Research insight

Engaging leadership
Creating organisations
that maximise the
potential of their people

Shaping the FUTURE

 Shaping the Future is a longitudinal action research study and engagement
programme exploring sustainable organisation performance. It aims to
advance both thinking and practice through generating new insight, provoking
debate, and providing practical guidance and tools that can be applied in a
work context.

The core research is being carried out with a range of case study organisations
already embarking on a change journey of their own initiation and design.
The key themes of engagement, leadership and organisational development
are also being explored with practitioners through action learning sets.

To find out more you can join in at www.cipd.co.uk/shapingthefuture

This Research Insight was written by Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe, Chief Executive and John Alban-Metcalfe, Director,
Real World Group.

Real World Group occupies a unique position in the field of leadership research, development and cultural
transformation. We bring together leading-edge research and consultancy in a way that maximises the
knowledge and experience of both, while relating this directly and practically to the real world of work.

www.realworld-group.com
Contents

Foreword 2

Introduction 4

The leadership challenges 5

It’s time for leadership to take a new direction 6

Current approaches to leadership: the competency debate 14

Assessing engaging leadership and testing the validity of the model 18

Evidence of effectiveness 20

Building leadership capacity: embedding engaging leadership in the culture 22

Lessons from working with organisations on building cultures of engagement: 24

implications for HR professionals

Case studies 26

Do we want leader development or leadership development? 31

Conclusions 33

References 34

Engaging leadership 1
Foreword

Leadership in every guise has a bearing on our hypothesis is that employee engagement lies at
organisational performance – potentially positive the heart of organisational performance, and that
or negative: a mass of research studies provides leadership is disproportionately influential in terms of its
evidence for this assertion. But much of this research impact on employee engagement and performance.
fails to identify direct causal links between leadership
behaviours and employee engagement – the engine Unlike many well-known studies of high performance,
of performance. the Shaping the Future study will be future-focused and
draw on existing research, not least the famous ‘black
What is so interesting about the work of Professor box’ studies (from the People and Performance research
Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe and Dr John Alban-Metcalfe programme) carried out on behalf of the CIPD by
is how they have established those causal links. The Professor John Purcell and colleagues at Bath University.
authors’ overview of the evolving field of leadership
theory, including the competencies movement, We will be working with a range of organisations
highlights key gaps in understanding the ways in as learning partners on their journey to sustainable
which leadership can lead to employee engagement. performance. Our action research model will include
In contrast, their own ‘bottom–up’ analyses provide using employee, customer and business data to
real insight into how leadership can be engaging; create better understanding of where activities and
how leaders can create the context in which people interventions can be targeted to make a significant
can perform well. Applying their model of engaging difference to performance, and measuring that
leadership in fieldwork in real organisations provides difference. So we are setting out less to prove, than
strong validation of the model and establishes the to improve.
powerful links between certain kinds of leadership
behaviours – exercised individually or collectively – and We shall be focusing on the conventional core of
improved employee engagement and performance. the HR agenda – talent, in all its forms – and related
processes, and will also be adding to that a focus
It is both because leadership is so central to individual, on culture, in particular how HR can help build
team and organisational performance and because changeable cultures that stand the test of time. We
of the ways in which the authors have applied their believe these cultures to be agile, adaptable, customer-
theory to produce real business benefit that this focused, ‘boundaryless’, conducive to learning and
Research Insight is so important. Data is used to both innovation, knowledge-rich and fundamentally values-
pinpoint new insights and also apply those insights based. Leaders and leadership are vital to the building
to drive better performance, with benefits for both of these organisational cultures where employees can
organisations and individuals. thrive and business can bloom. These are organisations
where the best available talent will want to work and
This is precisely what we are setting out to do in the give their best.
Shaping the Future research programme – a three-year
research and engagement programme geared towards Alongside our studies, with a core of case study
helping organisations explore and achieve sustainable organisations we shall be aiming to involve in
high performance in fast-changing contexts. We believe the performance quest a broader community of
that many factors – internal and external – have a organisations – large and small – from every sector.
bearing on sustainable performance. But the core of We want to use the research process to bring about

2 Engaging leadership
change, advance practice and build capability among
people management and development professionals.
We want to create a movement of practice where HR
professionals and line managers can use shared learning
and insights to create experiments and improve practice
in their own organisations. We want HR to be able to
build sustainable competitive advantage and help shape
the future.

So I am grateful to Beverly and John for showing just

what can be done when you set out to find what can
make a difference and then use that understanding to
make a difference for the good. In Shaping the Future
we will be following their lead and I commend this
report to you.

Linda Holbeche
Research and Policy Director, CIPD

Engaging leadership 3
Introduction

Organisations waste thousands, and in some cases It combines up-to-date research on leadership
millions, of pounds every year by appointing the with what we know about the phenomenon of
wrong people to leadership positions, or by not ‘engagement’ and its effect on organisational success,
developing them to become effective leaders, or by with recent UK research into the nature of engaging
creating cultures in which even the most potentially leadership, and the evidence of its validity in increasing
effective leaders are frustrated daily in their efforts to employee morale, job satisfaction, well-being and
have the greatest positive impact on the performance performance. Other topics discussed include how
of their employees. engaging leadership can be assessed, the current
debate surrounding competency frameworks for
This Research Insight is about how an organisation, leadership, questions around leader and leadership
irrespective of size, sector or area of business, can development, and factors to consider in embedding a
exploit the potential of its people such that they can culture of leadership in an organisation.
give their best in performance terms, in a way that
increases their motivation, morale and well-being. There are three case studies that describe how such
knowledge has been adopted by organisations to deal
with the challenges they face and increase their success.

4 Engaging leadership
The leadership challenges

Not only are organisations facing challenges of greater In the meantime, given the need for organisations
complexity than ever before, they are having to cope to be increasingly effective and also competitive in
with them in an environment in which the pressure delivering the highest levels of performance while
of competition is relentless and the rate of change is still controlling their staff costs, it falls to leaders to
accelerating. One fact is clear, the need for leadership get more from their staff, not only in a cost-effective
is critical in order for organisations to sustain and way, but also in a way that does not reduce their
increase their effectiveness. motivation and well-being. This is not only for ethical
reasons, but also since damaging either will ensure
But just when organisations need it most, there is a that any benefits will be short-lived.
looming leadership crisis in the West, as most of the
current senior managers who formed the generation This stark reality raises critical questions about the
of the ‘baby boomers’ are reaching retirement age. nature of leadership and of the use of human and
Several recently published surveys have asserted that social capital in organisations.
organisations have only until the end of this decade
to prepare to fill the void, and that most show little We believe that there is a way forward that enables
evidence that they will achieve it (Hay 2007; RHR organisations to build leadership capacity, while at
2005; Wellins and Schweyer 2007). The problem is the same time creating an environment in which
compounded by the fact that the talent pool from employees can give more, and experience higher levels
which future leaders will be drawn is diminishing. In of motivation and well-being.
the original book entitled War for Talent, written by
consultants in the McKinsey organisation (Michaels The next section begins by looking at the ways in which
et al., 2001) it states that the number of 25–44-year- notions of leadership have changed over the decades.
olds has shrunk by 6%, but the overall employment It examines the most current focus of thinking in the
numbers have increased by 12%. In a more recent leadership literature, from which a new model for the
update, the McKinsey organisation asserts that the beginning of the twenty-first century is emerging.
problems of the shortage of available talent are
increasing (Axelrod, Handfield-Jones and Welsh, 2001).
If there is a shortage of leaders, how will organisations
meet their leadership needs?

Engaging leadership 5
It’s time for leadership to take
a new direction

What is leadership? stages. The first three stages – the trait or ‘great
The literature on leadership can be very confusing, man’ approach, the behavioural approach and the
not least because notions of leadership (and situational or contingency approach – are now best
therefore the models in use) have changed over regarded as reflecting the study of what we now refer
time, as have definitions of what leadership is about. to as ‘management’ or ‘transactional’ leadership. This
Notions of what leadership is are affected by what is is because they were based on principles of creating
happening in society, including social, technological, order and maintaining the ‘status quo’ in organisations
economic and political change. This has been further by those in leadership positions influencing the
confounded by the different ways in which academic behaviour of their ‘subordinates’ through the use of
researchers have approached their subject, adopting reinforcement – offering a quid pro quo for behaving
various definitions of leadership and employing in ways that enable the organisation to achieve what
different methodologies. the leader saw as the objectives.

