Timothy R. Clark

Timothy R. Clark

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
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About

Timothy R. Clark is the founder and CEO of LeaderFactor, a training, consulting, and…

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Experience

  • LeaderFactor Graphic

    LeaderFactor

    Greater Salt Lake City Area

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    New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Provo

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    San Francisco

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    Vineyard Utah

Education

Publications

  • Don't Let Hierarchy Stifle Innovation

    Harvard Business Review

    Much of the know-how required for innovation comes from the bottom of the organization. Yet many non-management employees consider innovation outside the scope of their jobs. Even when they want to participate, they don’t because the organization’s tacit norms discourage it. Authority bias — the tendency to overvalue opinions from the top of the hierarchy and undervalue opinions from the bottom — eventually turns into exaggerated deference to the chain of command. Unleashing bottom-up…

    Much of the know-how required for innovation comes from the bottom of the organization. Yet many non-management employees consider innovation outside the scope of their jobs. Even when they want to participate, they don’t because the organization’s tacit norms discourage it. Authority bias — the tendency to overvalue opinions from the top of the hierarchy and undervalue opinions from the bottom — eventually turns into exaggerated deference to the chain of command. Unleashing bottom-up innovation is largely a matter of neutralizing this side effect of hierarchy. But how can organizations create a true idea-meritocracy in which they become more agnostic to title, position, and authority and truly debate issues on their merits? How do they achieve cultural flatness: a condition in which power distance doesn’t restrict the flow of information? I present three practical steps leaders can take to neutralize authority bias, embrace cultural flatness, and unleash bottom-up innovation.

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  • Agile Doesn’t Work Without Psychological Safety

    Harvard Business Review

    During the last 20 years, the agile movement has gained astonishing momentum, even outside of software development. There’s agile HR, agile project management, agile customer service, agile sales, agile operations, agile C-suite, and so on. But approximately half of organizations that undertake agile transformations fail in their attempts. If your team has yet to reap the rewards of agile, you need to understand what’s preventing you from delivering the fast, frictionless, scalable solutions…

    During the last 20 years, the agile movement has gained astonishing momentum, even outside of software development. There’s agile HR, agile project management, agile customer service, agile sales, agile operations, agile C-suite, and so on. But approximately half of organizations that undertake agile transformations fail in their attempts. If your team has yet to reap the rewards of agile, you need to understand what’s preventing you from delivering the fast, frictionless, scalable solutions you envisioned. After evaluating several agile teams and conducting a series of interviews with leading agile experts, the author believes the primary factor is disregard for the first value of the Agile Manifesto: “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.” Here are five practical ways to increase psychological safety to foster a collaborative, successful agile team.

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  • "The Hazards of a 'Nice' Company Culture"

    Harvard Business Review

    In far too many companies, there is the appearance of harmony and alignment but in reality there’s often dysfunction simmering beneath the surface. The intention behind cultivating a nice culture is often genuine. Leaders believe they’re doing a good thing that will motivate people and create inclusion. But often it has the opposite effect and the result is a lack of honest communication, intellectual bravery, innovation, and accountability. To combat a culture marked by toxic niceness, the…

    In far too many companies, there is the appearance of harmony and alignment but in reality there’s often dysfunction simmering beneath the surface. The intention behind cultivating a nice culture is often genuine. Leaders believe they’re doing a good thing that will motivate people and create inclusion. But often it has the opposite effect and the result is a lack of honest communication, intellectual bravery, innovation, and accountability. To combat a culture marked by toxic niceness, the author suggests leaders use four tactics: Clarify expectations and performance standards. Publicly challenge the status quo, even if you helped create it. Provide air cover for people who speak up. Confront performance problems immediately.

