Monday, May 14, 2012

Self reflection about responsible leadership - part of the MBA


How did TN and GT coursework shape the meaning of responsible leadership?

The TiasNimbas modules and the courses at Georgetown University have formed a framework based on theoretical knowledge for effective leadership. These are valuable tools to reflect and help to act as a responsible leader.

The exposure of different ways of interpreting responsible leadership within a multicultural group has proven to be challenging and dynamic. There are different interpretations between “right and right” and “right and wrong”, and yet few in the corporate world leave time for reflection and discussion on this matter.

Professor Langenbacher put in perspective what we learned in Tilburg during the responsible leadership course. We discussed “subconscious discrimination”, tested our beliefs and the results showed that many of us have a bias toward traditional gender roles. Prof. Langenbacher showed various statistics regarding ethnical background and education, employment success and more. Revealing that this unconscious bias is consistent across society and these stereotypes still dictate the success one has in life. A responsible leader should acknowledge the fact that (s)he has such biases and actively work to mitigate their effect. For example, the judge who treated mostly black men criminal cases spent time in a different court district where many white men were convicted to break through his stereotype. Accordingly, responsible leaders should move in an environment where their biases are challenged.

Prof. Brenkert’s hypothesis, that values are universal and yet interpreted differently, lead to very different customs across the globe. Even though I do not subscribe to the hypothesis, it has helped me to understand what responsible leadership means. It not only means that certain customs are different or wrong in my view, but it also means that sometimes discussing the very basics and understanding why the other person feels that certain customs are or aren’t acceptable. Once the assumptions underlying the actions have been made explicit, except in perhaps in some extreme cases, a responsible leader can act in a way that will mitigate the potential conflicts. A Pakistani classmate experienced this first hand: whenever he was on a business trip to Korea, they did not offer him any alcohol, and whenever the Koreans came to visit him, he did offer them alcohol. I feel that a responsible leader will try to understand others’ customs and culture, values and beliefs and use this to create an environment that nourishes cooperation and progress.

A responsible leader carefully considers the consequences of his decisions to those affected by the decisions. That does not mean that in every case any “harm” can be avoided, but her or his responsibility is to consider that potential harm explicitly. A responsible leader will do so and then base the decision on his/her values. This may in some cases lead to for example lower shareholder return, or people losing their jobs. The key is to ensure that none of the deeper values are violated, interpreted in the stricter sense rather than the lenient one. 


Using reflections on TN and Georgetown, what is the legacy you want to leave as a responsible leader?

What I have learned to understand over the past year is that the effect of actions by a manager or leader is much larger than one may think. In many cases people talk about the influence of companies on society and more. However, a key flaw in those arguments is that an organization is nothing more than people together making decisions towards a unified goal. So even though the influence of one person is relatively small, as a manager or part of cooperation this influence grows tremendously.

This has put the question of “leaving a legacy” in a different perspective. Whereas before I would have believed one can only really leave a legacy from C level or up, now I see that even a middle manager can be influential.

Therefore, the legacy I would like to leave is a dual one. On one hand I would like to be remembered as someone who contributed to the responsible behavior of people in the organizations I did business with/worked for or ran. On the other hand I would like to contribute to society, so that people themselves take more of an active role in being responsible.

The first part is the “easier” part of the legacy, as it mostly involves my behavior and leading by example. The part of creating a greater feeling of responsibility for all those around me, however, is more challenging and will need some convincing. However, one will aid me in achieving the other. The key of creating an environment where people feel responsible is holding everyone accountable for their actions and empowering them to make decisions. We have learned from research quoted in our coursework that people that are in charge live longer and better, so instead of expecting others to act in the “right” way, one should ensure to contribute to this responsible behavior.

An example, mentioned in the discussion with Andy Shallal from Busboys & Poets, was the author’s responsibility to ensure that a contract is understandable and readable. The responsibility of the reader is to read the contract, ask questions and not take a passive role and say: “the author has a moral duty to do what is right” (the way Andy feels it should have been). If my legacy is to be anything, it would to contribute to a society in which everyone is ready to take responsibility. A society in which people read the terms & conditions before clicking “accept” because they are not 17 pages long and written in complicated legal terms, but actually only several rules long and principle based, easy to understand. A society in which people do not sue because they burned themselves on hot coffee, but in which they are careful not to burn themselves because coffee can be hot.

I feel that I have started working towards this with my management project where I will assist ING in expanding their Financial Education program abroad. The main goal of this program is not to make decisions for the clients or people touched by the program, but to provide them with the tools to make the “right” decision. It is then up to the individual to grab that opportunity and use the tools to make those right decisions.