Thus, for example, some researchers have focused Following the oil crisis of the early 1970s, there was
on studying who leaders are, or what the personality recession in the West, and a growing realisation that,
characteristics are that differentiate those individuals with increasing competition from the economies
who are perceived as leaders, or who act in the role of of the East, organisations needed to become more
leader. Conversely, others have focused more on what adaptable and responsive to the growing forces
leaders do, and how they do it. of change. Advances in information technology
contributed to these developments. Leadership
It is imperative when considering a particular model of academics were accused of being ‘out of touch’ with
leadership, or of leadership effectiveness, to ask the the realities of the modern world, since the models
following questions: they had created were based primarily on maintaining
order, predictability and the current situation.
• Who funded the research?
• Who conducted the research? Their response was to switch their attention from
• When did it take place? studying first-level supervisors, as in the famous Ohio
• Where did it take place? studies, to focusing on those managers at the top of
• What major factors were influencing notions of large organisations who succeeded in taking them
leadership at the time? successfully through the turbulence of the 1970s. The
• What were the characteristics of the sample(s) result was the emergence of what became known as
studied, on whom the model was based? the ‘new paradigm’ models of leadership. Peters’ and
• What was the methodology employed? Waterman’s book In Search of Excellence, published
in 1982, became a best-seller and a modern classic,
With these questions in mind, the brief history of and provided an analysis of North America’s most
leadership research is described below. ‘successful’ companies, in which they emphasised the
role of the ‘transforming leader’. This kind of person
Leadership: a brief history of research was seen, first and foremost, as articulating a vision
The definition of what is ‘leadership’, which has for the organisation, communicating this vision by his
changed considerably since the first formal studies or her passion and charisma, and as a consequence
in the 1930s, can be traced through five main defining a meaning for the organisation and – typically

6 Engaging leadership
– transforming its culture. Charles Handy referred are typically reflected in the new paradigm models. In
to the nature of change facing organisations as an contrast, ‘close’ or ‘nearby’ charismatic leaders were
environment of ‘never ending white water’. more frequently characterised as sociable, open and
considerate of others, with a sense of humour and
US leadership academics, in particular Professors high level of expertise in their field, and as intelligent
Bernard Bass (for example 1985,1998), Jay Conger and setting high performance standards for themselves
(for example 1989), Robert House (1977) and Marshall and their followers. In the main these characteristics
Sashkin (1988), developed models of leadership that are not noted in new paradigm models.
were concerned with being charismatic, visionary
and transformational (see Northouse 2004 for a Given the focus on white male senior and top
recent review). They did recognise the importance managers, that is ‘distant’ leaders, it is perhaps not
of leaders also displaying transactional behaviours surprising that ‘heroic’ models emerged.
when appropriate, but stressed that the charismatic–
inspirational approach was superior in terms of a Recent developments in leadership
range of outcomes from their staff, including extra In the first year of the new millennium the world
effort, higher motivation and satisfaction, and higher experienced at least two seismic shocks that, arguably,
performance. The focus of their studies was chief have led to the greatest challenge of the dominance
executives and very senior managers, almost all of of the heroic models.
whom were male and most were probably white.
In the wake of the tragedy of 9/11, and the corporate
The growing feminist literature being published scandal surrounding the collapse of Enron (and later
from the early 1980s (Marshall 1984; Jacobson and AmCom and WorldCom), there is increasing concern
Jacques 1990), which argued that the experiences with the potential dangers of extolling the virtues
of women and men in organisations were generally of ‘charismatic’ and ‘inspirational’ leadership. In
very different, was ignored, and the findings from the the hands of some people – fanatics or corrupt top
leadership research were generalised to the whole executives – these attributes can be lethal.
population.
In its wake, the term ‘toxic leadership’ (Lipman-
Thus, what came to be known as the ‘heroic’ models Blumen 2004) was born, which refers to those
of leadership came to dominate the 1980s and 1990s. individuals who destroy those whom they are
responsible for managing, and/or their organisations,
There were some voices of criticism in the academic for personal gain and self-aggrandisement. While
literature, including the accusation from Australian there were earlier publications about ‘the dark
academic Peter Gronn (1995) that they resembled the side of charisma’ (Conger 1990), which focused
‘great man’ theories that had been debunked in the on similar themes, they had not achieved the
1950s. same prominence in the general managerial and
leadership literature. It was only recently (2007) that
Unfortunately, the research findings of Israeli one of the most prestigious academic leadership
psychologist Boas Shamir (1995) appeared to be journals, The Leadership Quarterly, devoted a special
largely unnoticed. Shamir stated that it is important issue to papers relating to aspects of ‘destructive
to realise that there are differences between the leadership’ because, as the editors state: ‘…we
characteristics people associate with charismatic are increasingly faced with the reality that those in
‘distant’ leaders, such as very senior managers or leadership positions sometimes have the capacity,
public figures, and ‘close’ or ‘nearby’ charismatic and motivation, to be destructive.’
leaders, such as one’s line manager. Distant charismatic
leaders were characterised as having, for example, At a less dramatic level, most individuals will have
rhetorical skills, an ideological orientation and sense encountered or worked with some individuals in
of mission, as being persistent and consistent, and as leadership positions who, although charismatic and
not conforming to social pressures – descriptions that inspiring in public, might be overwhelmingly arrogant

Engaging leadership 7
or egocentric in private. They are people who ‘take all To bring the importance of the implications of these
the glory’, or who show no concern for the impact of findings into clearer relief, it is worth noting that
their behaviour or ambition on others. separate research has found that the characteristic
assessors at selection interviews and assessment
It is not, however, always easy to identify individuals centres are most likely to associate with candidates
who reflect the ‘dark side of charisma’, since certain possessing leadership potential is the degree to
individuals who appear charismatic, and highly which they are perceived to be ‘charismatic’ (Hogan
attractive, might hide less appealing characteristics and Hogan 2001). This finding clearly suggests
below the surface. Indeed their very attractiveness the importance of very rigorous design in selection
and social skills increase the chances of them being processes, and in the training of assessors.
supported for promotion by colleagues, and the
discovery of their ‘dark side’ might come too late to While some writers have focused on their concerns
save colleagues and organisations from the damage with the dark side of charisma, there has also been
and destruction they have wrought along the way. an increasing interest in the notion of ‘humility’ as
a characteristic of leadership. This movement has
Canadian scholar Henry Mintzberg (1999) has been partly fuelled by the success of a book entitled
expressed his distaste for the ‘celebrity-like’ focus Good to Great, published in 2001, which is based
on those in the most senior leadership positions. He on the findings from a substantial study by US writer
chastises the common practice of business journals to Jim Collins. He set out to investigate whether there
display on their front cover a photo of the latest CEO were any characteristics in common among chief
to single-handedly ‘save’ his or her company by, for executives of organisations quoted on the US Stock
example, enabling a new and highly lucrative product Exchange, who moved their organisations from solidly
to come to market. He states that they are not only ‘good’ performance to ‘outstanding’ performance and
making a ludicrous assertion, they are dismissing the maintained their superior market position for at least
contributions of the many hundreds or thousands 15 years (Collins 2001).
of employees in the company. Moreover, they are in
danger of contributing to the creation of a culture of Based on the observations in his sample of over 1,400
emasculation and submission, which is exactly contrary organisations, and controlling for a wide range of
to the needs of the modern organisation. variables such as specific economic factors affecting
the performance of certain industries, organisational
Before leaving the subject of charismatic leadership, size, and so on, Collins identified 11 such chief
it is worth noting that a recent US study based on a executives. Of the characteristics in common, the
sample of 59 CEOs of the largest companies in the two most evident were their unflinching belief that
US (Fortune 500 companies) investigated the link their company would be the best in its field and the
between the perceived charisma of the CEO and the second was their deep personal humility. In fact,
performance of their company over a ten-year period they appeared unassuming and not very charismatic.
and found no relationship (Tosi et al 2004). However, Interestingly, Collins adds that among the companies
and perhaps as important to note, the researchers that he observed as being on a downward spiral,
did find a significant positive correlation between for at least two-thirds of them their failure could
their perceived charisma and the size of the CEOs’ be attributed to the presence of a CEO with ‘a
compensation package! gargantuan ego’, who began a major restructuring
campaign shortly after taking office and thereafter
While this might be viewed as somewhat amusing, caused chaos.
there is a more serious side to the results, and it is
reflected in the authors’ conclusions: ‘Our results… This book, which is probably now a modern ‘classic’,
suggested that boards should be a bit more has had a significant influence in challenging earlier
circumspect in advocating charisma as a criterion for notions of leadership.
the selection of CEOs.’

