Professional Leadership - Strategic HRM
Professional service firms are a new breed of organizations with their own unique set of leadership and performance parameters
There is a new kid on the block! The professional service firms (PSF) have arrived and how! These service-intensive firms include management consultancies, law firms, financial consulting firms, hedge fund management firms and other investment management companies. These firms are significantly different from the traditional corporations and work on a completely different business platform. They are undoubtedly the most challenging breed of organizations from a leadership perspective. The PSF breed is growing at a very fast pace. The companies in professional services are high in demand and hence as they grow in number and size they are becoming increasingly complex. The competition in the PSF space is further compounding challenges, especially for HR leaders.
A different ballgame
The professional services firms offer an altogether different set of challenges owing to their operational uniqueness. The staff here is generally very smart and extremely inclined to honing functional skills. The penchant for managerial development is rather limited. The sense of achievement is what most professionals work for in PSF and the career making mentality is absent. The landscape of PSFs has also become more competitive. The number of players has increased and customers are more than informed about their needs and ways to fulfill them. This makes the scenario more circumspect. All this and more has redefined the leadership challenges encompassing the PSF space.
The leaders in professional services have different issues and challenges. Hence, they need to adopt an approach that helps them leverage their staff capabilities without breaking away from their structural mould. In addition the professional service firms are also structurally different from the regular corporates. They are flatter and do not operate through a hierarchical chain of command. The mood is more collaborative. Harvard Business School professor, John Gobarro and his team have developed an integrated leadership model that they believe would help professionals lead better in today's extremely competitive PSF space.
Integrated leadership model
The integrated leadership model is a well-researched documentation of a leadership approach that leaders working in PSFs can use to leverage the potential of their staff. This model is different from what leaders in a regular set- up would use and is mainly applicable to professional service firms. The leadership model has four components. Leadership success under this model therefore lies in the ability of leaders to keep these components aligned and integrated with the overall business strategy. The model is activity-based and describes actions that the leaders should learn from in order to become more effective. The activity components include:
1. Building a long-term perspective
Most professionals are fixated on the short-term goals and hence fail to see the larger picture. This stunts the growth of the organization and prevents professionals from taking more substantial and long-term view to corporate growth. Hence, PSFs need leaders to articulate organizational objectives in a way that professionals can relate to. Setting the direction that keeps the entire organization united in spirit is therefore critical for success of PSFs.
2. Involve and include professionals -seek commitment
Typically professional service firms have a clear distinction between their professional and leadership profiles. Therefore there is little overlap in case of the profiles. The policy organizational decisions are taken at the leadership level while business decisions are taken by the professionals. This distinction helps in smoothening the process of organizational working; it alienates the professionals from the mainstream. This can harm the commitment levels of professionals and therefore they may fail to demonstrate desirable commitment to organizational objectives. Hence, leaders should involve professionals in decision making on issues like culture reinforcement, change management practices and other such strategic initiatives.
3. Execution
The task of holding professionals accountable for meeting financial goals of the organization is rather challenging for leaders. Professionals have their own timelines and prefer to stay with their plans of action.
4. Lead by example
It is important for leaders to set a personal example in order to keep professionals motivated and inspired to follow them. Leaders must live by their word and there should be no discrepancy between what leaders say and do. In addition, leaders should exemplify corporate values and beliefs if they really want others to follow them and stay committed to the larger organizational agenda.
The four activities mentioned above determine leadership success in a professional service firm. Of the four, execution, commitment and direction are the basic activities with "leading by example" being at the core of leadership success. These behaviors would help leaders perform better in the competitive and turbulent PSF work environment. With professionals joining and leaving organizations at an unnerving rate, it is important for leaders to maintain their cool and emulate behavior that inspires the best in those around them.
Courtesy of Mr. Kashan Akram
