VIEWPOINT: Nicky Little, Head of Leadership Development at Cirrus Consulting suggests some leadership options for the returning CEO at Lloyds following his return to work.
Lloyds Banking Group CEO António Horta-Osório has returned to work, and has said he is going to make some changes to his leadership style. When Horta-Osório took time off work last November to recover from exhaustion, it sent a strong message to other big corporates that stress is a serious issue which needs to be addressed. Now he is back, he is making some other significant decisions – and once again, others are taking note.
Horta-Osório has said that he needs to ‘re-balance’ his life and indications are that the balance of leadership at Lloyds is also going to change. The CEO will cut the number of executives who report directly to him and has promised to delegate more. For the reportedly details-obsessed CEO, this is a brave – and probably quite a tough – decision.
The media has been critical. Some have said that a CEO seeking to cut his number of direct reports might not be up to the job. It has also been suggested that it is unfair on the three or four executives who may now have to report to the finance director and could ‘lose the ear’ of the CEO.
Horta-Osório has an impressive career history, which is why Lloyds appointed him last year. Time will tell whether he is ‘up to the job’. Will some executives ‘lose his ear’? This depends on how successfully the CEO and the top team can embrace a more devolved leadership model. A change like this requires a well-organised approach to sharing power and influence. If executed well , this can reduce the negative impact of indirect access for senior figures, and boost the benefits of shared leadership.
Horta-Osório has acknowledged his challenges openly in public, demonstrating that he is an authentic leader. He has admitted that he can take things too personally and is prone to micromanagement. He has also said that he is keen to address these issues. He is actively seeking to decentralise power and influence across the organisation.
Successful distributed leadership has two key preconditions. Firstly, that well-organised approach we mentioned earlier. This needs to be introduced across the organisation so that there is a coherent level of power sharing, effective coordination, and communication up and down the line. Secondly, the organisation needs capable managers that leaders can delegate to.
Before returning to work, Horta-Osório successfully convinced the board that he will become better at delegating, at setting the direction of the bank, and not micro-managing every decision. However, some Lloyds investors remain to be convinced and say that their confidence in the ability of Horta-Osório has been dented. The CEO now plans to give priority to meeting shareholders to reassure them and talk through his future plans. Can he communicate these plans with conviction and build trust? If he can galvanise support for a new style of shared leadership, some sceptics could be transformed into advocates, leadership at Lloyds could enter a new era, and there could be a positive impact on performance.
Nicky welcomes your views on this article and can be contacted at nicky.little@cirrus-connect.com.
Further Reading:
See Simon Hayward's article on 'De-Stressing Leadership - A Leader's Guide' from November 2010