8 Engaging leadership
Leadership in the ‘post-heroic’ era: In essence, engagement relates to the degree of
the importance of ‘nearby’ leadership and the discretionary effort employees are willing to apply
concept of ‘engagement’ in their work in the organisation. It recognises that
The crucial question now is, ‘What form of leadership whatever their level or role in the organisation, every
will replace the “heroic” models at the beginning of the employee ultimately chooses whether to contribute
twenty-first century?’ the minimum levels of performance required (or to
sabotage), or to go beyond the minimum required by
Over the last 70+ years, US researchers have provided the post and to offer outstanding effort in their role.
an invaluable source of data and theory about the
nature of leadership, and they still dominate the Some writers (Scottish Executive 2007) argue that:
landscape. However, researchers, both in the US and
elsewhere, have started to point out the absence of ‘The literature on employee engagement builds
consideration for the influence of context in modern on earlier research and discussion on issues of
studies of charismatic/transformational leadership (Yukl commitment and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour
1999), not least of which is the influence of different (OCB), but means more than what these terms
cultures across the world. encapsulate. The defining distinction is that employee
engagement is a two-way interaction between the
Closely related to this fact, and undoubtedly influencing employee and the employer, whereas the earlier
such a view, is the realisation that we live in an focus tended to view the issues from only the
increasingly interdependent world, where the way in employee’s point of view. Definitions of engagement,
which individuals and organisations act in one part or characteristics of an engaged workforce, focus on
of the world has an effect – sometimes dramatic and motivation, satisfaction, commitment, finding meaning
rapid – on the other side of the world. Concern for at work, pride and advocacy of the organisation
environmental issues has obviously accelerated this (in terms of advocating/recommending either the
realisation. The strength of economic growth in China products or services of the organisation, or as a place
provides countless examples of such consequences. to work). Additionally, having some connection to the
organisation’s overall strategy and objectives and both
In the world of business organisations, the new model wanting and being able to work to achieve them, are
for big business has been described as ‘the globally key elements of engagement.’
integrated enterprise’ (cited in Kanter 2008), where
there is sensitivity to cultural differences and a premium Why are organisations investing so much in
is placed on collaboration and mutual respect. engagement? The answer is that the rewards for high
engagement are considerable, with several recent
But what are the implications for leadership in studies having shown indisputable links between
organisations? engagement and various measurements of financial
One of the strongest and clearest themes to have success in the private sector. Thus, for example, a
emerged in the business literature in the last few US survey of 24 publicly listed traded companies
years is the considerable interest being shown with a total of over 250,000 employees conducted
by organisations in the concept of employee over the last five years found that the stock prices
‘engagement’. Private sector companies are spending of the 11 companies with highest employee morale
substantial amounts of money investing in interventions increased an average of 19.4%, while those of other
that increase levels of employee engagement. companies in the same industries increased by an
average of only 8% – a margin of 240% (Sirota
Engagement has been described as: ‘a positive attitude Survey Intelligence 2006).
held by the employee towards the organisation and
its values. An engaged employee is aware of business A survey conducted by Towers Perrin (2005) of
context, and works with colleagues to improve over 85,000 employees working for large and mid-
performance within the job for the benefit of the size organisations in 16 different countries on four
organisation’ (Robinson et al 2004). continents found that companies with high employee

Engaging leadership 9
engagement levels also experienced a higher operating The subject of ‘engaging leadership’ was precisely the
margin (up to 19%), net profit margin, revenue growth focus of a three-year study the authors began in 1999
and earnings per share (up to 28%) than companies and eventually completed in 2001 (Alimo-Metcalfe
with low employee engagement. and Alban-Metcalfe 2001) although at the time they
referred to it as (‘nearby’) transformational leadership.
In addition, a Watson Wyatt study of 115 companies
(2006, 2008) asserts that a company with highly As was mentioned at the beginning of this Research
engaged employees typically achieves a financial Insight, leadership has been studied from a variety of
performance four times greater than a company different perspectives and researchers have adopted
with poor employee attitudes. Moreover, high job very different methodologies. There were several
and organisation commitment, which are affected reasons why, despite a plethora of research in the area,
significantly by levels of engagement, also lead to we felt, in 1999, that yet another study was required.
reduced absenteeism and turnover. Foremost among these was the relatively unquestioning
acceptance of the ‘heroic’ charismatic/inspirational
In large public sector organisations, the costs of leadership models that have dominated the literature
absenteeism, turnover and of training new staff are since the mid-1980s. The specific reasons were the
among the highest financial burdens. A recent item following:
in the Health Service Journal (Shepherd 2007) relates
the effect of engagement to financial savings in an • It was not clear how valid US models were for non-
NHS Trust. The Leeds Mental Health NHS Trust made US organisations, such as those in the UK.
savings of over £1.8 million in the short term, with the • Such models are based on the study of ‘distant
promise of a further equivalent saving, when the trust leaders’, or the characteristics of managers at the
focused on increasing involvement of staff in achieving top of organisations, such as CEOs. We did not
shared organisational targets and worked towards believe that the findings from such studies could
transforming a culture of blame into one of learning. necessarily be generalised to individuals at lower
levels.
The attraction to organisations of the effects of • Added to this, to identify ‘engaging leadership’ a
engagement is obvious; it potentially enables focus was needed on the day-to-day behaviours
the organisation to increase employee effort and of managers/bosses with whom one comes into
productivity, and reduce turnover and absenteeism, frequent contact. Such leadership has been referred
without increasing salary costs. This was one of the to as ‘nearby’ leadership.
critical challenges facing organisations and leaders • The heroic models were often seeking the views
described at the beginning of this publication. of the ‘distant’ leaders themselves, whereas it
was clear that the people whose views of ‘nearby’
It should, however, also be noted that one of the leadership should be sought were the people on
studies mentioned found that while many people are whom the leader was having an impact; in other
keen to contribute more at work, the behaviour of their words, staff. This makes even more sense in the
managers and culture of their organisations is actively light of recent findings from evidence of the
discouraging them from doing so (Towers Perrin 2005). importance of ‘engagement’.
• Leadership research had been based almost entirely
The crucial question for organisations is now, ‘What on studies of men; it is essential to have a gender-
form of leadership creates “engagement”?’ inclusive sample
• There had been no apparent attempt to ensure that
What does ‘engaging leadership’ look like? the research is also inclusive by ethnic background;
The Institute for Employment Studies’ publication The this is what we did.
Drivers of Employee Engagement (Robinson et al 2004)
states that: ‘Engagement is big in the HR consultancy These various reasons combined to show that there
market, yet there is a dearth of academic research in was a pressing need to investigate the nature of
this area.’ the behaviours and characteristics of managers who

10 Engaging leadership
achieve high engagement – that is, high levels of in the ‘new paradigm’ or ‘heroic’ literature, and one of
motivation, job satisfaction, and job and organisational a very different tenor.
commitment among their staff (direct reports), based
on an inclusive sample of individuals at various levels A subsequent study among the three FTSE 100
in organisations. companies (in the pharmaceutical industry,
e-technology and leisure) yielded more than 1,200
Investigation into ‘engaging’ leadership constructs, which produced almost exactly the same
The intention was to investigate the nature of dimensions as those found in the public sector.
leadership experienced daily in peoples’ working lives
– initially in the UK public sector, but later replicated in Several articles describe the findings (Alimo-Metcalfe
the private sector – through the eyes of those whom and Alban-Metcalfe 2000, 2002; Alban-Metcalfe
‘leaders’ (line managers) are intending to ‘lead’. That and Alimo-Metcalfe 2007), including evidence of the
is, ‘nearby’ leadership was studied, as perceived by study’s validity in assessing those leadership behaviours
those individuals working at middle to chief executive that have a significant impact on several aspects of
level, in various organisations in the public sector staff attitudes to work, morale and well-being, among
and in three FTSE 100 companies based in the UK. which are motivation, job satisfaction, commitment
The findings from the public and private sectors were and reduced work-related stress, outcomes related
virtually the same (Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe to engagement (Alban-Metcalfe and Alimo-Metcalfe
2002; Alban-Metcalfe and Alimo-Metcalfe 2007). 2000a, 2000b; Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe
2002, 2003). An independent study by the Home
In brief, a repertory grid interviewing technique Office which adopted the same technique as the
was used. These interviews, which involved asking original study (Dobby et al 2004) provides evidence of
individuals to compare several examples of bosses with its concurrent validity and generalisability, in this case,
whom they had worked – some (n=2–3) of whom within the UK police service.
they regarded as ‘outstanding’ in relation to their
leadership, some ‘poor’ and some ‘between the two’, A model of engaging leadership
plus the notion of their ‘ideal leader’ – enabled us to The structure of the model is represented by four
elicit over 2,000 constructs of ‘nearby’ leadership. clusters of dimensions or scales: ‘engaging individuals’,
‘engaging the organisation’ (or team), ‘moving
Using this approach ensured that notions of ‘nearby’ forward together’ (which relates to working with
transformational or ‘engaging’ leadership were tapped. a range of internal and external stakeholders), and
‘personal qualities and core values’. Figure 1 shows the
Data were also collected employing focus group various scales in each cluster.
techniques and we reviewed the most recent literature
on leadership to ensure that there was an element of It is important to note how this model differs
‘futures’ thinking in the data. significantly from the dominant US ‘heroic’ models.

