Leading and Managing: McCrindle Research

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166 | The ABC of XYZ Leading and managing | 167

Here’s a snapshot summary of the differences between man-

agers and leaders taken from our research and reviews:

Table 8.1 Managers versus leaders

Managers Leaders

Administrative Innovate

Focus on policies &procedures

Focus on people &teams

IQ & technical skills EQ & people skil ls

Systems structured Vision dr iven

Rules based Values based

Control Trust

Short term Long term

Provide answers Ask big questions

Who & when Why & how

Bottom line Triple bottom line

Recruit Train

Positional Relational

Accept Challenge

Do things right Do the right things

The biggest difference is not one of practice but pr iorities.Leaders and managers often have the same responsibilities,

but very different starting points.

Meaning > Mission (Why)

Team > Task (What)

Relational > Positional (How)

When it comes to one’s raison d’être – the ‘why’ of the

role – the differences between the two become clear. The

manager starts with the mission: ‘Give me a mission and I

ill hi f b i b i li h ’

Ever ‘on task’, the manager achieves meaning by doing.

The leader, however, takes a few steps back from the

mission or task and asks some meaning or purpose ques-

tions: ‘Why do we as an organisation exist? Who are our

customers and our stakeholders? How can we make a dif-ference for all our stakeholders?’ In other words, the leaders

don’t jump straight in to answering questions – rst they

ask a few. Leaders focus on the big picture and the long

term, not just the immediate and the urgent. Let’s be clear:

leaders get to the mission and the task – it is just that they

don’t start there.

It is similar when it comes to the ‘what we do’. Man-

agers begin with the task – and will even recruit the team

based on the task. They are truly task-driven compared tothe leader who is people-centred. To the leader, task mat-

ters – but it is accomplished with the team rather than

through the team. Leaders talk ‘people’ and ‘teams’ rather

than ‘human resources’ and ‘talent’. With a long-term view

of their role, they train and inspire their people to achieve

and accomplish tasks rst. It is easy to spot the differences in

an outdoor ‘team-building’ task. When approaching a new

scenario, the managers look at the equipment and count

the ropes and planks, while the leaders gather the team in ahuddle to gauge morale and discover specialist skills.

And how do they do it? Leaders rely on their relational

skills, not positional ranks, as today people respond better

to emotional rather than rational appeals. Highlighting this,

scientists have been tracking climate change for the last 20

years, yet it has only been in the last 20 months that the

climate-change message has got traction in the community.

One reason for this is that while ever the message was a

i l i i l i i d li i d h i i




community. However, the moment Al Gore’s documentary

An Inconvenient Truth was viewed en masse, the message was

imparted visually. Pictures of icebergs melting and sea lev-

els rising engaged the community viscerally, which no sci-

entic papers could ever do. It moved the debate from arational argument to an emotional one. Al Gore connected

with hearts and not just heads – ironically something he

could not quite do when running for president.

For any leader it is about connecting relationally and not

just cognitively. Structures are secondary to the teams and

the dynamics – people follow them because people trust

and respect them. Rank is secondary to the relationship. In

the pragmatic words of leadership expert John Maxwell: ‘If

you’re leading and no one’s following – you’re just out for

a walk.’3

The right leadership style will not only assist with effec-

tive work outcomes – it will also help with Gen Y reten-

tion. Our analysis of the causes of employee turnover showsthe central role that good leadership plays in employee

retention. Specically, 42 per cent of Gen Y-ers surveyed

reported that poor management and leadership was the

main reason for leaving their previous role.4

Gen Y-ers do not respond well to hierarchical leadership

structures. Figure 8.1 represents the traditional top-down

leadership model. The chain of command is represented by

the arrows which all point one way and the departments

are pictured as separate silos. The leader has been promotedfrom one of these departments and while the leader has the

authority, they don’t have the cross-functional experience.

Unlike older generations, the respect of Gen Y is not

gained through age or rank alone. Even in their primary

Table 8.2 Famous leaders who influenced across the

generations

Builders Boomers X-ers Y-ers

Political WinstonChurchill

John FKennedy

NelsonMandela

Barack Obama

Economic Walt Disney(children’sanimatedlms)

Lee Iacocca(Ford/Chrysler)

OprahWinfrey(televisionpersonality)

HeidiMiddleton& Sarah-JaneClark (Sass &

Bide – fashionlabel)

Infamous Joseph Stalin Fidel Castro AyatollahRuhollahKhomeini

RobertMugabe

Social MohandasGandhi

Martin Luther King Jnr

Mother Teresaof Calcutta

Paul DavidHewson(Bono)

Cultural Frank Sinatra John Lennon StephenSpielberg

Cate Blanchett

Religious DietrichBonhoeffer

Billy Graham Dalai Lama Benedict XVI

L

FINANCE OPERATIONS MARKETING

Figure 8.1 20th-century leadership – command and

control




years they were given leadership opportunities and encour-

aged to challenge and independently evaluate other’s deci-

sions. In many ways they are Generation ‘Why!’ As a result,

Gen Y has brought new values to the workplace. Y-ers

expect to be treated as equals, they expect to have choicesand input into decision-making processes, expectations that

run counter to hierarchical systems of leadership. Support-

ing this is the statistic that 97 per cent of Gen Y-ers value

a leadership style that involves empowerment, consultation

and partnership, and would leave if they did not get it.5

Figure 8.2 represents this at leadership structure. The

ideal manager is one who values communication and cre-

ates an environment of transparency and respect for staff.

Their preferred leadership style is simply one that is moreconsensus than command, more participative than auto-

cratic, and more exible and organic than structured and

hierarchical.

