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    ICMLG'15: Conference wrap-up

    Conferences Governance Leadership Management Research
    The annual International Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance is over for another year. The third edition of the conference, in Auckland New Zealand, built on the earlier editions. The two keynote speakers, Phil O'Reilly and Andrea Thompson, were well received. They set the scene for each day nicely. Three strong themes emerged during the conference, as follows:
    • While business researchers are making a contribution, progress is painfully slow—akin to plodding. The gap (probably best described as a chasm) between the academic research community and the business community is far wider than it should be or needs to be. While researchers need to stand somewhat apart from praxis in order to conceptualise new understandings, they need to avoid standing so far away that their work lacks relevance. Pace and relevance appear to be crucial—if research outputs are to be appreciated by the business community.
    • The research emphasis needs to change, from standing outside the subject of interest (the board, the leader, the management situation) and counting things (typically secondary attributes based on pubic data or interview/survey responses), to getting close to the subject in action. This change demands more qualitative research, in search of deep understanding and meaning. While the theme has become increasingly apparent at conferences in the last year, several delegates voiced opinions that a tipping point might be tantalisingly close.
    • Building on this last comment, researchers need to open the black box (of the board, the management team, the organisational situation) and learn what is actually going on. However, this introduces a new challenge, of discernment. Perhaps business researchers need to take the lead shown by the medical and engineering communities (amongst others). Research-capable doctors do medical research and engineers do engineering research. Has the time come for business research to be performed by researchers with real-world business experience as opposed to researchers who have never been inside a boardroom or managed a commercial entity? Many at the conference thought so.
    Some further reflections:
    • The organiser (Academic Conferences and Publishing, based in the UK) and hosts (AUT and Massey) did a wonderful job. Thank you to Louise, Pat, Coral and James, in particular.
    • The quality of the papers presented, and the author presentations seemed to be higher than the two previous conferences. Perhaps the review process worked better, or researchers are self-selecting such that only those with meaningful research submit papers. 
    • The dinner cruise, on Auckland Harbour, was the social highlight of the conference. Delegates from the Middle East and Europe (especially) were effusive in their comments. That Auckland turned on a wonderful evening sealed the deal!
    • In future, ACP may want to consider organising a programme for partners. Around 20 percent of the delegates brought their spouses with them to New Zealand and there was nothing organised for them.
    So, there you have it. The 3rd International Conference on Management Leadership and Governance is over. I look forward to the 4th edition in twelve months' time. The venue should be announced in the next month or two.
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    ICMLG'15: Day 2 keynote

    Conferences Leadership Performance
    Well, Day 2 has started with a bang! Andrea Thompson, Managing Director of Catapult a leadership consulting practice, delivered an inspirational message about leadership; the essential place of leadership in great organisations and the hidden sources of success. Thompson suggested that organisations have a backbone comprised seven elements:
    • Vision
    • Strategy
    • Leadership philosophy
    • Purpose
    • Values
    • Brand
    • Story
    Thompson also suggested that the nature of leadership needs to change, because the world we live in is changing. Paradigms and structures that have served well in the past may not work in the future. Thompson proposed that leaders must possess a new portfolio of skills and attributes if they are to lead effectively in the future: 
    Backbones can be well-developed (and provide strength), or poorly developed. Crucially, all seven elements are well-developed in effective organisations. Effective leaders know this: they seek to achieve strength all the way up and down the organisational backbone. Purpose is intentionally positioned at the centre: this is the starting point—everything else builds on and from purpose. Effective leaders start with purpose, to discover why organisations exist (cf. what they do, which is management talk). She then worked through the other elements of the backbone and linked everything back to purpose. Her stories and examples were quite insightful.
    • Contextual awareness
    • Conceptual thinking
    • Agility
    • Collaboration
    • Diversity
    • Purpose
    • Autonomy
    • Unique beings
    • Environmental stewardship
    Thompson then moved on to discuss how leaders lead. She suggested that great leaders tell stories, their own stories. They tell life stories; they tell stories about important or significant moments; and, they tell stories about other people. And if they tell stories well, people listen and they believe. Effective leaders give hope. Thompson set a great platform for a busy day of presentations and discussions. If the discussion over coffee was any guide, she left a great impression on the audience. 
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    ICMLG'15: Day one wrap

