How to Lead in Today's Landscape

Leading today is challenging for myriad reasons which include but are not limited toSpeed of change Somebody forgot to add a pause button to the world we live inGlobalization From climate change to the rise of China to COVID to communications and content creation every business is exposed to global forcesIntergenerational challenges Everywhere there are differences in expectations lived experience communication methods and much more between the multiple generations that all need to work togetherDisruption from technology We are living in a platform age where the next generation of quantum computing exponential leaps in machine learning the rollout of 5g and the rise of new interfaces voice augmented reality virtual reality will make previous disruptions look like child39s playManaging remote and distributed workforces There is going to be no return to five days in the office so companies are going to have to manage hybrid and distributed workforcesDEI The importance of diversity equality and inclusion which are essential for companies to attract and retain talent remain innovative and meet customer expectationsESG Environment Social and Governance From investors to consumers every company is being watched on ESG metricsPurpose and Values Companies are realizing that purpose and values are key to remain competitiveEmpowered Key Constituencies Employees partners and customers now have the megaphones of social media and access to how people feel about leadership salaries and the culture of a company by visiting online destinations such as Glassdoor Indeed and VaultThe leadership traits that illuminate the path forwardEveryone can learn and build the six traits of a leader if they wish to and are disciplined about it Becoming a leader does not entail anyone else allowing it awarding it or being able to take it awayThe six traits areCompetence To be a leader in any field at any level you need to build proficiency One needs to learn a craft hone skills continuously improve and remain relevant and up to date Too many quotleadersquot slip into irrelevance by letting their skills atrophy Today due to the rapid changes in demography and technology the halflife of whatever one has learned rapidly decays and the fuel tank of competence needs to be continuously filledTime Management The three quottimequot skills that one needs to build to become a leader are that of bifocal focus where one balances the urgent and today with the important and tomorrow delegationteamwork to allow one to think and to grow the talent around you and zerobased time budgeting which means eliminating something from your schedule every time you decide to add something to your calendarIntegrity Trust is speed reputation and an invaluable currency It can be earned over time but also by making one39s intentions clear and your decision making transparent The more people wonder what your real agenda is or what determines your decisionmaking process the more they will be wary about your motives and methodsEmpathy Leaders bring about change and achieve goals by bringing other people along with them To do so it is key to understand where people are coming from What their fears concerns challenges as well as hopes desires and dreams are A simple way to do this is to ask four questions What is on your mind What else If you were not doing this what would you be doing or how could things be better How can I helpVulnerability Vulnerability is strength not a weakness By speaking about the things one worries about one reveals humanity and comes off as believable It makes other people step up to try to help and offset a person39s concerns or lack of competence with their or other people39s complimentary skillsInspiration As Blaise Pascal wrote quotWe choose with our hearts and we use numbers to justify what we didquot After the facts and the data after the PowerPoints and the spreadsheets we often remain unconvinced disbelieving and hesitant Yes we are living in a data driven silicon based computing world but all of us are story driven carbon based feeling individualsThe best leaders are turd slayersOften successful companies and individuals defeat themselves This comes from some combination of hubris incestuous thinking and improperly aligned incentivesIntel was so deluded by its success around Windows computing and 86 architecture that they missed mobile computing and were late to the needs of Cloud computing It has been superseded by Nvidia Taiwan Semiconductor and AMD And yet another CEO has come and goneWells Fargo was so crazed and incentivized to drive revenue by opening new accounts that they started accounts for dead people and established multiple accounts for customers who did not need them Billions of dollars of fines and four CEO changes in less than six years is a result of this besotted behaviorSoon a trail of emails will show that Boeing for years was aware of the software problems with the 737Max but a zeal to ship a disconnected or badly informed Board of Directors and miscommunication deeply damaged this world class firmAgain and again leaders gathered and pretended that the brown moist thing in the middle of the conference room table was a brownie when most suspected it was a piece of shitThere was a turd on the table but either no one informed folks because they were scared or leaders looked the other way or were delusional enough to confuse an item found in a toilet bowl with a delicacy found at a bakeryThe best leaders build an environment where people can call out the turd and they are constantly listening looking and should one say smelling for itHere are some suggestions for how to become a quotturd slayerquot1 Say what you think In business we care what is between your ears Say what you think Hey if it is wrong you will be told so in fact even if you are right you will be told you are wrong Truth eventually has a habit of breaking in Why not open the door and save time and damage2 Assume the person you are trying to be diplomatic to about an issue knows what the issue is If you bring it up you will be more respected If they did not know you will earn an ally3 Do not go with the crowd if your instinct says no Often group and crowd dynamics take over in much decision making People think about what their boss wants to hear rather than what they should say People worry about the impact on their career rather than what is right Sooner or later too many people are dodging their own shadow and playing mind games that lead to slow and bad decisions4 Do not work for a boss who cannot bear the truth or whom you fear We are living in a time of change and most of the time senior folks need to be told that their core beliefs may no longer be true I have seen too many companies from newspapers to magazines to many others hasten their decline because their leadership did not face reality in part because their staff feared them5 Tell all the truth but tell it slant Once you have decided to address the turd on the table you might want to do so in a careful way so the message gets through Ideally it is in a way that does not make the person receiving the news quotlose facequot so much of this is best done person to person In other times some humility selfawareness metaphors or humor will be called for Emily Dickinson said it best in her poem too much of shock and you will have blinded someone to the turdTell all the Truth but tell it slantSuccess in Circuit liesToo bright for our infirm DelightThe Truth must dazzle graduallyOr every man be blindSo let39s address the quotturd on the tablequot wherever it might beImprove leadership skills through feedbackOne improves slowly over timeSome days one improves and other days there are setbacks that one learns from A practice of continuous improvement is what drives not just success for athletes but for all peopleThe day we stop learning we stop growing and we begin dyingBeing accountable for our own feedback and being comfortable helping others with feedback to unleash their growth is a sign of not just successful businesspeople but people who find success in every component of lifeFeedback is a key to growth and the journey forward1 Scan for signals People are constantly providing feedback even if they are not vocalizing it In some instances you may gauge it in numerical signals from how well your writing is read reacted to or shared or whether you are invited to key meetings Other times it is to watch facial and body language You learn a lot by reading a room or a Zoom gallery2 Ask for feedback on a regular basis One can do this with three simple questions and the way they are framed which ensures people are comfortable helping you since they are positive in tone What worked well Ifwhen I do this next time what could be better Who do you think does what I need to do well and where can I learn more3 End of DayWeek Self Review Most people know in their gut what worked or went well and what did not Many successful individuals end the day or week with some variation of a quick reviewa The Work What went well with my work product that I feel proud signing it and what could have gone betterb The Team What felt good and productive in the way I interacted with people and where could I have been better in some ways in handling my or someone else39s emotionsc The Improvement What little improvement did I manage to make today or this week A new habit Learning a new approach Strengthening a relationshipEveryone can be a leader We must sculpt at the block of marble we are to let the leader out just as Michelangelo did to let David emergeHere are links to posts on Leadership Each one is a sixminute read covering an area touched on above in greater detailYouLeaderThe Turd on the TableOn FeedbackRulersClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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How to Lead in Today's Landscape

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Rishad Tobaccowala

Jim Lecinski | Clinical Marketing Professor | The Insomnia Cookies Case - The GOST Model Taught at Northwestern - By Mike Linton

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Rishad Tobaccowala

Jim Lecinski | Clinical Marketing Professor | The Insomnia Cookies Case - The GOST Model Taught at Northwestern - By Mike Linton

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