Canadian HR Reporter

STRATEGIC CAPABILITY NETWORK'S PANEL of thought leaders brings decades of experience from the senior ranks of Canada's business community. eir commentary puts HR management issues into context and looks at the practical implications of proposals and policies. CANADIAN HR REPORTER August 10, 2015 EXECUTIVE SERIES 11 www.scnetwork.ca August 10, 2015 Join our professional community of Canadian HR & Organizational Leaders: • Connecting @ monthly events • Collaborating with peers • Challenging conventional thinking The Power of Human Capital CULTIVATING LEADERSHIP FOR 35 YEARS Great Leaders GROW www.scnetwork.ca Why the 'great divide'? Within academia, research is being conduct- ed on corporate issues that will someday drive eff ectiveness in organizations. Yet, there appears to be no deliberate means to keep corporate Canada informed of what is being studied, nor to keep academia informed of the research needs of corporate Canada. How can we close what executive Edmond Mellina refers to as the "great divide"? He did us a service by curating a presentation allow- ing three academics to present their current research. e unspoken question in the session was "Why the great di- vide"? Are academics deliberately withholding, waiting to release the next killer business book? Are they concerned about a loss of control? Are OD and OE practi- tioners deliberately not involving themselves in academic research? If both parties had the will, the solution would inevitably involve a closer alignment. Partnership would seem to benefi t both par- ties: research funding in exchange for a strategic competitive advan- tage; access to real-world data in exchange for new insights; and work for researchers in exchange for pre-recruited talent. The presentations revealed some intriguing insights. Among the fi ve research topics presented, two stood out from an organiza- tional eff ectiveness perspective. Catherine Connelly revealed a barrier to eff ectiveness that has been hiding in plain sight. Inten- tionally withholding knowledge, a common occurrence at orga- nizations, creates distrust and interferes with potential. And though our natural tendency is to avoid diffi cult conversations by being evasive or playing dumb, it is by being forthright about why we are hiding knowledge that we negatively impact trust the least. Further, "hiders" suff er a reduced ability to be creative. Elizabeth Kurucz has an inter- esting perspective on complexity. Her thesis is that navigating com- plexity creates more stakeholder value than reducing complexity. We tend to react to complexity by simplifying the situation into trade-off s between stakeholders, whereas Kurucz's model propos- es that by holding the competing tensions in balance, more share- holder value is created. Mellina's session highlighted the need for a clearinghouse of corporately oriented research where academia and business can bridge the great divide. Michael Clark is director of sales and marketing at Forrest & Company. Forrest is an organizational trans- formation fi rm, with over 25 years experience in developing the organi- zational and leadership capacity in organizations. Karen Gorsline STRaTegiC CaPaBiliTY Michael Clark ORgaNiZaTiONal EFFeCTiVeNeSS View from ivory tower includes trenches Academia is often perceived as a place of intellectual pursuit disconnected from practical business issues and daily real- ity. is could not be further from the truth. Topics such as knowledge hiding in organizations, the cost of hiring contingent workers, gender diff er- ences in work-family balance, the importance of mindfulness in the workplace and leadership capa- bilities required to navigate truly complex issues highlight how relevant much current academic research and enquiry are to busi- ness and workplace success. While some academic research- ers can't resist seizing ahold of a fad, research by its very nature provides a disciplined approach to looking at and analyzing situa- tions. Some of the potential bene- fi ts of business staying connected to academic research include: Investigative bias: Research- ers are constantly looking for in- teresting research topics. Business can assist and reap the benefi ts by communicating areas where they see needs and would like to see research completed. Often, this means business also provides an environment for data collection. While sometimes seen as a dis- traction, the intrusion on opera- tions can be managed and costs can be minimal. Research con- ducted by an academic can also be less threatening than that of a consultant and communicated as a collaborative activity. Assumptions challenged: At the initial phase, researchers look at an environment with fresh, un- biased eyes. ey collect data to identify any patterns or trends or connections. ey may test com- mon assumptions to see which, if any, are valid. For example, are men and women both im- pacted by work-family balance? Assumptions in an organization come from a variety of sources: culture, new business fads, views of a specifi c executive or indus- try practices. The assumptions refl ect beliefs or opinions rather than facts confi rmed by analysis, and businesses that develop solu- tions or approaches this way are unlikely to understand and deal with the underlying issues. Hypotheses developed and tested: e next step is to make sense of the data with at least one set of related hypotheses devel- oped. is is then tested to see if there is a clear relationship and to refi ne the understanding and meaning of the data, including the extent to which the results can be generalized. Businesses often lack the patience to test and refi ne a hypothesis. e closest they often get is when a true pilot or test occurs versus a prelude to full roll-out subject to only minor tweaking. Testing the hypothesis is a critical step for determining whether further investment of time or money will be fruitful. Models developed: If the re- search fi ndings can be general- ized, then the researcher can develop a model to explain the findings and any sequences or inter-relationships involved. is general conceptual model can then be used as a tool by others. e diff erence between this mod- el and a typical approach often found in corporate presentations is that research supports it. It is just not making a point, but de- scribing research fi ndings in a way that can be used more broadly. It can help an organization pinpoint where and how to invest resources most eff ectively and also provide insight on how to best measure their eff ectiveness. Businesses that stay connected to academic research have access to knowledge. ey develop the discipline to collect data, analyze and draw conclusions. ose that understand how to apply this new knowledge and thinking to their specifi c environment can improve their competitive advantage, whether it is related to effi ciency and eff ectiveness, or responding strategically to shifts in the market or business environment. Karen Gorsline is SCNetwork's lead commentator on strategic capability and leads HR Initiatives, a consulting practice focused on facilitation and tailored HR initiatives. Toronto-based, she has taught HR planning, held senior roles in strategy and policy, managed a large decentral- ized HR function and directed a small business. She can be reached at gorslin@ pathcom.com. Is it time to rework new partnerships? Could you name a Canadian professor you know when it comes to their re- search, insights and subject matter expertise on the impact and relation- ship between people and leaders in the workplace (not including Henry Mintzberg)? Do Canadian leaders know how many local universities actively conduct research studies on leadership and organizational ef- fectiveness? It may surprise you to know many leaders are totally unaware of the availability of these valuable resources. I'm curious as to what the bar- riers may be that deter leaders from wanting to know and lever- age local research, insights and expertise to help build a great or- ganization. Hopefully, it's a lack of awareness versus a lack of interest. On the other hand, are there long-established barriers and in- stitutional regulations within aca- demia that hinder the marketing of their services to corporations? The three academics invited by the Strategic Capability Net- work each introduced, validated and offered fresh perspectives on the impact and relationship between people and leaders in our workplaces. Highlights included: the key roles and relationships between middle managers and their teams; the importance of leaders earning people's trust; the need to embrace complexity and stop trying to reduce or control it; and the benefi ts of adopting refl ective thinking practices. Even a few en- during management assumptions and practices were debunked. Evidently, local, cutting-edge research is available, yet fi nding or accessing the expertise appears to be a challenge for many corpora- tions. ere are, however, some outstanding examples where DEVELOP > pg. 12 Trish Maguire LeaDeRSHiP IN ACTiON

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