(II) How to Resolve the Trillion-Dollar Leadership Crisis

We made a few laconic statements in the last blog:

1. “The crisis (of the effectiveness of training programmes) has reached such monumental proportions because of the basic and fundamental conceptual blunders of ‘wise and expert thinkers’. They ignored the radical change in the environment (in both, academic and industrial milieus).

2. The fact is that futuristic, visionary, charismatic and transformational types of leaders cannot be trained, developed, made, created, shaped, moulded or ‘minted’. It is true that such leaders are not born. They are the ones who get fired up by their own, all-consuming passions, are ready to leave their comfort zones, take risks and make sacrifices to ‘BECOME’ effective leaders.

3. They (the leaders) would, no doubt, need a supportive environment to thrive. The specifics of that will be covered in the next part.”

In this post, we try to outline a few steps to resolve the crisis by suggesting radical changes. But then, the task is enormous and the apathy and inertia to make total change is widespread. We plan to create a platform to promote a ‘Collaborative Creativity Council (3 Cs)’ and spread the creed.   

Let us consider the change in the environment. The VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) phenomenon has caused an unprecedented crippling disruption in business. The theCovid-19 pandemic caused havoc nearly paralyzing activities.

The gap between the technology leaps is narrowing fast, causing the highest ever rate of obsolescence. The technology change, they say, is so very fast that ‘reality is jumping ahead of fantasy’. Several unicorns rise with every sunrise and over 82% fail. New ideas and products are complex and result from the fusion of the thinking of people from several disciplines, while the main innovator also has to have his own perceptions of all disciplines involved. The new normal is chaos.

In such conditions, aspiring leaders cannot remain specialists. They must try to be omniscient, i.e. have an essential grasp of all aspects that impact business, directly or indirectly. Companies can do this through functional rotations. Individuals, for their part, can voluntarily participate in diverse activities. The pursuit of getting the latest information in all related fields can help to enhance the quality of omniattentiveness. The figures at the end of this post will help you better appreciate and apply these concepts.  

There is a need to amalgamate “crystallized intelligence (CI)” (learning, knowledge and skills that are acquired over a lifetime) with “fluid intelligence”(FI), which is the ability to quickly adapt to and solve problems, even in an unfamiliar situation. This, more or less, describes the concept of 'street smartness’. Traditional education and training are strong in CI and weak in FI. Consequently, most experts and the wise are strong in CI and weak in FI.  Essentially, FI is street smartness, a collection of experiential insights or, in simple terms, high commonsense. To acquire it, leadership learners have to climb down from their ivory towers, come down to the street and interact closely with common people in all spheres, particularly in the workplaces. FI can also be raised through active participation in meetings of professional associations and various conferences. A lot of businesspeople play golf and other sports. Taking an active part in sports also adds to FI through informal talks in sports and social circles.

The important question is how to support, rather catalyze, the passionate upcoming leaders’ efforts to convert ‘fantasies’ into novel products and services. The above actions to amalgamate crystallized and fluid intelligence would help leaders-in-the-making to pursue their passions and get, what Chris Guillebeau calls, ‘The Happiness of Pursuit’ as against the prevailing idea of ‘pursuit of happiness.

There is an urgent need to give up the concept of the ‘Role Model’ which promotes imitation and hinders creativity and innovation, abilities that are at the heart of leadership growth activities.

The need to provide opportunities and facilities for re-wiring the brain cannot be overemphasized. It is a sure-fire way to keep up with the times that we live in and shape the future. In addition to its tremendous capacity, the human brain also has an infinite ability to rewire itself when exposed to new experiences, new learning and experimentation called Neuroplasticity. The brain forms new neural connections throughout life helping us keep pace with constant and rapid change. All it takes is to be in the 'student-for-life' mindset. There is a need to make learning resources available everywhere and also introduce the culture of brainstorming instead of guest lecturers or group discussions.

All-out efforts must be made to turn R&D into D&R (Dreaming & Realizing). Many outside R&D, too, have dreams that lie dormant and die. A few companies give 'paid free time' to all staff to chase dreams. And 'free timers' have developed iconic products that sell in millions and add cash in billions to revenue. Why not spread this culture rapidly in all organizations?

We must walk the talk about doing away with the ‘boss- subordinates’ notion. That step will reduce the psychological distance which prevents a free flow and bouncing of ideas as and when they crop up. Watch out for any pretence of superiority, a definite source of tension that saps energy and creativity. Ever notice that all seven letters of the word ‘tension’ are in ‘pretension’? There couldn't be a clearer message. For this, an easy solution is suggested by Bill Campbell, the trillion-dollar coach of Google founders and other scores of Silicon Valley stalwarts. In a separate chapter in the book, ‘The Trillion Dollar Coach’, the authors observe that the “love” word is not heard in business, but it was central to Bill’s style. Putting love at the centre of your life, career and business matters can make all the difference.”

The above concept makes one a ‘people’s darling’ and results in the charismatic leadership style, which is the most cherished one. But it is also highly difficult to attain and maintain. We have attempted to provide a guide to assess one’s charisma and empathy levels in our previous blog “How to Assess Your Leadership Style”. You can search in the archives by clicking on the left-hand top corner.

Multiple Roles Enhance Leaders’ Potential

©Foresight Trust

Leaders’ Versatility is a Sine-Qua-Non for Success

©Foresight Trust   

Wizards of the World

Unite to Avoid the Impending Upheaval and Create a Universe in Unison