Unlocking Value Via Leadership Courage

Ask CEOs today to state one thing that will bend their curves to value, and the answer is moving faster. Speed is a competitive advantage even if decisions require adjustments as conditions dictate. And, CEOs realize, and generally Boards agree, that the opportunity cost of not taking initiative is far riskier. 

Then, why are many leaders viewed as falling short? And, what’s holding them back from dealing with known roadblocks that continually trap opportunities within their four walls?

To take decisive actions and pivots requires a large dose of leadership courage.

From advising our clients and meeting with these outstanding leaders, we believe leadership courage and determination result in positive outcomes and have identified three interrelated factors that, taken together, will enhance performance.

Assessing Who Will Win... Avoid Talent Traps

The question is how to identify the right leaders under asymmetrical conditions to address critical priorities that seem to be ever evolving. 

There is no doubt that Jim Collins’ sage advise about having the right leaders on the bus is essential. To determine the leadership team composition, it starts and ends with the CEO’s unwavering commitment to executive selection and the alignment of leaders to critical priorities, with transparency. This sounds logical and simple, but identifying those executives that can win is very challenging and downright difficult… even more so now.

Although selecting executives that have successful track records remains a standard norm, we have concluded that past experiences and even notable success is NOT the only, nor the most critical, determinant for selecting leaders who have the wherewithal and bandwidth to lead and power forward in spite of the unpredictable effects of moving goal posts.

So, our advice on talent is, avoid the traps of comfort. Seek to attract leaders who have the gumption to challenge historic points of view, even if they are “burrs in the saddle” and protagonists. Be concise of the “what and why“ you are searching for and a tough grader. But most importantly, act.

From Good to Better to Best

Traditions and cultures only have value if they continually create value!

As one of our clients regularly asks his/her senior team, “What rules did we break today?” It takes courage to separate from the comfort of the past to create a brighter future.

Headwinds exist and the velocity of change create unanticipated opportunities and challenges. Universally, leaders pursue to be agile by developing mouse traps to disrupt the status quo, seeking the outsized spoils of the risk of being first. 

Leading disruption takes courage and conviction on three interactive levels. The best leaders successfully address all three. First, it takes foresight and courage to break with the past to position toward a more successful future. Second, one must carefully, systematically, and continually redefine senior leadership expectations... it’s not easy to teach old dogs new tricks!  And equally as important, it takes courage to identify and break middle management log jams and processes that slow change and kill effectiveness. 

Make Priorities Transparent and Clear

The alignment between strategy-to-outcomes, business cadence/operating structure, and leadership teams is critical. Misalignments waste time and financial resources which are not recoverable. And even if you could design an effective fix, it will distract from your most precious resource... leadership.

THE BOTTOM LINE...

Our suggestion to gain traction:

Boards and CEOs recognize that selecting leaders in critical change leadership positions with the proper gearing is proving more important than their past performance. Simply, working with our clients, we develop change leadership scorecards that assist our clients attract executives who exhibit courage on all three dimensions. And, even with every company having their own set of unique challenges and their own contexts, by following this openly transparent, deeper dive, evaluative process, the decision of who and how to lead becomes much clearer.