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A Single World Voice on Superior First Line Leadership
A Research Report from MHI Global
We recognized that answering these questions would require a fresh model of first line leadership today, the focus of our recent worldwide study outlined here. We also recognized that our own experience and long-held views could color the research. So, to minimize our own biases, we began from scratch, not by listing our assumptions or reviewing expert literature on the topic, but by asking employees at all levels how they defined effectivefirst line leadership.
For over 50 years, MHI Global has helped first line managers apply vital skills to engage their teams and realize business results. But do some skills become irrelevant as new skills emerge? And do skills differ by global region, industry, or other variables?
1For details, see the charts and graphs elsewhere in this paper.2 We also asked respondents to describe a critical incident in which a first line manager DECREASED employee engagement and/or performance. A later report will document these findings.
464 RESPONSES FROM OVER
39 COUNTRIES
critical incidents: real-world events demonstrating effective leadership by first line managers
We administered a global online survey, collecting 464 responses from over 39 countries. Respondents reported their gender, age, and organizational roles, ranging from truck driver to CEO. Thirty-seven percent of respondents reported no direct reports. The rest played a leadership role, with an average of 6.4 direct reports.1
To develop the model, we wanted to gather critical incidents: real-world events demonstrating effective leadership by first line managers. As we explained in the survey, first line managers may have different titles (manager, supervisor, team lead, etc.), but they always oversee the work of non-management employees or contractors.
WHAT WE ASKEDThe survey presented this prompt: “Drawing from your experience, please describe a specific incident in which a first line manager (or in which you as a first line manager) INCREASED employee engagement and/or performance.” Respondents filled in three text boxes, labeled:
“What was the situation?”“What did the first line manager say or do?”“What were the results of the first line manager’s actions?”
Then, using a seven-point scale, respondents rated the extent to which the manager’s action 1) increased employee engagement and 2) increased employee performance.2
The remarkable bottom line of our study: Descriptions of effective first line leadership differed very little based on global region, industry, company size, geographical scope, organizational culture, job title, gender, or age.
Before exploring this surprising and in some ways reassuring result, we will allow 464 survey respondents to describe their collective understanding of superior first line leadership.
In the spirit of our study, which summarizes the experience of working people at all levels all over the world, we will cite a representative critical incident to illustrate each leadership skill in four core capabilities of modern first line leadership.
FOUR CORE CAPABILITIES OF EFFECTIVE FIRST LINE MANAGERSThe critical incidents submitted by respondents clustered into 14 discrete leadership skills, which we later grouped into four “core capabilities”:
INVOLVE
EN
CO
UR
AG
E
DE
VELO
P
The Universal
Leader
1. Seek and respond to feedback.
2. Collaborate with employees to solve problems.
3. Create line of sight.
4. Facilitate collaboration.
5. Hold employees to high expectations.
6. Incentivize performance.
7. Recognize performance.
12. Create a Mentoring Relationship
13. Build employee skills.
14. Challenge employees with opportunities and independence.
Create transparency.
Provide constructive feedback.
Direct task completion as needed.
Lead by example.
8.
9.
10.
11.
GUIDE
INVOLVEIn 34.1 percent of critical incidents, respondents emphasized the importance for first line managers to involve their employees in a range of team, operational, and (when appropriate) organizational issues and decisions. Three distinct skills comprise the core capability that we summarized as Involve.
1. Seek and respond to feedback.Many critical incidents described first line managers who not only asked their employees for feedback, but listened non-defensively and made operational and behavioral changes based on that feedback. For example:
Pharmaceutical
A new manager started over a team with several performance issues and problem employees. It was a team requiring specific skills, and the manager did not have those skills.
The manager took time to learn about each team member and what they contributed, asking what they did and how they did it – not judging, but really learning. Then the manager asked questions to find ways to improve.
The team improved, and the performance issues went away. The manager made each team member feel valued and feel that their thoughts and opinions mattered.
2. Collaborate with employees to solve problems.Respondents also reported that first line managers often improve problem solving by enlisting the expertise and collective wisdom of employees. For example:
Education
Our faculty had an opportunity to be SMEs in rebuilding most of our courses, one course per faculty member.
The leader described the opportunity as a way to correct and update courses known to have errors. He let the group air their views until they sectioned off the courses they wanted to work on.
In a half day, without prodding, he had the team ready to work on several courses. Faculty worked together on ideas and construction of the new courseware, converted four courses in four months, adhered to university standards, and moved the courses into user testing.
INCREASEDENGAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCERespondents rated the extent to which each critical incident increased employee engagement and performance. All core capabilities were rated as extremely effective, with Develop and Involve only slightly higher, suggesting wide agreement on the importance of all 4 core capabilities.
