A number of my executive coaching clients don't like to look into the future. Perhaps it is because so much will change and change can be scary.
We work on changing their mindset to embrace change and the future as challenges and opportunity. Our conversations frequently revolve around learning from the past, living in the present and designing a desired future state full of possibility.
Why Leaders Don’t Look Ahead
Most leaders of organizations do not spend sufficient time considering the future. It may be in part because the answers are not easy—no one can know for sure what the future will bring. Globalization and rapidly changing technologies are only part of the uncertain future. One must also consider fluctuations in world politics, natural resources, and industry regulations.
Many leaders don’t want to look into the future because to do so is unsettling. They must admit that what they know today may be irrelevant and obsolete for the future. The knowledge and experience that brought them this far in their careers may not be sufficient.
When this happens, according to Hamel and Prahalad in their book Competing for the Future, “…the urgent drives out the important; the future goes largely unexplored; and the capacity to act, rather than the capacity to think and imagine, becomes the sole measure of leadership.”
Looking at the Wrong Things
This leads to focusing attention on internal issues of restructuring and reengineering to shore up present day business rather than creating the future. But neither will ensure continued success if a company fails to regenerate its core strategies.
According to Hamel and Prahalad, “Any company that succeeds at restructuring and reengineering, but fails to create the markets of the future, will find itself on a treadmill, trying to keep one step ahead of the steadily declining margins and profits of yesterday’s business.”
In 1989 there was a survey of U.S. managers who believed that quality would be a fundamental source of competitive advantage in the year 2000. On the other hand, barely half of Japanese managers predicted quality to be a source of advantage in the year 2000. The Japanese managers rated first as a source of competitive advantage in the year 2000 the capacity to create fundamentally new products and businesses. This doesn’t mean that the Japanese turn their backs on quality, only that it is no longer a competitive differentiator.
Too many companies are focusing on creating advantage through quality, time-to-market, and customer responsiveness. These are prerequisites for survival, not competitive advantages for the future.
Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become a a more inspiring leader who embraces the future. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.
We work on changing their mindset to embrace change and the future as challenges and opportunity. Our conversations frequently revolve around learning from the past, living in the present and designing a desired future state full of possibility.
Why Leaders Don’t Look Ahead
Most leaders of organizations do not spend sufficient time considering the future. It may be in part because the answers are not easy—no one can know for sure what the future will bring. Globalization and rapidly changing technologies are only part of the uncertain future. One must also consider fluctuations in world politics, natural resources, and industry regulations.
Many leaders don’t want to look into the future because to do so is unsettling. They must admit that what they know today may be irrelevant and obsolete for the future. The knowledge and experience that brought them this far in their careers may not be sufficient.
When this happens, according to Hamel and Prahalad in their book Competing for the Future, “…the urgent drives out the important; the future goes largely unexplored; and the capacity to act, rather than the capacity to think and imagine, becomes the sole measure of leadership.”
Looking at the Wrong Things
This leads to focusing attention on internal issues of restructuring and reengineering to shore up present day business rather than creating the future. But neither will ensure continued success if a company fails to regenerate its core strategies.
According to Hamel and Prahalad, “Any company that succeeds at restructuring and reengineering, but fails to create the markets of the future, will find itself on a treadmill, trying to keep one step ahead of the steadily declining margins and profits of yesterday’s business.”
In 1989 there was a survey of U.S. managers who believed that quality would be a fundamental source of competitive advantage in the year 2000. On the other hand, barely half of Japanese managers predicted quality to be a source of advantage in the year 2000. The Japanese managers rated first as a source of competitive advantage in the year 2000 the capacity to create fundamentally new products and businesses. This doesn’t mean that the Japanese turn their backs on quality, only that it is no longer a competitive differentiator.
Too many companies are focusing on creating advantage through quality, time-to-market, and customer responsiveness. These are prerequisites for survival, not competitive advantages for the future.
Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become a a more inspiring leader who embraces the future. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.
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