Dear Clients,

Welcome to the second issue of Human Factor International's Global Leadership Advantage.

If the first signs provide any indicator, organizations and individuals are refocusing after a turbulent year and looking at how they can support performance and improve the resiliency of their key executives.

We are pleased to see that recent research, highlighted in this issue's excerpt from "The Relationship Among Organizational Performance , Environmental Uncertainty, and Employees' Perceptions of CEO Charisma," i s demystifying and recognizing the importance of charisma in the business environment. At HFI, we repeatedly find that leadership capability results from the combination of multiple factors, some of which go unconsidered in identifying and developing effective leaders. We believe our integrated approach to Executive Coaching that includes Executive Presence, Personal Branding and Vitality & Wellness effectively supports leaders in developing not just the skills required to lead, but also an energetic and charismatic presence that inspires organizational excellence.

I recently completed two years of coaching supervision with Dr. Joan King, MCC, Executive Coach, Neuroscientist, and Professor Emeritus at Tufts University in Boston. I am subsequently beginning a year of supervision with Dr. Carol Kaufmann. She is the Founder and Director of the Institute of Coaching and Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School.

HFI Director of Business Development Asia Pacific, Phil Guo, is participating in Pluralistic Networks' 4-month program, "Working Effectively in Teams." Phil is the first Chinese national to participate in the program. After the launch in San Francisco, Phil spent a month in the United States including time with our global partners in Houston, and attending the Anthony Robbins program "Unleash the Power Within." He is gaining valuable insight on working in global virtual teams - an area of our practice we find is expanding rapidly as our clients continue to go global, and virtual.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Global Leadership Advantage and look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Jeffrey Jones GPHR
Managing Director | Executive Coach

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Smile, Don't Bark, in Tough Times
From "Smile, Don't Bark, in Tough Times" Harvard Business Review (11/09) O'Connell, Andrew

A group of researchers led by Gerben A. van Kleef of the University of Amsterdam has determined in a study that team members will perform better in response to managers who cheer them on rather than castigate them. The researchers focused on the trait of epistemic motivation, which is the desire to process information thoroughly and thus understand the underlying meaning of others' emotions. Team members with high epistemic motivation are keen to decode a manager's cues, and thus they make inferences on the basis of emotional expression. Van Kleef and the other researchers tested 140 graduate students for epistemic motivation, and then measured their reactions to the emotions of a trained actor posing as a leader during a computer-simulated military exercise. They learned that anger was more effective in improving the performance of teams with high epistemic motivation, while cheerfulness had a similar effect on teams with low epistemic motivation. However, past research has demonstrated that epistemic motivation has a tendency to decrease in response to stress factors such as looming deadlines and even environmental noise. "Our findings suggest that leaders who are capable of accurately diagnosing their subordinates and the situation, and of regulating their emotions accordingly, will be more successful in effectively managing group processes and stimulating performance," conclude the researchers.

The Relationship Among Organizational Performance, Environmental Uncertainty, and Employees' Perceptions of CEO Charisma
From "The Relationship Among Organizational Performance, Environmental Uncertainty, and Employees' Perceptions of CEO Charisma"
Journal of Management Development (01/10) Vol. 29, No. 1, P. 28; Bacha, Elaine

Research was conducted to analyze the interplay between organizational performance, environmental uncertainty, and how employees view the charisma of the CEO. Alumni of a French business school employed in companies at various tiers in the firm hierarchy were sent a mail questionnaire survey for the purpose of gathering a sample of 100 French firms. The research's results demonstrate that CEOs who workers perceived as energetic leaders wield an influence on organizational performance that is separate from environmental uncertainty's moderating impact. A large size is typical for most of the companies in the sample, and reproducing the study's conclusions across a group of firms where small, medium, and large are exhibited in proportion would be helpful. Analysis of organizational employment via objective measures also would be intriguing. The study reaches the conclusion that CEO charisma is a critical determinant of organizational performance, and the recruitment of CEOs should take into account the candidates' personalities, particularly in terms of how energetic they are.

