When you sit down to write the job description for the next leader of your organisation where do you start? Are you looking for personal qualities; someone who will engage hearts and minds and enthuse the team? Perhaps you may be seeking someone who is comfortable with empowerment and with creating the conditions which enable their people to act with confidence and with knowledge? Or maybe you need a strategist, someone who can model the way and guide the organisation to future success?
Actually we suspect that it may well be a combination of all three with more qualities added in on top. The job of a leader in today’s organisations is by its very nature a far more rounded and complex one than it was in the days of ‘I say this and you obey.’ But although people development and collaboration now sit firmly within the leadership sphere that doesn’t mean that driving strategy can take a back seat. Far from it in fact! With 54% of organisations actively looking to move into new markets in the next three years, the challenge for business no longer comes from within a narrow sphere. In fact the pace of change is such that disruptors could arise from anywhere and those entering the marketplace for the first time are bringing with them none of the baggage of the old guard.
All this places strategy and organisational development at the front of leadership. But with so many potential disruptors how do the leadership ensure that they are keeping on top of potential change? There are a few key areas which can make the difference. The first comes under the heading of networking. It is easy to think that because so much information is on line nowadays there is no need to go elsewhere to keep abreast of trends. But what the modern leader needs to know is not what is on line but what isn’t on the web, the strategic direction which potential disruptors are taking. Networking may seem a little old fashioned in this communication world but in a way it is more important than ever.
Moving on, the next driver is collaboration; working with other organisations and with customers to develop solutions which meet ever-changing needs. This can be a hard area for leaders who are used to confidentiality and ‘keeping cards close to their chest’ to assimilate. Good collaboration requires strong communication skills, the development of trust and a new attitude towards the product development process. All of these are skills which can be developed but if they are ignored then any attempt at collaboration will fail at the first hurdle. In fact, it is at this stage that those other skills which we were looking for come into play. Engaging hearts and minds, empowering, giving people the confidence to act are all key if a collaborative strategy is to succeed.
If you’d like to learn more about leadership development and the leadership traits required to create and drive a strong strategy forward then feel free to get in touch at www.questleadershipdevelopment.com.
