The world has been interwoven through information technology, leadership is now becoming more innovative, interdisciplinary, influential and innovative.
Senior leadership has to make influence from mindset to attitude to behavior, evolving to what is needed next for radical changes and societal advancements. Here are three crucial leadership competencies for leading transformational changes.
Advanced thinking: There is no doubt we live in the digital era with advanced technology and exponential growth of information. Generally speaking, leadership is an influence starting at the mindset level. The advanced mind which is positive, forward-thinking, innovative, and inclusive, etc, is the brainpower and driving force behind any kind of societal progress. Leaders with an advanced mindset can convey a clear vision, influence transformative changes and have a future orientation that makes them more prone to overcome barriers and handle adversities. They can discern, learn to reflect, have the interdisciplinary knowledge to understand perspectives different from their own to improve leadership effectiveness and maturity.
In reality though, the mindsets of many senior leaders today, shaped a couple of decades ago, haven’t been updated completely yet. The great leaders present a set of multidimensional thinking competencies such as critical thinking, creative thinking, strategic thinking, independent thinking, holistic thinking, etc, to deal with over-complexity and hyper-competition of new normal, develop world class insight and foresight, and lead progressive change smoothly. They also have a clear vision, unconventional wisdom, and courage to break down outdated rules, keep learning agile to deepen their understanding of varying issues or situations, to fuel innovation and accelerate change relentlessly.
Leadership decisiveness: Leadership is a mindset and a set of disciplines for making sound judgment and leading changes. Often, making decisions is all about making the right choice to fit different circumstances. Decision agility is dependent on better access to the right information, at the right time, also access to the right people. The digital dynamic creates many blindspots, generates or enlarges multiple gaps of effective decision-making due to unprecedented uncertainty and high velocity. Using the traditional ways of working in the silos and through the rigid processes simply won't have enough time to produce quality input for the decision-makers. Great leaders know how to carry themselves in most contexts; they understand how to make decisions in a manner that is in the best interests of the parties involved, and ultimately improve leadership maturity.
Information and gut-feeling both matter for improving decision maturity. The more important the decision, the more you need to have all the data, perform all the preparation, with an increase of confidence of success. However, information as input to the decision-making does not absolutely determine the decision but allows the decision-maker to exercise their judgment. For decision-making to be effective, the decision-maker must have the right dose of "gut feeling," and proficient knowledge to make their decisions rich in information and significantly different from the available data. Information-savvy leaders can improve their decision effectiveness cohesively, broadening and deepening leadership influence in a consistent way.
Problem-solving competency: We all develop reputations for being problem creators, problem definers, or problem solvers. Great leaders are great problem-solvers by digging into the root causes and solving them effectively without causing more issues later on. One of the most crucial responsibilities for them is to put the right people in the right position to solve complex problems continually. Framing the right problem is a critical step in solving it effectively. Otherwise, fixing the wrong cause of a problem is creating more gaps and leading to even more serious problems later on.
In practice, problem-solving is about seeing a problem and actually finding a solution to that problem, not about the band-aid approach to fixing the symptom. From a leadership perspective, it's about practicing strategic thinking and synthesis skills, envisioning the larger picture is a critical aspect to understand the best next moves and solve both existing problems or emergent problems effortlessly. Strategically, problem-solving should be more future driven, understand the problem and potential solutions from the future lens, mix perception, knowledge, and imagination toward more comprehensive ways to frame the right problems and take alternative ways to solve them innovatively.
Leaders are both natural and nurtured. Leadership is really a character and personal development for inspiring and leading progressive changes. The world has been interwoven through information technology, leadership is now becoming more innovative, interdisciplinary, influential and innovative. It implies a high level of intellectual and emotional maturity, strategic foresight, profound insight, decision effectiveness and problem-solving competency.
Advanced thinking: There is no doubt we live in the digital era with advanced technology and exponential growth of information. Generally speaking, leadership is an influence starting at the mindset level. The advanced mind which is positive, forward-thinking, innovative, and inclusive, etc, is the brainpower and driving force behind any kind of societal progress. Leaders with an advanced mindset can convey a clear vision, influence transformative changes and have a future orientation that makes them more prone to overcome barriers and handle adversities. They can discern, learn to reflect, have the interdisciplinary knowledge to understand perspectives different from their own to improve leadership effectiveness and maturity.
In reality though, the mindsets of many senior leaders today, shaped a couple of decades ago, haven’t been updated completely yet. The great leaders present a set of multidimensional thinking competencies such as critical thinking, creative thinking, strategic thinking, independent thinking, holistic thinking, etc, to deal with over-complexity and hyper-competition of new normal, develop world class insight and foresight, and lead progressive change smoothly. They also have a clear vision, unconventional wisdom, and courage to break down outdated rules, keep learning agile to deepen their understanding of varying issues or situations, to fuel innovation and accelerate change relentlessly.
Leadership decisiveness: Leadership is a mindset and a set of disciplines for making sound judgment and leading changes. Often, making decisions is all about making the right choice to fit different circumstances. Decision agility is dependent on better access to the right information, at the right time, also access to the right people. The digital dynamic creates many blindspots, generates or enlarges multiple gaps of effective decision-making due to unprecedented uncertainty and high velocity. Using the traditional ways of working in the silos and through the rigid processes simply won't have enough time to produce quality input for the decision-makers. Great leaders know how to carry themselves in most contexts; they understand how to make decisions in a manner that is in the best interests of the parties involved, and ultimately improve leadership maturity.
Information and gut-feeling both matter for improving decision maturity. The more important the decision, the more you need to have all the data, perform all the preparation, with an increase of confidence of success. However, information as input to the decision-making does not absolutely determine the decision but allows the decision-maker to exercise their judgment. For decision-making to be effective, the decision-maker must have the right dose of "gut feeling," and proficient knowledge to make their decisions rich in information and significantly different from the available data. Information-savvy leaders can improve their decision effectiveness cohesively, broadening and deepening leadership influence in a consistent way.
In practice, problem-solving is about seeing a problem and actually finding a solution to that problem, not about the band-aid approach to fixing the symptom. From a leadership perspective, it's about practicing strategic thinking and synthesis skills, envisioning the larger picture is a critical aspect to understand the best next moves and solve both existing problems or emergent problems effortlessly. Strategically, problem-solving should be more future driven, understand the problem and potential solutions from the future lens, mix perception, knowledge, and imagination toward more comprehensive ways to frame the right problems and take alternative ways to solve them innovatively.
Leaders are both natural and nurtured. Leadership is really a character and personal development for inspiring and leading progressive changes. The world has been interwoven through information technology, leadership is now becoming more innovative, interdisciplinary, influential and innovative. It implies a high level of intellectual and emotional maturity, strategic foresight, profound insight, decision effectiveness and problem-solving competency.
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