State-of-Mind as the Master Competency for High-Performance Leadership
From "State-of-Mind as the Master Competency for High-Performance Leadership" Organization Development Journal (Quarter 4, 2009) Vol. 27, No. 3, P. 23; Polfuss, Craig; Ardichvili, Alexandre

A great deal of leadership development strategies are based on models that consist of behavioral or cognitive competencies or skills, like decisionmaking, organization, delegating, interpersonal communication, influencing others, and building talent, among others. A recent paper explored the question of whether there is a single master competency that is the executor of all other competencies, and found that "State-of-Mind" is the master competency. The State-of-Mind does not replace or negate the importance of behavioral and cognitive competencies, but instead enhances a leaders understanding of those competencies and his or her ability to use them more effectively. A strong State-of-Mind allows leaders to constantly absorb the experiences and information life provides for them, and to continue to evolve their abilities to creatively express newfound knowledge. As the Master Competency, State-of-Mind incorporates previously learned knowledge into decision making and other functional responses. Organizations should incorporate State-of-Mind training to all levels of employees, and expect supervisors to use State-of-Mind solutions in dealing with conflicts and problems. Traditional competency-based leadership development approaches have proven to be quite valuable and are characterized by an outside-in paradigm. The State-of-Mind model is an inside-out model that suggests, in addition to various behavioral and cognitive competencies, leaders must develop their State-of-Mind competency in order to bring their best possible performance to every challenge.

Business Professor Says Lessons on Ethics, Character Can Prevent Unethical Behavior in the Workplace
From "Organizational Learning as a Situated Routine-Based Activity in International Settings" Journal of World Business (01/01/10) Vol. 45, No. 1, P. 41; Saka-Helmhout, Ayse

Research by Kansas State University professor of management Thomas A. Wright, the Jon Wefald Leadership Chair in Business Administration, shows that there is a gap between the character traits that business students say make good executives and the traits that they say they have themselves. Wright says business schools need to close that gap by continuously discussing ethics and character in the classroom, and that it is critical for students to learn about the importance of character and ethical behavior before entering the workplace. "As business professors in an increasingly 'just show me the money' business school environment, we all share responsibility for this moral decline," says Wright. "Many citizens are increasingly seeing the potentially grave consequences of dishonest and fraudulent actions by our business and political leaders." Wright's research involves measuring student character strength on several dimensions, including valor, hope, zest, honesty, critical thinking, kindness, and gratitude. Through Wright's research, students are able to identify their individual strength profile, as well as how them compare to other students. Wright found that business students believe social intelligence and a love of learning are the most important strengths to being an effective manager, but both of those strengths were among the least common strengths selfreported by students. Many students also rated honestly as one of the top five strengths, but another study found that 88 percent of students report they have cheated in school, with many reporting that they have cheater 100 times or more. "Our collective failure to practice strengths of character, such as perseverance and self control, has led us to the brink of both moral and financial ruin. Massive governmental takeovers are not the answer, but the development of individual character may well be a viable solution. As faculty members, the ethical and strength of character development of our students should be made an integral part of our stated mission in higher education," says Wright.

We Can Measure the Power of Charisma
From "Organizational Learning as a Situated Routine-Based Activity in International Settings"
Journal of World Business (01/01/10) Vol. 45, No. 1, P. 41; Saka-Helmhout, Ayse

Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Sandy Pentland conducted a study in which executives were equipped with devices that recorded social signals at a party, and later this data was used to predict--accurately--which of the executives would win approval by a panel of judges that they presented business plans to. "These social cues--what we call 'honest signals'--were powerful indicators of success," says Pentland. Honest signals are non-verbal cues - gestures, expressions, tone, etc. - used by social creatures to coordinate themselves, and which cause changes in the signals' recipients, according to Pentland. One of the study's findings is that more energetic people tend to be more successful, in that they elicit a more positive reaction in others. Pentland admits, however, that "the signals indicate who will win but say nothing about the quality of their ideas." The next phase of Pentland's research will move away from individuals and groups and concentrate on how people in organizations work together.

