Business Leadership Skills Requiredto Navigate the Next Decade and Beyond
Our world in its increasing complexity requires business leadership skills that are far in advance of business as usual. We need a game change. Sure we need the business leadership skills we have already established as requisite to continue to evolve and develop... Yes to enhanced people skills Yes to being able to inspire and motivate Yes to being able to run a successful business and create a profit No to creating a profit at all costs Yes to the increased cultivation of emotional and social intelligence Yes to being able to do the traditional leadership skills suite taught at the majority of Business schools around the world - economics, strategy, governance, etc. AND.. Yes to greater comfort with the unknown, to be able to stand grounded in uncertainty Yes to cognitive flexibility, to be willing and able to eject plan A at a moments notice and create spontaneously, plan B Yes to appreciation for diverse perspectives, and more than this, the ability to be able to work with people with diverse perspectives and hold all in respect and to account Yes to the ability to hold multiple points of view simultaneously Yes to the ability of being able to use both intellect AND intuition, and to be discerning within the tension between the two Yes to be able to create prototypes and artifacts on the go...to launch products that are less then perfect, incomplete, and allow the market to provide either the completion feedback, or to be partners in the next generation. (think iphone apps) See Forever Beta. Yes to developing the whole self, not just the exterior behaviours, but also the interior wisdom Yes to being able to advance our cognitive, emotional, physical and spiritual awareness to a high degree that we become tuned in to the very subtleties of energy flow and change Yes to develop the morals and ethics that align with integrity for all Yes to be consummately considerate of the field effects of our every thought and action Yes to being able to collaborate, network, build relationships above and beyond the traditional line of what may seem relevant or useful Yes to being healthy in mind, body and spirit Yes to being able to read a map of the Global territory that is able to give a high level systemic perspective of all of the influences and structures at play Yes to being in business to be in service to the success of all, versus the success of a few Yes to incorporating art, design, aesthetics, music, creativity and play into our work while maintaining professionalism and performance (again think apple, and google) Business leadership skills needed to navigate the next decade and beyond require and integration of all of the history of man to this point, both the east and west, the world on the outside and the world on the inside. Using the Integral Map as a reference point, the generalised history of Western Business and leadership has been a very right sided quadrant affair. “Show me the money!” “Get me results!” “Do it by the book!” “Get the system right!” “Go hard or go home!” In the East there has been more of a focus on the right side of the quadrant. Be aligned with self, take care of community and family, cultivate kindness, mindfulness, work to live. As we become more globalised (integrated), the environment is demanding of us to also integrate the east and west at all levels, personal, spiritual and business. (The concept of yin and yang) To take the best elements of both, and together, bring them to a higher level of application that is both/and; not one or the other. Business leadership skills need this kind of integration today. For many business leaders to even consider using “intuition” as a key skill may sound like the leader is off with the faeries. But what about “street smarts”, or “gut instinct?” Are these more culturally acceptable words for the same thing? And what about incorporating mindfulness into business? Spirituality? Deep purpose, meaning? Business leadership skills without consciously considering the interior of the leader in development would be like fixing a broken car by giving it a paint job. The question is...what generates the decisions a leader makes? Their exterior world, or their interior? Or both? The status and money or being of service? Why consider the environment and ecology? Because in a global world, there is no “there” to throw stuff away to. I throw my toxic chemicals ‘away’ into the atmosphere or ocean, and someone has it land on their doorstep, in one form or another. There simply is no “there” that is away from. Not any more. Why should business leadership skills consider contemplation and silence as a daily practice? Ask any leader, ask yourself...how important is reflection, space, time out...to you, even if you don’t take it? Even those of us running at 100 miles an hour from day to day know at core we are desperate for some SPACE and time. Our current drug of choice is busy-ness. What about business leadership skills that allow agility, flexibility, the ability to stand in chaos and confusion and create as the situation unfolds? For many people this level of uncertainty is extremely discombobulating. How do we cultivate this kind of comfort? We must practice mindfulness, presence, and a deep trust for our creative process. But to be present to our creative process first we must be able to be still enough to listen and hear it! And then we learn to trust, and be very comfortable in walking with the emergent and getting it wrong! And getting the feedback, experiencing feedback as valuable, seeking feedback to support the emergent process. Surrounding ourselves with partners and collaborators that provide feedback, and support us to build the new. Being more interested in being of service than being right. Letting go of ego, and the need to be right, and good and liked...... If you or your company are interested in exploring more of these kinds of business leadership skills, check out The Constellation. Recognising the need to support leadership development that will be capable of meeting the extraordinary demands of the next few decades, a group of us from around the world have come together to support this kind of evolutionary next step in leadership development. To Return from Business Leadership Skills to Leadership Development
|