Statements were then content analysed and from First, the emphasis is not on heroism, but on serving
these data a pilot leadership questionnaire was and enabling others to display leadership themselves. It
developed, which was distributed to over 600 is not about being an extraordinary person, but rather a
organisations. Individuals in these organisations were somewhat ordinary, vulnerable and humble, or at least
asked to anonymously rate their current, or previous, a very open, accessible and transparent individual.
boss on the questionnaire statements. Over 3,500
responses were received, which probably makes this Second, it contains a persistent theme of
one of the largest investigations ever conducted into teamworking, collaboration and ‘connectedness’, and
the nature of leadership. of removing barriers to communication and ideas,
whether between individuals at different levels, or
Analyses of these responses revealed a far more in different teams and departments, or with outside
complex model of leadership than hitherto described ‘stakeholders’ and partners. It consistently echoes

Engaging leadership 11
 Figure 1: The structure of the ‘engaging’ transformational Leadership Questionnaire™ (TLQ)™

Engaging individuals
Showing genuine concern
Enabling
Being accessible
Encouraging questioning

Personal qualities
and core values
Acting with integrity
Being honest
Engaging the and consistent Moving forward
organisaton together
Inspiring others Networking
Focusing team effort Building shared vision
Being decisive Resolving complex
Supporting a issues
developmental culture Facilitating change
sensitivity

the desire to see the world through the eyes of shared visions with a range of different internal
others, and to take on board their concerns, agenda, and external stakeholders. It exploits the diversity of
perspectives on issues, and to work with their ideas. perspectives and the wealth of experiences, strengths
and potential that exists within the organisation, and
Another persistent theme is to encourage questioning with partners and other stakeholders.
and challenging of the status quo and to ensure this
happens by creating an environment in which these This model (which incidentally is currently being
ideas are encouraged, listened to and truly valued; embraced by military and quasi-military organisations)
and in which innovation and entrepreneurialism is replaces the heroic approach with a far more exciting,
encouraged. A culture that supports development is complex and challenging one, in which the emphasis
created, in which the leader is a role model for learning, is on actual leadership behaviours and attitudes rather
and in which the inevitable mistakes are exploited than being seen as possessing the ‘God-given right’
for their learning opportunities. Leadership acts as a that comes automatically with status.
‘cognitive catalyst’, shocking and even iconoclastic.
The transformational leadership model that emerges
Gone is the heroic model, along with the notion of one is one of ‘nearby’ leadership, which in several ways is
person – the solipsistic leader – with a monopoly on akin to Greenleaf’s (1970, 1996) notion of ‘servant as
the vision; it is replaced by a commitment to building leader’, though we would expand this to ‘servant and

12 Engaging leadership
 Figure 2: The differences between the US ‘heroic’ models of leadership and the UK model of ‘engaging’ leadership

US models of ‘distant’ leadership TLQ model of ‘nearby’ leadership

based on empirical studies of CEOs and senior based on empirical studies of managers at all
managers levels
research undertaken mostly in US research undertaken in UK
deliberately inclusive with respect to age,
based predominantly on white males
ethnicity, gender and level
based on direct reports’ perceptions of their line
based predominantly on managers’ self-reports
manager
heroic non-heroic
leader as ‘servant’ and ‘partner’; leadership is a
leader as ‘saviour’
shared process
leadership distributed throughout the
leadership in the hands of CEO
organisation
emphasis on ‘openness’, ‘curiosity’,
emphasis on ‘charisma’ ‘connectedness’, empowerment, humility,
and humanity

partner’. It is a model that is characterised by a strong Validation for its use in the US includes a doctoral study
sense of inclusiveness; a model in which leadership undertaken by a US-based researcher (Miller 2005).
is seen as ‘distributed’ throughout all levels of an
organisation, rather than being the sole province of Is the model valid? Does it work?
a single individual or a small clique of senior staff; a Evidence of its validity in predicting outcomes related
model in which the nature of leadership is essentially to ‘engagement’ including increased job satisfaction,
about being humane, treating others with respect, motivation, motivation to achieve, job and organisational
valuing their contributions and seeing others as human commitment, and reduced stress, is provided in a later
beings rather than human doings. section (see page 20), as is the first longitudinal study
to provide evidence of its ability to assess the leadership
A summary of the differences between the model of behaviours that predict productivity.
‘engaging’ transformational leadership and earlier
‘heroic’ models of leadership is presented in Figure 2.

This model, and the instruments based on its

measurement, has now been adopted in various public
sector organisations in the UK to support leadership
development, including the NHS, local government,
central government departments and agencies,
universities, schools, public libraries, the Police Service
and the Fire and Rescue Service, and increasingly in
the private sector. It is also being used in the US in
a project for supporting the leadership development
of senior and head teachers/principals in US schools.

Engaging leadership 13
Current approaches to leadership:
the competency debate

There has been an extraordinary increase in the use of frequently overly universalistic or generic, assuming
competencies as the basis of leadership frameworks that they are the same, no matter what the nature
across the UK private and public sectors, and what we of the situation, individual or task; (3) competencies
believe to be an often misguided understanding of focus on past or current performance, rather than
the relationship between competencies and effective future requirements, thereby reinforcing rather
leadership practice. than challenging traditional ways of thinking; (4)
competencies tend to focus on measurable behaviours
It is important to state from the start that we believe and outcomes to the exclusion of more subtle
that competencies or ‘skills’ are crucial for the qualities, interactions and situational factors; and
effectiveness of anyone, whatever their job; it would (5) what results in a rather limited and mechanistic
be a nonsense not to believe that to be true. However, approach to education.
what we also believe is that competency frameworks
alone are not sufficient for assessing the full range of In spite of these criticisms, as Bolden and Gosling
leadership behaviours that are required for effective (2006) point out, there has been an expansion in
leadership and organisational success. Indeed, we the use of competencies to incorporate leadership as
argue that believing that possessing the competencies well as management. They go on to comment that,
is sufficient for leadership is rather like believing that ‘This expansion of the concept of competencies raises
by equipping someone with a ‘painting-by-numbers’ further concerns because of its tendency to disguise
kit, they can produce a Monet. and embed rather than expose and challenge certain
assumptions about the nature and work of leadership.’
The use of competency frameworks in the UK, as in
the US, has become almost ubiquitous. UK writers Buckingham (2001) has argued in his article entitled
Bolden and colleagues (2003), for example, reviewed ‘Don’t waste time and money’ that, however well-
29 such frameworks, which were being used in private intentioned, the competency approach is based
sector organisations (including Lufthansa, Shell and on three flawed assumptions. These are: (1) that
BAE Systems), in public sector organisations (including individuals who excel in the same role display the
Senior Civil Service, NHS Leadership Qualities same behaviours; (2) that such behaviours can be
Framework, National College for School Leadership) learned; and (3) that improving one’s ‘weaknesses’
and generically (including Investors in People, Council necessarily leads to success. Certainly, there is evidence
for Excellence in Management and Leadership). that individual leaders achieve similar results using
different approaches, and despite significant personal
At the same time, competency frameworks have been flaws (McCall 1998).
the subject of continuing criticism, both in the UK
(Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe 2008; Bolden and From a US perspective, Hollenbeck and colleagues
Gosling 2006), and the US (Hollenbeck et al 2006). (Hollenbeck et al 2006) criticised what they saw as
For example, on the basis of a review of the literature, the four assumptions upon which the competency
Bolden and Gosling cite various researchers who approach is based. Thus they commented, (1) that,
have pointed out that: (1) the competency approach ‘as a descendent of the long-discredited “great man”
has been criticised for being overly reductionist, theory, competency models raise again the spectre
fragmenting the role of the manager, rather than of one set of traits, abilities, and behaviours… that
presenting an integrated whole; (2) competencies are make up the “great leader”’; (2) that effective leaders

14 Engaging leadership
are not the sum of a set of competencies, and that This definition is valuable in that it specifies what an
the research demonstrates that ‘what matters is not a individual has to do in order to be an effective leader.
person’s sum score on a set of competencies, but how It does not, however, draw a clear distinction between
well [or as we would put it, in what way] a person leader attributes that are more ‘fundamental’ and
uses what talents he or she has to get the job done’; thus least likely to change, such as having integrity or
and they questioned (3) whether the tautological intellectual flexibility, and leader behaviours or ‘skills’,
assumption that, ‘because senior management such as effective communication or planning, which
usually blesses competencies and sometime even can more readily be learned.
helps generate them, they are the most effective way
to think about leader behaviour’ is correct; and (4) Thus, we suggest that it is important to distinguish
the assertion that, ‘when HR systems are based on between ‘personal qualities and values’, which are
competencies, these systems actually work effectively.’ generic and more deep-seated, and ‘leadership
competencies’ or ‘skills’, which are more or less
Hollenbeck and colleagues concluded that, ‘…we see specific and can more readily be developed.
little evidence that these systems, in place for years now,
are producing more and better leaders in organizations.’ In the present context, personal qualities and values
may be defined as: ‘those cognitive and emotional
In similar vein, although the latest ‘National characteristics of an individual that are essential pre-
Occupational Standards in Management and requisites for appropriate managerial or leadership
Leadership’ have recently been released (Management behaviour’ (Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe 2008).
Standards Centre 2004), there remains significant
doubt about the extent to which such standards Thus, for example, the personal quality of being
relate to improved or superior practice (Swailes and ‘resilient’ or ‘tenacious’ is a requirement of someone
Roodhouse 2003; Holman and Hall 1996; Grugulis who shows ‘competency’ in ‘achieving results’, just as
1998, 2000). Indeed, most competency frameworks ‘effective communication’ is a prerequisite for ‘working
are singularly characterised by a lack of empirical in a team’. However – importantly – showing resilience
evidence of their concurrent or predictive validity. or tenacity does not guarantee achieving results, any
more than being an effective communicator ensures
In addition, it can be argued that the competency effective teamwork, or having integrity ensures that
approach ‘…reinforces a focus on the individual someone can be a successful finance director.
“leader”, while restricting consideration of
“leadership” as a distributed relational process’ (for It follows, then, that the possession of certain
example Bolden and Gosling 2006; Jackson 2004) – a qualities and values is necessary, but not sufficient, for
subject to which we shall return in a later section. achieving success.

