Organisations which take leadership development seriously are winners – and their competitors are losers. Corporations and business schools used to be preoccupied with models of the rational economic individual; today, however, attention is also paid to emotional aspects of leadership and the importance of corporate culture. Technology is changing rapidly and virtual teams are difficult to manage. Making decisions under the overload of information is also demanding.
Unfortunately, executives are still strangers to themselves. And due to their insecurities they may resort to highly dysfunctional behaviours, according to an article on the management-issues.com website.
Making things happen
Vision without action is a hallucination. Top managers need to be aware that the real challenge comes when the execution of a well-intended decision gets bogged down. Seamless execution requires a leadership model that is not autocratic; at the same time, it does need to be authoritative and based on networking.
Leadership today means being interactive, informative and innovation-oriented. Leaders must have the emotional intelligence to create meaning and inspire. Furthermore, they must empower their staff to get things done in the best possible way.
Agile organisations
You need adaptable, collaborative and resilient employees with a good level of self-awareness. There is a need for genuine exchange of knowledge and the will to go beyond silo thinking. Systemic thinking is also necessary.
When it comes to executives, being a functional manager is no longer enough. Ultimately leaders must get out of their functional silo in order to bring the best out of other people. Why are many leaders so poor in developing well-functioning teams? It is because they still have a great sense of personal anxiety and insecurity. And they are unaware of the effect their demeanour has on others.
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