As leaders, we increasingly demand that our people be more adaptable, flexible and agile. How often does our leadership approach reflect these demands?
The traditional “my way or the highway”, “carry on regardless” approach exemplified by many past leadership icons is falling by the wayside. But the answer is not in dropping the old and replacing it with a new philosophy. The answer is somewhat more challenging than that.
In the present leadership landscape, organisations and the people who occupy them are still in unknown territory. As leaders, we have to constantly pivot, experiment and encourage people to move quickly. At the same time, much of our perceived wisdom — the things we took for granted about running our businesses and what our clients and partners need — is being transformed. Meanwhile, the workforce is now more diverse and multi-generational than ever.
Today, leaders need to promote a meaningful sense of purpose and vision to engage younger workers. They want to do work that makes a difference. If not, they will seek opportunities elsewhere. Leaders must balance decisions that ensure day-to-day survival and progress.
However, projecting a long-term, better-future message requires repetition and consistency. At the same time, one needs to champion greater agility among those that need to show it.
Leaders need to ensure quality in the face of ever-increasing and unexpected competition. We also need critical teams to move quickly, experiment and try new things. We need to trust experience, intuition and instincts, while simultaneously learning to use and understand all the data we have in hand.
The above factors create a web of complex challenges for leaders, requiring them to deploy different leadership practices, with different people, at different times (often on the same day). I believe these combined challenges mean leaders need to develop more balanced, adaptive and agile approaches. From my own experience, this demands a great deal of unlearning and relearning in a very short time frame.
But where can a leader (at any level) start?
Start with yourself. First, take some time to reflect on how your leadership styles have changed positively over the last two years. Which changes worked, and what did you find difficult? Which aspects of your leadership approach and philosophy no longer work so well? How do your new and younger staff respond? Are you seeing a higher turnover among these groups?
Are you personally sticking to traditional core business issues and delegating potential future areas to someone else? Understanding your leadership comfort zone and where you can stretch yourself will give you a solid basis for any required leadership shift.
Identify what has changed. So much has. In the hybrid/virtual workplace, I had to communicate more frequently with my direct reports. Conversations tended to be shorter. Meetings were more structured and disciplined (with so many back-to-back meetings). I spent much more time coaching and passing on things I had learned to guide my people on changing circumstances and customer needs. I used much more technology.
Use your leadership radar. Leaders who are more naturally hands-off and distant may struggle, and I am naturally somewhat of an introvert. Today our people are balancing so many things in their lives. Home lives and family demands are disrupted. Leaders have to be highly aware, empathic and make sense of what is going on. These insights need to inform our choice of approach in different situations.
Get people-centric. We are pressed for performance and press others, but we now need to be more people-focused than ever. I recently read a quote by Frances Frei, Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School, that I believe can guide us: “Leadership is not about us. Leadership is about making others better — first as a result of our presence, and then in such a way that it lasts into our absence.” Does it logically follow that we have to be many different types of leaders every day?
I recommend taking every opportunity to practise your leadership empathy, adaptability and outside-in thinking. I suggest you innovate and experiment in leading your people. Surprise them by being someone different and evaluate how they react.
I hope you enjoy the challenge of providing those you lead with the new help and the new leadership they may need, which will empower all your people to succeed.
Arinya Talerngsri is Chief Capability Officer and Managing Director at SEAC — Southeast Asia’s Lifelong Learning Center. She can be reached by email at arinya_t@seasiacenter.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/arinya-talerngsri-53b81aa. Talk to us about how SEAC can help your business during times of uncertainty at https://forms.gle/wf8upGdmwprxC6Ey9
