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When I walk into a leaders office, the first thing I do is glance at their desk and
book shelves to determine their state of mind. What are they reading and who
is influencing their thinking? My goal is to identify their mindset, how they
manage their time and what steps they are taking to identify the next big
opportunity.
2. Without Preparation, Often Blindsided
Your senior leadership team should be optimistic about the companys future
and prepare itself to avoid being blindsided. When leaders are not receptive to
change, and reflect negativity in their tone, body language and attitude, its a
crisis waiting to happen.
Senior leadership must embrace the mentality of change agent, constantly
anticipating the unexpected with a healthy dose of skepticism. Every leader
must be a change agent or soon they will face extinction blindsided without
preparation to competitive strategies and the evolution of the marketplace.
For example, are your leaders prepared for the cultural demographic shift?
Hispanics, Asians and African Americans will represent $4.2 trillion in
purchasing power in the United States by 2019. In just four short years, they
will represent nearly 27% of the U.S. total, according to the Selig Center for
Economic Growth at the Terry College of Business at the University of
Georgia.
Unfortunately, the majority of organizations are not anticipating and preparing
themselves for thiscultural shift in their business models and what it means
to their talent pipeline and the positioning of their brands. This puts their
organizations, their brands and their retention of top talent at risk as the
demographics of the marketplace change and they lack the preparation to
change with it.
3. Not Courageous Enough With Their Thinking
Todays unpredictable market demands courageous thinking from its leaders. If
your senior leadership team is not passionate enough to explore endless
possibilities for your company, then its ability to grow and compete is limited.
Senior leadership must have the belief in its people and clients to become
potent pioneers in the organization and trailblazers in the industry they serve.
Its their responsibility to build high performance teams and push the
boundaries to see and seize opportunities previously unseen in the
marketplace to elevate consumer trust and loyalty.
As Steve Jobs said, You have to have a lot of passion for what you are doing
because it is so hard. If you dont, any rational person would give up. In other
words, if your leadership doesnt give it everything theyve got, your
companys value proposition will quickly become irrelevant.
4. Dont Invest in Relationships and Resources
Having access to and investing in the right resources and relationships are
critical factors to grow and compete. Beyond your employees and clients, how
Though they may experience some constructive disruption along the way, with
proper strategic focus, teams that are stitched together into an ecosystem in
the right combinations will be geared for success and the most effective
change management results.
If you feel like your company is no longer growing and starting to lose
competitive ground, its time to take a serious look at your leadership and the
culture they are promoting. Do they consistently miss the mark with their
inability to see beyond the obvious? Or are they forward thinkers who can
anticipate the unexpected and are not afraid of change because they are
potent pioneers? If they also value relationships, share their good fortune with
others, and lead to leave a legacy through the promise of their brand, they will
be supporting a culture that attracts and advances top talent, and enables their
organization to grow and compete for years to come.