EXAMINING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AT ABC FINANCIAL By KOREEN MAK Bachelor of ...

118 Pages·2014·0.53 MB·English

EXAMINING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
AT ABC FINANCIAL
By
KOREEN MAK
Bachelor of Education, University of Saskatchewan, 1993
A Thesis in partial fulfillment of
The requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
In
LEADERSHIP

We accept this Thesis as conforming
To the required standard

………………………………………………………..
Pat Brothers, CHRP, Organizational Sponsor

……………………………………………………….
Eileen Piggot-Irvine, PhD., Thesis Supervisor

………………………………………………………
Shankar Sankaran, PhD., External Reviewer

……………………………………………………….
Brigitte Harris, PhD., Committee Chair

ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY

April, 2014

Copyright Koreen Mak, 2014
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Abstract
Through this thesis, an inquiry was conducted to answer the question of how ABC
Financial could expand leadership development within its management group. With an
appreciative stance, a multi-method research approach was utilized; a survey was open to all
employees and interviews were conducted with members of the senior executive team to
determine whether a common understanding of leadership existed within the organization and
how managers at ABC were demonstrating leadership competencies. Throughout the inquiry,
adherence to Royal Roads University’s Research Ethics Policy was maintained to ensure the
integrity of the process. The research findings indicated that developing a common definition of
leadership could provide a context for the design of leadership programming. Furthermore,
although leaders at ABC demonstrated many leadership strengths, an over-reliance on results
orientation may limit the organization’s leadership capacity and leadership development could be
enhanced through flexible programming focused on building relationship-based competencies.
Study recommendations included developing a shared vision of leadership and assessing ABC’s
leadership culture to assist in designing formal leadership development programming.
Enhancing programming through communities of practice, other systems, and metrics were also
recommended.
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Acknowledgements
The past two years has been an incredible journey of introspection, challenge, resistance,
development, and growth. When I began my Masters in Leadership program, I knew my life
would change due to the demands of schoolwork. What I did not expect was how much I would
be affected by the people in my life that supported me in this adventure. I need to express my
gratitude.
First, I would like to thank my community at Royal Roads who have accompanied me
over the past two years. To my instructors, observing the grace in which you model leadership
has been inspiring. I would especially like to thank Eileen Piggot-Irvine, your encouragement,
faith, and commitment to genuineness is remarkable. My cohort has been invaluable and I thank
you for accompanying me on this journey. Finally, thanks to my advisee group who shared their
challenges and achievements - your advice was appreciated and indispensible.
Thank you to my organization and to my sponsor for allowing me full access in
conducting my research. Your willingness to participate without knowing the outcome
demonstrates the commitment ABC has to growth and development. I am forever grateful for
your support and for providing me this opportunity.
Finally, I need to thank my incredible husband Tony, who has been supportive,
neglected, and always willing to challenge me when I doubt myself. You have carried our
family for the past two years while I have pursued my dream. Thank you so much to my
children, Jeremy and Ellery, for your support and kind-hearted encouragement; I aspire to the
kind of quiet leadership you both demonstrate everyday. Tony, Jeremy, and Ellery, you are my
heart.
Leadership Development 4

Table Of Contents
Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 3
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... 6
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter One: Focus and Framing ...................................................................................... 8
Significance of the Inquiry ............................................................................................ 10
Organizational Context ................................................................................................. 11
Systems Analysis of the Inquiry ................................................................................... 14
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 18
Chapter Two: Literature Review ..................................................................................... 19
Effective Leadership ..................................................................................................... 20
Definitions of leadership ....................................................................................................... 20
Leadership versus management............................................................................................. 22
Barriers to demonstrating effective leadership ...................................................................... 24
Leadership Competencies ............................................................................................. 26
What are competencies? ........................................................................................................ 26
Advantages of using competencies ....................................................................................... 28
Disadvantages of using competencies ................................................................................... 30
Best practices in using competencies .................................................................................... 32
Effectively Implementing Leadership Development .................................................... 34
How individuals learn ........................................................................................................... 34
How organizations learn ........................................................................................................ 36
Barriers to learning ................................................................................................................ 39
Best practices in leadership development programming ....................................................... 41
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 43
Chapter Three: Inquiry Approach and Methodology....................................................... 45
Inquiry Approach .......................................................................................................... 45
Project Participants ....................................................................................................... 47
Inquiry Methods ............................................................................................................ 49
Data collection tools .............................................................................................................. 49
Study conduct ........................................................................................................................ 50
Data analysis ......................................................................................................................... 52
Ethical Issues ................................................................................................................ 53
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 55
Chapter Four: Action Inquiry Project Results and Conclusions ...................................... 56
Study Findings .............................................................................................................. 56
Definition of leadership ......................................................................................................... 57
Demonstration of leadership competencies ........................................................................... 59
Resources, support, and strategies to support leadership development ................................. 65
Study Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 67
Leadership was defined in a limited manner ......................................................................... 68
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Competencies most frequently demonstrated by leaders did not align with competencies identified
as most critical for success .................................................................................................... 70
ABC’s results-oriented culture might hinder learning .......................................................... 72
Leaders at ABC had individual development needs ............................................................. 74
Systems and support structures at ABC may not fully support leadership development ...... 75
Scope and Limitations of the Inquiry............................................................................ 78
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 79
Chapter Five: Inquiry Implications .................................................................................. 81
Study Recommendations .............................................................................................. 81
Developing a shared definition of leadership may enhance commitment to leadership development
............................................................................................................................................... 82
Assessing its current leadership culture could provide direction for leadership development
programming at ABC ............................................................................................................ 83
Incorporating flexibility into a formal leadership development program may enhance learning
effectiveness .......................................................................................................................... 85
Integrating leadership development programming with other organizational initiatives may increase
organizational effectiveness .................................................................................................. 88
Organizational Implications .......................................................................................... 92
Implications for Future Inquiry ..................................................................................... 97
Report Summary ........................................................................................................... 99
References ....................................................................................................................... 101
Appendix A: Draft Senior Executive Functional Structure ........................................... 106
Appendix B: ABC Financial Organizational Values ..................................................... 107
Appendix C: OAR Model .............................................................................................. 108
Appendix D: Inquiry Team Member Letter of Agreement ............................................ 109
Appendix E: Survey Questions, Invitation, and Consent Form ..................................... 111
Appendix F: Sample Interview Questions ..................................................................... 114
Appendix G: Interview Invitation and Information Letter ............................................ 115
Appendix H: Research Consent Form ........................................................................... 118
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List of Figures

