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Quest for the European Business LeaderAuthor: Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director, Center for Creative Leadership Europe First Published: February 2007
The 1970's Debate Back in the early 1970s – if you can stretch your mind back that far – there was a great debate in the boardrooms of forward-thinking European corporations. It went like this: was there such a thing as a true European manager, a cross-border, cross-culture leader - and, if not, could they be developed or created? Studies and surveys poked and prodded, seeking evidence of the existence of a leader that epitomised an emergent region. But when the analysis was complete, the best the academics could find were those polyglots from Belgium and Switzerland who were regarded as international by dint of their linguistic skills. This, of course, didn’t necessarily improve, or contribute to, their leadership and managerial abilities! The 1970s and 80s was a time when a président-directeur général was French down to his chaussettes, a geschaftsführer as German as his Mercedes-Benz, a managing director as British as his old school tie. And it really was a world of “his” -- no females were visible in this nationalistic, macho managerial structure. Indeed, the only “European” managers that existed were the Americans, sent to head up so-called “Continental operations,” who treated Europe as one large territory, ignoring national borders and cultural differences much as they did back home. And the rest of us? Well, we may have gone to work in other countries, but we brought most of our national leadership habits, traits and prejudices with us. In those days the diversity of attitude and experience was possibly more of a handicap than an advantage. Looking back, with the great advantage of hindsight, I can see why those early researchers struggled to identify any real European business leaders. What they were seeking were people who embodied the best from different nations. Simply put, the concept was, find all the good bits, take out all the quirks and oddities and you’ll find a leader who is a true European. The only hole in that plan is that it is doubtful if anyone would have been motivated or enthused to follow this “nationality” clone anywhere. CCL's "Changing Nature of Leadership" Research Study Now, three decades later, I’ve been thinking over this again and it seems to me that finally, we are seeing the emergence of true European business leaders. What got me thinking about this was the Center for Creative Leadership’s “Changing Nature of Leadership” study which has strong evidence that Europe is making the most significant changes in how leaders lead, moving from individual to collective leadership at a much faster pace than other parts of the world. But it is not only that. The Europe that researchers looked at back in the 1980s had a distinct boundary – it was called the Iron Curtain. Now, eighteen years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Central and Eastern nations have joined the multicultural mix that makes up Europe. At the same time more and more of us are educated across borders, spend our leisure time, have work experiences and make lasting friendships across borders. The managers of today, the leadership of our companies and institutions naturally work in structures where people are from all parts of the European map – because that is what they have grown up with. Consequently, we have become – in general – more and more homogeneous in how we react with and relate to each other. Europe has changed and so has the way we lead our organisations. The German geschaftsführer who addressed his secretary as Frau Scmidt, even after working with her for thirty years, has gone. The président-directeur général who lived in an ivory tower and seldom was seen on the factory floor has disappeared too. Old school formality has given way to leadership by consensus, understanding and mutual respect. Across Europe – that new expanded Europe – we have missed a real revolution. It was a quiet revolution, but it happened. Today’s leaders, whether from Poland or Portugal, Slovakia or Sweden have similar characteristics. They are:
These are the same characteristics that emerged in the Changing Nature of Leadership research as essential to today’s cross-border manager. In Europe, because friends and co-workers are more multi-cultural than ever, so, managing and leading a diverse group of people becomes more natural. It also – despite celebrating and building on that diversity – seems to create similar methods of looking at leadership and acting as a leader. This will be absolutely essential in managing a multi-cultural workplace where social-identity based conflicts simmer just below the surface, an issue that is being explored in CCL’s Leadership Across Differences research. Leadership Across Differences researchers Kelly Hannum and Marian Ruderman have noted that in the past, leadership theories and practices were built on an assumption of common culture and values, and we can certainly see that this was the case in Europe within each individual country (or sometimes within a region which shared a culture built around a common language or perhaps a religion). Trigger Conflicts As our researchers say, the process of globalisation has increased the diversity within organisations, and now leaders must effectively lead employees from a variety of social identity groups. Again, we can see clearly how this is playing out in Europe with the mix of racial, religious, ethnic and cultural differences across the European Union and extending into neighbouring countries. And, although almost all organisational leaders have to deal with conflict, the potentially explosive mix in today’s workplace needs special skills that are sensitively deployed. Our research has identified events which trigger conflicts and transform underlying tensions in society to big problems in the workplace. Triggering events are important because these events bring tensions between social groups out to the forefront and create demands for leaders to respond. A staggering example of the result of a triggering event in society was the rioting and violence in France in 2005. The accidental death of a teenager fanned underlying tensions and resentments into a major conflagration. Some of the triggers identified in our research are: Different values – tensions often surface between members of different groups when there are discussions of right and wrong. In some organisations, there were situations where employees were asked to take on an assignment or task that violated deeply-held religious beliefs such as those regarding abortion or homosexuality. Assimilation is a trigger when a majority group expected the non-dominant group to be like them, for example, in matters such as music, language, food, and personal hygiene. Insults include public embarrassment of someone in light of group membership. Exclusion has to do with using a particular language or celebrating a particular holiday or experience that excludes others. Differential treatment serves to maintain one group’s privilege and power relative to another one. Examples include performance appraisals and promotions that favour one group over another and an unequal application of punishments. Simple contact can be a trigger when groups that have highly charged conflicts in society at large are brought together in the work place.