Motivating People: Getting Beyond Money
From "Motivating People: Getting Beyond Money"
McKinsey Quarterly (11/01/2009) Dewhurst, Martin; Gurthridge, Matthew; Mohr, Elizabeth

As companies continue to feel the strain of the recession, they will have to find new ways of motivating employees that do not involve cash rewards. Studies have shown that, with employees who receive satisfactory compensation, non-financial motivators are often more effective than extra cash in building long-term employee loyalty and engagement. Many financial rewards produce short-term boosts in energy, which can then have damaging consequences when the effect wares off. Some non-financial rewards can include praise and recognition from immediate supervisors, one-on-one conversations with company leaders, and the opportunity to lead projects or task forces. Declining revenues, struggling stock markets, and increased scrutiny by regulators means now is the time to build or strengthen non-financial rewards programs. Organizations must focus on retaining talent, as top performing employees are often the first to leave. Overall reliance on financial incentives has dropped drastically in the past 12 months, but few companies have focused on improving non-financial motivators. A recent McKinsey Quarterly survey shows that 13 percent of companies report that managers praise their subordinates less often, 20 percent that opportunities to lead projects or task forces are scarcer, and 26 percent that leadership attention to motivate talent is less forthcoming. Oneon- one meetings with leadership make employees feel extremely valuable. Allowing employees to lead projects is a powerful way of inspiring employees to make strong contributions during a difficult time.

Executive Coach & Leadership Consultant

Our featured coach in this issue of Global Leadership Advantage is Mai Vu, a member of the Human Factor International team since 2007.

Mai's expertise is coaching Asian female leaders, and those stepping into leadership roles. Mai explains, "I frequently coach Asian women in positions of leadership who carry with them traditional Eastern values in terms of gender roles. The business environment really requires a reframing of roles that enables women to embrace their inherent competence, not seek to repeatedly prove that they are capable. Women's confidence and assertiveness needs to be encouraged, while their softness is leveraged as an asset and a source of inspiration." Mai's clients appreciate her shared cultural background and resulting understanding of their challenges. When one of her clients in Japan fell victim to gender obstacles that jeopardized her effectiveness as a leader in a project with a colleague, Mai's coaching helped her avoid ruining the working relationship which would have resulted in damaging the perception of the effectiveness as a leader, and interfered with their ability to achieve results for the high-profile project. The outcome was that the contract was secured and both colleagues received promotions and recognition for their contributions. The client had a real "ah-ha" moment of how she sabotaged herself by falling into old, ineffective traditional thinking, lost her ability to inspire and lead, and learned how to catch herself and recover just in time.

Psychologist / Executive Coach

We are pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Vanessa San, our newest member of the Human Factor International team. Based in Singapore, Vanessa entered private practice in 2004 while continuing her work as psychologist in the National University Hospital in Singapore, and as a lecturer at James Cook University (Singapore). She is a certified Image Consultant and active member of both the Australian Psychological Society and the Singapore Psychological Society. Vanessa brings the resources of a Psychologist, Coach, and Image Consultant to HFI, and provides valuable support to the HFI team of coaches.

Vanessa's coaching focus is on helping her clients unleash their personal power and potential. A trained Psychologist, she explains, "I work with a wide range of global industry leaders, from senior executives to creative people in the early stages of their careers. Depending on their needs, I select and integrate psychological tools with proven coaching methods to unlock beliefs and patterns that may serve as 'blockers' of performance and success. My aim is to help identify and instill beliefs and behaviors that will enable my clients to perform at enhanced levels of professional and personal capacity." A long time advocate of the integration between mind, body and behavior, Vanessa's experience and results attest to the myriad of ways that one dimension can be a catalyst for the success of another. Vanessa's clients appreciate her combination of in-depth analysis, insightful questioning, and "here-and-now" practicality that achieves sustainable results for their professional and personal endeavors.