Personal qualities and values and competencies A way of moving forward

We have come across at least one leadership competency In defence of the competency approach, it should be
framework that has tried to respond to some of the pointed out that their value should be judged in terms
criticisms aimed at competencies by incorporating of what they do, not in what they fail to do. What
aspects of personal qualities and values, in the belief competency frameworks can do – when thoroughly
that this ensures that they are, thereby, incorporating researched, properly constructed and differentiated
notions of being ‘transformational’. However, this is to to meet the particular needs of different groups of
misunderstand the nature of their limitations. managers and professionals – is define and describe
what a leader needs to be able to do in order to achieve
A job competency has been defined by Boyatzis (1982) the goals and targets appropriate to their role. Thus:
as ‘…an underlying characteristic of an individual that
is causally related to effective or superior performance A competent leader may be defined as someone who
in a job.’ enables the functioning of an organisation in a way
that is goal directed, and is geared to developing

Engaging leadership 15
processes and systems. This enables staff at all levels In the light of our research into the nature of ‘nearby’
to plan effectively and efficiently, in order to achieve transformational or ‘engaging’ leadership – since
agreed goals. engagement is what a ‘nearby’ transformational style
of leadership strives to achieve – we propose the
High levels of competency can lead to a degree of following definition:
consistency, and thereby enable staff to make day-
to-day decisions and short-term predictions with a A ‘nearby’ transformational or engaging leader
measure of confidence. Leadership competencies, may be defined as someone who encourages and
which are often largely closed-ended in nature, are enables the development of an organisation that
necessary in order that staff can undertake strategic is characterised by a culture based on integrity,
planning, and in this way help to turn the vision of openness and transparency, and the genuine valuing
an organisation, department or team into a reality. of others and of their contributions.

Acceptance of such a definition leads to the self- This shows itself in concern for the development and
evident conclusion that being competent is an well-being of others, in the ability to unite different
essential characteristic of anyone who occupies a groups of stakeholders in articulating a shared vision,
management or leadership role. It is equally true, and in delegation of a kind that empowers and
particularly in the light of the earlier criticism, that develops potential, coupled with the encouragement
possessing competencies does not automatically of questioning and of thinking which is critical as well
ensure effective leadership. as strategic.

To recast the phrase used earlier, being competent is Engaging leadership is essentially open-ended in nature,
necessary, but not sufficient, for leadership; and the enabling organisations not only to cope with change,
question to ask is, ‘What else is required?’ but also to be proactive in shaping their future. At all
times engaging leadership behaviour is guided by ethical
The answer to this question is that, if being competent principles and the desire to co-create and co-own ways
can be thought of as the ‘what’ of that which leaders of working with others towards a shared vision.
do, then that which enables a leader to have an impact
to take on a leadership role is the ‘how’. And the Relationship between competency and
how of leadership is the way in which it is enacted engagement
– whether this is in a ‘nearby’ transformational or The relationship between leadership competency and
‘engaging’, or a ‘non-engaging’ way. engaging leadership can be summarised in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Relationship between ‘leadership competencies’ and ‘engaging’ leadership behaviours

A C

Leadership competencies –
the ‘what’ of leadership

Engaging or ‘nearby’
transformational leadership
– the ‘how’ of leadership
B

16 Engaging leadership
Thus, person A can be seen to be highly competent The relationship between competent and engaging
as a leader, but not very engaging in their behaviour leadership has been usefully expressed as follows: ‘…a
– perhaps the kind of person who is very detailed competency framework could be considered like sheet
in their planning, or who can devise very effective music, a diagrammatic representation of the melody. It
systems for quality control, but shows a lack of is only in the arrangement, playing and performance,
understanding of, or concern for, the needs of others however, that the piece truly comes to life’ (Bolden
and their impact on others. and Gosling 2006).

Conversely, person B is someone who, perhaps, shows So, what leaders need to strive towards is to lead
great concern for others, and creates a supportive competently in an engaging way.
environment in which all staff are valued, but who is
unable to deliver what is required of them in terms of
achieving goals or meeting agreed targets on time.
Such a person’s style of leadership is highly engaging,
but they show a low level of competency as a leader.

Person C, then, is the kind of manager or professional

who, by acting in an engaging way, with all that
entails, can use their competency as a leader in
ways that are relevant to the particular individual or
situation and have a positive impact on the motivation,
well-being and discretionary effort of others.

Engaging leadership 17
Assessing engaging leadership and
testing the validity of the model

To examine whether the model of engaging leadership well-being have now been published in academic
we identified from our three-year investigation in journals (Alban-Metcalfe and Alimo-Metcalfe 2000a,
the public and private sector in the UK is valid, it is 2000b). Figure 4 on the following page shows the
necessary to assess a large and diverse sample of summary of the findings of the relationship between
managers on the behaviours and then check whether how managers are rated in the multi-rater instrument
they did, in fact, relate to the impact they have on on the leadership scales assessed in the TLQ and the
their staff’s engagement – that is, their attitudes ‘leadership impact measures’ as rated by their staff.
to work and well-being at work. For this purpose,
and in order to support leadership development, we Such relationships are important, both in their own
developed a 360-degree feedback instrument, which right and also because there is consistent evidence
we originally called the Transformational Leadership from the organisational behaviour research literature
Questionnaire (TLQ)™, and now refer to as the that staff attitudes, such as job satisfaction, are
‘engaging’ Transformational Leadership Questionnaire significant predictors of organisation performance
(TLQ)™. and profitability (Patterson et al 2004; Xenikou and
Simosi 2005), and organisational commitment predicts
Assessing engaging leadership in an individual intention to quit and turnover (for example Elangovan
360-degree diagnostic 2001; Lum et al 1998).
The TLQ, which is a multi-rater diagnostic instrument,
assesses an engaging style of leadership, in relation However, a far more rigorous examination of the
to the 14 scales. It also assesses the impact of model is to assess whether it predicts the performance
the leadership style of the person being rated on and productivity of individuals, or teams, or
their staff, in terms of 12 attitudes to work (for organisations. We shall describe a recently completed
example motivation, job satisfaction, organisational three-year study to examine the model in this way, but
commitment, and well-being (for example reduced/ since it adopted a team-based measure, it is briefly
increased work-related stress, self-esteem). described here.

The extent to which any leadership multi-rater Assessing engaging leadership in a team or
diagnostic can be regarded as a valid measure organisation
of effective leadership can be judged in terms of Leadership can be assessed at an organisational,
the extent to which the dimensions of leadership department or team level, from the perspective
assessed are significantly correlated with measures of different groups of internal and external
of staff attitudes to work and their well-being at stakeholders. The instrument we designed to do this
work. In the case of the TLQ, there are statistically is the ‘Leadership Culture and Change Inventory’
significant correlations between each of the leadership (LCCI)™, which is designed to assess two aspects of
dimensions/scales and impact measures on staff, for the quality of leadership – engaging leadership and
example job satisfaction, motivation, commitment, leadership capabilities in teams or organisations. The
and so on. different groups of internal and external stakeholders
are defined with reference to predetermined
Furthermore there are several articles in which categories, for example by department or workplace,
evidence of the unique predictive links between disability, ethnicity, gender, level of seniority,
certain scales and certain aspects of attitudes and responsibilities as a carer.

18 Engaging leadership
 Figure 4: Predictive relationship between the ratings of managers on the TLQ scales and their impact on staff
(N = 5,110 managers)

Tlq scale / impact on Job Motivation Commitment Achievement Self- Reduced

staff satifaction confidence stress
Showing genuine
concern
✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Being accessible ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Enabling ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Encouraging questioning ✗ ✗ ✗
Inspiring others ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Focusing team effort ✗ ✗ ✗
Being decisive ✗ ✗
Supporting a
developmental culture
✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Building shared vision ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Networking ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Resolving complex issues ✗
Facilitating change
sensitively
✗ ✗
Acting with integrity ✗ ✗
Being honest and
consistent
✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

NB. While each of the TLQ scales is significantly correlated with each of the impact measures (p < .01), this figure shows
relationships that are ‘unique’, that is, cannot be accounted for by the other relationships.

Longitudinal research (described in the next section) The validity of versions of the LCCI for the Fire and
into the leadership of multi-professional mental health Rescue Service, Police Service and private sector has
‘crisis resolution teams’ has led to the validation of a also been established (for example Alimo-Metcalfe et
health and social care version of the LCCI. al 2007).

