The Finesse Factor: How to Build Exceptional Leaders in STEM Organizations

By Ryan Lahti

7 Finesse Essentials of Exceptional Leaders

When dealing with office politics and interpersonal conflict, how do you "show up"? If you are facing tricky situations, how well do you use tact, emotional intelligence, and forethought regarding impact to handle them?

For exceptional leaders, finesse is the key.

• Language: English
• Publisher: OrgLeader
• Release date: Feb 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9780999746714

Ryan Lahti

Dr. Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, a California-based firm that optimizes the performance of organizations driven by science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as the leaders who run them. He combines business experience in over twenty industries with a background in leadership assessment/development, executive coaching, talent management, and organizational effectiveness. Due to an early fascination with how organizations and the people who lead them operate, Dr. Lahti has spent the last three decades figuring out ways to make companies and their leaders more successful. Prior to founding OrgLeader in 2006, Dr. Lahti worked for global consulting firms including Ernst & Young and Hay Group. He also served in corporate positions with Gap Inc., Westin Hotels & Resorts, and Invitrogen where he oversaw leadership and organizational development. As a trusted advisor to senior management, Dr. Lahti's experience and empathetic candor has enabled him to help a variety of Fortune 500 and midsize companies, including IBM, Bank of America, State Farm, Apple, Toyota, and Beckman Coulter. Outside of the office, he has taught executive MBA and MBA courses on leadership, team dynamics, and organizational behavior. In "The Finesse Factor: How to Build Exceptional Leaders in STEM Organizations" as well as the business articles he authors, Dr. Lahti draws on his decades of practical experience and industry-tested approaches to provide user-friendly insight. He is a contributor to Forbes as well as a member of the Forbes Coaches Council. He writes articles on leadership, executive team, talent management, and organizational effectiveness issues. Dr. Lahti holds a BA in psychology/business administration from UCLA, an MA in industrial/organizational psychology from California State University Long Beach, and a PhD in psychology/organizational science from the University of North Texas. When he's not working, you're likely to find him exploring the outdoors. Visit www.RyanLahti.com or www.OrgLeader.com for more information.

Book preview

THE

FINESSE

FACTOR

HOW TO BUILD EXCEPTIONAL LEADERS

IN STEM ORGANIZATIONS

RYAN K. LAHTI, PHD

The Finesse Factor

How to Build Exceptional Leaders in STEM Organizations

by Ryan K. Lahti

Copyright © 2019 Ryan K. Lahti

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted or stored in a database/retrieval system in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by

Newport Beach, CA

www.OrgLeader.com

ISBN: 978-0-9997467-0-7 (Paperback)

ISBN: 978-0-9997467-1-4 (E-book)

ISBN: 978-0-9997467-2-1 (Audiobook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018941963

Cover design by JD&J.

The publisher and author make no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitations warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. If professional assistance is required, the services of a qualified professional should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other damages, including but not limited to special, incidental or consequential damages. Readers should be aware that internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between the time this work was written and when it was read. The identities of individuals and organizations have been changed to protect privacy.

OrgLeader® and the OL logo are registered trademarks of OrgLeader, LLC.

First Edition 2019

Printed in the United States of America

Digital book(s) (epub and mobi) produced by Booknook.biz.

In honor of Ruth and Bob. You were right.

Thank you for your support.

Contents

Introduction: Why You Should Read This Book

A Description of STEM Organizations

What Is Finesse?

Leadership and the Finesse Heptagon

The Structure and Use of This Book

I.  The Finesse Essentials

1. Essential One: Leverage Self-Awareness

Enhancing Self-Awareness

Adjusting Based on the Mirror

2. Essential Two: Read the Situation and the Stakeholders

The Empathy Dichotomy Error and the Anti-Finesse Trifecta

Shifting to a Broader Scope

3. Essential Three: Anticipate the Impact

Impact Obstacles

Manipulation versus the Right Reasons

Motivating Performance

Agile Persuasion

Establishing Accountability

4. Essential Four: Convey a Measured Presence

Appearance Matters

Communication Style

Composure, Candor, and Conviction

5. Essential Five: Differ with the Issue Not the Party

Conflict Clarified

Disagreement, Intensity, and Productivity—the Intensity-Productivity Curve

6. Essential Six: Be a Mirror to Help People Adjust

The Minimalist Approach

Stephanie versus Brent

7. Essential Seven: Get Things Done through Others

Warning Signs and Obstacles

Early and Effective Delegation

II. The Proven Method

8. How to Build the Seven Essentials of Finesse

The KEPAT Framework

The Proficiency Progression

Critical Elements to Consider

Essential One: Leverage Self-Awareness

Essential Two: Read the Situation and the Stakeholders

Essential Three: Anticipate the Impact

Essential Four: Convey a Measured Presence

Essential Five: Differ with the Issue Not the Party

Essential Six: Be a Mirror to Help People Adjust

Essential Seven: Get Things Done through Others

Postscript: Call to Action

Appendices: Tools for Building Finesse

• Appendix A: Finesse Assessment

• Appendix B: Leadership Action Plan

• Appendix C: Feedback Provider Guidelines

Endnotes

About OrgLeader

About the Author

Introduction

Why You Should

Read This Book

If theory is what you seek, there are plenty of books already on the market that you can read. The Finesse Factor is not about theory. This book is based on practical experience, tested approaches, and proven research, and it is oriented toward action. Specifically, if you take the time to apply the book’s content (not just understand and talk about it) on a consistent basis, you will increase your proficiency as a leader in a STEM organization.

In this book, I explain the essentials for leadership finesse in STEM organizations (those based on science, technology, engineering and math) and provide my proven method for building proficiency in these essentials. I have developed a series of frameworks (the finesse heptagon, KEPAT framework, proficiency progression, and intensity-productivity curve—more on all these later) to build your finesse, and my method details specific actions that will help you succeed in each essential.

So how did this book come about? For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by how organizations operate. I was intrigued by the strategies they used to compete in their markets, and I was curious about the way they were structured. I wanted to understand the systems and processes that helped them function and how they adapted to change. Most of all, I was fascinated by the people who led them. In fact, I believe that leadership effectiveness and organizational effectiveness go hand in hand because I have repeatedly seen strong leaders make up for organizational shortcomings (these include problematic structures, systems, and processes).

As I explored this fascination with how organizations operate, my search eventually turned into a personal quest. I have spent my work time and a good amount of nonwork time for the last three decades figuring out ways to help organizations operate more effectively. Due to the connection I mentioned between leadership effectiveness and organizational effectiveness, I was especially interested in helping leaders run their organizations.

In my quest, I served in corporate leadership and organizational development roles, worked for global consulting firms such as Ernst & Young and Hay Group, and I eventually launched my own professional services firm, OrgLeader, in 2006. To better enable me to assess and enhance leadership and organizational effectiveness, I also earned advanced degrees in related fields.

A Description of STEM Organizations

My quest led me to work in over twenty industries, but much of the time I was focused on a particular type of organization: technical, data-driven, and left-brained in nature. While all organizations possess these attributes to some extent, those based on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) rely on them more heavily. These organizations are typically found in industries that relate to these four areas:

Science: Healthcare, medical diagnostics, medical devices, and biotech

Technology: Software, semiconductors, information security, consumer electronics, and wireless technologies

Engineering: Automotive, aerospace, engineering​/construction, and automation​/control

Finance: Banking, credit, and insurance

STEM organizations are technical, data-driven, and left-brained in nature.

You can find STEM organizations at the enterprise level (a company) and at the functional level. You can think of departments such as research and development (R&D), information technology (IT), and finance as STEM-driven organizations.

The United States and many other nations are rapidly developing a STEM-driven economy. Employers are a critical part of the continuum that spans STEM-related curricula, jobs/occupations, and STEM-related economies. When most people hear the term STEM, they think of school curricula, but this is only the early stage of the STEM continuum. The following statistics show why the focus should go well beyond curricula:

US employment in STEM fields has gone up by more than 30 percent since 2000.¹

STEM skills are required for 75 percent of the fastest-growing occupational fields.²

STEM-oriented metropolitan economies perform better on a wide variety of economic indicators, from innovation to employment, according to the Brookings Institution.³

Unfortunately, STEM advocates have concentrated a lot of their attention on the early stage of the continuum (on STEM curricula). Advocates tend to address only part of the stage that follows it. More specifically, advocates have covered jobs and occupations in which STEM skills are used well, but they have not paid as much attention to the organizations where they are used. This gap is a matter for concern. STEM skills and the STEM continuum cannot flourish without STEM organizations. Successful STEM organizations are linchpins in the STEM continuum, because they directly affect occupations for people with STEM skills as well as all STEM-related economies.

To be successful, STEM organizations need effective leaders to build and operate them while establishing a positive work environment where employees thrive. Current research underscores this need, as many STEM-skilled employees are not staying with the STEM organizations that employ them. When we ask what is causing the voluntary turnover, it turns out that while some of these employees are lured away by greener pastures, most of them are leaving to escape demotivating or inhospitable work environments.

Young investment bankers and seasoned banking executives are leaving their jobs due to deficits in morale, mentoring, job satisfaction, career development, and work-life balance, according to a Quinlan & Associates study.⁴ Furthermore, one-third of survey respondents reported that they intend to leave their current position within the next twelve to twenty-four months, and another third are considering leaving. This turnover costs some global banks up to $1 billion annually.

Women and people of color are leaving technology jobs due to harassment, stereotyping, and bullying, according to the Tech Leavers Study by the Kapor Center for Social Impact and Harris Poll. This brain drain costs the technology industry more than $16 billion each year. STEM organizations in the engineering arena are also experiencing high rates of voluntary turnover, with women leaving engineering roles as a result of organizational culture deficits. STEM organizations in the science arena have turnover challenges resulting from work environment issues such as insufficient career development and long work hours. For example, findings from the Leaders for Today survey show that hospitals are facing unprecedented employee turnover across a range of positions including nurses, physicians, and clinical/nonclinical administration.⁵

Leaders who create a positive work environment can help retain STEM-skilled employees. Unfortunately, I have found that developing such leaders is an Achilles’ heel for many STEM organizations. Often, the organizations mistakenly assume that someone who is an expert in a STEM-related field will naturally be a fitting leader of experts in this field. From my experience, this is rarely true. Leading and being an expert require different skill sets. Let me tell you one of my war stories—I use them frequently throughout the book. In my experience, real situations make the best examples.

Raymond⁶ sat in a leadership role at a STEM organization. He was a driven professional, well respected in his company because he produced results. In our first conversation, Raymond became distraught as he confided that he did not know how to be a strong leader—the company simply expected him to be one and put him in a leadership role. I cannot convey enough how much his sincerity affected me, because he really wanted to be a strong leader for his colleagues and direct