Increased Engagement
INVOLVE
ENCOURAGE
GUIDE
DEVELOP
1Not at all
7A great deal
INVOLVE
ENCOURAGE
GUIDE
DEVELOP
Increased Performance
1Not at all
7A great deal
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
3. Create line of sight.Many survey respondents described incidents in which first line managers created, endorsed, clarified, and/or helped employees see their role in a vision for their collective enterprise. Often said to be an important skill for executives, creating line of sight consistently emerged as a key skill for first line managers. For example:
Technology
We were reorganizing territorial sales responsibilities to improve the customer experience and increase sales channel effectiveness.
In a meeting with all involved account managers, the leader shared her vision for the new territorial sales organization and how it would positively impact customer perceptions. She involved the team in the reorganization, where possible incorporating their ideas.
The reorganization increased sales volume by 50 percent, and the team received positive feedback from individual customers.
CORE CAPABILITIES BY INDUSTRYWe calculated percentages by major industry sector to examine differences in reported critical incidents for each core capability.
Respondents in Business Services and Finance were more likely to report incidents in Involve, suggesting greater openness to collaboration. Respondents in Healthcare were more likely to report incidents in Guide, suggesting a greater need for precise processes, but less likely to report incidents in Encourage.
Involve
Encourage
Guide
Develop
MANUFACTURING
FINANCE
HEALTHCARE
BUSINESS SERVICES
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
32.9%
38.1%
32%
41.5%
17.8%
17.5%
22%
18.9%
28.9%
25.4%
16%
19.8%
20.4%
19%
30%
19.8%
ENCOURAGEA second core capability of first line leadership, Encourage, represented 24.6 percent of critical incidents. Respondents emphasized the importance for first line managers to support the work of employees with four leadership skills.
4. Facilitate collaboration.Effective first line managers find ways to increase team cohesiveness, as well as work effectively with other teams and departments. For example:
Technology
My team members had similar job roles but worked with different constituents. As a result, they had little opportunity to work together to solve problems systemic to all.
We undertook three strategic projects for the year aimed at improving our overall efficiency and sharing best practices in areas we all agreed would have the biggest impact on our success. I asked each team member to volunteer on at least one project, determine the schedule, and plan how to move forward as a group. I only asked that they report monthly on progress to the rest of the team.
We were better coordinated as a team, understood common challenges, and were more likely to reach out to one another in ad hoc situations.
5. Hold employees accountable to high expectations.According to a large number of critical incidents, effective first line managers both set a high bar for success and hold employees accountable for meeting that standard. For example:
Banking
In a divestiture project, we had hard targets to achieve by a specific date. This effort required close collaboration between multiple teams.
The first line manager made sure that all parties knew the goal and timeline and understood the metrics by which success would be measured. She met regularly with all pertinent parties to ensure that consistent results were widely communicated.
Six million files were moved in six weeks, allowing the divestiture to occur on schedule. This required tremendous teamwork and tight communication to achieve.
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
6. Incentivize performance.Many critical incidents described first line managers giving employees tangible rewards, when available, to improve or sustain performance. For example:
Technology
For those who don’t know, the military can be a rough life with lots of time away from your family. My platoon sergeant did something cool in our less busy times that motivated us by giving us more time with family.
He would give us a list of tasks for the week, and when we finished them all, we could take the rest of the week off. If it looked like we would finish early, he would add a few more “last minute things.” His goal was to work us hard through Thursday.
Every one of us became extremely efficient and always worked hard to get things done. Many would work late, especially on Thursday so we could take Friday off. The platoon itself became a family, helping each other to ensure we all could be done and go home.
7. Recognize performance.Respondents also confirmed the value of intangible rewards, notably praising good performance both privately and publicly, reporting good performance to executives, and advocating on behalf of employees. For example:
Healthcare
During the initial phases of a new product launch, our manager used our team’s competitive nature to drive successes.
She used frequent communication and excitement statements to praise any employee responsible for a quick success. She kept the momentum going with continued communication, which put the challenge on everyone to succeed.
Our team had the most rapid uptake of any district in the new product launch.
US / Canada
Latin America
Europe
Asia
Other Global Regions
PERCENTAGE OFRESPONDENTS
by region
PERCENTAGE OFRESPONDENTS
by organizational role
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
13.1%
6.5%
67.9%2.8%
9.7%
4.5%
2.6%
11.9%
29.9%
22.1%
19.3%
21.6%
CORE CAPABILITIES BY GLOBAL REGIONWe calculated percentages to discover how respondents reported critical incidents in the three most represented global regions.
European respondents reported the highest percentage of incidents in Involve, but the lowest percentage in Guide, implying a more democratic vision of first line leadership in Europe as compared to Asia or the US and Canada.