Engaging leadership 19
Evidence of effectiveness

Evidence of the effectiveness of an engaging style of The research study

leadership comes from three principal sources – survey Together with colleagues at King’s College London,
data, research evidence and case studies. Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (funded by NHS
SDO R&D Grant 22/2002), we embarked on a three-year
Survey data longitudinal investigation of the impact of engaging
Over the last few years, data from several large-scale leadership in multi-professional mental health ‘crisis
surveys have shown that engagement pays, and these resolution teams’ on their productivity. The findings have
were referred to at the beginning of this Research provided one of the first studies of its kind to produce
Insight. One of the studies cited was conducted by empirical evidence of significant predictive relationships
Towers Perrin, which also found that: ‘…while many between leadership behaviour and both staff attitudes
people are keen to contribute more at work, the to work and well-being, and organisational performance
behaviour of their managers and the culture of their (Alimo-Metcalfe et al 2007; Alimo-Metcalfe and Bradley
organisations is actively discouraging them from doing 2008; Bradley and Alimo-Metcalfe 2008).
so’ (Towers Perrin 2005). Similar conclusions emerge
from studies by the Institute for Employment Studies The investigation involved over 740 managers and
(IES) and the Improvement and Development Agency professionals – clinicians, nurses, occupational
(IDeA) (IDeA 2004; Robinson et al 2007). therapists, physiotherapists, social workers and
support staff, who work in teams that operate 24/7,
While correlational studies suggest associations between 365 days a year. These teams were created to support
different variables, such as the relationship between high individuals experiencing mental health crises, such that
engagement scores and organisational performance, one they could be supported in their homes rather than
cannot conclude that the relationship is causal – that is, requiring hospital admission.
that engagement leads to higher performance – since
there might be other variables affecting the relationship Since the teams operated around the clock, it would
that are not taken into account. have been inappropriate to have only assessed the
leadership of the formal team leader, given that other
Investigating a causal relationship between individuals would be affecting the leadership within the
engaging leadership and performance and team. It was decided to adopt a team version of the TLQ,
productivity the Leadership Culture and Change Inventory (LCCI)™,
The only way to establish a causal relationship is by which assesses engaging transformational leadership and
assessing engagement, or engaging leadership, at relevant team competencies or capabilities, which were
the beginning of an investigation (Time 1), and then identified by a range of ‘experts’.
assessing performance or productivity some months
later (Time 2). It is also important to identify possible Nine contextual variables were also identified and
contextual variables that might affect the relationship assessed at ‘Time 1’, and they included the size
and attempt to control for their effect. of the team, the extent to which the team was
multidisciplinary, the length of time the team had been
Such research is rarely conducted since it is expensive working together, and so on.
to undertake, and it takes time. We were fortunate to
have the opportunity to investigate this relationship in The output variables assessed at ‘Time 2’, 12
a recent study funded by the Department of Health. months later, included performance and productivity

20 Engaging leadership
measures, which were calculations of reduced hospital The good news from the study is that it provides
admissions. We were also keen to assess the attitudes evidence that the most productive teams also
to work and well-being of the teams, since very experienced high levels of morale and high levels of
productive teams might suffer from high levels of well-being. This was described in the introduction to
stress and exhaustion, which might, in turn, reduce this Research Insight as one of the greatest challenges
morale and job satisfaction. This relates closely to the of leadership in today’s organisations, namely, how
statements made at the beginning of this Research to increase performance while also maintaining and
Insight, in relation to the need in organisations promoting satisfaction, motivation and well-being.
for a form of leadership that increases employee
effectiveness while at the same time maintaining or These findings, plus the qualitative data that emerged
increasing morale and well-being. from 60 interviews and case studies with some of the
teams, have provided important clues as to the nature
Team members rated their teams in terms of these of engaging leadership that has such a positive effect
aspects and analyses revealed the emergence of three on performance, morale and well-being. More details
distinct scales, two of which related to aspects of are available in other publications (Alban-Metcalfe
leadership and one that comprised the combination and Alimo-Metcalfe 2006; Alimo-Metcalfe et al 2007;
of all the competencies, which were referred to Bradley and Alimo-Metcalfe 2008).
as ‘capabilities’. These were labelled: ‘engaging
with others’; ‘visionary leadership’; and ‘leadership
capabilities (or competencies)’.

What emerged from this research was that: (1)

the degree to which teams perceived the style of
leadership adopted in their team as one of ‘engaging
with others’ was a better predictor of staff morale
and well-being than either ‘visionary leadership’ or
‘leadership capabilities’; and (2) that only ‘engaging
leadership’ significantly predicted the team’s
performance, measured in terms of productivity, even
when contextual factors had been taken into account.
This is, as far as we are aware, the first study of its
kind to show such a relationship.

Engaging leadership 21
Building leadership capacity:
embedding engaging leadership in
the culture
To increase the impact of engagement throughout may be dashed by the desolate culture in which they
the organisation, and to sustain the efforts of work. The effect on their morale, performance and
those individuals who practice a style of engaging well-being can also bring negative responses to the
leadership, irrespective of their formal leadership organisation, which is clearly not in its interest. We
status, it is imperative to embed such behaviours believe that there are ethical questions to address
and ‘ways of being’ in day-to-day interactions and before embarking on such interventions and initiatives.
communications – that is, to create a culture of
leadership and engagement. To sustain the practice of leadership throughout the
organisation, it is essential to aim to create a culture
In relation to embedding leadership so that it is of leadership such that it becomes second nature and
sustained, we are concerned about working with ingrained within ‘the way we do things around here’.
organisations simply on leadership development This takes us to the important role of the most senior
activities and not focusing also on the importance of managers.
ensuring that such practice is reflected in day-to-day
behaviours of all managers, at every level, and is the The need to involve senior and top managers
accepted way of behaving, and ‘of being’, throughout Research shows that one of the best predictors of the
the organisation, whatever the role of the individual. culture of the organisation is the approach to leadership
of the most senior managers (for example Schein 1992
Embedding engaging leadership in the culture and Bass 1998). In fact, some researchers go so far as
of an organisation has the enormous pay-off of to state that the single most important responsibility
simultaneously building internal leadership capacity, of every leader, and particularly the most senior, is: to
since the model of engaging leadership identified from create the appropriate culture (Bass and Avolio 1993).
our research was also essentially about behaving in
ways that liberate the leadership of others, irrespective A few years ago we were commissioned to undertake
of their role or level in the organisation. It strengthens a research project to investigate why most leadership
both human and social capital in the organisation development initiatives fail in the public and private
and addresses another of the major challenges facing sector (Alimo-Metcalfe et al 2000).
organisations, namely the ‘crisis of leadership’ and
‘war for talent’. It revealed that the three most formidable blocks to
success were the behaviours and attitudes of the most
As people development professionals, there is a need senior managers. The first barrier was that these top
to reflect on the consequences for individuals who managers believed that their status in the organisation
undertake some form of leadership development was evidence enough that ‘they had what it took’
activity and become strongly excited by the to be regarded as a leader, and regarded their
experience, the affirmations it brings and the new development as, therefore, unnecessary. Nonetheless,
possibilities for behaving in ways that are more they believed that the managers below them needed
fulfilling for themselves and their colleagues. But it! However, when these managers returned to the
these individuals might then become more aware of workplace with a clearer idea of what leadership
the dissonance between these possibilities and the should look like, they became much more aware of
reality of the less-than-effective leadership practised the poor quality of leadership role-modelled by their
in their organisation. Expectations that were raised senior managers, and their frustrations increased. This

22 Engaging leadership
was deepened by the third major problem, which was These findings, and our own experiences of working
that when the managers attempted to implement with organisations on cultural transformation, have led
their learning, their suggestions for improvement were us to seriously question whether it is ethical to work
rejected or ignored by their somewhat defensive and/ with specific groups in such organisations when those
or reactionary bosses. at the top of the organisation are not willing to accept
that their leadership style might be at variance with
The result was disenchantment, greater cynicism the underlying values and principles of our model of
and lower morale among the manager group, who engaging transformational leadership. What impact
eventually stopped making any suggestions or trying might this have on the staff of the organisation who
new ways of leading. are excited by the notion of engagement?

Engaging leadership 23
Lessons from working with
organisations on building cultures
of engagement: implications for
HR professionals

The following is a list of some of the lessons we have there is a strong and consistent message around
learned that increase the chances of success. the nature and importance of engaging leadership
and its principles.
• Top management buy-in is crucial. It is almost • Ensure that the ROI is assessed. The increased
impossible to exaggerate the importance of this demand from organisations to evaluate the return
stage; therefore, consider carefully how best to on investment (ROI) of initiatives such as the
present the strongest business case for strengthening ones discussed here might lead to more careful
engagement in the organisation. There may be the planning, design, implementation and review of
need for some ‘courageous conversations’ with such activities. This is no bad thing. While most
these groups of managers to get them to consider organisations would probably attempt to assess
their responsibilities regarding their influence on impact by gathering information on progress on
the culture of the organisation and to reflect on personal development plans (PDPs), project work,
their role as leaders in terms of their impact on the action learning sets and other activities, it is worth
organisation. It might be a good idea to consider thinking creatively about how each stage can be
an external person to facilitate and input to such conducted in a way that increases the engagement
discussions. It is crucial to have a top/senior manager of the range of stakeholders involved. If the
as a champion of the activity. process is well thought out, this very process can
• Undertake an organisational culture diagnosis generate invaluable ideas and suggest new ways of
before embarking on any intervention. Such connecting people in organisations. Providing ‘Time
data will inevitably reveal different perceptions of 1’ and ‘Time 2’ data, as suggested in the previous
the culture for different parts of the organisation bullet points, can be useful in identifying where
and groups of individuals. These data can be developments appear to be having a particular
provided to top and senior management groups impact. Publicise progress when appropriate.
as evidence that the culture is experienced • Only start if you’re ready. Once the initiative
very differently by different people and groups starts, bear in mind that development needs will
compared with their own perceptions of reality. The need to be addressed and issues that arise will need
data can also be used as a ‘Time 1’ measure, which to be dealt with. It is important that resources are
when repeated at ‘Time 2’ after some intervention available to support individuals, and possibly teams,
period reveals where the change is taking place and in their development. Information and challenges
where to focus the next priorities. may emerge that are unexpected; the way in which
• Tailor interventions for different groups they are handled will act as strong evidence of
and parts of the organisation. This is another the ‘real’ commitment of the organisation to the
major benefit of gathering organisational cultural values and principles of engagement. Don’t rush
diagnostic data, since it can provide the basis the process, and build in time to reflect on how
for identifying key themes on which to focus things are going and to learn from the experience.
interventions while at the same time ensuring that It is important to be aware that initiatives such as

