How to grow great leaders

Area of Science:

• Business Strategy
• Organizational Behavior
• Leadership Development

Background:

• Corporations increasingly require leaders adept at both unit operations and broader enterprise goals.
• Traditional organizational structures often create tensions between unit-specific objectives and overarching company aims.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how organizations can develop leaders capable of managing the inherent conflicts between unit and enterprise priorities.
• To examine strategies for fostering leaders with both specialized unit expertise and a holistic enterprise vision.

Main Methods:

• Case study analysis of RBC Financial Group's strategic revamp in the mid-1990s.
• Examination of RBC's initiatives: cross-border acquisitions, integrated service offerings, extensive communication, talent cross-fertilization, and targeted reward systems.

Main Results:

• RBC successfully cultivated leaders with a dual focus on unit performance and enterprise vision through strategic interventions.
• Overcoming initial employee resistance required deliberate efforts in communication and aligning incentives.
• The study highlights that organizational structures, conflict resolution mechanisms, and reward systems significantly influence the development of well-rounded leaders.

Conclusions:

• Developing leaders who excel at both unit and enterprise levels is achievable through sustained organizational effort.
• Addressing ingrained structural and behavioral patterns is crucial for fostering leaders who can navigate competing priorities.
• Companies can train employees to adopt a more integrated approach, balancing local execution with global strategy.