Figure 1: Analysis of leadership development at ABC utilizing Senge’s (2006) Shifting the
Burden Archetype ........................................................................................................................ 15
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List of Tables

Table 1: Survey Data Table tabulated from the ABC Leadership Survey ...................... 59
Table 2: The Five most Critical Leadership Competencies as identified by stakeholders63
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Chapter One: Focus and Framing

Through this thesis, I sought to examine how leadership development was viewed within
ABC Financial (ABC) and provide recommendations as to how leadership development
programs and initiatives could be enhanced in order to strengthen organizational performance.
First, understanding ABC’s operations was important to properly frame the inquiry. In order to
provide insight into the research, the significance of the inquiry, the context within which ABC
operates, and a systems analysis of the organizational environment was examined.
ABC experienced tremendous change in the past several years and, from my experience,
change continued to dominate the provincial financial services landscape. One of the largest
provincial financial services providers, ABC was the product of several mergers and it continued
to welcome partnerships with other businesses seeking the financial stability and enhanced
product offerings that ABC provided (ABC Financial, June 2013, Strategic Planning). An
organizational restructure accompanied the most recent merger, which took place in July 2013;
some managers and employees were assigned new roles, several senior managers left the
organization, and new reporting relationships resulted. The uncertainty associated with
restructures created stress within the organization and as Bridges (2009) promoted, strong
leadership was needed to guide employees through this challenging period. As Kotter (2001)
related, “Major changes are more and more necessary to survive and compete effectively…More
change always demands more leadership” (p. 86). To maintain their competitiveness, ABC had
to ensure its leaders effectively demonstrated leadership competencies in order to effectively
navigate change.
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From my observation, ABC may have lacked a cohesive vision of leadership due in part
to its formation as an amalgamation of many smaller financial services providers. According to
Kotter (2001), aligning an organizational vision of leadership and providing development
opportunities allowed employees to move in a consistent direction and could benefit ABC in
managing their change process. Increased productivity could be anticipated because, “when
teams are truly learning, not only are they producing extraordinary results, but individual
members are growing more rapidly than could have occurred otherwise” (Senge, 2006, p. 9).
Defining what leadership meant at ABC was important to its continued growth.
As the Learning and Development Manager for ABC, leadership competencies and
leadership development fell within my portfolio. I oversaw a leadership development program
for new managers at ABC and senior management tasked me with expanding current program
offerings to enhance leadership development throughout our management ranks. My role in the
inquiry project was to work collaboratively with stakeholders to examine issues related to
leadership development within ABC and to implement recommendations made through this
research.
To evaluate leadership development within ABC, an inquiry topic was chosen with four
sub-questions identified to aid in the research of this topic:
How can ABC Financial expand leadership development within its management group?
Sub-questions:
1. How does ABC define leadership?
2. In what ways are managers currently demonstrating leadership competencies?
3. How can current leadership development programs be enhanced to increase the development
of leadership competencies among ABC’s management team?
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4. What resources, support, and strategies are required to create such enhancement?
Significance of the Inquiry
Developing leadership capacity within ABC could provide many benefits. From my
experience, the anticipation of future mergers, frequent regulatory changes, and pressures from
competitors made constant change inevitable. Developing leaders who successfully navigated
change was critical to enable the organization to meet its strategic goals, as discussed by
Anderson and Ackerman-Anderson, (2010). According to Bridges (2009) and Kotter (2001),
anxiety often accompanied change; by communicating a vision, leaders could assist employees
through the transition, providing them with a sense of control in situations of uncertainty. With
over 37% of managers over the age of 50, ABC anticipated many retirements in the next five to
seven years (ABC Financial, October 2013). Expanding leadership development could prepare
more junior managers for the demands of senior positions, providing continuity for organizations
(Barnett & Davis, 2008). Thus, enhancing leadership capacity could assist the organization in
meeting its current needs and provide for future sustainability.
Involving ABC’s management group in the inquiry was critical. The success of any
recommendations that resulted from the project relied heavily upon the engagement of senior
executive because, according to Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee (2002), executive support was
critical for leadership development to succeed at an organizational level. Our executive leaders
deferred leadership development as an organizational priority for the past three years due to other
projects and there appeared to be varying commitment among the group as to the importance of
leadership development; understanding their views was important. All levels of management
were affected by this inquiry and it was important for their voices to be heard. Senior, middle