by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
Jacksonville author Richard Hadden released his latest book, “Rebooting Leadership, Practical Lessons for Frontline Leaders (and Their Bosses) in the New World” and is taking his rules on the road.
Hadden, a graduate of both Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida, wrote the book with Meredith Kimbell and Bill Catlette.
Hadden is co-author of the “Contented Cows” leadership book series and a partner in Contented Cow Partners.
Hadden will lead a seminar from 8 a.m.-noon Oct. 15 at the JU Davis College of Business. It is presented by the Davis Leadership Center and sponsored by Incepture.
Hadden responded to questions from the Daily Record about his latest book.
The title of your book is “Rebooting Leadership.” How did you come up with that title?
Just like we sometimes have to ‘reboot’ the computer when its operating system is thrown into turmoil, we’re suggesting that in the wake of seismic changes in the world of work over the last decade, our system of organizational leadership needs a reboot. We need to return to the fundamentals of leadership, but we have to practice those fundamentals in a way that reflects the new realities of business today.
You spoke about the book recently and outlined five factors for corporate and other leaders to consider. Just five?
Those are the ‘Big Five.’ And it was a short speech. So that’s all I had time to talk about. There are a couple more. One, the way we ‘connect’ with people, co-workers, leaders, followers, strategic partners and others, has changed. We talk about that in one of my favorite chapters in the book, entitled ‘Getting Sticky.’ And two, leaders’ position power - the power bestowed on them by virtue of their position in the organization - has been diminished in recent years, so effective leaders have to rely more on their personal ability to influence, in order to get things done through others.
Let’s look at those factors. First, institutional trust has cratered. Does a leader create trust in the institution or in his or her own leadership?
In his or her own leadership. An institution or organization populated by leaders who have earned and developed trust in themselves will be an institution that people trust, but even that is temporary. But today, people are far less willing to invest their trust in the institution itself.
Second, there’s a new deal in the workplace. What is that?
Today’s workers identify far less with their organization than they once did. More people are self-employed, freelancers or work on contract. But it’s even different for those in a traditional employment relationship. Average job tenure in America has declined from 19 years in 1950 to about 3.7 years today. As one Gen X leader told us, ‘We don’t marry our jobs. We’re just dating.’
Third, workspaces have fewer or no boundaries. Is that good or bad for leaders?
It makes leaders’ jobs more difficult and requires that they lead in different ways. People aren’t always tied to a desk, office or factory floor, so it’s harder to influence their work. That means leaders have to manage performance differently. Boundaries are blurred. People reason that if they’re expected to be available by electronic device pretty much 24/7, it’s OK to conduct some degree of personal business ‘on the clock.’ And because work time no longer equates to ‘face time,’ leaders have to evaluate performance using different metrics.
Fourth, vision and meaning are more important now. How do leaders focus on that rather than on the nuts and bolts of the business?
They have to do both. But this may be one of the easiest to do. They have to tie the nuts and bolts to the overall mission of the organization. Rather than blindly following orders, people want to know how their jobs ultimately create value for the business. Demonstrate how everyone’s work touches the customer. Go on field trips. Involve everyone in customer feedback. Get people out of the back room and into the customer’s experience.
Fifth, speed is central. How does rapid change affect trust in a leader?
It’s more that the rapid speed of execution required today relies on followers having greater trust in their leaders. When people don’t trust their leaders, they have to slow down to protect themselves. When they do trust their leaders, they can go full speed ahead, unencumbered by doubts and worries as to whether or not their leaders are watching out for them. Also, working faster means we’re going to make mistakes. We can only do this if we trust that leaders will have some tolerance for honest mistakes, and will treat mistakes as learning opportunities, rather than as reasons to punish.
The book’s website, which Hadden said should be up soon, is RebootingLeadership.com. For information about the seminar, call 256-7456.
356-2466