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ACT LIKE A LEADER, THINK LIKE A LEADER
AUTHOR: Herminia Ibarra
PUBLISHER: Harvard Business Review Press
PRICE: Rs 995
ISBN: 9781422184127
Where do we draw the fine line between authenticity and self-protection? I once studied a group of professionals who were stepping up from analytical and project work to advising clients and selling new business. The shift to client work was a classic do-it-yourself transition. In many cases, the investment bankers and consultants were expected to step up to the new role long before they earned a new title; in other cases, they were promoted without much change in formal job responsibilities, and the amount of client work they took on was left up to them (with major paycheck consequences, of course).
In the process, I stumbled upon an interesting contrast in how people making work transitions approach the problem of authenticity and some counterintuitive findings about the fastest path to an authentic yet different self. Most of the people I studied felt incompetent and insecure in this new capacity, and the advice they received was rarely helpful. They were frequently told to be more aggressive, to act with more confidence, or to develop their presence. As one investment banker told me, "At the end of my first year as a vice-president, the feedback to me was, 'Your technical skills are great. Now, think more innovatively, seize the ball, and be more aggressive in your client meetings.' I think what they really wanted was for me to start thinking like a partner, to be the senior guy, not the adjunct to somebody else - to sort of try to be a bigger presence."
One group, which I called the true-to-selfers, tried to be themselves by focusing on what they knew how to do and felt comfortable doing. The others, the chameleons, experimented with radically new and different ways of behaving and being, much as I did when I was trying to improve my teaching style. The chameleons borrowed liberally from a diverse set of their more successful colleagues. They imitated their colleagues' demeanour - how they walked and talked, the jokes they made, their styles for establishing credibility. As one person put it, "You're trying on different personas as you might try on different suits." Often, they didn't get it right at first. The new behaviors felt unnatural, but the chameleons changed their suits anyway. They were trying to figure out who they might be in these dramatically different circumstances.
This kind of identity stretching comes more naturally to some people than others. Psychologist Mark Snyder identified the profile and psychology of chameleons as people who are naturally able and willing to adapt to the demands of a situation without feeling like a fake. Chameleons have core selves defined by their values and goals and have no qualms about shifting shapes in pursuit of their convictions.
True-to-selfers, in contrast, view situational demands that push them away from their natural styles as threats to their authenticity. Their self-definitions are more all-encompassing, including not only their innermost values, but also their leadership styles, speech, dress, and demeanour. Chameleons often advance more rapidly in the early years of their careers because they are relatively flexible and others are more likely to see them as leaders. As I observed in my study, acting like a chameleon or a true-to-selfer produces different outcomes-in how others perceive you, how much help you get, and how fast you learn about work and about yourself.
The efforts of the chameleon professionals I was training got the attention of senior mentors, who saw that these professionals were trying to step up to the new role. The efforts made the seniors more apt to coach and mentor the new professionals, to share why and how they, the mentors, did what they did - one senior partner called this type of coaching "unveiling the mysteries." The senior executives shared their tacit knowledge about nuances that made all the difference - how to frame a meeting, how to build peer relationships with clients, how to diagnose the politics, how to notice the subtle positioning around controversial ideas, and so on. They also shared something that is even more important: a point of view about what it takes to become a trusted adviser. Their endorsement and perspective also helped the chameleons to crystalize a sharper image of what and who they wanted to be like. Knowing how hard it can be to learn these kinds of things from someone who is very different stylistically, some mentors suggested more appropriate role models. The chameleons also learned a great deal from their own emotional reactions as they experimented with alien behavior. Sometimes they confirmed what they always suspected about themselves; other times they were surprised by what they learned. Their outsight stuck because it was grounded in their direct experiences instead of introspective speculation.
Try to be more playful with yourself: Herminia Ibarra
Think of leadership development as trying on possible selves rather than working on yourself. When we adopt a playful attitude, we're more open to possibilities, Herminia Ibarra tells Ankita Rai
Networking is an essential leadership tool. However, many managers find networking manipulative and something not related to the immediate task at hand. What are some of the traps that keep us from expanding our networks?
Many of the managers I teach say they find networking "insincere" or "manipulative" - a way to obtain favours from strangers, with strings attached as obligations to return the favours. A lack of experience with networking also leads people to question whether it is a legitimate use of their time, especially when the relationships being developed are not immediately related to the task at hand. When we don't consider networking to be an integral part of our job and professional responsibilities, we understandably find this activity hard to squeeze in. Here are the four main objections that many of us have about networks:
* You think "networking" is not real work.
* You think it is using people.
* The pay-off is long-term and you have more urgent things to do
* You think that relationships should form spontaneously.
Traps like these create powerful network blinders. You remain inside a cozy but closed circle that leaves you and your team vulnerable to shifting winds. Worse, you reduce your utility to the people who rely on you as a contact, because you will have little to offer that they don't know already.
In the book you have written that stepping up to leadership position can make one vulnerable to the authenticity trap. How does one balance the chameleon and the authentic approach?
It requires a playful frame of mind. Think of leadership development as trying on possible selves rather than working on yourself - which, let's face it, sounds like drudgery. When we adopt a playful attitude, we're more open to possibilities. It is okay to be inconsistent from one day to the next. That's not being a fake. That's how we experiment to figure out what's right for the new challenges and circumstances we face. It is also okay to borrow from lots of different people instead of trying to adopt the style and behaviour of a favourite role model.
By viewing ourselves as works in progress and evolving our professional identities through trial and error, we can develop a personal style that feels right to us and suits our organisations' needs.
Herminia Ibarra
Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and learning, INSEAD
Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and learning, INSEAD
Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review Press. Excerpted from Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader. Copyright 2015 Herminia Ibarra. All rights reserved.
