Coaching Technical and Scientific Professionals
The Conference Board
Executive Coaching Conference
January 29-30, 2009
Jean L. Hurd, Ph.D.Janus Consulting, Inc.
Objectives
• Describe the unique characteristics of technical and scientific professionals
• Describe their leadership challenges and the implications for business success
• Show how coaching addresses these challenges, and the business benefits
• Define a coaching approach for this group
Background
• “We should write a book…” (R&D VP)
• Sources: – Line and management experiences (pharmaceutical R&D,
process engineering, information systems)
– Interviews (scientists, engineers, MDs, HR professionals)
– Consulting to range of industries and functions
– Accumulated anecdotes
– Academic research
• Applies to scientists…and engineers, lawyers, IT professionals, accountants, etc…
A Few Scenarios….
Characteristics of scientists
• Scientific research as a calling – the core of their identity
• Independence in thought and action
• Scientific creativity and exploring
• Technical expertise and precision of thought
• Influence of academe
The Flip Side
“You’re the best scientist, a star, and then…”
• Viewing scientific research as a calling
– Leaving the core of one’s identity behind
– No longer purely a scientist, not quite a businessperson…
– Star performers can feel suddenly ineffectual and demoralized
• Being independent in thought and action– Emphasis on the quality of one’s ideas
– My judgment should be respected and accepted - “just take my word for it”
– Listen? Influence? Sell? – “There’s one right idea – and I have it.”
The Flip Side
• Preferring scientific creativity vs. corporate goals– A continuum between creative, academic thinking and
business efficiency – learning to strike the right balance
– “A manager’s role is to make sure that things are done efficiently – which feels totally against curiosity and exploring.”
• Having technical expertise vs. people skills– Role change from “individual technical accomplishment” to
“socially skilled leadership”
• Role of academe– Trained that it is your idea, “we” doesn’t come into it
– Cauldron of competition
– You don’t care what happens in another department
The Leadership Pipeline
Each turn in thepipeline requiresacquiring a newway of managing and leading andleaving the old ways behind in: - Skills- Work values- Time horizon
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Managing self
Functional manager
Managing managers
Managing others
Group manager
Business manager
Enterprise manager
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- R. Charan, S. Drotter, J. Noel
Leadership developmentValues shifts
• Managing self– Getting results through personal proficiency
– High-quality technical or professional work
• Managing others– Getting results through others
– Success of direct reports
– Success of unit
– Self as manager vs. professional expert
• Manager of managers– Developer of managerial talent
– Deploying and redeploying resources among units
Leadership Challenges
• In all directions:
– Managing others
– Collaborating cross-functionally
– Having “the business conversation”
Leadership Challenges and Needed Skills
Collaboratingcross-
functionally
Leading others
Having the “business conversation”
Needed skills:
DelegatingInfluencingCommunicationTeamingListeningQuestioningFeedbackCoachingFacilitationMeeting managementConflict resolutionMotivatingInspiringUnderstanding personality differences
Scientific & TechnicalManager
Managing Others
• “You get promoted for managing a responsibility technically. No one ever asks “can this person make his people happy.”
• “All of a sudden you are asked to step back and let someone else do it. The toughest thing in the world is to let that go.”
• “The hardest and most frustrating thing is realizing that I’m not going to be involved anymore in everything that is happening.”
• “Delegating was the most difficult of all the things I had to learn; that and letting people make mistakes, giving them power, empowering them.”
• “I feel caught between two worlds: being seen as a ‘business thinker’ while at the same time motivating the scientists who work for me.”
• “Management of people is the most challenging, important and time-consuming aspect of my job, and exacts the greatest emotional toll on me.”
Cross-functional Collaboration
• “Finding the balance between the surety of my ideas and the need to work as a team, listening to others and questioning for full understanding.”
• “The challenge is developing the ability to recognize that others have different styles and process information differently than you do.”
• “I’m trying not to open my mouth in meetings, because my challenges are seen as not teamwork. How can I stand in my area and communicate across the boundary?”
• “I want to talk about the science, but no one wants to hear it. They are only interested in the business impact.”
• I thought I was being very open to others, but it turned out I was viewed as controlling and didactic.”
Having the Business Conversation
• “After getting the ‘seat at the table’ I had the feeling that I was not understood or appreciated for what my scientific background and training bring to the table.”
