Maureen Hunter: Future-Forward Leadership
Throughout the month of May, we will share interviews on leadership knowledge and perspectives from several key people in our circle. These leaders, from the finance, medical, art, public, and spiritual realms, will impart pearls of wisdom culled from decades of experience. Our first interview is with leadership and organizational culture change consultant, Maureen Hunter.
Nurturing Leaders
Greg and I were introduced to Maureen in 2018 when she participated in our half-day Jazz Leadership Project workshop at JPMorgan Chase. Maureen has a passion for creating experiences that enable leaders to increase their self-awareness and efficacy while addressing real-world challenges. As a former Senior Designer on JPMorgan Chase’s Leadership Edge team and the Practice Leader for IBM’s Center for Executive Development, she has been responsible for designing and facilitating learning experiences to prepare executives for leading in a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty.
Prior to her tenure at IBM, Maureen built a consulting practice with a core focus on organizational culture change, leadership development, and diversity and inclusion. She also served as the Director of Education for the American Institute for Managing Diversity where she worked with leaders and change practitioners to position diversity and inclusion as a key contributing factor to achieving strategic intent, competitive advantage, and employee engagement.
You’ve had decades of experience in the leadership field. How would you frame learning for leaders?
I think deep learning for leaders comes from experiences that help them step away from their prescribed mental models about what a leader should look like, to a space where they can explore who they are authentically. They need to get out of their comfort zone to acknowledge that they don’t know everything, and create an open space for learning.
How receptive were leaders to adopting this mindset?
It was not easy. Leaders, particularly senior leaders, operate from what they believe they are supposed to be. They need to break out of that box. Lessons come from all directions—not just from the same level or above.
While at JPMorgan Chase, what was the most rewarding and the most challenging aspect of leading that program?
The most rewarding were: designing learning experiences focusing on more future-forward leadership capabilities, such as adaptive thinking in a VUCA [Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous] environment, or design thinking principles to help your organization navigate change. There’s no organization that doesn’t have to change in some shape or form. Leaders fall into the trap of telling people what they should be doing or thinking. Then when people don’t adapt to change, they wonder why. Taking your audience into consideration first—starting with empathy as key. When introducing a direction or a vision it helps if people see how it links to them.
The challenge was doing this at scale – ensuring that every leader, globally, will have the opportunity to learn in a similar context.
Improvisation in Leadership
Jazz-Work-Style Preference Assessment (2018)
The first time we presented the Jazz Leadership Project at JPMorgan Chase, your results on the assessment matrix demonstrated a strong improvisational focus. What role do you think improvisation plays in leadership?
I was on the extreme, so of course I am going to say improvisation is everything!
There is no script for leadership. Look at what we are experiencing today with how rapidly everything changed. COVID-19 is a prime example of VUCA where leaders have to adapt and flow with imperfect information and uncertainty.
However, as you shared during your JLP workshop, someone has to maintain the beat, the rhythm, the constancy – and that too is a role of leadership. Leadership stands on the foundation of the organization’s values and culture, so leaders need to continually remind employees that the organization will continue to live its core values while navigating through the crisis.
Leading in Crisis
In unprecedented situations, such as this COVID-19 crisis, what key leadership qualities are critical?
I’d say:
Being authentic – people want a human connection with their leadership during times of crisis. That is easier to do with an authentic leader.
Providing Direction – this might sound contradictory, but people want to know that a leader has control of the situation. There may be still a lot of unknowns and they want to know there is a process in place to navigate through.
Listening – being willing to hear what people are saying and keeping your finger on the pulse
Visibility – they want to see you leading the way
Open to Learning – recognizing that learning and insights comes from all directions – inclusive of, but not limited to someone who is higher on the organizational hierarchy.
Clarity – being clear on the vision, mission, values, etc., that are the foundation of the organization.
Inclusivity – this is a qualitative competency, the ability to ensure that everyone one feels a part of the organization and able to contribute their full potential
Future-Forward
How do you think this crisis will change the shape of leadership going forward? What will be the biggest challenge?