In designing the Leadership Across Differences project, our experts noted that there is a dearth of research-based information suggesting how leadership should respond to workplace societal conflicts. This research project should enable CCL to develop a theory about factors influencing leadership in situations of social identity differences. The analysis allows for a rich understanding of the interplay between national dynamics, social identity conflicts, organizational elements, and leadership. We are looking at leadership response to the triggers described above. The research so far shows that employees everywhere want to be treated with respect as a matter of course. They want to be consulted and listened to – and sometimes, a simple apology goes a long way to diffusing highly charged situations before they explode into more damaging conflict. What I am beginning to see in our leaders in Europe is an almost intuitive recognition of the importance of this kind of “connected leadership” – a greater reliance on interdependent work across boundaries. A New Generational Outlook When our Changing Nature of Leadership research talks about Europeans moving quickly to more collaborative structures, it is all about a movement – a hitherto unseen movement - that is happening right now. We have today a true European generation who are already becoming the leaders of our organisations. They are unfazed by national borders, they understand and appreciate social, religious and ethnic differences and are comfortable working with them and carving out a new form of leadership that makes that happen. This is something that other regions of the developed world don’t have. In America, you are American; same in Japan and Russia to name just two others. Here, in Europe we have finally come to terms with our diversity and the next generation of leaders will see those differences as a strength, not a weakness. No one has forced our next generation of leaders in Europe to be this way, and yet conditions are right for more, not less, integration into a cohesive whole by the people who will take our businesses, governments and institutions forward. Interestingly enough, 2007 is the European Union’s Year of Equal Opportunities and 2008 is the EU’s Year of Intercultural Dialogue. The aim of these initiatives is to reach out to everyone, allowing every citizen to understand what being European is all about. And it IS about Europe, not about that patchwork of countries that make up the complete fabric. As I have already pointed out, CCL’s research has underscored the fact that Europe is moving into a more sharing, caring model of leadership. My view, and CCL’s research bears this out, is that we are only at the beginning. But wait a minute – can the new “soft-skilled” leader thrive and survive in the cut-throat global economy? Isn’t it more effective and business-like to motivate people to rise above their differences, or at the very least, force them to pull together? Our thirty-plus years of research and implementation of leadership development show that while charisma or forceful personality can go a long way, they have limitations. You can ignore or paper over differences, but then you lose out on perspectives that can enrich and inspire creativity. And the conflicts in today’s workplace won’t go away overnight – ignoring or pushing them down makes them worse. There are three basic characteristics of effective leaders: setting direction, creating alignment and gaining commitment. A strong leader might be able to set direction, but alignment and commitment will probably be impossible to achieve without employing the tool-kit of soft skills. Is there a real European leader? My answer is clear, “yes.” Is this a good thing? Again my response is a definite “yes.” The quest to seek out the European business leader is over. They are already here. They may still be young but they represent real Europeans. They are no less citizens of the countries they came from, but they understand – much more than their parents – that by learning to lead as a European you create a leadership model that is both strong, inclusive and open to all.
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