U.S. / CANADA
EUROPE
ASIA
Involve
Encourage
Guide
Develop
33%
40%
36.7%
20%
22.2%
13.3%
26.3%
20%
23.3%
20.6%
17.8%
26.7%
GUIDEWe grouped 22 percent of the critical incidents into four related skills within the core capability Guide. In these incidents, line managers provided information, feedback, direction, and demonstration based on knowledge of both the business and the technical work.
8. Create transparency.A large number of incidents portrayed first line managers who shared clear, accurate, and appropriate information about the organization, especially during uncertain times. For example:
Consulting and Professional Services
We won a big, very difficult project in partnership with five other companies. One partner tried to obtain more than what we had all agreed and tried to stop the project. When my team felt the high risk over this project, they stuck together and got more involved in project activities than I could ever dream.
CORE CAPABILITIES BY ORGANIZATIONAL CULTUREWe calculated percentages to examine differences among respondents who identified their organizational cultures as either:
• Team-oriented (supports individual development and collaboration)
• Innovative (unafraid to take risks to develop new ways to capture new markets)
• Customer-centric (highly attuned to the changing needs and wants of target markets)
• Structured (focused on rules, chain of command, efficiency, and stability)
All respondents tended to report incidents at similar frequencies, suggesting that organizational culture has negligible impact on valuation of the core capabilities.
TEAM-ORIENTED
INNOVATIVE
CUSTOMER-CENTRIC
STRUCTURED
Industry
Situation
31.7%
33.3%
33.5%
37%
17.5%
20%
21.3%
18.5%
25%
26.7%
19.5%
20.7%
25.8%
20%
25.6%
23.7%
Involve
Encourage
Guide
Develop
Action
Result
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
I just gave them all the information as it flew over to us so they had a clear understanding of the chances the project would continue. I understood how much their careers depended on the project.
A mature attitude, results-orientation, helping skills. They gave their best!
9. Provide constructive feedback.In another group of incidents, respondents described first line managers who gave corrective feedback to employees in order to help them perform better on particular tasks. For example:
Banking
At the half-year appraisal, I engaged my employee about some counterproductive behavior.
I explained the effect of the employee’s actions on the branch, bank performance, and his career as a whole. I gave the rationale for the needed behavioral change in relation to his career development, explaining what the positive impact would be if he changed.
He emerged as the most outstanding employee at year end in my branch. He performed exceedingly well with his key performance indicators.
10. Direct task completion as needed.According to our study, first line leaders at times need to give employees clear and specific instructions on how to complete a task or series of tasks. For example:
Technology
An employee was burdened with an extremely high number of tasks on short timelines by a very aggressive and overbearing matrix geographic sales manager. The employee was at risk of leaving the company.
Over time, the functional first line manager talked the employee through steps to more efficiently work through the tasks. A lot of communication between the first line manager and the employee helped de-stress the situation.
The employee took on the additional workload and felt much better about his role, competence, and ability. He also felt much better about the job, stayed on in the role, and didn’t resign.
11. Lead by example.Respondents often described first line managers who actually did some of the work themselves as a model, rather than simply telling employees what to do. For example:
Telecommunications
We often had long days consisting of early morning trips out and nighttime trips back in order to complete projects in cities an hour or two away.
My manager gave herself as many of these assignments as anyone. In other words, she would never ask anyone to do anything that she herself would not and did not do.
We were an incredibly cohesive team, and we would do anything she asked because we trusted her.
DEVELOPWithin the final core capability, Develop, 19.4 percent of the critical incidents portrayed effective first line managers as helping their employees develop professionally. These incidents subdivided into three distinct skills.
12. Create a mentoring relationship.Outstanding first line managers go out of their way to build strong working relationships based on helping employees “learn the ropes” of the organization or job. For example:
Consulting and Professional Services
Early in my sales career, my manager would often meet with me over coffee at the start of each morning to coach me and strategize.
We would discuss my recent sales calls, and he would ask deeper questions, always positively. He would make suggestions such as “Have you thought about asking...” or “What if you were to...” He always suggested in a very positive way, never ordering me to do something.
As a direct result of this relationship, I quickly grew to one of the top salespeople nationwide.
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
13. Build employee skills.Many respondents described first line leaders who provided formal and informal training opportunities to make employees more effective in their work or prepare them for leadership positions. For example:
Telecommunications
An employee was more interested in working on instructional design than delivering stand-up training.
I worked with her to prepare her for a position in instructional design once it opened. I asked her about her career aspirations, previous experience, knowledge, and skills and then identified gaps. I also told her we were willing to work with her to develop the skills necessary for this career change.
The employee developed new skills, changed roles, and stayed in the department. She was always a solid performer, but this change improved her job satisfaction.
