Chapter 4 Leader Style Approach

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C CH HA A PP TT EE RR
54
Leader Style Approach
It’s often the best leaders that are most resistant to change. And about 20 percent of
my leaders didn’t make the transition. They were command-and-control, wonder-
ful leaders but wanted to stay command and control and couldn’t transition over.
And I had nothing against that. It’s like a basketball player who can score 30 points
a game. But if you’re going to go into a real, unique style of team offense and team
defense, if a person can’t adjust, it’s probably better that they get traded to another
team. And so, all of us have to change.
—John Chambers1
T
he leadership style approach is different from the trait approach and the skills approach.
The trait approach emphasized the personality characteristics of leaders. The skills
approach focused on the leader’s competencies. The leadership style approach accentu-
ates leader behaviors—in other words, what leaders do and how they act, particularly toward
subordinates, in a multitude of situations to change subordinate performance and influence
subordinate behavior (Yukl, 2006).
These behaviors can be distilled into two broad types: initiating structure (task behav-
ior) and consideration (relationship behavior). Task behavior makes it easier for group mem-
bers (subordinates) to accomplish goals and objectives. Relationship behavior makes it easier
for group members (subordinates) to feel at ease with the context in which they are operat-
ing, with other members of the group, and with who they are themselves. The ultimate objec-
tive of the leadership style approach is to help in our understanding of how leaders integrate
these two broad conceptualizations of behaviors to positively influence group members in
efforts to achieve personal and organizational goals and objectives (Northouse, 2010).
1
John Chambers is CEO and Chairman of Cisco Systems.
100
Chapter 4: Leader Style Approach 101
Consequently, we describe three streams of research that focus on task and relation-
ship behaviors and their intersection. The first stream was conducted at the Ohio State
University (e.g., Stogdill, 1948) and pursued style research to demonstrate the need to
account for more than leaders’ traits (Dubrin, 2007). The second stream was conducted at
the University of Michigan (e.g., Likert, 1961, 1967) and examined how leadership hap-
pened in small groups. The third stream (Blake & Mouton, 1964, 1978, 1985) researched
how leaders used relationship and task behaviors in an organizational context (Yukl, 2006).
The Ohio State Studies

As we see from Table 4.1, the Ohio State University studies found that leader behaviors
clustered under two broad categories: initiating structure and consideration (Stogdill,
1974). Characteristics of both are included in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1 Task Behavior and Relationship Behavior
Task Behavior Relationship Behavior
Ohio State studies Initiating structure Consideration

Organizing work Building respect, trust, liking,
Giving work structure and camaraderie between
followers and leaders
Defining role
responsibilities
Scheduling work activities
University of Production orientation Employee orientation

Michigan studies Stress technical aspects Workers viewed with a strong
Stress production aspects human relations aspect
Workers viewed as way to Leaders treat workers as human
get work done beings, value workers
individuality, give attention to
workers’ needs
Blake and Mouton’s Concern for production Concern for people

grid Achieving tasks Attending to people
Making policy decisions Building commitment and trust
Developing new products Promoting worker personal
Optimizing processes worth
Maximizing workload Providing good work conditions
Increasing sales volume Maintaining fair salary/benefits
Promoting good social relations
SOURCE: Adapted from Northouse (2010). Copyright  2010, Sage Publications, Inc.
102 CASES IN LEADERSHIP
These two behaviors were viewed as two separate and different continua. This
means that an individual can be high on both, low on both, or high on one and low on
the other (Daft, 2005). In addition, these behaviors need to be considered in context as
in some situations, high consideration and low initiating structure may be appropri-
ate, whereas in others, the opposite may be appropriate. Being high on both is the best
form of leadership, but this is very difficult for many individuals (Daft, 2005;
Northouse, 2010).
The University of Michigan Studies

As reported in Table 4.1, this body of research found results similar to the Ohio State
studies. Their two broad categories were production orientation and employee orienta-
tion. Characteristics of both are included in Table 4.1.
Contrary to the Ohio State studies, initially, these two types of leader behaviors were
argued to be on opposite ends of one continuum (Daft, 2005), thus suggesting that lead-
ers high on production orientation had to be low on employee orientation and vice versa.
Later, the Michigan researchers came to agree with the Ohio State studies and view the
two types of leader behavior as two separate continua. This meant that leaders could be
viewed as being able to have high production and employee orientations. Some research
viewed this as being valuable for employee satisfaction and employee performance, but
most research was inconclusive (Northouse, 2010; Yukl, 2006).
The Blake and Mouton Grid

Blake and Mouton (1964, 1978, 1985) developed their leadership grid to demonstrate that
leaders helped organizations achieve their goals through two leader orientations: concern
for production and concern for people. These two orientations resemble task behavior
and relationship behavior, as shown in Table 4.1. Using the grid, the researchers devel-
oped five leadership styles.
The authority–compliance style describes leaders who are results driven with little or
no concern for people except to organize them in a way that keeps them from interfering
with getting the job done. Communication with followers is limited and used only to give
instructions regarding the task. These leaders are controlling, hard driving, overpowering,
and demanding—not nice people to work for. Some research suggests a higher turnover
rate under this style of leadership (Yukl, 2006).
The country club style describes leaders with a high concern for people and a low con-
cern for results or production. These leaders focus on meeting people’s needs and creat-
ing a positive environment in which to work. Turnover rates seem to decrease under these
leaders (Yukl, 2006).
Impoverished management describes leaders who have little or no concern for people
or for production (Daft, 2005). They do enough to not get fired, but mentally, they have
probably already defected from the organization.
The middle-of-the-road style describes leaders who have a moderate concern for
people and for production (Daft, 2005). These leaders are compromisers who do not
push production hard or push to meet the needs of their followers to the maximum
limit.
Chapter 4: Leader Style Approach 103
Team management-style leaders emphasize interpersonal relationships and getting

results. These leaders help employees focus on and commit to their work and promote
teamwork and a high level of participation in work-related decisions by employees.
Northouse (2010) suggests that the following phrases describe these leaders: “stimulates
participation, acts determined, gets issues into the open, makes priorities clear, follows
through, behaves open-mindedly, and enjoys working.”
The team management style integrates high concerns for people and for production.
It is possible to use a high concern for people and a high concern for production but not
in an integrative manner. These leaders switch from the authority–compliance style to the
country club style depending on the situation. An example would be the benevolent dic-
tator who acts graciously to get the job done. This style is called paternalistic/maternalistic,
and leaders who use this style do so because they consider that people are not associated
with what it takes to achieve the organization’s goals and purposes.
The final style based on the leadership grid is opportunism. This refers to a leader who
opportunistically uses any combination of the five styles to advance his or her career.
Blake and Mouton (1985) argue that leaders usually have a style that is most dominant
and one that is their backup style. Leaders revert to their backup style when the dominant
style is not working and they are under a great deal of pressure (Northouse, 2010).
How Does the Leadership Style Work?

This style helps students, practitioners, and academics to assess leadership based on two
broad dimensions: task behavior and relationship behavior. It does not tell leaders what
to do but describes the major dimensions of what they do in their relationships with their
job and their followers. This style suggests to leaders that how they affect followers “occurs
through the tasks they perform as well as in the relationships they create” (Northouse,
2010). There may be a situation perspective to the leadership style approach in that some
followers may need to be directed more, while others may need to be nurtured and sup-
ported more (Yukl, 2006).
y References
Blake, R. R., & Mouton, J. S. (1964). The managerial grid. Houston, TX: Gulf.
Blake, R. R., & Mouton, J. S. (1978). The new managerial grid. Houston, TX: Gulf.
Blake, R. R., & Mouton, J. S. (1985). The managerial grid III. Houston, TX: Gulf.
Chambers, J. (2009). McKinsey conversations with global leaders: John Chambers of Cisco. McKinsey
Quarterly. Retrieved August 6, 2009, from http://www.mckinseyquaterly.com/Strategy/Strategic_
Thinking/McKinsey_conversations_with_global_leaders_John_Chambers_of_Cisco_2400
Daft, R. L. (2005). The leadership experience (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson, South-Western.
Dubrin, A. (2007). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Likert, R. (1961). New patterns of management. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Likert, R. (1967). The human organization: Its management and value. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Stogdill, R. M. (1948). Personal factors associated with leadership: A survey of the literature. Journal of
Psychology, 25, 35–71.
Stogdill, R. M. (1974). Handbook of leadership: A survey of theory and research. New York: Free Press.
Yukl, G. (2006). Leadership in organizations (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
104 CHAPTER 4: LEADER STYLE APPROACH
y The Cases
Technosoft Russia
A supervisor at a telesales office has received very low ratings on an employee survey, and
the marketing manager is concerned that this team leader is not performing well. The
marketing manager must decide what actions are needed to improve the leadership skills
of this supervisor.
Consultancy Development Organization

