Business leaders can transform the economy
Resilience is surely the most popular buzzword in business at the moment. We
have made too many decisions based on cost alone, something which has proven to
be the basis of our fragility.
Over the past few months, we have suffered the effects of vulnerable supply
chains due to a combination of
factors such as a lack
of disaster preparedness, a lack of transparency and an over-reliance on
globalization. Climate change is already one of the most concerning risks for
business, along with other threats to human wellbeing. According to the renowned
Edelman Global Trust
Barometer conducted
during this health crisis, only 43 percent of 10,000 respondents believe
companies have acted adequately to protect their employees from the virus; and
only 46 percent believe that companies are helping small suppliers and customers
stay afloat.
Pillars on which we can build resilience
In times of crisis, we must be able to reimagine. Fighting disruptions and
disasters with financial austerity, mass employee layoffs and various types of
fine-tuning in the same, old planning systems is not the way forward. We need
to design
Moonshots
— desirable and inspiring visions of the future — to ensure better days for
society, the planet and business, instead of succumbing to predictable
scenarios. We need to be visualizing the future we want, and, in a spirit of
aspiration, taking firm steps to achieve it. This kind of Moonshot thinking has
been responsible not only for the famous 1960s moon landing, but also numerous
other
breakthroughs
since then.
The best leverage to build resilience and to reimagine? Experts around the world
can't think of better tools than sustainability and regeneration — ensuring that
we design new Moonshots consistent with science-based, context-based,
net-positive thinking. Little wonder that a few weeks ago, the President of the
European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, yet again pointed to the
European Green
Deal as the
smartest driving force behind recovery at this time. That said, ensuring
economic recovery requires more than just bold ideas and investment.
We need transformational business leaders equipped with the right skills,
capacities and approaches — without them, we can’t expect big breakthroughs and
the ‘moon landing’ leaps we need. The ever-evolving concept of business
leadership is now especially critical, and the need for cultivating
transformational qualities — undeniable.
5 characteristics and skills of transformational leaders
Our research highlights five elements that are essential for transformational
leadership, along with important reflections on the ‘how-to.’
The first prerequisite for transformational leadership is the ability to
create a culture of adaptation. To do that, executives need to step outside
their comfort zones with relative ease; and to encourage their teams to do the
same while rewarding them, accordingly. We also need leaders capable of
identifying and acting on exponential trends. Strategic planning, risk
assessment and innovation models continue to be mostly linear; but, as we have
seen, we need to predict and react much better to exponential dynamics. In
addition, adaptive leaders would be wise to promote non-hierarchical
organizational structures that many are already experimenting with. Instead of
always claiming to have the solution, top management could invite their teams to
develop it.
Transformational leaders also have a clear grasp of all systems they’re
operating in. These days, and going forward, being an effective company leader
requires being a sector and system leader. Such leaders are able to say "No!" to
things that are clearly no longer working, break away from existing norms and
beliefs, and act rebellious when it is evident that something has stopped making
sense. In this context, setting up open-minded innovation and collaboration is
the key to positive disruption, beyond buzzwords and photo ops. Systemic leaders
look to NGOs, activists, consumers, suppliers, governments, unions and other
stakeholders for input and partnerships, as well as for collective behavioural
changes that lead to systemic changes — all in the spirit of exploring new
paths.
Further, transformational leaders are people who have already discovered the
enormous power of the human dimension. They understand that a harmonious,
elegant, fulfilling coming together of ‘personal life’ and ‘work life’ is what
makes professionals shine and perform in the medium and long term — wisdom that
is still not taught even in the most prestigious business schools.
Courage and humility go hand in hand. Unfortunately, but truthfully, there are
some industries with big dark sides — look no further than
fashion,
for example, which is one of the most polluting sectors globally. Bringing these
issues out into the open in a humble, vulnerable and trusting way is the best
decision a leader can make in this day and age.
The 20th-century pseudo-wisdom saying ‘to admit failure is to show weakness’ is
useless and harmful today. Transparency, integrity and empathy are the winning
forces now.
Investing time in middle management represents one of the few best
investments for transformational leaders — specifically, time for honest
conversations, sharing and joint reflection. Such conversations can lead to
catharsis, inspiration and productive ideation. This also helps build trust and
continuous deep involvement from employees, ensuring consistently strong results
over time.
Finally, the fifth element is purpose as the North Star and spine of the
organisation, rather than just a slogan or communication plan.
Transformational leaders must have a purpose in their DNA that is greater than
just making money — a clearly-defined, well-articulated positive social and/or
environmental purpose that resonates in a real down-to-earth way with employees,
consumers and other stakeholders.
Equipped with everything listed above, the business leaders of tomorrow will
reimagine, transform, strengthen and empower not only their companies, but also
all stakeholders and systems they touch with their work.
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Partner, Innovation & Research Director
Quiero
Sandra Pina, General Director at Quiero, is also the Director of Sustainable Brands Madrid, Sustainability speaker and advisor, Associate Professor at Instituto de Empresa Business School and member of the Advisory Board of Sustainable Brands Global. She has previous global experience in FMCG multinationals: Kellogg’s and Danone.
Advisor and Co-Lead, Global Content Strategy & Thought Leadership, Sustainable Brands
Dimitar is a senior sustainability and regeneration strategist, educator, executive advisor and mentor. He currently holds the following active roles: Advisor and Co-Lead, Global Content Strategy & Thought Leadership at Sustainable Brands; Senior Strategist, Content Development & Product Innovation at Sustainability Hub Norway; Executive Advisor at rePurpose Global; and Senior Content Advisor at Integrate2033. He co-led the creation of the SB Brand Transformation Roadmap, a comprehensive navigation tool mapping the whole journey from business-as-usual to a sustainable brand, and co-designed an accompanying assessment process that measures progress in five dimensions: purpose, brand influence, operations and supply chain, products and services, and governance.
Published Aug 17, 2020 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST