by Andrea Kates, Founder, Business Genome™
Which stars should align where in today’s business constellations?
We’re living in perplexing times. As business leaders, it is clear that yesterday’s rule books no longer apply. Literally yesterday’s. Every wrinkle in the fabric of today’s business challenges requires a new slice of character, different from those leadership habits, rules, adages, upbeat smiley face motivators that we can get away with during times when growth curves are moving upward and times when we are tempted to mistake our luck for skill. These are times that would perplex even the most seasoned business leaders.
So, this is a perfect opportunity to reflect on the list of attributes for today’s leader. 2009: a chaotic, hard-to-predict era. What is the profile for the type of business leader who can guide us through the vicissitudes of today’s uncertain environment?
One thing is certain: yesterday’s leadership profile ain’t gonna cut it.
We’ve all received the virtual assignment (via the Obama campaign-abilia) to read Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book about the moment in history where the stars were aligned perfectly for an individual like Lincoln to lead the nation to new levels. Goodwin’s perspective underscores a very important lesson about leadership: Sometimes the times themselves and the issues associated with them indirectly dictate the profile for the type of leader who needs to enter the scene and galvanize the people around him/her toward a better outcome.
Inspired by these harsh new realities, the Business Genome™ is beginning to capture input and ideas about the new role of leadership in today’s unique environment, a time when profits are tough to come by, natural curves are heading downward, public trust has eroded, global forces are more complex, capital is tight, youth is fearful that there will be no jobs, experienced workers face layoffs, and all bets are off.
What do today’s times tell us about who’s on first, and who should be on first over the coming months? What is the profile for the ideal leader for today’s business?
The Business Genome™ has learned that there is a distinct difference between the profiles of a leader for the heydays versus the type of leader we need today:
Leadership for Heydays |
Leadership for Hazy Days |
| Upbeat tone; emphasis on motivation. | Reflective tone; emphasis on asking great questions. |
| Tells a lot of people what he/she thinks | Does a lot listening |
| Dashboard metrics can reaffirm the strength of decisions. | Looks at other industries for ideas. Keeps track of information that is more future-focused. |
| Industry view can suffice | Global view is required |
| Separates politics from business | Savvy about politics and policies |
| Discussions about ethics on backburner | Discussions include ethical component: trust becomes an openly-stated goal |
| Certainty-based leadership for areas where revenues were on a growth trajectory. | Innovation-based leadership in areas where businesses were looking for the next idea. New need for leadership that blends a “no training wheels” approach with an openness to new ideas—Not innovation for innovation’s sake, but not “we’ve always done it this way.” |
| Few leaders, many doers | Many proactive leaders. Transparency in data and decisions. |
| Goal = “double digit growth” | Goal = Managing expectations as retooling efforts begin |
The comments we’ve heard from business leaders about which skills are called for within the context of these challenging times reflect a common theme: No Time for Imposters.
An executive team at a software company with 200 employees says: “We don’t know the answers, but we want our CEO to challenge us to find new opportunities for revenue growth.”
A Fortune 100 CEO says, “The pressure is already enormous, but now every move we make is under the microscope. There’s a need for transparency in how we operate not only for accountability, but also for ideas. I am sharing the burden of discovery with my teams in a new way, hoping that we can work together to drive profits.”
A small business owner comments, “I need to be looking over the horizon with a much broader view; I need to admit that the old ways of operating aren’t working.”
The feedback also reflects a common theme: Leaders face new pressure to be real, be open, and be responsive.
No time for imposters in today’s business environment.
The good news is that a leader can retool him/herself to adapt to the business forces at work. They would be wise to swallow technology quickly, invite new people into the boardroom, take off their blinders, and accelerate their move away from PowerPoint presentations and toward real dialogue.
And, based on our initial feedback, it seems that employees are eager to help corporate leaders get up to speed. They’re looking for engagement around important strategic issues that leaders can use to drive profitability: How can we interact with vendors differently? What can we do about our cost of goods? Who’s making money in our business or in adjacent businesses and how can we gain a share of those dollars?
Today’s Leaders Can Engage Employees To Get Them Up To Speed With The Times
Contextual Intelligence
There are some great books that do for business what Team of Rivals did for the Lincoln presidency: These books provide historical context for which type of leadership is called for at key moments in history. In Their Time and Paths to Power describe specific success factors for business leaders, including “contextual intelligence,” an imperative for success based less on a firm orthodoxy and more on a sensitivity to the forces at work around the enterprise.
The real imperative for business right now is to take the time to reflect on what type of leadership is called for over the coming months, and to make a beeline for any resources that can accelerate your path to embodying it. Has your organization made a conscious effort to retool your leadership profile? Have you defined the ideal? What song is your company singing these days about the ideal leaders to guide us through these perplexing times?
Find Your Next. 