The director of Consultancy Development Organization (CDO), a not-for-profit orga-
nization that helps develop the consultancy profession in India, needs to respond to
CDO’s poor morale and specifically to the recent incident with the deputy director of
projects. The director’s encounter with the deputy director was the latest in a series of
frustrating experiences that he has faced since joining CDO the previous year. The
director needs to decide whether to resign from CDO or to continue trying to improve
the situation.
y The Reading
Navigating Through Leadership Transitions:
Making It Past the Twists and Turns
Adaptability is a must-have for a leader. At different points and for different reasons, he
or she must change behavior to succeed. This author shares the advice she’s given to busi-
ness leaders.
Technosoft Russia
Prepared by Fyodor Suzdalev under
the supervision of James A. Erskine
On February 13, 2002, Ivan Chaikovsky, y Technosoft

sales and marketing manager, finally
received all responses from the Technosoft Technosoft, a global high-tech company
telesales team in Saint Petersburg regard- with a corporate headquarters in the
ing the performance of team leader Olga United States, opened a representative
Peterson. Staff members had given Peterson office in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1993.
a very low rating and Chaikovsky was not At the time, Russia was only three years into
sure how best to proceed. the post communist era, and the business
Copyright  2004, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2004-06-30

Technosoft Russia 105
environment was not totally stable. Amsterdam. EHQ was responsible for Europe,
Nevertheless, the Technosoft business had a the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The last
very dynamic start and, by 2002, the represen- link in the chain was the link between EHQ
tative office in Saint Petersburg had over 80 and corporate headquarters in the United
people on staff. States. Each representative office and regional
The Technosoft Saint Petersburg office headquarters had a general manager (GM) who
was responsible for business development in was responsible for territory revenues and all
Russia and ex-USSR countries like Ukraine, business development spending (see Exhibit 1).
Byelorussia and Kazakhstan but excluding the Technosoft produced a wide range of soft-
Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania). ware and hardware products for business and
Technosoft Saint Petersburg reported to the consumer markets. All products were devel-
Eastern European Headquarters (EEHQ) oped in the United States, but operations like
located in Vienna. EEHQ was responsible for hardware production, compact disc recording,
business development in Eastern European printing, packaging and shipping were per-
countries like Poland, Czech Republic and formed in several production sites or opera-
Hungary and, in turn, EEHQ reported to the tion centres. Physical units or stock keeping
European Headquarters (EHQ) located in units (SKUs) like hardware items, software
Exhibit 1 Technosoft Corporate Structure
U.S.A.
(Corporate
Headquarters)
EHQ
(Amsterdam)
EEHQ
(Vienna)
Rep. Office
(Saint
Petersburg)
SOURCE: Company files.

Exhibit 2 Value Chain
Small or Operations
Order, Order, Order,
Customer Medium Distributor Centre
Payment Payment Payment
Reseller (Ireland)
Products Products Products
packages and licence agreements for corpo- the country budget. Marketing expenses
rate clients were shipped to distributors. included outsourcing and third-party orders.
Distributors then shipped SKUs to small and Each GM was responsible for the budget
medium resellers, and resellers transferred of its own territory. The budget was formed on
them to customers (see Exhibit 2). In any par- the subsidiary or representative office level,
ticular country, Technosoft could have hun- usually in June, and then revised in January
dreds of small and medium resellers but every year. The budget procedure always
relatively few distributors. included several day-long discussions with
Technosoft small and medium resellers regional headquarter management concerning
were the key part of the value chain. Most product forecasts, marketing plans and head-
resellers added value to Technosoft products counts. Approved budgets were aggregated on
by working closely with a customer, under- regional levels and then passed to the next level
standing problems and providing a turn-key (e.g., from EEHQ to EHQ) and the procedure
solution, often using third-party software and repeated. During the year, business perfor-
hardware. Some resellers specialized in train- mance was closely monitored by headquarter
ing and support for Technosoft products, and management, and quarterly business review
some were developing their own products sessions were held in each Technosoft sub-
using Technosoft products for a component of sidiary or representative office.
their own solutions. Even though each Technosoft subsidiary
or representative office had relative freedom in
deciding what to do at the country level, each
y Budgeting country management was supposed to apply
corporate guidelines and regional marketing
A country budget consisted of revenues col- programs. Otherwise, the subsidiary had to
lected through the channel and expenses like explain why it had not applied them. Usually
payroll, premises and marketing expenses. the price of explaining “why not” was much
Production and operating costs were excluded higher than that of simply implementing cor-
except for the costs incurred by creating local- porate guidelines and programs.
ized versions of the products. This job was usu- Each country allocated funds in the coun-
ally done by OC but the cost was transferred to try budget for special programs/projects. At a
country level, a program champion was typi- to Technosoft information resources and sat in
cally assigned. In many cases, this program a Technosoft office. Each month, Technosoft
champion had other responsibilities within informed the payroll company about the TEs’
their department and had to form a “virtual” monthly compensation and quarterly about
team across other departments to move pro- renewing their contracts. TEs did not have
jects along. This “horizontal” co-operation was many benefits, which FTEs had, such as stock
an extremely important form of organiza- option plans and health insurance. FTE head-
tional design in Technosoft. For a program to count was kept small worldwide and increased
be successful, its champion had to know key very conservatively. On the other hand, the TE
people in other units, their motives, relative headcount varied widely.
power and their bosses. Usually this knowledge The corporate performance review
came after employees had spent six to 12 months process involved the FTEs only. All collected
in the organization. data was stored in a corporate database, and
Each special program was measured inde- every FTE’s performance history was avail-
pendently on the country level. If the program able from the start of their employment.
performed the best in comparison to other Nevertheless, on the country level, some
countries, its GM got additional bargaining managers used some elements of the perfor-
power during budget approval process. Poor mance review program on their own initiative
results in such a program could lessen the to manage and evaluate TEs. At the start of
GM’s credibility and, eventually, the country’s 2002, approximately 35 per cent of the head-
reputation. count in the Saint Petersburg representative
office were TEs.
An important part of the performance
Performance Review
review process, the Technosoft poll, was gener-
During the performance review process, man- ated by only the FTEs. The poll was a long,
agers assessed past performance of their sub- Web-based questionnaire that was designed to
ordinates and held discussions about future measure the company’s “internal climate.” The
goals and actions. Performance review results questionnaire took more than 20 minutes to
affected employees’ bonuses and potential pro- answer and included various sections about
motion. The GM’s performance was measured understanding company priorities and goals,
not only by budget and programs performance customer satisfaction, job satisfaction, com-
but also by his direct subordinates and the pensation, work environment and an evalua-
organizational health index (OHI). OHI was tion of the manager’s performance.
calculated annually based on results of perfor- The poll was always conducted by an
mance review process, an integral part of external, independent company. Every year,
which was the Technosoft poll. usually in May, all the FTEs received a link to
There were two types of staff in the personal Web-page where the question-
Technosoft: full-time employees (FTEs) and naire was located. Each FTE had to follow their
temporary employees (TEs). FTEs had per- personal link and fill out the questionnaire.
petual employment agreements and were FTEs were supposed to complete this task
on the Technosoft payroll. TEs had a limited within a 15-day timeframe. All data collected
period of employment in their contracts, usu- by the external company were passed to the
ally three months, and in most cases were on corporate level, processed (OHI was calculated
some outsourcing company’s payroll, though at this stage) and then distributed back to the
they had Technosoft e-mail addresses, access country level. Apart from the aggregated
results of a particular country, these data con- value chain monitoring and small and
tained the regional average and the last year’s medium enterprise business development.
results for comparison. The data were then dis- Dubrovsky was a talented manager who had
cussed on the country level to identify areas for a great respect for Sergei Zolotov, the GM,
improvement and to create an action plan. since 1996, in Technosoft Saint Petersburg
Each country assigned a “champ” to (see Exhibit 3).
supervise the poll. This person was responsi- Technosoft did not sell directly to cus-
ble for the response rate and the post discus- tomers and, before 1999, had almost no con-
sion of results. The poll was a high priority tact with small and medium enterprises.
program in Technosoft, and response rates However, in 1999, Technosoft headquarters’
of all countries were closely monitored by corporate decided to push the idea of working
regional headquarters. Every GM wanted to with small and medium customers directly.
keep the response rate at least as high as Although the value chain was left unchanged,
other countries (in many cases, greater than the Technosoft sales forces in the various SMB
90 per cent). Program champs tried to stim- units were challenged to understand the mar-
ulate colleagues to participate in the poll ket and organize direct marketing activities
using incentives like a free computer mouse targeted on SMB customers. The marketing
or other such gadgets. efforts produced leads which, in turn, had to
The poll section in which each FTE eval- be passed on to resellers. Technosoft Saint
uated their immediate manager was one of Petersburg had neither the expertise nor the
the most important parts of the poll. tools to use direct marketing methods or to
Managers who were responsible for lower- handle generated leads. Dubrovsky hired
level supervisory staff used a specific section Chaikovsky in August of 1999 as the SMB sales
of the poll to evaluate the performance of representative.
these leaders. The results of this poll had a One of Chaikovsky’s primary tasks was to
direct impact on each individual’s perfor- decide which database to use for the sales and
mance review. Company standards required marketing activities to SMBs. He could either
at least 75 per cent positive answers (“strongly collect and maintain an inhouse database or
agree” and “agree” answers on the five-point use an agency list. The latter was usually less
scale for each question.) A low mark meant expensive than the former. Chaikovsky decided
poor performance, a low bonus and, poten- to build an inhouse database based on a key
tially, a demotion or dismissal. outsource agency that provided support ser-
vices for Technosoft customers and already
maintained a purchases database. By the sum-
y Technosoft mer of 2000, a new customer database was cre-
Saint Petersburg ated, and regular data updating routines were
set up and controlled by Technosoft Saint
On the country level, each representative Petersburg.
office comprised several business units. One By this time, Chaikovsky had won the sup-
of the business units in Technosoft Saint port and admiration of Dubrovsky. Chaikovsky
Petersburg was the small and medium busi- kept all promises, was conservatively proactive
ness unit (SMB). The SMB director, Dubrovsky, and never let Dubrovsky down. Chaikovsky
had worked for Technosoft since 1995. The always asked for Dubrovsky’s advice in order to
SMB unit brought in approximately 60 per test the water before going forward with some
cent of Technosoft Saint Petersburg’s revenue idea. Chaikovsky felt that Dubrovsky had an
and was responsible for all channel activities, exceptional gift in determining the feasibility of
Exhibit 3 Technosoft Saint Petersburg Organization Chart
GM
(Sergei Zolotov)
SMB Business Business

(Igor Dubrovsky) Unit Unit
SMB Sales and

Marketing
(Ivan Chaikovsky)
Telesales Team
Leader
(Olga Peterson)
Telesales Rep. Telesales Rep. Telesales Rep.

(TSR) (TSR) (TSR)
new ideas. Usually this preliminary assessment eventually being lost. In response, Chaikovsky
helped everyone to understand the gaps in the created a lead referral system where all gener-
business concept and to decide whether to col- ated leads could be captured and then distrib-
lect additional data or drop the concept. uted to resellers. The cost of developing the
However, in some situations Dubrovsky’s posi- software was small, and Chaikovsky easily
tion was imposed on Chaikovsky, despite his persuaded Dubrovsky to launch the project.
lack of agreement with it. Chaikovsky’s system was developed and
Even though Chaikovsky’s SMB unit had a became one of the best practices in Eastern
good database and was doing direct market- Europe. Eventually this system was replaced by
ing work, he was worried about potential a centralized corporate-wide sales and market-
clients (leads) generated by his activities who ing support system (SMSS) and was imple-
were not being passed on to resellers and were mented in every country.
y Telesales Project Customers who were interested in buying

Technosoft products or who had some issue
The lead referral system was a step in the right that could be resolved only by a reseller, were
direction, but the system itself could not transferred by the TSR to the reseller by SMSS
resolve the task of actively monitoring and fol- (see Exhibit 4). TSRs were responsible for reg-
lowing up on the leads. Moreover, Technosoft ularly monitoring the sales pipeline and con-
wanted to be sure that resellers did their best in tacting resellers when necessary.
order to maximize Technosoft’s part in any Chaikovsky first approached Dubrovsky
deal to satisfy its customers. Chaikovsky knew with his telesales idea in September 2000.
that, in some countries, telesales representa- Dubrovsky’s first reaction was not encourag-
tives were hired to follow-up on leads. These ing. He had real concerns about the idea. He
salespeople also made proactive calls to cus- said: “Technosoft already has a channel and it
tomers and hence became another source of is the resellers’ job to sell. We don’t want to
leads. confuse the customers. In addition, the tele-
Chaikovsky wanted to use telesales to gen- sales project is a long-term commitment, and
erate and follow up leads in order to have a full I’m not sure that Russian customers are ready
cycle of working with SMBs. Chaikovsky knew to buy over the phone.” Chaikovsky tried to
that direct sales, even by phone, was an persuade Dubrovsky to test the concept. The
extremely powerful instrument. Other coun- factor that helped to change Dubrovsky’s mind
tries, like the United Kingdom, had success- was that the U.S. subsidiary was also building a
fully used a telesales force for generating leads. telesales force, and they were doing it using the
Most were using an outsourced telesales force “one-to-many” model. In addition, EHQ had
with non-Technosoft management and the started to develop its own telesales concept.
“many-to-many” telesales model where tele- After two months, Dubrovsky finally agreed to
sales representatives (TSRs) did not have an support Chaikovsky’s request to the GM for
assigned sales territory and worked through additional budget allocation.
assigned call lists. Hence, one customer could Inspired by this small victory, Chaikovsky
be assigned to different TSRs during different created a comprehensive description of future
sales campaigns. telesales business processes. He discussed these
From the very beginning Chaikovsky with colleagues in the SMB unit and with key
knew that he wanted to fully utilize the rela- people in other units (see Exhibit 5). Finally,
tionship between the TSR and the customer Chaikovsky and Dubrovsky made a presenta-
when they got to know each other over a long tion to the GM in December and got his sup-
period of time. Therefore he wanted to use the port. Additional budget would be allocated
“one-to-many” telesales model where each from January 2001 for one TSR to test the con-
TSR had an assigned sales territory and the cept. Even though he had approved the tele-
opportunity to create a long-term relationship sales project, Dubrovsky remained reserved
with customers. The one-to-many sales model about its success.
was more complex and expensive, required Ironically, in December, EHQ launched an
well-trained TSRs and low staff turnover. “SMB Telesales” program which was to be
It meant a long-term commitment but rolled out all over the EMEA. Suddenly tele-
promised much higher returns than the sales became a priority and appeared in many
many-to-many model. In the one-to-many GM scorecards. Subsidiaries were encouraged
model, TSRs used all marketing activities such to allocate funds for this project. The commit-
as direct mailings, marketing programs and ment for this project was so high that the EHQ
customer events as an additional lever or program manager received additional funds to
sometimes to occasionally call customers. be distributed among countries that were
Exhibit 4 Telesale Process
Leads
TSR
SMSS
Prospecting
Leads Reports
Products,
Customers Resellers
Services
Orders,
Money
Exhibit 5 Telesales Project Timeline
Start of the
Project
+2 TSRs +2 TSRs +2 TSRs
(Outsourced
Company)
Jan.-Feb. 2001 June 2001 October 2001
April 2001 July-Aug. 2001 Feb.-Apr. 2002
Move to
+1 TSRs Technosoft, Saint
Petersburg Office

implementing telesales projects. Technosoft be responsible for his other projects as well, so
Saint Petersburg was in a good position. he and Dubrovsky decided that the telesales
Chaikovsky’s budget was extended to include project should eventually have its own team
up to four TSRs over the next six months. leader. In June 2001, Chaikovsky was about to
Nevertheless, he followed Dubrovsky’s strong hire a young woman, Olga Peterson, who had
advice and moved ahead with caution. substantial sales experience. He felt other TSRs
The project was started at an outsourcing could obviously benefit from her experience,
vendor’s location to provide customer sup- but she would require a higher salary than the
port. The vendor was responsible for adminis- current TSRs. Chaikovsky was unsure what to
tration, service and all the necessary offer her when Dubrovsky suggested making
equipment like telephones, Internet connec- her a team leader at the same salary as the
tion and personal computers. Technosoft Saint TSRs. Chaikovsky preferred to wait at least
Petersburg organized all the training activities three months before making such a decision
and managed the work. The first TSR hired since Peterson did not have any managerial
was a former vendor employee who had been experience. He finally agreed, especially as he
working in customer support service and had could offer a lower salary to Peterson in return
a good knowledge of Technosoft products. for the opportunity for her to become a man-
January 2001 was spent polishing up all the ager. In addition, Chaikovsky thought it would
procedures, signing agreements with resellers be a good idea to make Peterson’s compensa-
and training them, preparing the working tion dependent on the performance of the
environment and training the TSR. In group. Chaikovsky did not feel totally com-
February 2001, the first TSR started work and fortable with this decision, but he reassured
the project was launched. himself that everything would be fine.
February and March sales results showed Peterson seemed to be a good person, and the
that the concept was very well-accepted by cus- other TSRs accepted her well at the beginning,
tomers and resellers. Surprisingly, customers admitting her superiority in sales skills.
were not put off by the TSR making “cold” calls. By summer 2001, Chaikovsky, in co-operation
In April, Chaikovsky hired two more TSRs who with the Technosoft human resource man-
had been recommended to him even though ager, had developed formal job descriptions
they did not have telesales experience. for the TSRs and the team leader. During July
Chaikovsky had difficulty in finding adequate and August of 2001, two more TSRs were
candidates and hired a recruitment agency. hired, making six members in the telesales
Unfortunately, the agency did not change the team, including the team leader, Olga Peterson.
trend: good candidates were rare. Usually, suc- At the same time, Chaikovsky and Dubrovsky
cessful people with telesales experience did not made a decision to move the telesales team
want to stay in telesales, and it was difficult to from the outsourcing vendor’s site into the
find a person who was smart, mobile and com- Technosoft office in Saint Petersburg in order
mitted to spending at least one year in the to make the team more visible and manage-
telesales position. Chaikovsky did the primary able and to exploit the current facilities of
selection of candidates, and then all selected Technosoft’s office, including Internet connec-
candidates had to be approved by Dubrovsky. tions and phone lines. From the very begin-
ning, the idea was to build the telesales project
inhouse so there was no point in delaying relo-
y Telesales Team Leader cation of the telesales force from the vendor
site. All TSRs and the team leader stayed on as
Chaikovsky understood that he would not be TEs and continued their employment con-
able to manage a telesales team forever and still tracts with the outsource vendor.
In February 2002, the telesales project at ask him a question or have a chat anytime.
Technosoft Saint Petersburg added two more Once a quarter Chaikovsky did “team build-
TSRs. With eight members on board, it was ing” activities devoted to the celebration of
becoming highly visible, both on a country good quarter results.
and a regional level. Following Dubrovsky’s Despite the fact that a comprehensive
advice, Chaikovsky held several meetings training program was developed for new
with other business units to present the pro- TSRs, Chaikovsky spent a lot of time doing
ject and introduce the team and to explain personal review sessions, trying to coach peo-
how things worked and discuss possible syn- ple to help them perform. He tried to under-
ergies and ideas. Sergei Zolotov, Technosoft’s stand personal problems and find unique
GM, attended one of telesales team staff strengths in each person. By December 2001,
meetings held by Chaikovsky. Chaikovsky staff meetings were held once a month, and
presented the team and all procedures and Chaikovsky stopped doing personal reviews,
then asked each TSR to speak about their ter- delegating the job to Peterson. He attended
ritory, customers, findings and sales results. her first meeting with each TSR and gave her
Zolotov was delighted by the team perfor- some feedback.
mance, made several valuable comments and Before that, Chaikovsky and Peterson dis-
came up with even more ideas for future cussed how the staff meetings should be con-
development. ducted, what the agenda could be, points to
A Technosoft EMEA internal conference review in detail and how to behave. At the first
was scheduled for April, and Chaikovsky had meeting, Chaikovsky allowed Peterson to lead
been asked to report on the successes in the tele- the discussion but steered the direction where
sales project. The budgeting process for the next necessary. After this meeting, Chaikovsky was
year was going to start soon, and Chaikovsky basically satisfied with the way that Peterson
saw this as a good opportunity to request addi- controlled the discussion. His feedback was
tional TSR positions. By summer 2002, he concerned with a specific part of the discus-
wanted the telesales group to have 14 members. sion. Peterson seemed to ask the right ques-
tions, but they sounded too formal and did not
invite conversation; the goal of each perfor-
y Telesales Poll mance review. Peterson promised to take this
input into account.
Chaikovsky used the same procedures and In January, some rumors about conflicts
processes to manage the telesales group as between TSRs and Peterson came to Chaikovsky’s
Technosoft managers used for the FTE group: attention. Chaikovsky spoke with some of the
staff meetings and personal reviews. Staff TSRs who complained about “stupid” call
meetings were used to share information, dis- plans, unrealistic targets and constant push.
cuss common issues, compliment and punish Chaikovsky shared these concerns with
publicly. Personal reviews were used to assess Peterson, but she reassured him that the situa-
individual performance, monitor goals, iden- tion was under her control.
tify weak points and advise on courses of By February 2002, the one year anniver-
action. At the beginning, Chaikovsky held sary of the project, Chaikovsky thought it
staff meetings and personal reviews every would be a good idea to conduct a Technosoft
week, but when TSRs got used to their respon- poll among the telesales group even though
sibilities and procedures, this habit converted the group were all TEs. He informed the
into bi-weekly staff meetings and monthly Technosoft human resource manager about
personal reviews. Besides, Chaikovsky was a his idea and received full support. Chaikovsky
very approachable person, and the TSRs could created his own questionnaire, incorporating
some questions and ideas from the corporate TSRs hired in February did not participate in
poll. Using a company internal tool, he put the the poll.
Web-based questionnaire on the Technosoft
intranet and asked the TSR team to fill it out. y Telesales Poll Results
The questionnaire did not contain any per-
sonal information. The telesales poll con- Poll results revealed some interesting infor-
tained sections about Chaikovsky’s and mation (see Exhibits 6, 7, and 8), but the part
Peterson’s performances as managers. The concerning Olga Peterson was discouraging.
part concerning Peterson was filled out only Peterson was not performing very well as a
by the five TSRs who had been working with team leader. Chaikovsky was concerned and
Peterson at least six months. The two newest not sure what he should do.
Exhibit 6 Olga Peterson’s Telesales Poll Results
Strongly Strongly
Question Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree
1. I clearly understand Olga 1 1 2 1
Peterson’s mission.
2. Olga Peterson’s contribution to 1 2 2
the group success is tangible.
3. Olga Peterson’s suggestions for 1 3 1
SMB Telesales business
improvement are relevant.
4. Olga Peterson knows how to 1 2 2

exploit various tools (SBL,
Sprut, Technosoft Office,
Technosoft Sales) for
Telesales Business.
5. Olga Peterson helps me to 1 1 1 1 1
achieve my quota.
6. I ask Olga Peterson when I have 1 1 2 1
a problem.
7. Olga Peterson helps me to solve 1 3 1
my problems.
8. Olga Peterson helps me to 2 2 1
determine priorities in my work.
9. Olga Peterson is candid and 4 1
honest when giving me feedback
on my performance.
Strongly Strongly
10. Olga Peterson helps me to work 1 2 2
with SBL smartly.
11. Olga Peterson builds co-operation 1 1 2 1

and teamwork within my work
group.
Exhibit 7 Ivan Chaikovsky Telesales Poll Results
Strongly Strongly
I have confidence in the effectiveness of 5
Ivan Chaikovsky.
Ivan Chaikovsky helps me determine 1 4
priorities for my work.
Ivan Chaikovsky sets high but 1 4
achievable standards of performance.
Ivan Chaikovsky is candid and honest 2 2 1
when giving me feedback on my
performance.
Ivan Chaikovsky builds co-operation 2 2 1
and teamwork within my work group.

Exhibit 8 Telesales Project’s Poll Results
Strongly Strongly
I work toward clear goals. 5
I have the authority to carry out 2 2 1
the responsibilities assigned to me.
My work gives me a feeling of 1 1 3
personal accomplishment.
When I do an excellent job, my 1 3 1
accomplishments are recognized.
I feel supported when I take risks 1 2 1 1
in getting my work done.
I have received the training I need 2 2 1
to do my job effectively.
I can see a clear link between my 1 1 3
work and my work group’s
objectives.
My work group works toward 3 1 1
clear goals.
The people in my work group 1 1 2 1
co-operate to get the job done.
I would recommend my work 1 4
group as a good place to work.
I am encouraged to work 3 1 1
co-operatively with people in
other groups.
My total compensation package 1 4
(base pay, bonus, benefits) is fair.
I believe Technosoft delivers 1 4
best-in-class products.
I clearly understand Technosoft’s 2 3
vision.
Strongly Strongly
I have confidence in the 5
leadership of the GM of my
subsidiary/region.
Even if I were offered a 3 2
comparable position with similar
pay and benefits at another
company, I would stay at
Technosoft.
I expect to work for Technosoft for 3 1 1

________.
(Neutral = Don’t know,
Agree = 2–4 years,
Strongly agree = 4–10 years)
In my organization, senior 5
management demonstrates through
their actions that customer and
partner satisfaction is a top priority.
How would you rate the 2 3
satisfaction of your organization’s
customers? (Agree = Satisfied)
I have the authority to make 3 2
decisions in the best interest of
customers.
I have a clear understanding of 5
customer needs and expectations.
The information I need to do my 3 1 1
job is accessible and applicable.
People at Technosoft have a 5
passion for the work they do.

Consultancy Development Organization

Unnat Kohli wrote this case under the supervision of W. Glenn Rowe
It was just after 3 p.m. on Friday, January 4, y Consultancy Development

2008. Rohit Sharma, director of Consultancy
Development Organization, stormed into the
Organization
office of the deputy director of projects, In January 1990, Consultancy Development
Mukesh Kumar: Organization (CDO) was set up by the Indian
government in conjunction with the Indian
One of our organization’s prestigious consultancy industry as a not-for-profit body to
members, Krish Industrial Consulting help develop the Indian consultancy profession.
Limited, has complained that it received CDO acted as a facilitator by providing infor-
the information on the Mahanadi Elec- mation on consulting opportunities, a database
trical Company proposal from us after on consultants and a platform for policy sug-
the last date for submission. As a gestions and networking. Among its main activ-
result, it has lost the opportunity to ities, CDO organized annual conferences and
participate. Why was it delayed? training programs and published a fortnightly
publication on business opportunities, which
Kumar replied: listed CDO’s expected consulting assignments.
CDO was based in Chennai (see Exhibit 1)
It takes time to gather information. We and its membership included 200 individual
engaged New Infotech Limited to col- consultants and 40 consultancy companies.
lect the information. They took their It was headed by a full-time director, Rohit
time to send the information. We have Sharma, who was supported by eight profes-
to follow government rules to get it sionals and 20 support staff (see Exhibit 2).
printed in our newsletter, Business The Governing Council (the board) of CDO
Opportunities, and then it is mailed to comprised 20 members, of which two-thirds
all members. There are procedures. (14 members) were elected by the general
What can I do if there is a delay? I have membership and the remaining members were
to follow these procedures. nominated by the government. CDO’s chair-
man was appointed directly by the government
“Do we have any plan to reduce the time for a fixed two-year term. Approximately
lag so we can get the information to our mem- three-quarters of CDO’s annual expenses were
bers in time for them to use it?” asked Sharma. met through government grants.
“No. We work as the government tells us
from time to time,” replied Kumar.
Sharma could not believe what he had y Rohit Sharma
just heard. This was not the first time that
he had felt let down by his employees. He Rohit Sharma joined CDO in October 2007, as a
left the room feeling embarrassed and vow- full-time director. He had an MBA from the
ing to himself that this latest incident would Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in
be the last. Ahmedabad, India’s premier business school.
Copyright  2008, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2008-04-18

Consultancy Development Organization 119
Exhibit 1 Map of India
Chennai
SOURCE: Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, “India 2001: State Map.” Retrieved from
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/maps/State_Maps/maps.htm, accessed April 12, 2008.
Prior to joining CDO, Sharma had worked for 20 charge of CDO. Prior to Sharma’s appointment,
years in various positions in the industry, con- the Ministry of Industrial Promotion had used
sulting both in India and abroad. Sharma had a the CDO director position as a parking place for
reputation for being a hard task master and a unwanted government officials, a practice that
dynamic, hard-working person with a vision. had led to three directors joining and leaving
Sharma had been appointed to the post of CDO in the last three years. Nevertheless,
director by the Ministry of Industrial Promotion, Sharma accepted the challenge of leading CDO
which was the nodal government ministry in and turning it into a leading player.
Exhibit 2 Organization Chart of Consultancy Development Organization
CDO Governing Council
Non-Executive Chairman
Ujwal Nagdeote
Director
Rohit Sharma
Deputy Director Deputy Director Deputy Director Deputy Director

Projects Support Services Human Resources Finance
Mukesh Kumar Naresh Chadha Dheeraj Ahuja Amit Kachru
Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant

Director Director Director Director
Ruchi Sood Tarun Kapoor Irfan Pathan Jagwinder Singh
Staff Members
SOURCE: CDO Organization Chart.
y Mukesh Kumar of projects at CDO, the second-most presti-

gious profile in CDO after the director.
Mukesh Kumar received an engineering
degree from Delhi University. After gradua-
tion, he worked as a junior engineer in a y Naresh Chadha
government organization. He joined CDO in
1992 as an assistant manager and had pro- Naresh Chadha, a commerce graduate, had
gressed through the ranks to become one of been employed at CDO since its inception in
four deputy directors who reported to the 1990. He was politically well connected and
director. Kumar was hard working and regarded as a hands-on employee. He had
knowledgeable but lacked ambition and worked in various positions in CDO, ranging
drive. He was currently the deputy director from administration to marketing, and was
currently deputy director of support services. His administrative tasks, and the peons were
work included organizing annual conferences required to run office errands, such as delivering
and conventions. He reported to the director. files, dispatching letters, serving water, and
preparing tea and coffee for the officers.
However, by 2008, computers were available to
y Dheeraj Ahuja and all the officers, and coffee and tea machines were
Amit Kachru common in the office. The clerks and peons did
not have enough work; however, they were very
Dheeraj Ahuja and Amit Kachru were the other difficult to fire, because they had job security, in
two deputy directors at CDO who reported to accordance with the government system.
Rohit Sharma. They were responsible for At all levels of the organization, the
human resources and finance, respectively. salaries were fixed and equal with no variable
Prior to joining CDO the previous year, both pay or rewards system. As a result, employees
Ahuja and Kachru had spent their entire careers had no incentive to perform. Until Sharma’s
serving the Indian government in various roles. appointment, no outside appointments had
been made for the past 10 years. The culture
was not very professional, and government
y Ujwal Nagdeote organizations constantly interfered, wanting to
use the CDO facilities (such as CDO’s office
Ujwal Nagdeote was the non-executive chairman car) and staff for their own purposes. As a
of CDO, appointed by the government. He was a result, morale within CDO was poor.
politically well-connected, knowledgeable and
respected figure in the industry. Nagdeote served y
on the board of a dozen leading Indian companies
Rohit Sharma’s
and played a dormant role in the affairs of CDO. First Week In Office
When Sharma joined CDO in October 2007, he
y Organization Culture was greeted by Naresh Chadha and Mukesh
Kumar, two of his four direct reports. That week,
CDO had four deputy directors and four assistant the attendance was abysmally low. Sharma
directors. The deputy directors reported to the learned that most of the staff were absent because
director, and the assistant directors reported to the it was Diwali3 season. Even though Diwali was five
deputy directors (see Exhibit 2). The director, weeks away, some of the employees had taken
deputy directors and assistant directors com- time off to be with their families and friends.
prised the officer category, and the 20 support They had scant regard for Sharma, which was
staff (personal assistants, secretaries, clerks and reinforced through their absence. Sharma was
peons2) comprised the Class II category. Each offi- aghast to see that no one on the administration
cer had at least one personal assistant or secretary staff had bothered to fill the water coolers with
and one peon. All clerks worked in the adminis- fresh water or to clear the cupboards in his office.
tration wing of CDO, where all files were located.
In 1990, when CDO was established, the y National Convention
staff was recruited according to the structure
prevalent in government organizations. In the CDO was organizing the National Convention
early 1990s, clerks were needed for typing and scheduled for January 15, 2008. For this annual
2
Peons were persons of menial position, such as messengers and servants.
3
Diwali, the festival of lights, is an important festival celebrated throughout India.
conference, eminent speakers had been invited further demoralizing effect on employees who
to address consulting issues and discuss their now thought that Sharma, despite all his talk,
experiences with the participants, generally the was not able to do much.
member organizations and individuals and
executives from the corporate sector.
y Sharma’s
On January 4, 2008, Sharma went to the
office of Naresh Chadha, the deputy director in First Three Months
charge of the National Convention to inquire
about the conference’s progress, particularly the Sharma realized quickly that employee morale at
number of speakers that had confirmed and the CDO was very low and was compounded by the
number of participants that had registered. absence of career development and low remuner-
“We sent letters to the members. Their ation. The company had no clear strategy or
responses continue until the last date. We have direction. The government grants took care of the
not set any targets. Do not worry. We will have salaries of staff and the administrative expenses.
good numbers,” replied Chadha, casually sip- Consequently, employees had no motivation to
ping his tea and eating pakoras.4 perform or to increase the business.
Sharma returned to his own office an “How are we expected to facilitate our
unhappy person. He was feeling uneasy: there members?” asked Sharma.
was not much response to show and most “It is not our concern. In any case, the
activities had been delayed. The annual confer- members pay very little and our salaries are
ence was not expected to be successful. The paid by the government. You should not worry
attitude of most employees was callous and so much. Whether you undertake the same or
inept. The fiscal year-end was on March 31, more activities, you will be paid the same
and he was concerned that CDO’s perfor- salary,” advised Kumar.
mance would be seen as much below average. Sharma faced the choice of continuing on
the path of his predecessors (i.e., doing noth-
ing new and having an easy time) or working
y International towards a turnaround strategy for the organi-
Consultancy Congress zation and setting it on a growth path.
The International Consultancy Congress was

y The December 28, 2007
scheduled to be held in London, England, from
February 3 to 6, 2008. Sharma thought it Meeting
would be a good opportunity to interact and
network with consultancy organizations in Sharma had called a meeting of all officers and
other countries. He considered taking one of staff on Friday, December 28, at 9 a.m. He
his officers with him to boost morale. asked them for ideas for the growth of CDO.
According to government rules, any for- Divergent views were expressed:
eign visit had to be approved by the Ministry
of Industrial Promotion. Thus, Sharma had CDO has been in existence for 18 years
sent the proposal for his own participation and has been doing well. It can continue to
and that of Naresh Chadha on December 1, function as such.
2007. After several follow-up attempts, he was The government grant received annually is
informed on January 3, 2008 that the proposal sufficient to pay for the salaries and some
had not been accepted. This rejection had a activities only.
4
Pakoras are a deep-fried South Asian fritter made by dipping pieces of vegetable in a chickpea flour batter. They are generally
eaten as a snack.
We are a government controlled organiza- • CDO should also take up consultancy

tion. We undertake activities as directed by assignments that can be outsourced to
the controlling Ministry of Industrial its members, to generate income and
Promotion. to help employ its members.
• Support staff need to be given work
There is no incentive for extra effort or
responsibility after being trained in
growth. Following the government pay
new skills that can be useful for the
scales, we get the same salary whether we
organization.
do the same activities or take up more.
• Employee morale needs to improve, per-
Members of CDO pay very small subscrip- formance needs to be linked to incentives
tion [membership fee]. They are not inter- and promotions need to be introduced.
ested in any major initiatives, which may
lead to their paying more subscription. Some of the executives were enthusiastic
but only if these changes could lead to better
Sharma disagreed. He observed that he had prospects for themselves. Others expressed
joined the organization because he believed it apprehension, particularly regarding the oper-
had great potential. Consultancy was fast grow- ational freedom they would have from the
ing, and India had an edge in the global con- controlling ministry. The Governing Council
sultancy field because of a large professionally also had to be consulted for endorsement.
skilled pool of workers and the relatively low
cost of consultants. CDO could greatly help in y Mahanadi Electrical
developing the consultancy profession in the
country. He outlined his five-year vision: Proposal Incident
Mahanadi Electrical Company (MEC) was an
• CDO should be fully self-supporting electricity distribution utility in the eastern
and not dependent on government state of Orissa (see Exhibit 1), which supplied
grants. For this purpose, CDO must electricity to about one-fourth of the state. The
increase its income from its own activ- distribution system was very old, and break-
ities by at least five times. downs were frequent, as were the failure of
• CDO should function on a non- transformers and interruptions to the electri-
government pattern and the employ- cal supply. Consumers were unhappy, and the
ees need to be accountable for State Electricity Regulation Commission had
results. asked MEC to revamp the distribution system.
• CDO should strive for a 10-fold increase Accordingly, the company had invited bids for
in memberships, both individual and consultancy work, which involved the prepara-
corporate. The members must benefit tion of a feasibility report for the revamping of
from CDO’s activities. They must receive the distribution system. This major assign-
information about a larger number of ment was worth about US$2.5 million, and
business opportunities within the coun- few consultancy companies had the necessary
try and abroad, online, without delay. competency in this field.
• CDO should help consultants in con- Krish Industrial Consulting Limited
sultancy exports, through studies, data (KICL), a founding member of CDO and one
collection and providing opportunities of the competing companies bidding on the
for networking. MEC project, was confident of being awarded
• CDO should function as facilitator by the assignment and was waiting to receive the
using its government links for policy information needed to bid for the job. On
intervention to promote the profession. behalf of CDO, New Infotech Limited (to
whom this work was outsourced) was collecting unfazed that KICL lost the opportunity to
information regarding potential consultancy participate. He had justified the situation by
assignments from tender notices published in suggesting he had been following govern-
newspapers, websites and other sources. This ment guidelines.
information was then passed to CDO, which Sharma could not believe Kumar’s lack-
published it in a fortnightly newsletter that was adaisical attitude. KICL was an important
mailed to all of its members. The last date for member of CDO, yet Kumar seemed unper-
receipt of bids by MEC was December 15, 2007, turbed by KICL’s loss of business because of
but KICL received the CDO newsletter with the CDO’s delay and ineptness. Kumar’s attitude
information on this assignment on January 1, was a clear reflection of the state of affairs in
2008. The CEO of KICL had expressed his dis- the organization. Sharma left the room very
appointment to Sharma regarding the delay. frustrated. Things needed to improve or
CDO would lose its elite status as the nodal
y January 4, 2008 Incident agency for consultancy in India, and his
career would be at stake.
On January 4, Sharma stormed into the Sharma wondered whether he had made a
office of Kumar to inquire about the MEC mistake by accepting the director’s position
proposal and why it had been delayed. and whether he could do anything to improve
Kumar had been non-apologetic and the situation at CDO.
Navigating Through Leadership Transitions

Making It Past the Twists and Turns
By Christine M. Riordan
All things change; nothing abides. Into the same river, one cannot step twice.
—Heraclitus
Agility and adaptability are mandatory Whether change involves the strategic
these days, as leaders prepare, manage, direction of the corporation, a merger, acqui-
and sometimes reinvent themselves in sition or reorganization, the development of a
order to navigate the twists, turns, and new product line or a shift in the competitive
transitions they must make. Otherwise, market place, or new bosses or co-workers,
making the wrong move could eventually leaders must constantly monitor their envi-
scuttle a once-promising leadership career. ronment and adjust their leadership skills to
match the new demands. This requirement for
Many points in our jobs and careers require, constant personal modification can be daunt-
even demand, changes in our leadership ing for anyone not agile enough to adapt.
behaviors, competencies, attitudes, and think- It is imperative that leaders determine
ing. How well we navigate these potentially how they need to adjust their leadership
treacherous junctures often determines our behaviors and style to navigate the changes
ultimate success—or failure—as leaders. surrounding them. This task sounds easy, but
Copyright © 2008, Ivey Management Services.
Navigating Through Leadership Transitions 125
it is often very difficult. This article describes anyone, Barbara’s supervisor eventually let her
tactics leaders can use to reach this goal. go. She had worked for the company for 27 years.
y What Happens y Transitions: Potentially

When Times Change Turbulent Waters
Sometimes, leaders do not recognize environ- If they are to demonstrate and retain their value,
mental changes or, perhaps more importantly, leaders must steer their organizations through
the need for them to behave differently because various transitions. Failure to handle such tran-
of these changes. Leaders will often cling to the sitions adequately can result in career disaster.
past or continue “business as usual.” They think Successful navigation, on the other hand, results
that past behaviors that have proven successful in vital lessons learned, greater flexibility and
will again carry them into the future. While adaptability, and stronger leadership skills. With
they are correct in many respects, one set and each transition, leaders must adapt their skills to
style of behaviors rarely moves a person seam- face the new set of challenges.
lessly throughout his or her leadership career. Ron Parker, executive vice president of
At each transition, a leader must be prepared to Human Resources at PepsiCo, notes that success-
adopt new and different behaviors to succeed. ful leaders must be “learning agile”. “You have to
This ability (or failure) to recognize, navigate, be agile in your approach to complex issues,” he
and make personal changes influences the says. Parker indicates that corporations need
effectiveness of leaders over time. people who can change with the times. “You can-
For example, a woman I will call Barbara, a not stay in a steady state in a competitive global
vice president of operations for a major insur- environment. That which is not broken today
ance company, found herself in unfamiliar should be broken tomorrow. We look at the
waters when the business went through a major entire value chain and are constantly asking our-
review process. One result was a restructuring selves what needs to change.” Leaders need to be
that established a new strategy and accompany- asking themselves the same questions: How and
ing performance goals. Barbara retained her what do I need to change to keep up with the
position but had a new boss, new strategic future and to be of value to this organization?
objectives, new performance demands, and Leaders commonly face several major types
new teammates. Her boss now expected of transitions in their careers. Each of these
Barbara to focus most of her time and energy requires an adjustment in behaviors, capabilities,
on being accountable and delivering results. attitudes, and thinking. Some of these major
Over time, however, she had difficulty transitional challenges are described below.
changing her behavior, attitudes, and thinking to
match the new strategy and goals. She was unac-
Change in Job/Role
customed to being personally accountable and
the high demands from her new boss. Her super- The most common transition for which a leader
visor provided feedback during the transition, will need to change is taking on a new role or job.
but after a year of trying to help Barbara, he Charan, Drotter, and Noel (May/June 2001, Ivey
decided she was not delivering. Further, Barbara Business Journal) note six passages an individual
did not seem able or willing to make the personal makes while progressing in leadership roles
leadership transformations needed to support through an enterprise: from managing self to
the new strategic direction and environment, nor managing others; to managing other managers;
was she able to help her subordinates make to functional management; to business leadership;
the transition. While the company rarely fired to group leadership; and to enterprise leadership.
At each passage, the person must acquire became negative and abrasive, and seemed to
new skills and competencies to make major embody and intensify bad management prac-
transitions. The skills that made a leader suc- tices. He became the butt of jokes and gossip
cessful in a previous role are typically not suf- among his peers and subordinates. No one took
ficient for the new role. him seriously anymore. Finally, after receiving
This need to adapt also comes about in yet another crushing evaluation from his subor-
lateral moves, changes in jobs that may occur dinates, he simply resigned. While Jason had
due to restructuring, reorganizations, or merg- been an excellent individual performer, he had
ers and acquisitions. Additionally, as the leader never been able to become a manager of others.
grows and develops in his/her job, he or she
must look for new ways to improve perfor-
Change in People
mance and value within that role.
For example, Jason worked in state govern- Sometimes the people we work with change
ment as the manager of a department. He was jobs. Working with different bosses, peers, and
a high achiever and extremely successful in the subordinates is an important transition and one
technical aspects of his job. He developed quite in which leaders must ride the waves. Learning
a reputation for his expertise and was proud of to interact productively with new people who
it. Jason received a promotion to a manage- have diverse ideas, styles, and preferences is a dif-
ment position, in part because of this expertise. ficult challenge. While learning such lessons
After becoming a manager, Jason networked seems basic, many leaders fail to navigate people
only with people at his level of seniority and changes—particularly when they get a new boss.
skill. He had a hierarchical mentality but proved For example, Bob was leading a new prod-
ineffective at networking with those above him uct development group in a professional ser-
and neglected to network with those below him. vices firm. In one year, his direct boss changed
He was also into strictly maintaining the status along with the leader one level above. Bob’s old
quo in his unit, even though the entire division boss was very hands off in his leadership style,
was undergoing dramatic changes. He was quick not asking for much information about the
to dismiss new and innovative ideas. performance of the unit. He also did not spend
This attitude frustrated many of his subordi- any time helping Bob succeed.
nates, who saw other work units making dramatic When the new leadership arrived, it recog-
improvements in processes and outcomes. As part nized that Bob had been successful in imple-
of the performance appraisal process, Jason’s sub- menting new product lines. However, it also
ordinates completed feedback evaluations on his believed that there was room for improvement in
performance. Each year they became more devas- both the number of products developed and the
tating. It was clear his leadership style was weigh- way in which he introduced these inside the firm.
ing down both him and his work unit. Yet, rather To start the unit down the path of
than following the feedback and trying to change, improvement, Bob’s new boss began asking
he attributed the negative results to external fac- him for strategic and execution plans for the
tors. He blamed his failure on things other than his development department. Rather than taking
own behavior. For example, he thought, since the this request as an opportunity to demonstrate
evaluations were given to subordinates right after his understanding of how to reshape the devel-
they had received their raise information, they opment department, Bob felt threatened by
were angry about their wages and not at Jason. these requests and thus resisted any requests for
As the feedback became increasingly worse, information. His behaviour became adversarial
Jason stopped socializing and talking casually when dealing with any suggestions for change.
with his subordinates. He never went to lunch He longed for the days when his old boss sim-
or stopped by subordinates’ offices to chat. He ply left him alone and he was not accountable.
Bob talked negatively about the changes environment changed, not only in her region
occurring within the firm and about his bosses but all over the country. She started to see a
to others inside and outside of the firm. Bob’s significant reduction in interest and sales.
bosses and co-workers, of course, became Rather than look at how the organization had
aware of this unconstructive behavior. Bob designed or positioned the product relative to
consequently gained a reputation for being the competitive market and changing con-
uncooperative, for not being a team player, and sumer interests, she poured more money into
as being a person that others did not trust. advertising and marketing.
Bob’s new bosses started questioning whether Yet, sales continued to erode. She blamed
he could run the development department the reduction in sales on national trends.
effectively. Eventually, the bosses brought in Eventually, other leaders in the organization
someone new to run the department; the indi- began to take control of the situation. Sarah lost
vidual reduced Bob’s job scope. significant amounts of autonomy, as senior lead-
In another example, Tom was a senior vice ers began telling her what to do and reduced
president at a financial services firm that recently her responsibilities. Other leaders in the firm
transferred him to a new region within the same restructured and repositioned the business line
corporation. He had two vice presidents report- to respond to the changing consumer interests.
ing to him. Though Tom had been in this role in Over time, sales began to increase again.
another region, this was the first time he worked
with these particular vice presidents.
Change in Strategy/Products
After a few months, Tom realized that he
was having difficulty connecting and working Often in response to the competitive environ-
with one of his vice presidents. Therefore, Tom ment, firms will look at changing their strategy
elicited the advice of an executive coach who and/or their product mix. Leaders must adjust
helped him understand that there were simple their organizational thinking and way of doing
differences of style between Tom and his vice business when the enterprise shifts direction.
president. They also determined that the other Yet, many leaders have difficulty making this
vice president had a style very similar to Tom’s, transition.
which made that relationship easier to navigate. Leaders who successfully embrace this type
Rather than trying to change the vice president of change become the enablers, or the people
to suit his own style, Tom made some simple who help promote, accept, and make the change
adjustments in his interactions. Today, his rela- happen. The organization values these types of
tionships with his two vice presidents are strong. leaders because they ensure strategic growth.
Moreover, he continues to adjust his style On the other hand, it is difficult for the
slightly to relate to them each more effectively. organization when leaders become “open resis-
tors” to the change or actively work against the
changes. They may engage in activities such as
Change in the Marketplace
sabotaging change efforts, promoting to keep
Markets change in many ways and leaders who things the same, arguing openly against the
are effective in transitions pay attention to changes in meetings, or creating coalitions to
these market changes. They understand the fight the change effort. They may also become
need to keep abreast of the business, industry, “nay-sayers” or openly criticize the changes and
and marketplace trends. They do not take those involved in it. Leaders who are not suc-
things for granted. cessfully transitioning may also become “pas-
As the director of a major business line for sive resistors” or privately refuse to support the
a consumer products firm, Sara had seen her line change, though they do no overtly resist the
grow for many years. However, the competitive change. However, they also do not do anything
to enable the change. Finally, some individuals does not recognize the critical juncture in the
may be unwary resistors or not be aware that leadership river and, therefore, fails to respond
they are resisting the change effort. They simply or make the correct turns. Over time, this fail-
revert to what they know, which could be old ure to transition affects the performance of the
processes, old priorities, and old strategies. leader. In a similar situation, the leader may
For example, Bill was a vice president of recognize the juncture, but does not know how
sales for a consumer services and products firm to respond and change. Performance also suf-
for an entire state. He had hundreds of sales fers. As depicted in the figure below, we can
people as well as 35 sales managers. The com- generally categorize a leader’s ability to navi-
pany decided to roll out a completely new prod- gate transition points on three levels:
uct line as a way to grow business and buffer
predicted declines in its traditional lines of 1. Staying ahead—these leaders have the
business. While the new product line comple- ability to recognize transition points;
mented the existing lines, it did represent a this type of leader generally navigates
major strategic shift that required sales people all changes and transition points with
to acquire a new knowledge base for the prod- ease while maintaining high levels of
ucts and to learn how to cross sell the products. performance
Additionally, it meant that Bill needed to keep
2. Keeping up—these leaders have the abil-
up with sales results, the competition, and the
ity to recognize the transition points; per-
marketplace in three different, but related, lines
formance may dip for a slight period as
of business.
the leader adjusts to the new situation,
Bill had strong relationships with his sales
but the leader is able to respond and
people and managers. He just figured that he
bring performance back to peak levels—
could keep doing things the same without
until the next transition point; over time
making any major adjustments. Over time,
however, the leader’s overall performance
sales in the old product lines started to drop
is high, leading to success in the role
while sales in the new product lines became
limited. Bill could not figure out a way to turn 3. Falling behind—these leaders may or
things around. In short, he could not get out of may not recognize the transition points;
the mindset of doing business in the same way. they generally do not know how to
He rarely sought out information about the respond or choose to not respond; over
local marketplace, nor did he read industry or time, their leadership performance suf-
company literature that discussed market and fers; these leaders are the ones who
strategy changes. Over time and after much commonly lose their leadership roles or
coaching, the senior leaders of the firm moved have their leadership roles reduced.
Bill into a less demanding position. He just
could not transition into being a strategic One should recognize that sometimes there
leader who focused on new ways of operating. is a fourth level of response. A leader may choose
not to navigate a transition point. That is, the
leader may decide that he or she does not want to
y How Transitions Impact a make the transition. This situation could occur
Leader’s Performance for a variety of reasons, including the leader’s
philosophical disagreement with the changes or
As these and other transition points come up her belief that the change will fail with the given
during a leader’s tenure, he or she needs to be resources. Ultimately, this type of leader often
prepared to advance through them. Perhaps decides to move proactively into another situa-
the most common mistake is that the leader tion within the firm or sometimes outside of the
firm. As an example, we commonly see very suc- y Company Responses to

cessful founders of entrepreneurial ventures leave
the organization they started because they do not
Leadership Transitions
want to become the type of leader needed to take It is extremely expensive and disruptive for an
the firm to the next level. organization to see leaders fail or to have lead-
For example, Dan was a very successful ers who are ill equipped for their positions. As
senior executive with a major indemnity com- a result, companies are beginning to recognize
pany in the northeast. Brought into the organi- how critical it is to help their leaders make a
zation to help turn around the performance of transition through the more difficult situa-
the eastern region, Dan thrived in this role for tions. For example, Burlington Northern
several years. The company, however, decided to Santa Fe Railway offers an executive education
change strategy. Dan did not philosophically class for new leaders. This class focuses exclu-
agree with the changes. Rather than staying with sively on what changes the new leaders need to
the organization, Dan decided to leave. He knew make in their new roles, how to handle these
that he was not the right person to make the changes, and what challenges they may face.
next set of changes and felt that he and the firm In 2003, The Economist estimated that orga-
would be better off with someone else in the role. nizations were already spending more than
Exhibit 1
Transition Point
Example
Transition Point Change in
Example marketplace
Change in peers
Transition Point
Example
Change in product mix
Transition Point
Example
Change in boss
Transition Point g
Leadership Performance
yin
Example Sta ead
Change in Strategy Ah
Up
Transition Point e p ing
Example Ke
New role
Falling Behind
Take New Job Leadership Transitions Move to Next Job

or
Continue on Path
NOTE: Copyright © Riordan. Not to be used without permission.