Also, because today’s young people have received sup-

port from parents and teachers longer than any other gen-

eration, they want a supportive leader, but not in an overly

structured way. The following quote from Australian Eti-

quette , written in 1959, illustrates just how much the lead-

ership structures have changed – from the hierarchal or

positional to the atter or relational:

If an employee is summoned to the employer’s room, he

must remain standing until his chief indicates a seat. At

the conclusion of the interview he must leave as quietly as

possible, closing the door gently after him. If a junior meets

his employer in the lift or in the street he should bow but

must not enter into conversation unless rst addressed. If an

employee has a need to send a letter to his chief he should

commence it with the words ‘Dear sir’ and conclude with

the words ‘Yours obediently’.

Leadership and management stylesSo what leadership and management styles work best?

Authoritarian

Style: The positional leader relying on rank and role

Verdict: Might be acceptable in the military or in the 1950s

– but not today

Directing

Style: Leader points the way from afar and delegates thetasks

Verdict: Our young workers want guidance not gurus, men-

toring not micromanagement. In fact, when asked what

they admired most about older colleagues, X and Y partici-

pants in our survey on the generations at work selected the

following above all other options: ‘They are good mentors

and I learn much from them.’6

L

L

L

L

L

L

L

L

Figure 8.2 21st-century leadership – collaboration and

cooperation




Consulting

Style: Leader asks the questions and includes the team

Verdict: A good approach. Gen Y has opinions and wants

to voice them. In the same survey, we asked Gens X and Y

participants what bothered them most about older workers.Of the ve choices g iven to them, the majority of partici-

pants selected: ‘They often stop fresh and innovative ideas

from taking effect.’ 7

Involving

Style: The participative leader – leading from within and

leading by example

Verdict: This generation loves a leader who empowers the

team. In a study of Australian Gen Y-ers, ‘being a good lis-tener’ and ‘leading by example’ were among the top ve

characteristics of effective leadership.8

Coaching

Style: Leadership that is not a positional role but more an

inuence relationship

Verdict: This style is ideal for Gen Y.

The leader as coach recognises that the positional

approach which relies on rank and role is less effective

today. Yet the other leadership extreme of an overly rela-

tional approach is equally inappropriate, in that it fails togive clear direction, frameworks and constructive feedback.

Balance is the key. In the mid-ground the leader asks the

questions and includes the team. The leader is participa-

tive – leading from within and leading by example – and so

both directs and empowers the team. This style of leader-

ship is not a positional role but more an inuence relation-

ship. It is more coach than commander.

Figure 8.4 shows the traditional employment model:

pour a lot of staff in the top in the knowledge that manywill fall away but the best will eventually emerge. When the

population structure mirrored this employment structure

Figure 8.3 The positional–relational continuum

PERSONAL RELATIONAL

FUNNEL

Figure 8.4 20th-century employment model




(a large supply of emerging workers) this model worked

ne. But this is not the situation today or into the future.

If we don’t like our staff we can’t simply get rid of them

and reach into the labour market to grab another – as dis-

cussed earlier, the full-time labour market is both ageing

and shrinking.

In the 21st century it is sometimes hard to know who ispart of the organisation. The structure is uid and the doors

are open. Some are regular staff, others part-time, casual,

contracted or employed purely for a project. Figure 8.5 also

shows that, today, people may leave – but they may return

again. It employs with an expectation on function and cur-

rent task and not on seniority and longevity.

So how can employers and other leaders effectively

guide Gen Y-ers? Below are some points to remember in

• Move from ‘knowing the way’ to ‘showing the way’–

instead of ‘command and control’ leadership, Gen Y-ers

respond to ‘consensus and collaborative’ leadership.

• Adopt people-centred leadership – when asked what

qualities they value in leadership, Y-ers reportedvaluing leader honesty, reliability and loyalty. They

desired leaders who were energetic and inspir ing, who

maintained a team focus.

• Move from IQ to EQ – try to develop your emotional

intelligence (EQ) and that of your leaders, as it is the

dimension of leadership Generation Y best responds to.

From looking at leading and managing the younger genera-

tions, we now move on to marketing and selling to them.

Figure 8.5 21st-century employment model

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BOOKS

The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the Global Generations by Mark

McCrindle, with Emily Wolfinger. 238 pages. Published by UNSW

Press, 2011. RRP $30.00

From explaining the labels and quantifying the numbers to outlining

the definitive events of each generation, the best-selling The ABC of

XYZ is a comprehensive and fascinating look at the generations.

The ABC of XYZ is a rollicking journey across time, generations and values that

has been forensically dissected by one of the best social analysts i n Australia.

Bernard Salt, Demographer & columnist; Partner, KPMG

The Power of Good: True stories of great kindness from total

strangers by Mark McCrindle. 232 pages. Published by Hybrid

Publishers, 2011. RRP $24.95

Seventy short, heart-warming stories of acts of kindness by strangers

with contributions by prominent Australians, including Jean Kittson,

Peter FitzSimons, Tracey Spicer, Father Chris Riley, and many others.

This book provides many examples of the power of doing good works, the

betterment conferred in so many different ways and, on occasions, leading to

the saving of lives. Tim Fischer A.C. Former Deputy Prime Minister

Word Up: A Lexicon and Guide to Communication in the 21st

Century by Mark McCrindle. 208 pages. Published by Halstead Press,2011. RRP $30.00

A fascinating insight into how English changes, a quirky look at youth

slang today, and a window into the minds of the different generations.

Mark McCrindle deserves a medal. Mapless, he’s entered the alien t errains of

text-speak, web slang, Gen-Z dialect, among other domains, and returned with

a guidebook should we ever lose our way.

David Astle, Co-host of Letters and Numbers (SBS TV),columnist and crossword compiler

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Leading and Managing: McCrindle Research

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