Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe FBPsS Professor of Leadership University of Bradford School of Management Alumni Weekend May 15 th 2010

The Nature of ‘Engaging Leadership’ and its Effect on Productivity, Morale and Well-being

The challenges…  To maximise the potential of the talent that resides within our organisation  To strengthen leadership capacity & a culture of engagement  To create a culture which supports learning, innovation, and constant improvement  To build highly resilient & adaptable teams with high ‘readiness for change’  To ensure high productivity will be sustained

This will only happen if our approach to leadership…  Increases every individual’s effectiveness without damaging their..  Motivation  Well-being

Leadership is changing direction Heroic leadership is dead!

Engagement Is….. ‘Engagement is a positive attitude held by the employee towards the organisation and its values’ ‘which affects the extent to which individuals put discretionary effort into their work’ IES (2004). The Drivers of Employee Engagement

Engagement is good for staff  Wellbeing and health (Sonnentag, 2003); reduced burnout (Bakker et al., 2005)  Reduced depressive symptoms, somatic complaints and sleep disturbances (Hallberg & Schaufeli, 2006)  Higher self efficacy and commitment (Salanova, Agut & Peiro, 2005; Schaufeli et al., 2002)

Engagement is good for organisations  Customer satisfaction (Corrigan et al., 2000; Harter et al., 2002)  Retention/turnover (CIPD, 2004; Gallup,2004; Watson Wyatt, 2005)  Productivity (Alimo-Metcalfe et al., 2009; Judge et al., 2001; Harter et al., Geyery, 1998)  Profitability (Towers Perrin, 2006; Watson Wyatt, 2006; Sirota Survey, 2005)  Safety (Harter et al., 2002)

The Engaging Transformational Leadership Model ENGAGING INDIVIDUALS ENGAGING ETHICAL VALUES Being Honest & Consistent Acting with Integrity Showing Genuine Concern Being Accessible Enabling Encouraging Questioning ENGAGING THE ORGANISATION Supporting a Developmental Culture Inspiring Others Focusing Team Effort Being Decisive ENGAGING ALL STAKEHOLDERS Building Shared Vision Networking Resolving Complex Problems Facilitating Change Sensitively ‘Engaging’ TLQ™ Dimensions Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, R.J. (2001). The development of a new transformational leadership questionnaire. The Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 74, 1-27.

‘Engaging’ leadership principles Leader as servant and partner Leadership is a social process (‘ubuntu’) Leadership is about connecting people and ideas - through a shared vision - co-ownership - co-design, and - empowering partners in implementation

Key question 1… Does it work?

The impact of TLQ engagement scales on staff (N = 5,000) Alban-Metcalfe, R. J. & Alimo-Metcalfe, B. (2000). An analysis of the convergent and discriminant validity of the Transformational Leadership Questionnaire. International Journal of Selection & Assessment, 8, 3,

Competencies & leadership … being competent is necessary… …but not sufficient, for effective leadership

Relationship between Competencies & Leadership Degree of Competence Degree to which Engaging A B C

Key question 2 Does it work?

Does engaging leadership work? 1 year Time 1 Leadership Culture of teams (n=46) Time 2 Productivity Morale Well-being Controlled for contextual variables =how competent =how engaging x Alimo-Metcalfe et al., (2007) ‘The impact of leadership factors in implementing change in complex health and social care environments: NHS Plan clinical priority for mental health crisis resolution teams (CRTs)`. Department of Health NHS SDO, Project 22/2002.

A Culture of ‘Engaging with Others’  Feeling empowered by being trusted to take decisions  Feeling actively supported in developing one’s strengths  Believing people were willing to listen to ideas  Time was made for staff to discuss problems & issues, despite the busy schedule  Feeling all staff were involved in developing the vision  Feeling involved in determining how to achieve the vision  High use of face-to-face communication Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. (2008). ‘Engaging leadership: Creating organisations that maximise the potential of their people’. London: CIPD.

Characteristics of High Performing Teams  Engaged important stakeholders  Shared vision of high quality customer-centred services  Clarity of desired outcomes – stretch goals  Leadership is distributed  Learning organisation culture – innovative & adaptable  Culture of high levels of social support Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. (2008). ‘Engaging leadership: Creating organisations that maximise the potential of their people’. London: CIPD.

Lessons from successful organisational transformations  Clear and Informed Vision  Planning for transformations:  Set clear and significant stretch goals  Engaging for success: - Engage staff early - Create large-scale collaboration across the organisation - Ensure front-line staff own the change process  Communicate, communicate, communicate ‘Creating organizational transformations: McKinsey Global Survey Results’. McKinsey Quarterly, September, 2008

Leadership for the future…  Ethical – ‘the greater good’  Self-aware  Comfortable with sharing power  Make connections – meaning/emotions/people  Leaders as ‘ideas brokers’  ‘disruptive leadership’  Create ‘communities of interest’ creating social capital  ‘Leadership as collective genius’ by creating the conditions that encourage, facilitate, and sustain a high level of innovation & collective learning, and genuine partnership

For more details: CIPD: Research Insight report