162 50 TOPEXECUTIVECOACHES
to the change that is desired. I have come to think of my approach as similar
to the way in which a cultural anthropologist does field research, with one
significant difference. Although an anthropologist aims to preserve a culture
or leave it as undisturbed as possible, I am helping the culture adapt to new
technologies, new economics, new markets, more globalization, or the need
for faster response times. It goes without saying that such issues are rampant
in businesses and institutions today.
My skills in coaching anthropology grew in part from experience re-
searching The Female Advantage: Women’s Ways of Leadership.For t hat
book, I conducted diary studies of women who are leading organizations.
Henr y Mintzberg had done the classic study of management in The Practice
of Management,using diary studies as well. But Mintzberg’s method was
very quantitative. He recorded when a manager got into the office each
morning, how much time was spent in meetings, how many decisions were
made each day. Rather than apply a similar quantitative study to women
leaders, I took a much more narrative approach by following them through
their daily work lives. I recorded very specific and detailed notes about
what they did; how they managed and interacted with people; how they
scheduled, organized, and structured their time; and how much of their job
they devoted to internal versus external issues. By focusing so precisely and
concretely on details and behaviors, I was able to develop a full conception
ofhow their leadership style impacted the culture of the organization.
By developing diary studies of both male and female leaders, I use that
same anthropological approach when I work with organizations driving large-
scale change. Whether the organization is a consumer products company, an
industrial manufacturing business or a quintessentially modern NGO (Non-
Governmental Organization), I look at how leadership style impacts personal
interactions, strategy, and the capacity to change. Through that analysis, I
capture the distinct strengths, issues, or challenges the organization faces in
terms of its leadership. The organization uses that topographical map as the
basis for necessary changes to its structure, training, approach, and strategy.
An actual example of some work done in the international, not-for-profit
sector w ill help clarify the value this approach has for today’s organizations.
Recently, I was brought in by the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP) to help it adapt to a major shift in how development is done. The
UNDP is a geographically dispersed organization, with local offices in every
country in the world. Those offices were structured and led in a way that re-
f lected the UNDP’s traditional role of working closely with host country gov-
ernmental hierarchies. In recent years, however, NGOs have arisen as a means
ofbypassing traditional hierarchies and power structures in meeting the needs