Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Leadership is in the Action

Our current economic environment has created a sub-culture of fear. Individually there is a fear of loss of position, of not finding a job, of loss of benefits, and of taking a risk. Organizationally there is a fear of loss of competitiveness, of loss of customer base, and loss of revenue. It is in this climate that we have to lead the economic recovery.


Today, expectations for growing revenue, new clients and global expansion are the norm for businesses and organizations. Cross-border mergers and acquisitions now represent 40% of global activity. Companies in emerging markets are among the fastest growing and continue to establish themselves as both buyers and sellers. Juxtapose that against an environment that is underpinned by uncertainty and doing more with less – it’s a wonder that leaders sleep at night with the decisions you have to make.


How do you build an organization or team that is nimble when uncertainty is the norm, not the exception? While many may answer “with your people’, the gap between this belief and acting on those beliefs are miles apart. “The winners will be those that enable their thinking-intensive employees to create more profits by putting their collective mind power to better use.” Research has shown that even a few good choices can paralyze individuals and prevent them from making a decision, let alone a company or organization.


In any leadership role, the critical questions are why, what and how we do something. Yet, even the most carefully thought through decisions and actions often fail. In todays climate, discretionary spending, talent and the ability to focus are the scarce resources. We believe that the underlying WHO – both leaders and employees who take actions and deliver results – often determine the outcome of any situation. If you pause for a moment and ask yourself why you follow or believe a person, situation, organization or brand, the deep answer always lies in congruence of ACTIONS. Do you and your people ask that same questions of yourselves? Processes are necessary and give a defined structure and map for reaching objectives and they are one of many tools for effective management. However, true leadership is experienced and observed through behaviors and both emotional and cultural intelligence are required in global and local business. Leadership IS in the action and built in each interaction.


So why is investment in people, including yourself, and perceived intangibles the first to be cut in any economic downturn? At CDL, we often come across the flawed belief that investment in talent cannot be measured. For over 12 years CDL has researched and quantified and taught verbal behaviors to help businesses and organizations achieve results. This has further verified our belief that leadership starts with every action and behavior we choose.


Effective collaboration is more critical than ever in our interconnected world, within organizations, between organizations, within networks and across cultures. Through the measurement of behaviors, we can and have quantified the benefits and costs of collaboration. Leadership starts with individual behavior, which leads to team behavior culminating into organizational behavior. These are the actions that lead to the positive outcomes we all want to achieve in business and organizations. We hope you will stay tuned for further discussions on global leadership and join our discussion.

No comments: