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Shaping FuturesThe role of senior strategic leadershipDoug ParkinProgramme DirectorLeadership Foundation for Higher Education

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Leadership and

Governance

•Does strategy matter?•Three words: senior – strategic – leadership •What does it mean to be ‘strategic’ ?•Conceptions of strategy•Four levers for strategic engagement (moving sustainability to the centre-ground)

•Collective commitment•If you could change anything what would it be?•Courageous and selfless leadership

Outline

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Leadership and

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Leadership and

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Tribal wisdom says that when you discover you’reon a dead horse the best strategy is to dismount

Of course there are other strategies – • You can change riders• You can get a committee to study the dead horse• You can benchmark how other

universities ride dead horses• You can harness several

dead horses together

Strategy might matter

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I think I saw it

move...

Leadership and

Governance

• But after all this you’re still going to have to dismount• The temptation to stay on a dead horse can be

overwhelming• But the time to start searching for new strategies is

long before your horse stumbles

Strategy does matter

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I think I saw it move...

Leadership and

Governance

• Sir Alexander Graham Bell (1897)– This invention will be so significant it’s likely we will see one in

every...• A prominent banker advising Henry Ford (1903)

– The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad• Thomas Watson, Chairman, IBM (1943)

– I think there is a world market for about...computers

• Ken Olson, Chairman, Digital Corp (1977)– There is no reason for any individual to have a computer

in their home• Sir Alan Sugar (2005)

– Next Christmas the iPod will be dead, finished, kaput

Forecasting the future is tough

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town

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Leadership and

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SeniorStrategic

Leadership

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Leadership and

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•Institution-wide roles•Top of the pyramid•Rich and diverse roles•Long on experience•Ambassador and diplomat•From expert/specialist to the ultimate generalist

Senior

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Leadership and

Governance

StrategicOrganisation in the Future

Environment/contextOrganisation Now

Strategic Position

Strategic Plan

StrategicScenarios

Horizon scanning

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Leadership and

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•Distributed•Situational•Transformational•Authentic•“Leading in a cold climate”

Leadership

Leadership: aligning the energy of others behind an attractive goal

(Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, 1985)

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Leadership and

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If you walked into someone else’s institution tomorrow, what evidence would you look for that the institution was thinking and acting strategically?

Being strategic

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Leadership and

Governance

If you walked into someone else’s institution tomorrow, what evidence would you look for that the institution was thinking and acting strategically?

Being strategic

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Leadership and

Governance

Being strategic

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•Shared purpose•Collective commitment•Focussed activity•Inspired and motivated•Clear sense of priorities•What to do – what not to do•Good communication•Alignment – shape, structure and activity•Service: who will benefit – where, when and why?

Leadership and

Governance

•Near, mid and far horizons•Strategic thinking, planning and action•Russian dolls•Line of sight•Strategy, tactics and operations•Up, in and out (values driven strategy)•Strategic influence: inside-out or outside-in?

Conceptions of strategy

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Leadership and

Governance

Near, mid and far horizon

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Leadership and

Governance

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Strategic thinkingPrimarily an analytic and creative process that explores future options and possibilities, often using scenarios to stimulate powerful strategic conversations

Strategic planningThe process of converting the results of strategic thinking as a set of potentially actionable strategies into an integrated plan of action that can be implemented

Strategic actionThe implementation of the strategic plan as a series of change initiatives with the support and commitment of “key players” at all levels of the organisation

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Leadership and

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Strategy – start diet today...

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Maister, 2005 – Strategy and the Fat Smoker

Much of what professional firms do in the name of strategic planning is a complete waste of time, no more effective than individuals making New Year’s resolutions

Leadership and

Governance

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Institution?

Faculty/Area?

School/Service?

Department?

Individual?