24 Engaging leadership
 conducting an organisational cultural diagnosis will • Empowering and keeping the faith. This is one
make people more sensitive to areas where there of the key ingredients of engaging leadership, but
may be problems in the organisation, and that if it also needs to be shown by the organisation.
some strong themes emerge that suggest an area of Regular reviews of the activities can help those who
concern, make sure that there is a genuine attempt are most anxious in relinquishing control sustain a
to acknowledge this and do something about it. more engaging style, as can peer coaching.
Do not undertake this process if commitment to • Relating everything to the business objectives.
dealing with what emerges is weak. This includes all aspects of the intervention, from
• Let everyone know what is happening and multi-rater PDPs to project activities, action learning
why. This may not be feasible in all organisations, set challenges, and so on.
but when it is feasible, this can have enormous • Ensure organisation people processes (for
benefits. We have worked with organisations example recruitment, appraisal, performance
where we held workshops in different locations, management, and so on) are consistent with the
at different times of the day, to make it easier for engaging principles and values.
staff from across the organisation to attend, if • Keep promises, and share celebrations and
they so chose. Explaining why the initiative was learning!
starting and asking them what they thought about
it led to considerable interest and excitement in
the organisation, even when the same people
knew they would not receive any specific personal
support for at least a year. There was so much
enthusiasm for what the organisation was doing
that, after consultation with the organisation, we
invited people across the organisation to become
‘change champions’. We held two two-hour
workshops and equipped them with a toolkit to use
back in their teams. Thereafter, every two or three
months, groups of change champions arranged to
meet to share ideas and celebrations of what they
had achieved.

Engaging leadership 25
Case studies

The effectiveness of an engaging style of leadership is on experience in a number of different private and
exemplified by the following case studies, which draw public sector contexts.

Leading towards 2015 – leadership in Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU)

Setting the scene

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK are facing a number of strategic challenges. These
include: internationalisation, which involves the recruitment and provision for the needs of overseas
students, with the attendant benefits and risks; funding and sustainability, with income from research,
teaching and knowledge transfer, and associated business development; market drivers, including
fees and demographics; a performance culture, with influences that include organisational focus,
government agenda and ‘value for money’; the possibility of mergers and the need for differentiation;
and decisions about the most appropriate form of leadership and management.

In relation to leadership and management, the issues include: a retirement bulge among senior
academics; the need to attract new entrants; recognition that universities need to think of themselves
as businesses; changing societal and government expectations; awareness of new approaches to
leadership, management and the psychological contract between employer and employee; and the
distinction between a transformational and a transactional style of leadership.

Leadership development model

Within this context, GCU developed an integrated ten-year plan, which focuses on: (1) leadership;
(2) dealing with cultural change, leader as coach, and communication; and (3) team-building,
empowerment and performance (creating an empowered high-performance team). Running in parallel
are four concurrent activities: incentives and recognition; strategic career development; management
skills and competency development; and one-to-one coaching.

The intervention started with a five-day senior manager programme for the principal, vice-principals and
deans, which was delivered in three stages by Real World Group (RWG) using the TLQ as the principal
diagnostic tool. The programme has now been rolled out to 350 academic and administrative staff,
who have participated in ‘Delivering the Vision and Managing People’.

To ensure the effectiveness of the programme throughout the university, 55 internal facilitators/mentors
have been trained.

(continued)

26 Engaging leadership
Leading towards 2015 – leadership in Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU)
(continued)

Outcomes
The benefits of the programme, which started in December 2004, have been shown in terms of:

• individual experiences, for example developing new relationships with colleagues, developing or
confirming own understanding of the challenges facing the university, developing own perspective
towards their leadership role
• culture, for example leadership and management development took place, visibility of senior
managers and HR has increased, downward trend in grievance and harassment cases, initiation of
cross-university leadership/management mentoring, foundations established for longer-term initiative
and benefits.

Liberating leadership – Bradford and City Primary Care Trust*

The board and senior management wanted an approach to leadership that helps the organisation
achieve its vision of high-quality healthcare for the people of Bradford, and to do this through creating
a culture that reflected its vision and values for its staff. The starting point was to identify the vision
and values in practice and to link these to (nearby) transformational leadership at all levels. The model
adopted was the ‘engaging’ transformational leadership based on the dimensions in the TLQ. The
process of the intervention is summarised in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Structure of the cultural transformation process in Bradford City PCT

Board passion
and commitment

Board TLQ Staff briefings

Establish vision and values

Establishing ‘catalysts for

Managers tlq change’ group

Workshops for people managers

and catalysts for change

Team actvities to engage

all staff

Engaging leadership 27
 Liberating leadership – Bradford and City Primary Care Trust* (continued)

The overarching objective was to focus on the impact of transformational leadership behaviour on
patients and service users, and on staff, including those on the front line – a key aspect being to remain
positive and feel valued.

Executive and non-executive directors and senior managers received feedback and coaching on the
basis of their TLQ results, delivered by Real World Group (RWG). The outcomes included: board-level
commitment to developing engaging/transformational leadership at all levels; personal development
based on feedback and coaching; improved teamworking at executive levels; and agreement that an
empowering, developmental approach was most suited to turning the vision and values into reality. Ten
staff were trained as internal TLQ facilitators.

Managers and team leaders were involved in workshops and action learning that was built on
existing leadership strengths in engaging front-line staff and continually focusing on small changes
that can make a real difference to patients and service users. The outcomes included: individual skill
development; increased awareness of customer focus; greater understanding of effectively managing
change and of individual working and learning styles; and seeing the service from the perspective of
service users.

Catalysts for change at different levels in the organisation were trained to support the managers and
teams referred to above. In association with RWG, they developed a ‘Liberating Leadership’ toolkit,
which comprises a range of activities for managers and team leaders for focusing on excellence in
providing for service users, even during periods of change. RWG facilitated a six-module development
programme, which included ‘organisational raids’ to a range of private and public sector organisations.
The outcomes included: individual skill development, including facilitation skills and increased
understanding of different working systems; facilitators trained to work throughout the organisation;
and the teams referred to above.

Evaluation
Examples of the comments made during a formal evaluation of the programme that were relevant to
the practice of engaging leadership included:

• ‘Learnt many aspects of being a good leader, importance of supporting others, and not see it as a
problem when people do sometimes become pessimistic/negative about work/change.’
• ‘Extremely useful in “snapshotting” performance and identifying developmental needs. Very good
training in the run-up.’
• ‘The experience with the facilitator made me feel valued and was constructive where necessary.’
• ‘Equipped with skill to manage change/manage teams.’

* Subsequently reconfigured to Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust

28 Engaging leadership
Competent and engaging – Northern Rail

Northern Rail employs 4,500 staff, and operates 2,500 trains per day across the north of England. The
Northern Leadership Development Programme (NLDP) was developed in response to strategic reviews
that have taken place across the business. Its aim was to develop a consistent approach to and standard
of leadership across the organisation, working initially with senior managers, but to be made available
to all levels of management.

The main objectives of the NLDP, which was delivered in association with Real World Group (RWG),
were: to provide an excellent standard level of leadership development for all senior managers; to
encourage senior managers to feel valued and be more confident as leaders of the business; to promote
the importance of self-development; to encourage cross-functional working between senior managers;
and to build on existing management/leadership skills.

Scope of the NLDP

The first two programmes each had 12 participants from different functions, who participated in
workshops, coaching sessions and group projects.

Northern Rail and Real World Group approach

To ensure maximum impact and outcomes for this programme, the following principles applied at
all stages of the programme, from launch to delivery to evaluation: practical and in the real world;
underpinned by cutting-edge research; relevant; inspirational; challenging; focused and measurable;
highly motivational; integrated with other aspects of the wider programme; and business-critical, with
a customer excellence focus.

Programme
The programme comprises three main elements:

1 Diagnostics: This involved the use of the NL-360 and MBTI. NL-360 is a 360-degree diagnostic
instrument that assesses individual behaviour in relation to both the ‘Northern Rail Values and
Behaviours’ framework and engaging leadership behaviours and qualities derived from the TLQ. Each
participant has the opportunity to discuss their feedback with data during three one-to-one coaching
sessions and to devise practical action plans.
2 Workshops: Two two-day workshops were provided, which focused on how to engage individuals
and teams through a series of theoretical inputs, activities and skills practice, resulting in action
plans.
3 Projects: Participants were also involved in one of four group projects, which focused on specific
aspects of the 2007 business plan. These enabled them both to put their learning into practice at a
strategic level and to reflect on their individual and group learning.

