Engaging employees through whole leadership
| Date | 20 April 2010 |
| Pages | 11-17 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754391011040028 |
| Published date | 20 April 2010 |
| Author | Simon Hayward |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Engaging employees through whole
leadership
Simon Hayward
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explain the ‘‘whole leadership’ ’ approach to engaging the
heads, hearts and guts of employees.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on research and case study material to
demonstrate the importance of engaging employees to achieve organizational goals.
Practical implications – The paper provides useful guidelines for a whole leadership approach and
suggestions for how HR professionals can implement learning opportunities to introduce whole
leadership skills and behaviors in their organizations.
Originality/value – The paper demonstrates the value of a whole leadership approach in engaging,
motivating and inspiring employees, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty, increasing
globalization and complexity in organizational life.
Keywords Leadership, Motivation (psychology), Learning, Communication
Paper type Research paper
The current economic climate has caused many organizations to re-evaluate their
strategic priorities and to change direction as a result. For this type of change to
happen successfully, everyone in the organization needs to be committed to the new
direction. However, the climate in many organizations has taken a battering in the wake of
redundancies, reorganizations and budget cuts. So at a time when the need for employee
engagement is at its highest, the climate for engagement is at its most vulnerable. How can
leaders meet this challenge, and how can HR and learning professionals help?
Whole leadership
Effective employee engagement calls for ‘‘whole leadership.’’ Whole leaders use their head
to set strategy, their heart to connect with the world and their guts to make instinctive and
intuitive decisions based on clear values. The ‘‘head, heart and guts’’ model of whole
leadership was first defined by Peter Cairo, David Dotlich and Stephen Rhinesmith in their
book, Head, Heart and Guts: How the World’s Best Companies Develop Complete Leaders
(Cairo et al., 2006). In 2009, the authors followed this up with Leading in Times of Crisis:
Navigating through Complexity,Diversity and Uncertainty to Save Your Business (Cairo et al.,
2009). Employee engagement is an important theme, particularly in the second book, where
the authors draw on research and interviews with leading global CEOs and academics to
demonstrate the importance of engaging employees in an increasingly complex, diverse
and uncertain world.
From a whole leadership perspective, leaders need to line up their head for strategy, use
their hearts to understand their people and then have the guts to tell the truth, even when it is
inconvenient. The more uncertain the world becomes, the more we want our leaders to be
straightforward and real. Employees today want authentic leaders who are open and honest,
DOI 10.1108/14754391011040028 VOL. 9 NO. 3 2010, pp. 11-17, QEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398
j
STRATEGIC HR REVIEW
j
PAGE 11
Simon Hayward is Partner
at Oliver Wyman
Leadership Development,
Wilmslow, UK.
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