Leadership and

Governance

(Harvard Business Review)

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“For me, it’s more about a job well done and less about the cheese”

Leadership and

Governance

Line of sight

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Leadership and

GovernanceStrategic

Tactical

• Creating a vision (why we are here)• Deciding what we should do• Setting strategic goals• Ideas – policies – core principles

• Translating the vision• Deciding how and who• From strategic goals to plans and targets • Ideas – procedures – talent scoping

• Living the vision (bringing it to life)• The doing – the delivering – the monitoring• Operational objectives

and activities• Ideas – efficiencies –

people development

Alignment

Feedback

Sub-strategies

Strategic

Tactical

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Leadership and

Governance

UPFundamental drivers:- Values - Principles- Beliefs - Morality

OUTThe active and aware contribution made to the world

OUT- Impact- Transformation- Community

INReflecting on our own needs and development

IN- Capacity- Continuity- Reputation

No child should go to bed hungry!

Improving the delivery of aid to

populations in crisis

Developing a critical mass of

expertise

STRATEGI

C VISION

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Leadership and

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Strategy

Inside-out strategy

Sustainability

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Strategy

Outside-in strategy

Sustainability

Leadership and

Governance

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Alleviating poverty Population Urbanisation

Water demand Climate Change New technology Energy demand

Food security

Biodiversity Infectious diseases Non-infectious dis. Ageing population

Leadership and

Governance

Four levers for strategic engagement

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RhetoricInspiring and

persuasive language

Business caseGrowth – attracting

and retaining

ValuesBeing and doing;

central tenets

ImpactChange: improving

and saving lives

RhetoricInspiring and

persuasive language

Business caseGrowth – attracting

and retaining

ValuesBeing and doing;

central tenets

ImpactChange: improving

and saving lives

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Leadership and

Governance

Personal values: being and doing

MODELLINGLeadership is about both being and

doing

BEING DOING

Doing the best we canv

Being the best we canValu

es s

tate

d –

valu

es s

een Values stated – values seen

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Leadership and

Governance

•Environmental and economic sustainability (1 of 8)•We want our concern for a sustainable environment to inform every aspect of what we do (1 of 6)

•We value sustainability because we know that we can achieve nothing in the longer run if our activities are not sustainable both economically and environmentally (1 of 6)

•Being committed to sustainability and the protection of our environment (1 of 10)•An ethical approach to all activities with special reference to the production of food and management of the environment (1 of 7)

•Protecting the future – we have to think beyond the short term (1 of 6)•Promoting sustainability thinking and practice (1 of 4)•Environmental sustainability (1 of 10) (1 of 5)•Financial and environmental sustainability (1 of 6)•Working towards sustainability in all we do (1 of 6)

Values statements

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Leadership and

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•Shopping list

•Catch all

•Tailored

•Unique to us

•Bland

•Visionary

Values - approaches

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Leadership and

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Shared responsibility:•Earth right now: Your planet is changing. We’re on it. (NASA, 2014)Dramatic events:•Please, no more delays, no more excuses... I ask of all of us here, if not us then who? If not now then when? If not here then where? (Yeb Saño, Doha, 2012)

Fearful predictions:•We are heading for a catastrophic temperature rise of 4 degrees Celsius unless we do something to change it (Friends of the Earth – current website)

Shifting balance:•A New World Order is required to deal with the Climate Change crisis (Gordon Brown)Sector voices:•Protecting and enhancing quality of life for current and future generations is central to sustainable development (HEFCE, 2013)

Dark humour:•Every time someone dies as a result of floods in Bangladesh, an airline executive should be dragged out of his office and drowned (George Monbiot, 2006)

Rhetoric

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Leadership and

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Six critical drivers of global change –•Earth Inc. – a deeply interconnected world economy

• Operating as a fully integrated holistic entity

•The Global Mind – a planet-wide electronic communications grid• Connecting thoughts, feelings, data, sensors and thinking machines

•Power in the Balance – shifting influence/initiative from West to East• From wealthy countries to rapidly emerging centres (and private actors)

•Outgrowth – rapid unsustainable growth• Populations, cities, resources, consumption and pollution

•The Reinvention of Life and Death – new biosciences and genetics• Reweaving the fabric and form of life itself – controlling evolution

•The Edge – the balance of power between Earth and humans • Especially vulnerable systems such as the atmosphere and climate

The Future – a map of the world to come

(Al Gore, The Future, 2013) 37

Leadership and

Governance

Business Case

FINANCESIncreasing income/

investment or reducing costs/waste

COMPETITIONDistinctiveness,

appeal and efficiency

REPUTATIONProfile, position and perceptions

MARKETAttract and retain

students

OUTPUTSActive, aware and creative graduates

FUTUREInnovation

(technology), growth and new offerings

COMPLIANCE/RISKLaw, policy and

public expectations

PEOPLEAttract and retain

talent

Elements of a successful

business case

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Leadership and

Governance

•Infrastructure• Energy – directly connecting the campus and the biosphere• Food – a way to think about soil, landscape and nutrition• Materials – the fruits of extracting natural resources

•Community• Governance – conversations with every campus constituency• Investment – the far reaching effects of decisions and policies• Wellness – how humans flourish and nurture one another

•Learning• Curriculum – how do our actions affect the earth?• Interpretation – everyone can see what we’re doing• Aesthetics – a more meaningful and beautiful world

The Nine Elements of a Sustainable Campus

(Mitchell Thomashow – MIT, 2014) 39

Leadership and

Governance

Impact Change: improving and saving livesWithin the

institution

•Staff•Students•Volunteers•Visitors

Around the institution

•Community•Partners•Suppliers•Enterprise

Through the institution

•Disciplines•Professions•Schools•Consortiums

Beyond the institution

•Society•Policy•Economy•Global

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RhetoricInspiring and

persuasive language

Business caseGrowth – attracting

and retaining

ValuesBeing and doing;

central tenets

ImpactChange: improving

and saving lives

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Leadership and

Governance

Alleviating poverty Population Urbanisation

Water demand Climate Change New technology Energy demand

Food security

Biodiversity Infectious diseases Non-infectious dis. Ageing population

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Leadership and

Governance

風向轉變時 ,有人築牆 ,有人造風車When the wind of change blows, some build

walls, others build windmills

When the wind of change blows

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Leadership and

Governance

•The beacon principle•The leader factory•Discovery and innovation•Raising the intellectual sustainable tone of society•Informing crucial decisions

The role of universitiesHow are we going to ensure the sustainability of the university?

orHow is the university going to help ensure the sustainability of

the world?

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Leadership and

Governance

•Be the change you want to see•Create a compelling narrative•Enable leadership at all levels•Share and collaborate•Work across boundaries•Take a far-sighted approach•Weniger aber besser (less but better): do less better•Regard every resource as precious•Be the change you want to see

Collective commitment

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Leadership and

Governance

Just one thing!To create collective commitment...

If you could changeanything,

what would it be?

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Leadership and

Governance

Courageous and selfless leadership

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Starting a movement

Leadership and

Governance

Bringing together the four levers for strategic engagement

‘Aha’ moment

RhetoricInspiring and

persuasive language

Business caseGrowth – attracting

and retaining

ValuesBeing and doing;

central tenets

ImpactChange: improving

and saving lives

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Leadership and

Governance

This Award is exclusive to senior strategic leadership at a tertiary education institution. This Award will recognise individuals at the most senior level in... Recognition will be awarded for a combination of institution-wide impact and powerful external engagement. This Award seeks to identify and recognise transforming leaders who are shaping the future and making the principles and values of sustainability central to their organisation at the highest levels

Leadership Award - NEW FOR 2014

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Leadership and

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Leadership Foundation Programmes

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Thank you for listening and participating

Doug ParkinProgramme DirectorLeadership Foundation for Higher Education

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