• “I feel caught between two worlds: being seen as a ‘business thinker’ while at the same time motivating the scientists who work for me.”
• “In the scientific community people have to be creative; in business they want to be efficient, productive, and that can stifle creativity. How to keep the balance?”
• “The challenge in talking to the business is that words mean different things. There is a fuzziness in marketing and business strategies. It feels amorphous and vague. These are things that scientists hate.”
Scientific Leadership Study
• Five expert panels of 147 scientists (PhD, MD, PhD-MD).
– Describe the best example of scientific leadership you have encountered and why this person was effective:
• Caring, compassionate, supportive, enthusiastic, motivating
• Communicating effectively – including listening well and resolving conflict
• Good role model, mentor, coach
• Technically accomplished to lead a scientific effort
– Most difficult challenge you personally have experienced as a scientist• Balancing scientific efforts with management responsibilities – delegating
• Dealing with conflict
• Motivating people
• Communicating effectively - primarily providing feedback
Managing ScientistsAlice M. Sapienza2004
In Meeting Leadership Challenges
What helped the most?
1. FEEDBACK – specific, thoughtful, supportive, actionable - leading to self-awareness
2. EARLY INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT in developing leadership skills
Coaching Approach
Scientific Method Coaching
• Problem/Question
• Observation/Research
• Formulate a Hypothesis
• Experiment
• Collect & analyze results
• Draw conclusions
• General focus of the coaching
• 360 feedback, self-awareness tools
• Development of goals and action steps
• Try out new behaviors
• Note and discuss outcomes
• Formal assessment and intentions for the future
1Problem/Question
• Broad goal definition– High potential enhancement
– Behavior change/problem
– Leadership development program participant
– Recent promotion challenges
• Normalize the leadership experience– People management and development IS your job now
– Concern for the broader organization
– There are skills, tools and techniques to assist
2Observation/Research
• 360 interviews – “The Data” – Careful selection of interviewees
– 8-12 people total
– Enrollment for future feedback support
– Incorporate existing 360 assessments
• Feedback from interviews– Specific (situation, behavior, impact)
– Direct, Constructive, Supportive, Actionable
• Self awareness tools:– Personality style (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)
– Leadership style (Situational Leadership principles)
– Others as appropriate to the organization
3Formulate a hypothesis
• Root cause thinking • Clarify and blend performance needs and personal goals • 2-3 specific development goals• Emphasis on leveraging scientific and technical strengths• Reflect and clarify:
– How will my organization or work group benefit?
– What will I gain by achieving the goal and participating in the process?
– What will I have to give up?
– What obstacles or difficulties might I encounter and how will I manage them?
• Develop action steps
4 & 5Experiment and Collect & Analyze Results
• Try out new behaviors, skills, tools, techniques• Develop habit of self-observation• Attention to process as well as content of interactions• Create personal feedback loops
– Develop and project attitude of openness to feedback
– Enlist specific individuals (“I told everyone I knew what I was working on”)
– Enlist at least one trusted peer
– Ask for immediate, situational feedback
– Be as specific as possible about the desired feedback
• Record self-observations and feedback• Discuss, modify, refine, integrate• Experiment/practice some more
6Draw Conclusions
• Formal assessment of progress (3 month intervals)– Self
– Manager
– HR partner
– Brief/selected 360 follow-up interviews
• Explicit intentions for the future
What else helped?
(The Organizational Context for Coaching)
• Active support of immediate manager • Role models within the functional group• Effective mentors• Involved HR business partners• Trusting environment for feedback • Leadership development training
– With “like” individuals (or not!)– Learnings are individualized, reinforced and practiced
• Early participation in cross-functional teams– Learn the business– Develop awareness of other styles– Develop influencing and communication skills
• Attention to the entire pipeline• Top management walking the talk
In Summary
• Scientific and technical professionals have unique leadership development needs
• Coaching can significantly enhance leadership performance by providing feedback, tools and support
• The results show up in improved performance management, cross-functional collaboration & decision-making, and contribution to achieving corporate goals.
• Early intervention is key, as is a systemic organizational approach at all levels
• The business benefits can be significant, far reaching, and lasting
“When I go through customs, I still write ‘scientist.’ That is my identity.”
- Senior VP, pharmaceutical company
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