14. Challenge employees with opportunities and independence.Many critical incidents cited first line managers who gave employees new opportunities slightly outside their comfort zone, or challenged them to work more independently. For example:
Government
There was an opportunity for one of us to take on an expanded role. It did not involve a promotion, but was a chance to learn and to take on a huge responsibility important to our organization.
My manager ultimately selected me for the role. He was complimentary about my previous work and my capacity to learn, expressed confidence in me, encouraged me, and supported me in pursuing this opportunity.
My manager inspired me to work hard and earn a certification that contributed to my success. The role required incredibly long hours for 18 months. I did that happily because I was grateful to be trusted with this opportunity, and I wanted to do the job to the best of my ability.
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
Industry
Situation
Action
Result
Involve
Encourage
Guide
Develop
CORE CAPABILITIES BY ORGANIZATIONAL ROLEWe calculated percentages to determine the impact of organizational roles on reported incidents.
INDIVIDUALCONTRIBUTOR
EXECUTIVEMANAGER OF MANAGERS
MANAGERS OF INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS
Predictably, first line managers were more likely than individual contributors to report incidents in Guide. One implication: A first line manager’s actual or perceived need to control the day-to-day activities may impede an individual contributor’s contributions to innovation.
31.4%
31.2%
37.1%
37.6%
20.6% 15.7%
21%19.5%
22.5%
26.8%
20.2%
16.5%
25.5%
21%
27%
26.3%
CONCLUSIONSBased on the findings of our global critical incident research, superior first line leadership appears to require four core capabilities: Involve, Encourage, Guide, and Develop, together encompassing 14 critical leadership skills.
While respondents rated all four capabilities as extremely effective in increasing employee engagement and performance, they rated Involve as most effective. Involve also received the most representation, 31.4 percent, in respondents’ critical incident reports.
We did find minor differences based on the demographic and organizational information we collected. However, our study generally found that employees from a wide array of countries, industries, and organizational cultures and roles endorse an extremely similar model of first line leadership.
Our findings do not discount the very real differences among individuals, industries, and cultures. Every front line manager or manager candidate has unique aspirations, strengths, and areas for improvement. Every industry requires first line managers to acquire and share specialized technical knowledge. And both organizational and national cultures may differ in profound ways. At the same time, based on the testimony of 464 employees at all levels, the interpersonal dynamics between first line managers and their teams – as well as multi-level descriptions of essential leadership skills – appear remarkably consistent all over the world.
This central finding bodes well for anyone whose job it is to realize business results through the day-to-day performance of first line managers and their direct reports. Specifically, this finding:
• Confirms superior first line leadership to be a finite skill set that can be learned and applied
• Validates the wide applicability of many existing competency models for first line managers
• Reinforces the value of integrated skill gap analysis for all first line managers
• Recommends a consistent approach to first line leadership development
• Outlines a single vocabulary of leadership for all first line managers
• Supports an organization-wide or even multinational first line leadership culture
In summary, our study suggests that helping all first line managers master and apply a small number of baseline skills will reliably increase the engagement and performance of non-management employees.
FIRST LINE LEADERSHIP QUICK CHECKCircle the numbers for how often your first line managers apply each skill within the core capabilities. Total the score for each core capability and for all capabilities. Then review the feedback for your total score.
How often do your first line managers...
Involve Seldom Often1. Seek and respond to feedback 1 2 3 4 52. Collaborate with employees to solve problems 1 2 3 4 53. Create line of sight 1 2 3 4 5 Total for Involve: _____
Encourage4. Facilitate collaboration 1 2 3 4 55. Hold employees to high expectations 1 2 3 4 56. Incentivize performance 1 2 3 4 57. Recognize performance 1 2 3 4 5 Total for Encourage: _____
Guide8. Create transparency 1 2 3 4 59. Provide constructive feedback 1 2 3 4 510. Direct task completion as needed 1 2 3 4 511. Lead by example 1 2 3 4 5 Total for Guide: _____
Develop12. Create a mentoring relationship 1 2 3 4 513. Build employee skills 1 2 3 4 514. Challenge employees with 1 2 3 4 5 opportunities and independence Total for Develop: _____ Total for all core capabilities: _____
If your organization’s total score is:
Above 56: Your first line managers often apply the skills that comprise all or most of the four core capabilities. Encourage seasoned managers to mentor new and prospective managers.
43-56: Your first line managers demonstrate many key skills. Leverage their strengths and take steps to develop their skills in their lower-rated core capabilities.
29-42: While your first line managers do some things well, they’re not doing all they can to support employee engagement and performance. Focus development on the lowest-averaging core capability, evaluate results, and build from there.
28 and lower: Skill deficiencies among first line managers are a major cause of low morale, lackluster performance, and/or high turnover of individual contributors. You may need to reassess your leadership development approach to improve employee engagement and retention.
