership. I hope that through this blog, I can channel my thoughts and ideas across, hoping to influence and impact people with the only constant in life (besides tax) - CHANGE.

So, what's the big idea and motivation behind this blog?.     

Well, to put it bluntly, I am sick and tired at how HR, as a profession, is being perceived and treated at home here, in Malaysia. For far too long and too often, we have had a greater part of the business and corporate leaders delude HR into believing the cliche, "people are our most important asset". Sad to say, the reality on the ground is far from the truth. From where I have traveled through in my short corporate career, the evidence and commitment has been nothing less than downright lukewarm lip service. Yes, there is no denying that I have endured many success stories. But, almost all turned into short-lived memories, soon after I moved on. Pseudo buy-ins to HR change initiatives have become a common trademark and fashionable facade of many business today, in painting the picture that there is progress. But, the question is, "does it have the long term impact of sustainability?". Right after I left the company, the book review sessions I initiated ceased to continue.           

As a true blue HR practitioner, I have seen and experienced enough to know the kind of strategic and cultural challenges that Malaysian HR has to face, from both sides of the fence - employees as well as employers. All we hear on the HR front is newly coined phrases like war on talent, employee engagement, talent acquisition, retention strategy, seat at the table, etc. But, do you really see genuine and lasting changes happening on the ground, enough to convince you that HR is indeed indispensable to people progress and organisational growth?.             

This blog is dedicated to the spirit of the "Ronin" with the single cause or mission - to ignite a wave of radical thinking in the mind of readers on the topic of HR and Leadership. And, in doing so, question and challenge the conventional notion of how it has been all these while and to seek within the answers that will liberate us from the myopia of short-termist management thinking that is holding HR back from helping business and corporate leaders gain the only competitive edge they ever need to survive or sustain - PEOPLE.

As a species, we are so blessed to be endowed with superior intelligence. We even have the benefit of the past wisdom to learn from those before us and our own rude awakening to failures. Yet, we often fail to use hindsight experience to adapt and propel a better future ahead. As Einstein said, "you can't do the same thing over and expect different results" and "you can't solve a problem at the level at which it was created". The path we take is sprinkled with good values to guide us. What do we do it is very much a matter of choice?.   

So this is my journey. I hope to make a difference to my readers and, likewise, hope their comments too make a difference to me.                

Cheers & Salam 1Malaysia.