    Conferences Ethics Governance Language Leadership Management Performance Research
    The first day of ICMLG2015 has been completed, with a very pleasant dinner cruise on Auckland Harbour. The three-hour cruise gave delegates time to enjoy the view back to the city across one of the world's great harbours; to get to know each other better; and, to reflect on the conference to date. The conversations were upbeat—both for the venue and logistics (thanks AUT and Massey) and the topical nature of the presentations and discussion on Day 1. The following points provide the tiniest of glimpses into some of the conversations and thinking so far:
    • Is 'good enough' actually good enough? Many academic researchers pursue high degrees of precision, whereas most consumers (business leaders and boards in this case) are happy to gain insights and a general sense. Several of the delegates, encouraged by Phil O'Reilly's keynote, have openly questioned whether business schools should come down from their ivory towers. Good stuff!
    • Can we go faster? Research needs to change gear, to get ahead of the curve. Instead of reporting what has occurred, researchers need to provide guidance for leaders and for board practice, to explain what can happen to business performance if certain activities or events occur.
    • Does the researcher have a role 'within' the research? Much quantitative/positivist research has the researcher as an external bystander, whereas qualitative/interpretivist research approaches often expect the researcher to position themselves 'within the research'. The risks of the latter are many, but the relevance of much of the research produced by the former is questionable. the research agenda needs to move beyond simply counting things or describing things. I think a middle ground exists. However, explanatory research inspired by realism is not well understood in business schools—yet.
    • The chasm between business and research simply must be bridged. That many businesses do not think of contacting business schools to commission research is an indictment on business schools, not business. Business researchers need to possess business experience and acumen, so they know what they are looking at when they investigate business phenomena. More work—much more—is needed on this score.
    • Are business researchers tantalisingly close to a breakthrough? Thomas Kuhn (The structure of scientific revolutions) spoke about this decades ago. Much research simply builds, incrementally, on what has gone before. Assumptions are reinforced, myths perpetrated and are mistakes legitimised. However, every so often, a step-change occurs. Kuhn called it a paradigm shift. Several of the delegates think that business research—and board and governance research in particular—is on the cusp of such a paradigm shift.
    In addition, many new relationships were formed, ideas for collegial working groups were discussed and several invitations were issued for cross-border and multinational cooperation. (Gosh, that sounds like the OECD or the United Nations!) I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing how the discussion builds and develops on Day 2, starting with Andrea Thompson's keynote.
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    ICMLG'15: Breaking to mould—new perspectives on executive development

    Conferences Language Leadership Performance Research
    Dorothy McKee, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, presented a fascinating paper that explored the extent to which executive development (read professional development for executives) that focusses on leadership, governance and business ethics has a positive impact on business performance.
    The research was insightful, for it bridges the oft-discussed chasm that exists between academia and practice. Courses bathed in research rigour and practical application are far less common than you'd expect. I have been critical of the way many academics happily resist any activities that might see them becoming tainted by 'the real world'. Yet McKee walked right into the centre of the issue, and intentionally so, to try to gain some understanding as to what is really going on and what needs to go on to ensure executives are appropriate equipped to to lead and direct well. She surveyed and interviewed a group of business executives who are also graduate business students (Masters level). The findings were very revealing:
    • Leadership is a key feature that differentiates effective from ineffective boards, and collaborative leadership was particularly important
    • Many executives believe that gender balance has a positive impact on leadership decision-making, event though the research does not categorically support this perception
    • Effective interpersonal relationships are crucial to optimise the workings of the board (read: board processes and practices)
    While none of these insights were particularly revolutionary, they reinforce the "I think this is correct but can't put my finger on it" perceptions held by many working directors and business executives. The insights provide great guidance for professional bodies (including the Irish Institute of Directors) to inform the development of their professional development programme. They also speak volumes to academics, to get busy and to produce some meaningful theory-based models and frameworks to support the emerging perceptions of skilled and insightful executives.
    Given the overlap between our research interests and professional backgrounds, McKee and I plan to get together in a few months time, and advance these ideas, with a view to developing some new professional programmes for working directors. If you are interested in learning more, including the possibility of becoming an early adopter, please contact me.
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    What can we learn from the HSBC scandal?

    Accountability Governance Leadership Management
    News of the HSBC scandal has been plastered over major daily newspapers and news websites for several days now. Twitter and other social media platforms have been abuzz as well. That the leaders of an esteemed bank could have allowed such practices to occur is a travesty of leadership and good business practice. 
    In the years to come, the HSBC scandal will make a great case study for students of business and human behaviour. However, in the meantime, the compelling questions are of corporate governance and leadership. What has been going on at HSBC? Why has the group chairman at the time (Lord Green) now gone quiet? Was the board aware of the practices? If so, why did it allow them to occur? If not, why didn't the board know?
    Ignorance is an unacceptable defence. Nor is silence. When will shareholders and others in the marketplace call time on this type of behaviour? Thankfully, some commentators are looking to the future. Dina Medland's opinion piece hits the mark. It's all about accountability.
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    Qualities of directors and boardroom behaviours that actually make a difference

    Accountability Governance Leadership Performance Research
    Have shareholders worked out that the appointment of women to corporate boards per se is not a ticket to improved business performance? The challenge of lifting representation has been embraced by many groups across the Western World, including the 25 Percent Group. Yet the numbers are not stacking up in the way many had hoped. While some countries have implemented quota systems, conclusive evidence is yet to emerge to show that, by adding one or more women to a corporate board, business performance will increase.
    Diversity amongst directors makes sense, because a mix of backgrounds and experiences tends to produce a wider range of options for consideration. If the debate is healthy and vigorous, higher quality decisions can follow. However, women should not be appointed for political or social reasons. The conversation needs to move on, beyond simple numbers and the presence of absence of XX and XY chromosome pairs, or any other specialist technical skill for that matter. Physical attributes and technical skills are inputs (only), their presence does not produce results.
    Researchers and professional directors need to dug deeper, to discover the qualities and behaviours of directors that are likely to contribute to better outcomes. In other words, what directors do and how they think in boardrooms. If we can discover these qualities and the social interactions that flow from them(*), and nurture their expression in boardrooms, then increased business performance might not only be possible, but perhaps sustainable. The likelihood of a mix of male and female directors is pretty high as well, I would have thought.
    (*) This is the essence of my doctoral research. Details will emerge during 2015. Contact me if you want to be notified when papers and articles are available.