$1 billion providing coaches for their employees; “No” to any of these questions, you can take
it projected that this expenditure would double several developmental actions to help reinvent
in two years. This growth in the executive coach- yourself and navigate difficult transitions.
ing industry is in part due to the increase in
companies’ recognition that leaders commonly
need assistance in managing the transitions, and y Specific Steps
that an external party may help the leaders gain
the needed skills, abilities, and fresh perspective. Navigating transitions is not something you do
only for the organization. It is something you
do for yourself. As such, you need to take
y Individual Transition charge of developing the skills you need to
Skills Needed periodically reinvent and realign yourself with
environmental changes.
While organizations may try to facilitate transi- One key is to dedicate yourself to becom-
tions, navigating transitions is a skill that leaders ing a student of leadership throughout your
need to acquire if they do not already possess it. career. Study effective leadership practices.
Successful leaders focus on their ability to Knowledge of what constitutes effective leader-
navigate changes in the environment and their ship at each stage of your career is fundamen-
ability to reinvent themselves to adapt to those tal. At each transition point, your perspective
changes. Generally, successful navigation and on leadership should change as you work to
personal reinvention require three things: 1) a acquire advanced leadership skills and compe-
change in attitude and thinking; 2) a change in tencies. Acquiring such knowledge can save
competencies and skills; and 3) a change in many errors, reduce learning time, and improve
behaviors. your leadership success.
Changing one area is not usually sufficient A second key is to look in the mirror. Your
to navigate transitions successfully. For exam- leadership effectiveness begins with you. You
ple, Sandra was a successful corporate relations need to answer important questions such as
manager for a consumer products company. how does your leadership style need to change,
She had a successful performance results record, what roles and responsibilities do others expect
worked well with others, and prided herself on you to give them, what type of leader do you
being open to developmental feedback. As want to be, and what type of leader do you need
Sandra moved up and the organization to be at each transition point? Are you a steward
changed, it became obvious that she needed for the organization or do you collude with the
advanced leadership skills and competencies in status quo? Do you need to change your attitude
strategic thinking and positioning, managing and thinking, your competencies, and/or your
change, and project management. Sandra knew behaviors to navigate the transition?
she needed to change, and was open to feed- A third key is being open to feedback and
back. While her attitude was positive, she had a coaching—really open to feedback and coach-
difficult time acquiring the advanced skills she ing. You should understand that sometimes this
needed. It took many different types of develop- feedback is unpleasant, challenges our egos, and
ment activities and continuous feedback for simply stings a bit. However, getting one-on-
Sandra to develop these skills. Eventually she one feedback and advice from a boss, executive
succeeded, though her performance suffered a coach, or mentor is invaluable. It is important to
bit while she learned to change her behaviors. seek feedback and suggestions for leadership
You can ask yourself several questions to development throughout your career.
determine if you will navigate transitions eas- As you hit transition points, being open to
ily (see box at end of article). If you answer feedback and coaching may help you adjust
faster. Additionally, other people can serve as a who are not succeeding in their leadership roles.
sounding board for ideas for leadership develop- Some of the most powerful learning occurs by
ment activities targeted towards your specific observing “what not to do” in a situation.
needs; help identify different types of activities, Finally, make sure that you understand the
which will help you practice the skills; and pro- business, industry, and community in which
vide valuable coaching or feedback based on you operate. Stay current about industry and
observation and interaction with you. Finally, company trends. Attend conferences and
having someone who provides honest feedback classes, listen to and participate in business
can affirm the things that you do well and poten- conversations, or go back to school for an
tially prevent you from adopting attitudes, think- advanced degree if appropriate. You will only
ing and behaviors that may derail your career. be able to identify transition points if you
A fourth key is recognizing that effective know what the competitive environment looks
leadership takes lots of practice and reflection. like and understand the challenges that the
As part of the transition, try doing things dif- company may be facing.
ferently, but be reflective. If something goes Outstanding leaders recognize the need to
well, reflect on why it went well. If something modify their skills, attitudes, and behaviors fre-
does not go well, ask why it did not and what quently to smoothly maneuver through their
can you do differently. careers and leadership challenges. They also
The fifth key is observing and learning from recognize that while they may need assistance
other successful leaders. Observe people who along the way, no one else can make the changes
seem to flourish in their leadership roles. It is for them. They are the only ones who can suc-
equally important, though, to learn from people cessfully navigate their own leadership river.
Assessing Your Capability to Navigate Transitions
Evaluate your skill in each of the competencies listed below to assess your agility to adapt and
navigate leadership transitions.
Adaptability and Openness to Change—the ability to respond to new demands and chal-
lenges and to maintain a constructive, positive outlook about change.
• Do new challenges excite you and are you willing to tackle them?
• When presented with a change in the organization, do you view it as an opportunity rather
than a threat?
• Do you challenge status quo within the organization?
Self-awareness—the ability to recognize when you do not possess the skills/competencies

needed to navigate the transition and the ability to recognize that you need to change com-
petencies, behaviors, and/or attitude.
• Do you recognize when you need to gain some new capabilities or change behaviors and/or
attitude?
• Are you willing to learn or seek help when needed?
(Continued)
(Continued)
• Are you willing to admit that you have to change to succeed?
• Do you proactively work on expanding your capabilities/competencies?
• Do you commonly ask yourself, if I were to start this job all over again, what would I need to
do differently?
Leadership Maturity—the felt responsibility to make the changes in competencies, behaviors,

and attitude needed to support the direction of the organization and to be successful in the role.
• Do you feel that it is important to improve as a leader to help the organization succeed?
• Do you look for ways in which you can be better to help the organization achieve its goals?
• Do you recognize that a change in attitude can result in a change of behavior?
• Do you seek to understand why changes are needed?
• Are you an active steward of the organization and its goals?
Leadership Resilience—the ability to rebound from setbacks and/or changes.
• When things do not go well, do you work to make them better?

• When there is a setback, do you reflect on what happened and look for ways to improve?
Strategic Thinking—the ability to look ahead and behind to determine the best plan for
improvement.
• Do you proactively look for ways to improve?

• Do you periodically question your own assumptions, ideas, and thinking?
• Are you able to define the issues or problems clearly to determine appropriate actions?
• Do you focus on the big picture and the details in planning how to change?
• Do you periodically conduct a reality test of yourself to see if you are on track?
Business Acumen—developing a deeper understanding of the business so that you under-

stand how the business is changing and why and how you might need to change as a leader
• Do you proactively seek to know more about the business so that you can help move it in the
direction it needs to go?
• Do you pay attention to industry trends, market trends, and strategic shifts that are taking place?
• Do you apply these trends to how you might need to change as a leader?

Chapter 4 Leader Style Approach

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Copyright © 2011 by Sage Publications, Inc.

The Ohio State Studies

Table 4.1 Task Behavior and Relationship Behavior

Task Behavior Relationship Behavior

Ohio State studies Initiating structure Consideration

University of Production orientation Employee orientation

Blake and Mouton’s Concern for production Concern for people

The University of Michigan Studies

The Blake and Mouton Grid

Team management-style leaders emphasize interpersonal relationships and getting

How Does the Leadership Style Work?

Consultancy Development Organization

On February 13, 2002, Ivan Chaikovsky, y Technosoft

Copyright  2004, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2004-06-30

Exhibit 1 Technosoft Corporate Structure

SOURCE: Company files.

Exhibit 2 Value Chain

Products Products Products

SOURCE: Company files.

Exhibit 3 Technosoft Saint Petersburg Organization Chart

SMB Business Business

SMB Sales and

Telesales Rep. Telesales Rep. Telesales Rep.

SOURCE: Company files.

y Telesales Project Customers who were interested in buying

Exhibit 4 Telesale Process

SOURCE: Company files.

Exhibit 5 Telesales Project Timeline

Jan.-Feb. 2001 June 2001 October 2001

April 2001 July-Aug. 2001 Feb.-Apr. 2002

SOURCE: Company files.

Exhibit 6 Olga Peterson’s Telesales Poll Results

4. Olga Peterson knows how to 1 2 2

11. Olga Peterson builds co-operation 1 1 2 1

SOURCE: Company files.

Exhibit 7 Ivan Chaikovsky Telesales Poll Results

SOURCE: Company files.

Exhibit 8 Telesales Project’s Poll Results

I expect to work for Technosoft for 3 1 1

SOURCE: Company files.

Consultancy Development Organization

It was just after 3 p.m. on Friday, January 4, y Consultancy Development

Copyright  2008, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2008-04-18

Exhibit 1 Map of India

Exhibit 2 Organization Chart of Consultancy Development Organization

CDO Governing Council

Deputy Director Deputy Director Deputy Director Deputy Director

Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant

SOURCE: CDO Organization Chart.

y Mukesh Kumar of projects at CDO, the second-most presti-

The International Consultancy Congress was

We are a government controlled organiza- • CDO should also take up consultancy

Navigating Through Leadership Transitions

y What Happens y Transitions: Potentially

firm. As an example, we commonly see very suc- y Company Responses to

Take New Job Leadership Transitions Move to Next Job

NOTE: Copyright © Riordan. Not to be used without permission.

Assessing Your Capability to Navigate Transitions

Self-awareness—the ability to recognize when you do not possess the skills/competencies

Leadership Maturity—the felt responsibility to make the changes in competencies, behaviors,

Leadership Resilience—the ability to rebound from setbacks and/or changes.

• When things do not go well, do you work to make them better?