Dr David Clutterbuck 

Dr David Clutterbuck is one of Europe's most prolific and well-known management writers and thinkers. He has written more than 40 books, and hundreds of articles. Co-founder of The European Mentoring Centre and of The Item Group (the leading independent provider of internal communication solutions), David also runs a thriving international consultancy, Clutterbuck Associates, which specialises in helping people in organisations develop the skills to help others. David is perhaps best-known in recent years for his work on mentoring and coaching, on which he consults around the world. His books on mentoring include the classic Everyone needs a Mentor (published by the CIPD, with the 3^rd edition launched at the Harrogate 2001 conference), Mentoring at Work, Learning Alliances (also CIPD) and Mentoring Executives and Directors. Forthcoming titles include Mentoring for Diversity and Techniques in Coaching and Mentoring. Other management best-sellers include The Winning Streak series of books on business excellence, a theme to which he returned in 1997 and 1999 with the books, The Winning Streak Mark II and Doing it Different, a study of the lessons to be learned from maverick businesses. David is also a visiting professor at Sheffield Hallam University.  

The broad scope of his work can be seen on the Clutterbuck Associates and ITEM websites www.clutterbuckassociates.co.uk and  www.item.co.uk . David can also be contacted by e-mail on dclutterbuck@item.co.uk

Interview with David Clutterbuck

How would you define leadership? Do you see yourself as a Leader?

LEADERSHIP IS A SITUATIONAL COMPETENCE -- THE ABILITY TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN

WITH AND THROUGH OTHERS. REALLY EFFECTIVE LEADERS KNOW HOW AND WHEN TO

EXERCISE LEADERSHIP THEMSELVES AND WHEN TO ENCOURAGE AND ENABLE OTHERS TO

TAKE THE LEAD. IT ALSO INVOLVES A HIGH DEGREE OF SELF-MASTERY, WHICH

REQUIRES SELF-AWARENESS, SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SELF-IGNITION.

What key strategies do you attribute your professional success to?

A) FIRST YOU HAVE TO DEFINE SUCCESS. I DEFINE IT AS "ACHIEVING WHAT YOU

VALUE". WHAT I VALUE IS THE INTELLECTUAL STIMULUS OF WORKING AT THE LEADING

EDGE, OF SHARING LEARNING WITH OTHERS, AND A LIFESTYLE THAT IS FULFILLING

BOTH INTELLECTUALLY AND PHYSICALLY

B) TRUSTING OTHER PEOPLE. SOMETIMES TRUST IS MISPLACED, BUT IN GENERAL,

PEOPLE RESPOND TO THE FEELING THAT YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THEM.

C) TRUSTING MY INSTINCTS -- ABOUT PEOPLE, OPPORTUNITIES, SITUATIONS

What has been the most challenging initiative that you have undertaken and the one you have regrets about?

THE MOST CHALLENGING IS BRINGING UP A SON WITH COMBINED DOWN'S SYNDROME AND

AUTISM -- THE REWARDS HOWEVER ARE IMMENSE .

REGRETS -- WHO NEEDS THEM?

What life philosophy are you driven by in your personal and professional life?

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN WHATEVER I DO

BEING OPEN TO NEW IDEAS AND PERSPECTIVES, IN EVERY PART OF MY LIFE

You have written over 40 books on a wide range of management subjects, was there any particular book that stands out for you as a writer, researcher and theorist?

THEY HAVE ALL BEEN FUN TO RESEARCH AND WRITE. PERHAPS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL 

WAS "THE WINNING STREAK", FOR THE WIDER MANAGEMENT PUBLIC; OR "EVERYONE

 NEEDS A MENTOR", FOR DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS. THE EASIEST TO WRITE WAS

 "LEARNING ALLIANCES" -- IT SIMPLY FLOWED FROM MY FINGERS.

What do you believe is the key to organizations succeeding and consistently achieving high performance?

IN THE SECOND MAJOR LOOK AT HIGH PERFORMANCE BUSINESSES (WINNING STREAK 2) A

FEW YEARS AGO, WE IDENTIFIED TEN MAJOR BALANCES THAT A SAMPLE OF THE WORLD'S

MOST CONSISTENTLY SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES SPENT A LOT OF EFFORT MANAGING. THEY

INCLUDED, FOR EXAMPLE, MAINTAINING BOTH A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE AND A SENSE

OF CURRENT URGENCY, AND AN EMPLOYEE ENVIRONMENT THAT WAS BOTH DEMANDING

(TOUGH) AND REWARDING (FUN). THIS NOTION OF BALANCE IS CRITICAL --

COMPANIES NEED TO ESTABLISH THE CRITICAL DIMENSIONS FOR THEIR LONG-TERM

SUCCESS AND MONITOR/ ADAPT THEM CONTINUALLY. WHEN ONE OR TWO OF THESE

BALANCES FAILS, ORGANISATIONS TYPICALLY DECLINE IN PERFORMANCE VERY QUICKLY,

AS OTHER BALANCES ALSO FAIL.

In your book, "Mentoring in Action," you have said that "director's attitudes towards their own development suggests that there are six stereotypes...  The Arrogant: 'I've learned all I need to know' type which is fortunately a shrinking category;  The Complacent: 'I've not got that many years to go';  The Harassed: 'I simply don't have the time to think about my own development' which is probably the largest grouping; The Guilty: 'I've got this development plan, but I haven't done anything about it' which comprises another large group; The Development Fanatic: who absorbs every management guru's latest book, reads Harvard Business Review, keeps several learning logs and is doing another PhD;  The Balanced Developer: who relates learning to personal and business needs, emphasises learning by teaching and spends as much, if not more, time thinking as reading." 

Do you advocate that it is better for organizations to have "The Balanced Developer" rather than the other five stereotypes and that business leaders should implement strategies to change director's attitudes to those of a "Balanced Developer"?

YES, IN GENERAL.

How effective do you believe Mentoring is for the development of human and organisational capital? From your experience on an international scale, how does Australia rate with respect to the implementation of Mentoring Programs in the public and private sector? Which country is the most  advanced in using Mentoring schemes?

MEASUREMENT OF THE ORGANISATIONAL BENEFITS OF MENTORING IS RARE AND OFTEN

FAIRLY CRUDE. BUT WE DO KNOW THAT IT MAKES A MAJOR DIFFERENCE IN AREAS SUCH

AS RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT. FROM AN INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE, PART OF THE

POWER OF MENTORING IS THAT IT USUALLY DEVELOPS BOTH MENTOR AND MENTEE.

MOST OF THE (US-BASED) LITERATURE ON THE SUBJECT EMPHASISES THE CAREER

BENEFITS OF HAVING A MENTOR AND THE VALUE OF PSYCHO-SOCIAL FACTORS SUCH AS

ENCOURAGEMENT. EUROPEAN AND TO A CONSIDERABLE EXTENT US EXPERIENCE PLACES

MORE VALUE ON THE LEARNING THAT TAKES PLACE WITHIN THE RELATIONSHIP.

IT'S DIFFICULT TO SAY THAT ANY ONE COUNTRY IS MORE ADVANCED THAN OTHERS. THE

US, WHERE STRUCTURED MENTORING BEGAN, HAS FOR SOME TIME BEEN TRAPPED IN A

TIME WARP -- A MODEL OF MENTORING BASED ON SPONSORSHIP, WHICH (THOUGH IT HAS

ECHOES IN EUROPE AND AUSTRALIA) IS GENERALLY REGARDED ELSEWHERE AS 

OUTMODED. BUT THE US HAS INITIATED MORE SCHEMES OF UPWARD MENTORING.

