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NEWS
Survey By Center For Creative Leadership
Reveals the Value of "Soft Skills"Center
 The
Center for Creative Leadership
(CCLŽ), an international institute devoted to leadership research
and training, recently announced the results of a survey exploring
the effectiveness of various management styles during tough
times. The survey showed that the greater the stress an organization
is facing, the more important the "soft" side of leadership
becomes.
Conducted by Dr. Carl Bryant and Dr. John Fleenor,
vice president and director, respectively, of CCL's Knowledge
Management and Applied Technology Division, the survey asked
practicing leaders to evaluate what worked best when leading
organizations through downsizings and other periods of transition.
Responses from 77 managers who attended CCL's Leadership Development
Program were compared to those of 77 leaders asked the same
questions in a 1996 survey. Current respondents were also
asked to respond to a series of open-ended questions about
leading people through change.
The results indicated that there were two distinguishing
characteristics associated with those leaders who were best
at helping their organizations manage change:
- They were skilled in honest, proactive communication.
- When they did communicate, they listened well, demonstrated
sensitivity, and were willing to articulate clearly the
rationale and necessity for change despite the pain those
changes might inflict.
"Effective leaders seem better at blending the
softer leadership skills-trust, empathy, and genuine communication-with
the tough skills needed to keep an organization afloat during
difficult times," said Kerry Bunker, a senior program associate
for Leadership Development at the Center and author of several
articles on stress, coping, downsizing, and leading during
transitions. "They were able to strike a balance between the
bottom-line goals of the business and providing the support
and direction that employees needed during periods of uncertainty.
"In contrast, our survey showed that ineffective
leaders were poor communicators who were insensitive to employee
needs and who were generally inaccessible."
The Greatest Challenges
Perhaps reflecting tough economic times for
businesses, the 2001 respondents identified the greatest challenges
for leaders as:
- Motivating staff members as they face an uncertain future.
- Attempting to communicate clearly and to provide a rationale
for organizational changes.
- Working in a cross-functional leadership role while still
meeting customer commitments.
- Developing and retaining staff in appropriate numbers
to accomplish more with less.
Significant Changes Since 1996
Overall, businesses seem to be doing a better
job at establishing fair and equitable human resources processes.
In 1996, for example, more than half the respondents thought
their organization's processes for downsizing, redeployment,
or reorganization were unfair. The 2001 survey showed that
number had dropped by a statistically significant 26 percent.
In the current survey, more managers reported that employees
feel safe expressing how they feel, and that those who remain
with their organization after a downsizing are treated with
respect and dignity.
Reflecting the changing dynamics in the workplace,
there was a 70 percent shift in the number of respondents
who believe employees are responsible for their own career
planning and development. Nine out of 10 respondents in the
2001 survey believed so, compared to three out of 10 in the
1996 survey.
Despite an improvement of more than 15 percentage
points over the 1996 study, more than half the 2001 respondents
reported that today's organizations are still failing to communicate
clearly their rationale for downsizing and other organizational
changes.
"While organizations are clearly making forward
progress, we still have work to do in training leaders to
manage the 'soft side' of their job," Bunker said. "There
is a growing recognition that without these skills, a leader
will be ineffective at managing the waves of change that are
part of today's business reality."
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