Leadership Skills: The Courage to Thrive in Today’s Interconnected World
When we think about courage, we think about change. In today’s business environment you have to anticipate the next change, prepare yourself – and your team – to make it work in spite of challenges you, your organization, and your marketplace may face. Living in today’s world has its ups and downs, and being able to identify potential growth and path adjustment in yourself, your career and in your organization is truly a game changer.
Structuring yourself for change is one of the most valued attributes a leader could possess today, as it will not only contribute for his/her self-development and self-improvement, but also for the success of his/her business. In fact, when the topic is mindset change and leadership skills, there is this: “In large successful business giants such as General Electric, Apple, Microsoft, Toyota, “transformation” means far more than just managing and administering daily transactions. It requires a pioneering mindset of focusing on strategic goals and translating these into their business operations. Leadership has to be reflected in the behaviours and actions which ultimately impact the customer for the better. What enables this to happen is a shift in leadership from focusing “internally” on administering and transacting day to day operations, to “outwardly” transforming the business to achieve a state of customer focused self-renewal.” Also, when the topic is leadership skills and improvement, we must focus on behavioral assessments, habit patterns and neuro leadership (mindset) training. Focusing on “improving the interpersonal competence of people in leadership positions so they can best associate, align, motivate and enthuse their staff and teams” is crucial for a sustainable human-to-human (H2H) relationship supply chain. Source, here.
I have written and been part of leadership training that sustains that the status quo of leadership and innovation is no longer a fit for the socio-environmental, economic and political challenges of the 21st Century. Essential socio-emotional skills coupled with bio-leadership training (based on the triple bottom line framework: P3 – people, planet, and profit) is the change needed for sustainable progress in businesses and society as a whole. In fact, at Brain U Coaching, we have a Program designed especially for this.
And to guide leaders on this training, one of the self-assessment exercises we suggest is to do a 360 degree leadership behaviour assessment, which includes potential feedback from peers, co-workers, as well as direct reports in the H2H relationship supply chain. Of course this is a “reality check” in terms of so many leadership skills a leader should take a closer look at, such as organization skills, emotional and social skills, team leadership and personal performance, but also it is so crucial for leaders to structure a succession plan within the organization, and to move forward towards adding more value to the whole team in a fast-paced changing environment. Tailored leadership training brings enormous return on investment – ROI to organizations especially when the programs can align development activities within their leadership and the people + planet + profit metrics, all so essential for the success of any business in the 21st Century.
In a recent article entitled Can Leadership Skills Be Taught? Liz Ryan explained: “To move forward on your leadership path you must look inward and explore what makes you a leader, not because somebody gave you that title but because you are ready to grow your own leadership muscles, inside. You will tap into what makes you a leader even without the title and without any power. The closer you get to that learning, the more open you will be to letting your teammates find their inner leaders, too, the way every strong leader does. You won’t want to keep all the flame for yourself! Anyone can learn to lead, but not in the manner of the archaic carrot-and-stick “I make the rules!” brand of leadership. Leadership in the new millennium is soft, not hard. It’s quiet, not loud. It’s human. It’s based on trust.”
And I would gently add to that: to thrive on your leadership skills, you must be open to change, and focus on your neuro leadership and bio leadership training, because it is all interconnected. You must think about your intrapersonal (self-connection) and interpersonal (people-to-people) relationships, on your planet, and also on your clients’ satisfaction and profit that best leadership could generate. The question that I pose now is: Who would disagree with that? And most importantly: Why are you not focusing on your leadership skills development? Have the courage to take the first step and thrive, and all will follow accordingly.
Fernanda Cristina Alem Freitas is co-founder of Brain U Coaching, a Brazilian-based training organization that supports global leadership skills development, education and sustainable performance. She can be reached at: fernandaalem@brainucoaching.com This article was originally published at Pulse/LinkedIn.
