A lot has been said about leadership. The vast majority talk of those charismatic leaders, noted in history who led us through turmoil, war and strife. Great business leaders are also often noted for their ability to galvanize people and shape a collective future.

Figurehead leadership is the accepted way that we think of with names like Winston Churchill, JFK, Napoleon, Richard Branson, Bill Gates springing to mind. However as they say, this is only half the story when it comes to transformation and it may come as a surprise to many that Bennu Group research over the last two years of nearly 200 organizations across Europe and the US suggests that Business Process Management (BPM) reveals a different approach, which appears to be as effective and sometimes more enduring.

This approach is best summed up by borrowing from Nelson Mendalas book Long Walk to Freedom which recounts his time in prison during the South African apartheid era. Through his imprisonment and struggle he always sought dialogue and inspired others to work progressively from within to change the system and he summed his approach as one inspired by a leader of his tribe who said “A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing all along they are being directed from behind.”

Why is this Mendelaesk approach so effective with business transformation? Well there are three very specific reasons and our feedback from Chief Officers and senior management teams emphasizes first and foremost Trust and Belief in the leader as a person. We see this with soccer teams where the manager stands on the side-lines with his team playing the strategy on the field. A good team with trust and belief in their management can play an exceptional game. Lose that trust and even the best players can disappoint.

Discipline is regarded as the second major facet of successful BPM leadership. Having a clear and proven approach, through techniques, methods and toolkits structured within a set of guiding principles provides a disciplined framework which acts as the transformation agenda. Within this flexibility is also important as the organization matures and develops and in doing so internalizes the discipline to ‘just the way we do stuff around here’ as one Pharma CIO puts it.

Bennu Group naturally endorse the Customer Expectation Management Method (CEMM) as the primary means of achieving ‘Discipline’ however people arrive at this discipline through a number of different channels as existing inside-out approaches e.g. Six Sigma and Lean mature to embrace Successful Customer Outcomes and the ‘outside-in’ focus of progressive organizations.

The third attribute of BPM Leadership success is Strategic purpose. Leading from behind requires a clear route map. As with the shepherd encouraging the right direction and along the way providing progress markers, gates and signs the successful leader knows how far to push the organization. Understanding current capability “how fast we should run” and ”keeping the team together aligned to achieving SCO’s” is regarded as critically important by a US Banks COO. “We see this way of developing our capability as key to our ongoing profitability. For instance it gives us the means to overcome the ups and downs like the current Credit Crisis” he adds.

In conclusion we can see leadership in context. Sometimes ‘from the front’ and others ‘from behind’. The approach chosen needs to be placed against the organizations maturity as measured by peoples skills and talents, the technology flexibility, the depth of change required and ultimately ‘how fast we need to move’. That changes over time and good leaders make their informed choice according to circumstance rather than any particularly management dogma. Which approach would work best in your company?

Endnote:

Bennu Group offer training and support, inclass or online to achieve recognition as a Certified Process Professional (CPP). This three day program gives participants everything they need to implement CEM successfully. More

The book can be ordered from this link.

Read more about Successful Customer Outcomes (SCO’s)

and Customer Expectation Management (CEM)

About the Author

Steve Towers, Senior Vice President of Bennu Group and founder of Towers Associates, is an expert on process and performance transformation. Steve founded the first community focused on business process management in 1992.
Steve has bases in Europe (UK), Texas and Colorado.