Things are not going to be as they were, so I think leaders need to define a new normal rather than trying to return to how things were. People have had to interact in a very different way. Prior to this crisis, people typically filter personal information. I find it delightful to see what people’s lives are like through the ways we are connecting now (on video calls for example). It will be difficult to put some of these ways back into the box.
Until there are widespread testing practices, vaccines and treatment protocols, there is a new level of anxiety in the workplace. Life will continue, but there will be this vigilance, waiting for the next crisis. Leaders have to discover how to help people deal with this. Leaders who don’t acknowledge this anxiety and try to focus only on getting back to work will have a harder time. Leaders must be more attentive to the emotional side of the organization.
Work-from-home arrangements are changing the job landscape. How do you see this shift:
(1) Effecting a person’s ability to achieve a leadership position?
Leaders have thought about leading virtually, but the crisis has taken this dynamic to a whole new level. Leaders have mechanisms and tools to adapt, to maintain contact and work together, but will have to work harder to maintain the individual connections, while also enabling team connection.
I think we need to review the criteria we use to identify leadership potential and candidates. When we look at potential leaders, we tend to focus on those elements that are business oriented, i.e., can they get results? Are they good at executing? Not to diminish that, but we also should consider how adept they are or can be at the people-centered side of leading.
Last, I think people will increasingly expect their leaders to care – and to express that caring.
(2) Impacting a leader’s ability to maintain vision, purpose, and an engaged work force?
Leaders will have to leverage online tools to connect to the other members of the organization at opportunity to reinforce values and culture
Leadership Inspiration
Who has been a great influence on you as a leader?
Early in my career, I closely observed a leader that I supported. He had a high-performing team that really clicked. I asked him about it and he shared the principle of 80/100: 80 percent agreement, 100 percent commitment. He explained that he and his team had a norm of talking things through, behind closed doors, with everyone being able to express their opinion. They didn’t have to agree, but once a decision was made to proceed they were all in.
What book you would give to your mentee?
I would go to a couple of classics:
Organizational Culture & Leadership by Ed Schein. He talks about how leaders make or break the culture. So, be conscious and intentional. Sometimes an organization’s culture needs to change or shift and it is the leader’s job to make this happen. We talk a lot about leaders leading and shaping culture but we don't talk about how. Schein talks about the behaviors that leaders need to demonstrate to shape the culture.
Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon. To help his customer service people become more customer-focused, he identified Moments of Truth as any time a customer has an opportunity to form a perception of the company. He said he wanted his people to focus on managing Moments of Truth. I think the same applies for leadership – it is any moment that an employee has an opportunity to form a perception of their leader or the organization. It is a Leadership Moment of Truth.
What advice would you give someone assuming a leadership position now?
Be curious. Stay open to learning and making connections.
Be open to meandering – careers, especially now, are not a straight line. Be open to opportunities and try to learn what you can.
What Inspires You?
I have a love-hate relationship with organizations. At their best, organizations can have a profound impact on people lives, society, the world. At their worst, they are debilitating environments that strip people of their humanity. I am inspired by the opportunity to help organizations be worthy of the people who commit so much to their success. I look forward to more instances when people step up to state what doesn’t work for them and how they can impact their organization.
Last year the Business Roundtable issued a pivotal statement on the purpose of the corporation. Rather than being primarily focused on shareholders, it acknowledged a commitment to a number of stakeholders, including employees. This is a critical shift and I hope we see this demonstrated in the ability of employees to step up and be heard about how these organizations can work better for them - particularly during a time when the act of going to work can be a life or death decision.
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We appreciate the candid clarity of Maureen’s leadership vision.
Moving forward, Maureen will be putting her energy into creating an online platform for managers to tackle micro-management issues, such as listening, observing, and telling.
In her spare time, she’ll be learning how to play the congas. We know that she will be keeping a steady beat and consistent rhythm as she has to advance more human, more authentic, more empathetic leaders.