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  • "What Psychological Safety is Not"

    Forbes

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  • "To Foster Innovation, Cultivate a Culture of Intellectual Bravery"

    Harvard Business Review

    If you want your team to innovate, you need to create a culture of intellectual bravery, in which team members are willing to disagree, dissent, or challenge the status quo even when it requires they risk being embarrassed, marginalized, or punished. As a leader, make this possible by rewarding (or punishing) vulnerability and risk-taking. The author suggests seven ways you can set the right tone on your team and encourage psychological safety. For example, respond constructively to feedback or…

    If you want your team to innovate, you need to create a culture of intellectual bravery, in which team members are willing to disagree, dissent, or challenge the status quo even when it requires they risk being embarrassed, marginalized, or punished. As a leader, make this possible by rewarding (or punishing) vulnerability and risk-taking. The author suggests seven ways you can set the right tone on your team and encourage psychological safety. For example, respond constructively to feedback or bad news and if you reject feedback, explain exactly why. Also, encourage people to think beyond their roles and consider assigning someone to play the role of devil’s advocate. Perhaps most important, model vulnerability. Share your mistakes. Ask exploratory questions. Admit what you don’t know.

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  • "Will You Hibernate Or Accelerate Through This Crisis?"

    Chief Executive

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  • "8 Ways to Manage Your Team While Social Distancing"

    Harvard Business Review

    Managing a remote team is tough, but add to that pressurized conditions, heightened uncertainty, and an overall sense of dislocation and your job just got even harder. The author shares several tips for supporting continued learning and the emotional well-being of your employees. The advice includes resetting your expectations for when and how work gets done, staying in regular touch, assigning buddies or peer coaches, modeling optimism, and continually gauging stress levels.

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  • "Want to Spark Innovation? Bring In the Red Team"

    CEO World Magazine

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  • The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation

    Berrett-Koehler Publishers

    This book is the first practical, hands-on guide that shows how leaders can build psychological safety in their organizations, creating an environment where employees feel included, fully engaged, and encouraged to contribute their best efforts and ideas.

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  • "3 Types of Bad Hires CEOs Make and How to Avoid Them"

    Fast Company

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  • Leading with Character and Competence

    Berrett-Koehler

    See publication

  • The Employee Engagement Mindset

    McGraw-Hill

    A five-year research project that examined the patterns of highly engaged employees across 12 industries and over 20 organizations.

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  • "Are you an aggressive, self-directed learner"

    Deseret News

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  • "Who made you king of anything?"

    Deseret News

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  • The Leadership Test: Will You Pass?

    Oxonian Press

    An insightful and engaging story about the essence of leadership. Izzy Kroll, a brilliant eccentric teaches high school in a tough section of Chicago. The story unfolds as Izzy mentors his former student, Marcus, in the first lessons of leadership, helping him navigate through the real world of egos, agendas, and ethical dilemmas.

    Other authors
    • Timothy R. Clark
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  • Epic Change: How to Lead Change in the Global Age

    Jossey-Bass

    Named best book on organizational change by CEO Refresher.

    Other authors
    • Timothy R. Clark
    See publication

  • In Search of Learning Agility

    ASTD Research/CLO Magazine/eLearning Guild

    This report outlines the history and evolution of organizational learning. The central premise is that enduring competitive advantage must be built on organizational learning agility — meaning an organization’s ability to respond to adaptive challenge through the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills. The authors, Clark and Gottfredson, sketch three distinct stages of learning agility: 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, and illustrate a clear path forward for the meaningful use of learning…

    This report outlines the history and evolution of organizational learning. The central premise is that enduring competitive advantage must be built on organizational learning agility — meaning an organization’s ability to respond to adaptive challenge through the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills. The authors, Clark and Gottfredson, sketch three distinct stages of learning agility: 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, and illustrate a clear path forward for the meaningful use of learning technologies in organizations. This is a “must read” for managers and executives who are interested in aligning learning and training efforts and investments with larger business objectives.

    Other authors
    • Conrad A. Gottfredson
    See publication

Courses

  • Leadership vs. Management

    8

  • Leading Epic Change

    1

  • Middle Manager Essentials

    4

  • New Manager Essentials

    5

  • Strategy Accelerator

    2

  • The 5 Functions of Leadership

    3

  • The Employee Engagement Mindset

    6

  • The Leadership Test

    7

  • The Oxford Coaching Model

    9

Languages

  • English

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • Korean

    Limited working proficiency

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