Wise Leadership for Innovative Companies
One of my CEO leadership coaching clients normally has a very coaching and empowering leadership style. However, in this turbulent economy he made a decision to be much more directive with his senior leadership team to drive results. He was very open with his senior team members that he was going to be much more hands on to get through this difficult economic period.
The CEO also needed to be very clear with his senior leaders that results needed to be achieved by doing the right thing and not compromising the integrity of the organization or its’ people. Accomplishing the strategic goals needed to be sustainable and not based on short-term profit. He inspired trust by being transparent about his intention.
Inspiring Trust and Transparency
We need a better way to evaluate our business leaders, assert James O’Toole and Warren Bennis in a recent Harvard Business Review article (“A Culture of Candor,” June 2009). It’s no longer prudent to judge American corporate leaders’ performance solely on the extent to which they create wealth for investors.
Moving forward, a new metric is proposed: the extent to which executives create organizations that are economically, ethically and socially sustainable.
The short-term thinking that Wall Street typically rewards no longer seems wise. Are these new ideals too much to strive for? Will they be forgotten once profits return?
The forces of globalization and technology are a powerful complication for the competitive arena, requiring leaders to manage rapid innovation to survive. Expectations about the corporation’s role in social issues, such as environmental degradation, domestic job creation and even poverty in the developing world, have risen sharply.
Unless corporations extend their thinking and strategies beyond short-term profits, they will miss crucial opportunities and find themselves unable to survive a rapidly changing environment.
Wise leaders must recognize that increased transparency is a fundamental first step to accomplishing the tasks required for economic, ethical and social sustainability, Bennis and O’Toole conclude.
The standard business definition of transparency usually means full disclosure of financial information to investors. But such a narrow interpretation produces an unhealthy focus on legal compliance, which usually means over concern with “the letter of the law” to the exclusion of others’ needs.
Are you working in a company or law firm where leadership models the company values? Does your company or law firm provide leadership coaching and leadership development to help leadership develop trust? How leaders language their message is critical.
One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I lead change by being transparent and developing trust?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching and leadership development for leaders who want to become more transparent in communications.
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 more effective at being transparent and increasing the level of trust in your organization. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision and mission of your company or law firm.
I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to mbrusman@workingresources.com
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