A call for leadership agility
ONE observation I have made when having strategic facilitation or training sessions with most companies is that they want to major on strategic planning. That is good, but not entirely right, especially considering the era we are in. The winds of change are ferociously sweeping away our plans and rendering them obsolete. Now, as we conduct strategic planning we should think about disruptive change and what we should do to keep afloat as businesses.
To stay agile, there is need to train people in general and executives in particular especially on themes such as idea generation, talent density and the feedback loop within a company. Clearly, what was usable yesterday might not be good today or tomorrow. Great lessons where lent from Nokia. They did not do anything wrong as its chief executive officer said, but they lost it. How then do we stay agile, progressive, productive and profitable? Here are important tips for every leader and reader.
Stagnation is fatal
Complacency is one dangerous thing even in successful companies. What you have as an advantage today can be replaced by trends tomorrow. So, never seat on your laurels. Always look for ways to change or improve your current successes.
Adaptability
This is the ability to adapt is what separates most managers from leaders. Managers, might control and maintain what is already there, leaders seek for way to align to the current needs. Managers, might shun problems by not taking risks, leaders take risks to solve novel problems. Managers want to do what is good and agreed upon; leaders do what is right for the benefit of the organisation. A leader must be malleable, and be quick to re-adjust strategies and approaches to align with new needs and trends.
Open-mindedness
Most managers will profess that they have an open door policy, while the inverse is cataclysmically true. In training mid-managers and those below them, I usually discover that most top leaders are not open to ideas. So, agile leaders must be receptive to new ideas and perspectives, fostering innovation within their teams. The question is: Are you ready to listen to team members, especially those below you?
Continuous learning
When leaders refuse to learn, they will be a time they will be caught flatfooted by redundancy in being irrelevant. So, everyone should seek for opportunities to improve skills and knowledge. Great leaders prioritise ongoing education and development to stay abreast of emerging trends. The size of a leader’s library might be a crucial ingredient in increasing their ideas.
Risks and failures
Most companies, punish employees for failing; as a result, the employee is stuck on doing what will not jeopardise their job. Now, great companies encourage and empower their teams and individuals to experiment, take calculated risks and learn from failures in a supportive environment.
Functional teams
Collaboration is very important. Successful leaders foster collaboration across departments and disciplines so as to leverage diverse expertise in solving complex problems. Companies need to train team matrices and effectiveness. Without a great team, a leader cannot accomplish anything great.
Decisiveness
A delayed decision leads to delayed action. Indecisiveness makes companies fold. So, the biggest reason why a leader is employed is being a thinker. A great leader makes timely decisions. Some decisions might be painful, unwelcome and uncommon, but important for progress. The leaders make decisions based on available information, even in uncertain and rapidly changing business landscapes.
Customer-centricity
Every leader should master human behavioural economics or consumer needs. These human needs are changing all the time. So the leader should prioritise understanding customer needs and preferences, leveraging technology to deliver value and enhance customer experiences. The money that every leader needs is with the customer. When you master a customer you can easily get cash from them.
Parting point: We live in challenging and ever changing times. So, the leader should stay abreast. Besides staying up to date, the leader should be a visionary. They have a clear vision of how the company should stay competitive. The leader should have the acumen on how technology can drive business growth and transformation, inspiring their teams to pursue ambitious goals, while remaining adaptable to evolving realities.