Evaluation
• Diagnostics and workshops
Evidence of the effectiveness of the programme in relation to the diagnostics and the workshops
included responses to three questions about translating learning into action.

(continued)

Engaging leadership 29
 Competent and engaging – Northern Rail (continued)

Examples of the responses, which reflect an engaging style of leadership, are:

1W
 hat has been the key learning for you as a leader? Looking at different ways of managing
to really get the best out of different styles; self-awareness and understanding of others; the 360
provided me with a real benchmark of my performance; to really understand where people are with
their development so you can understand their needs.

2W
 hat are you doing more of or differently as a leader as a result of the programme?
Listening and really trying to stand back from situations before jumping in with opinions, suggestions
and so on; spend more time with my direct reports – interact and involve them on a more regular
basis; implementing new ways for my team to work together; stepping out of my comfort zone;
taking time and sometimes stepping back to ensure people around me are with me and what I need
to do to ensure I am doing enough to bring people with me; asking more if people are on my page.

3W
 hat key achievements, as a result of the programme, are you particularly proud of?
Actively seeking out feedback on performance as a leader; gave the managers and union reps
enough information during a change process – this could have been a really difficult project but
by managing the change in this way it has allowed for a much easier transition; gaining respect
from the team through empowering and trusting their abilities; the ‘ah ha’ moments – it works; I
understand my management style a lot more than I did before and I am now in a position to share
this with my team. I also feel I have a more open and honest approach to my team and my job. I am
more comfortable for feedback and debating issues within my team; the team has developed and
become less dependent on me as a result of identifying their needs and they are more empowered to
make decisions and actions, which releases my time to do other things and also allows them to take
ownership of their job and outputs.

• Projects
One of the projects – entitled ‘Cumbrian Christmas Cracker’ – was to increase passenger usage on
Sundays on the Newcastle to Carlisle line during the run-up to Christmas. The overall aim of providing
better transport to customers at a local level was to be achieved by enabling them to travel between
the two destinations at times that would allow them to undertake a full day’s Christmas shopping and
return home on the same day.

To achieve this, managers adopted an engaging style of leadership. This took the form of: explaining
the nature of the project to staff; discussing the practical implications with staff; and asking for
volunteers. The project was successful, not only in the result – an efficient service, run profitably – but
also in the way it was achieved, which included staff taking pride in their work, demonstrated by staff
taking time out to clean and scrub the rolling stock and other facilities.

30 Engaging leadership
Do we want leader development
or leadership development?

The short answer to this question is that we want both. In addition to the factors that have already been
But the reason why the question is asked is that – as we discussed, this model also incorporates ‘biography and
shall explain – much, if not most, development work experience’. This refers to the wealth of life experiences
focuses on the former to the exclusion of the latter. that an individual brings to their job that enables them
to perform their role effectively and – in a development
In a recent article, Paul Iles and David Preece (2006) context, whether it be formal or informal – of the
pointed out that: combination of ‘positive’ leadership experience and the
‘baggage’ that can sometimes get in the way of new
‘Leader development refers to developing individual-level learning. Two aspects of ‘experience’ – ‘business portfolio’
intrapersonal competencies and human capital (cognitive, and ‘alliances’ – emerged as significant predictors of
emotional, and self-awareness skills for example), while actual performance one year later (Alban-Metcalfe and
leadership development refers to the development Alimo-Metcalfe 2007).
of collective leadership processes and social capital in
the organization and beyond, involving relationships, Human capital and social capital
networking, trust, and commitments, as well as an Thus, leader development involves use of previous
appreciation of the social and political context and its experience and the development of certain personal
implications for leadership styles and actions.’ qualities and values (presage characteristics), plus learning
to perform one’s role competently (process). Included
Thus, as they go on to point out: ‘Leadership among the former are integrity and intellectual and
development involves the development of leadership emotional intelligence, while the latter are exemplified by
processes in addition to the development of individual effective communication and a focus on ability to plan
leaders.’ and to develop systems and processes. The consequence
is that the individual concerned has created within
Leadership development, therefore, which is predicated themselves more ‘human capital’ (product) – capital that
on a distributed model of leadership, is about enabling is tied up in the individual and not necessarily shared.
individuals and groups to work together in meaningful This is capital that, unless and until it is released in certain
ways. It has, as its goal, the building of social relationships ways, will be of benefit only to that person.
involving all members of the community to respond
proactively and effectively to changing circumstances and In contrast, leadership development, which also uses
thereby achieve organisational and societal goals. previous experience and involves the development of
certain personal qualities and values, plus learning to
In other words, leadership is about behaving in an perform one’s role competently, additionally involves
engaging way, and leadership development is – or should becoming more engaging in the way one interacts
be – concerned with enabling leaders to combine what with others. And it is through such interactions that an
they must do as leaders with how they must interact with individual’s human capital is turned into ‘social capital’
others in ways that will enable them and their colleagues – capital that is available within the organisation and
to be optimally effective. more widely in society. Of the 14 leadership dimensions
that have been identified through our empirical research,
The processes involved in leader development, as distinct ‘showing genuine concern’ emerges as accounting for far
from leadership development, can be summarised in and away the most variance in accounting for the impact
terms of a presage–process–product model, as in Figure 6. on staff attitudes and well-being, but is complemented

Engaging leadership 31
 Figure 6: Relationship between leader development and leadership development

Personal Process PRODUCT

Personal qualities Managerial/leader Competent Increase in

and values development manager/leader human capital
For example, Actions performed behaviour
competently For example,
Integrity Power and influence individuals benefit
For example, in the hands of by becoming
Emotional intelligence one person/a small
Effective communication more self-aware,
Intellectual flexibility group and being able to
Openness Setting goals and targets perform certain
Resilience Problem-solving actions more
Decision-making efficiently and
effectively
Processes and systems
Organisation and planning
Monitoring progress

Biography and Leadership development Engaging Increase in

experience Actions performed in an distributed social capital
For example, engaging way leadership
For example,
Alliances For example, Power and influence organisations and
exercised by all communities benefit
Budget responsibility Showing concern for others staff, at all levels in in terms of well-
Business portfolio Enabling an organisation being, and being
Reputation Encouraging questioning able to perform
Building a shared vision more effectively,
thereby increasing
Inspiring others productivity and
Focusing team effort profitability
Supporting a developmental
culture
Facilitating change sensitively

by other types of dimension. These include: ‘encouraging leadership as a process that only exists in relationships
questioning’ – essential for creating a culture of between individuals (Hernez-Broome and Hughes 2004).
innovation; ‘inspiring others’; ‘building a shared vision’ Leadership is ‘profoundly interpersonal’ (Jackson 2004)
– rather than one that is imposed; ‘facilitating change and as Jackson states, it is more complex than leading,
sensitively’; and ‘supporting a development culture’ since it cannot be assumed or imposed, but can only be
(Alban-Metcalfe and Alimo-Metcalfe 2000a). bestowed wilfully by those who are to be led.

What is fundamental is a form of distributed leadership Leadership is ubiquitous in the organisation, but the vast
that reflects a strong sense of connectedness and majority of its capital lies dormant among its employees,
inclusiveness, of a leader as servant and partner (Greenleaf who themselves may be unaware of their potential. The
1970, 1996), such that designated leaders do not just act role of the leader, then, is to liberate, harness and focus
through others, but also act with them. Such a leadership it for the benefit of the organisation and the individuals
style enables human capital to be turned into social capital. through whom it achieves its success (Jackson 2004).

There is a distinct shifting of emphasis in the academic The desire to build a culture of engagement in an
leadership literature, away from seeing leadership as the organisation has at its core the purpose of realising
characteristic of certain individuals who may or may not this latent potential by creating the environment, the
occupy formal roles of ‘leadership’ towards a view of opportunities and the means for its release.

32 Engaging leadership
Conclusions

The challenges facing organisations in the twenty-first We now have the knowledge as to how to enact
century are of a magnitude and complexity that we engagement and how to embed it in the culture
have never before experienced; the only certainty we such that it becomes the ‘modus operandi’, and HR
have is that the world will become even more complex professionals will play a crucial role in advising, guiding
and that the rate of change will become more rapid. and supporting their organisations in encouraging new
ways of working in which connectedness is absolutely
To cope with these forces, demands for leadership the key.
will increase exponentially. If organisations expect the
resources to reside in a few gifted people, they will
be sowing the seeds of their own destruction, since a
culture that sustains such a conception of leadership
will reinforce dependency and encourage passivity.
This will be barren ground for nurturing the massive
potential that resides within its walls.

New notions of leadership stress that leadership is

not simply the domain of a few, but is prevalent
throughout the organisation in the untapped talent
of all its employees. The role of the organisation and
its formally appointed leaders is to create a culture in
which such latent potential is nourished, recognised
and released in daily interactions and ways of ‘being’,
and of doing things together. Engagement is the key
to exploiting this resource.

Engaging leadership 33
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