You have written that, "The critical link between individual learning and organisational learning is the team. It is in the team that learning by the individual is most easily shared with others. It is in the team, too, that the organisation's aspirations and objectives can best be translated into learning goals and learning approaches." (Training Journal Abstract 04002 Issue: April 2000) What do you see as being critical to the effective functioning of a team? Where do you see the hiring of Coaches for professional development in this line of thinking?

WE HAVE FOUND FROM OUR RESEARCHES THAT PEOPLE'S RECOLLECTIONS OF WORKING 

IN VERY EFFECTIVE TEAMS HAVE NINE BASIC CHARACTERISTICS, OF WHICH THE CORE IS

CLARITY OF PURPOSE. MOST OF THE OTHER BEHAVIOURS INVOLVE INTERPERSONAL

SKILLS. 

TEAM COACHES ARE BECOMING AN INCREASINGLY COMMON ASPECT OF 

DEVELOPMENTAL SUPPORT IN ORGANISATIONS. THEY HAVE ESPECIAL VALUE WHEN THE 

TEAM IS NEW, OR VIRTUAL, OR DYSFUNCTIONAL. HOWEVER, TEAM COACHES HAVE TO BE 

CAREFUL NOT TO BECOME OVER-INVOLVED IN THE TEAM ITSELF -- THEY CAN ALL TOO 

EASILY FIND THEMSELVES PUSHED INTO BECOMING THE DE FACTO LEADER.

What do you identify as being the most significant contribution women have made to the success of organizations?

I DON'T SEE VERY MUCH REALITY IN THE CLASSIC MARS V VENUS CARICATURES.

GENDER IS A MINOR VARIABLE IN TERMS OF ABILITY -- IT'S MUCH MORE IMPORTANT

TO RECOGNISE AND VALUE A WIDE SPECTRUM OF DIVERSITY. ONE SPECIFIC

CONTRIBUTION, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN TO OPEN UP THE DEBATE ON DIVERSITY. IT HAS

TAKEN COURAGE AND DETERMINATION BY MANY WOMEN IN MANY ORGANISATIONS TO 

BRING DIVERSITY ONTO THE AGENDA. A SIDE-BENEFIT OF THIS HAS BEEN THAT ISSUES SUCH

AS WORK'LIFE BALANCE ARE BEING TAKEN MORE SERIOUSLY.

Do you believe that the business world has yet to believe in and utilise the contribution that women can make in the work environment?

THERE IS A MUCH GREATER INTELLECTUAL RECOGNITION OF THE VALUE OF VALUING

DIFFERENCE. HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL ENORMOUS EMOTIONAL BARRIERS, WHICH 

LEAD TO RATIONALISATIONS THAT MAKE IT HARDER TO TAP INTO THE POTENTIAL OF 

WOMEN AND MINORITIES. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURES TEND TO REINFORCE THESE IN 

SUBTLE WAYS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO CHANGE -- EVEN WHEN THE CEO IS A WOMAN!

What is your picture of the organization of the future?

LIKE TODAY, TOMORROW'S COMPANY WILL BE A MIXTURE OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE

CHARACTERISTICS. IT WILL HAVE TO RESPOND TO MANY, DIFFERENT PRESSURES THAT

WILL SHAPE THE CULTURE, STRUCTURE AND OPPORTUNITIES IT PROVIDES. I AM

SUFFICIENT OF AN OPTIMIST TO BELIEVE THAT THE SOCIAL CONTRACT BETWEEN

ORGANISATIONS AND EMPLOYEES WILL EMPHASISE MUCH MORE THAN TODAY THE 

CREATION OF VALUE FOR BOTH SIDES. IN TERMS OF WORTH (PROSPERITY, MARKETABILITY

ETC), RESPECT, AND THE ALIGNMENT OF PERSONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL BELIEFS

ABOUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT. SUCH AN ENVIRONMENT HAS TO BE ONE WHERE LISTENING,

REFLECTION AND LEARNING ARE CENTRAL TO THE BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE.