How to lead effectively - in the back as well as the front

As anyone who has taken a managerial role for the first time knows, leadership isn't just about standing up front and giving directions; it's also about doing the work in the back to ensure that those directions can be smoothly executed and that the team can function effectively over the long term.

People Matters spoke to Charles Galunic, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD and The Aviva Chaired Professor of Leadership and Responsibility, to get some insights into what that nitty-gritty work of leadership involves.

What does it mean to lead in the back?

Professor Galunic, who is the author of "Backstage Leadership: The Invisible Work of Highly Effective Leaders", observes that emerging leaders need to find the connection between strategy and organisational behaviour.

"A stage has two parts, a front and a back. And we've spent several decades now helping leaders work on the front stage: being more effective presenters, developing their charisma, their ability to communicate to people," he said. "But I think we're lacking the tools or understanding some of the work it takes behind the scenes to shape the context that people live in."

By context he means the fundamental ways in which the organisation works: how it is structured, how incentives are determined, what processes are in place, what influences dominate. Leaders, he points out, cannot be with every person all the time; most people will never interact with them on a one to one basis. But it is through large and small environmental cues that people feel their presence.

"People feel that leadership in their daily routines, in the fairness of compensation, in teamwork processes, in all of the behavioural aspects that guide them in executing strategy," Professor Galunic said. "You're not communicating with them on a daily basis - you're not coaching them. What you're doing is acting as an architect, creating that context. And that is backstage work. Metaphorically, it's taking care of the plumbing, the electricity, and all of the other things that shape the environment. The best leaders will find their balance between front and backstage work. I think good leadership requires both."

Good leadership in an era of shortening growth cycles

The work of creating context and shaping the environment is a long-term effort, one that appears difficult to sustain at a time when companies grow faster and faster and leadership tenures seem to get shorter and shorter. But the thing about renewal and constant adaptation, says Professor Galunic, is that it's not always about the massive and disruptive moves.

"It's not always about totally changing your technology or product. But it can be things that you do in the background that make a difference," he told People Matters. For example, the integration of AI into the workplace has been going on steadily for over two decades, but has only ramped up recently because companies are moving quickly to create new efficiencies from generative AI. "It's about staying on top of that innovation cycle and and being willing to adapt."

But it is difficult, he acknowledges: the amount of focus and energy needed on a daily basis to keep things moving already absorbs almost all of middle managers' time, leaving almost no bandwidth for the need to adapt and change and innovate and disrupt.

"I think it's also important that more senior leaders leave enough time for mindful, deliberate thinking about those changes, not only how technology and culture are moving, but also their financial model. Where does a company get the earnings or the investments to make these things happen?" he added.

"But again, if all of your time is absorbed by short term needs such as quarterly financial reporting, that's where your attention and your focus is going to stay. It's a constant dilemma for leaders."

There is no quick answer to this dilemma, unfortunately; leaders can only do their best to be aware of these broader concerns and find a balance that works for their own role and organisation.

Balancing long and short term, change and inertia

The balance between long-term innovation and short-term needs can sometimes manifest in a tension between the need to change, and the tendency to deflect pressure for change. Fortunately, said Professor Galunic, there are plenty of forces that naturally push a company to change and remain relevant, ranging from the investor community to younger talent actively seeking proactive business.

What is important, however, is not to have political blockages within the company that prevent such change.

"You need to feel that pressure in a company," he said."That mindset and that desire for change starts from the people at the top of the organisation being willing to challenge themselves and what they've done. They need to seek new things. Inertia is in some ways a natural human reaction, because when you as a senior leader say we need to do something different, in a way you're also saying that we haven't done everything right, which is not an easy admission. But you always have to build a little bit for the future."

Professor Galunic describes this particular attitude as "a little bit of paranoia" - even as people operate happily in the here and now, senior leaders still have to maintain an edge where they are mindful, anxious about the future, and want to be certain that they are investing enough in moving forward.

An important part of keeping that edge, he says, is for leaders to remain open to signals from the wider world, because at every second, there is a potential new technology that can change the course of the business; there are new trends in culture and consumer tastes, new elements emerging in the economy, and leaders need to keep track of these.

"Often in discussions with my classes, one of the key negative forces that causes problems for firms is an excessive obsession with things on the inside," Professor Galunic said. He is the director of INSEAD's 'Lead the Future' online programme, which caters to mid- and senior-level leaders and has as a learning focus the ability for leaders to sense-make: separating signal from noise, including internally.

"Where firms become obsessed with their own ceremonial processes and their own internal politics, when they place titles over technology, that's trouble. You have to respect what you do in your own world, but you mustn't ever lose track of what's happening on the outside, because ultimately, we we live in a big world with many forces that have an influence on your business, on your clients, on your consumers, on your technologies."

"Leaders have to strike that balance of providing enough focus in and enough focus out, providing windows on the world and framing what's happening in the world, while at the same time creating enough internal comfort and safety and collaboration and the other things that we need. It's a delicate balancing act.