Effective Leadership: Strategies for Maximizing Executive Productivity and Health by Len Sperry

Author:Len Sperry
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781134944651
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2013-05-12T14:00:00+00:00

Case Study: Leadership Development

A case study involving the use of executive coaching in a leadership-development program context is illustrated in chapter 8. Please refer to the “Case Study: Coaching in a Leadership Development Program.” The case study describes, in some detail, the first 2 years of the leadership-development initiative at MathWorks, an international leader in technical computer software.

EXECUTIVE POLICY ADVISEMENT

In boardrooms and executive suites across the United States, there is increasing awareness of the need for policies that promote executive effectiveness and well-being. Consultants working with boards and top-management executives are being called upon to help develop and implement such policies. In the past, organizational consultants figured prominently in the development of policies for mental health, substance abuse, work–family balance, disability and return to work, employee wellness, and violence prevention. Today, the challenge is to develop similar programs and policies for executives. Space limitations permit only a brief look at one such policy area: mental health and substance abuse.

It may be surprising to note that many corporations have yet to develop and effectively implement a corporate mental health policy for executives. Why is this? Part of the reason is a perceived lack of urgency. Although personal and relational difficulties, substance abuse and dependence, and major psychiatric disorders are endemic within the executive suite, these tend to go undetected for long periods of time. Unlike the corporation’s early warning system for detecting distress, substance abuse or dependence, and psychiatric disorders among rank-and-file employees, resulting from a corporate policy on early detection, no comparable early warning system exists for executives. Kiechel (1988) reports that it may take 5 years after the alcoholic executive loses a spouse and family before “bottoming out” on the job. Clinical experience suggests that alcoholic executives are dependent on alcohol for at least 10 years before becoming so dysfunctional that they either die or are too impaired to work. In short, executive distress and impairment can remain hidden for long periods of time.

Because of the nature of their positions, executives—particularly senior executives—lack close day-to-day supervision. Many executives exercise considerable latitude in structuring daily activities and managing their time, particularly because they are expected to travel and may be away from their offices for long periods. Second, out of misplaced loyalties, subordinates often enable the executives’ impairment by minimizing or overlooking it. Finally, many executives believe that asking for help is a sign of psychological or moral weakness. They contend that they must maintain an image of toughness to justify their status and position within the organization. Not surprisingly, executives tend to avoid their own in-house professional source of help—such as an EAP—because of fear of a possible break in confidentiality or concern about “reversing” the traditional and clearly defined superior–subordinate roles in the firm (Speller, 1989). Even when a superior becomes aware that an executive is distressed or experiencing signs of impairment, the superior may demand that the impaired executive simply “get his or her act together,” without providing appropriate resources or the support to make this possible.

Unfortunately,

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