For many, our post-pandemic work world has shifted to a hybrid model of in-person and remote activities. Stakeholder relations and operational excellence continue to require leaders to expand, refine and adapt their executive repertoires. An important tool for them to possess and utilize on a daily basis is the Most Powerful Question.
Year Two of the coronavirus pandemic sees uneven and fragile economic recovery in the United States and broader global community. While Chief Executive Magazine recently reported US CEO confidence in future business conditions at a two-year high, leaders in both profit and mission-based organizations continue to face daunting fiscal and operational challenges.
In this Reset 2021 article I will address three priority areas that leaders and the boards that oversee them are talking about now and that require ongoing “protect and correct” attention and action.
The three priority areas are Organizational Reputation, Human Capital and Cybersecurity.
Often discussed within the framework of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues and regulation, these areas are discrete but interlinking business dimensions that need to be high on the senior executive team’s 2021 “protect and correct” agenda. Why? Because the prolonged global socio-economic dislocations wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with a low trust stakeholder ecosystem, and disruptive, next generation digital technologies all contribute to heightened business and management risk.
“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” – William James
The coronavirus pandemic continues to challenge leaders with navigating rapid change, making tough decisions, and all the while maintaining a motivated community of employees, customers and other partners.
One of the surest ways for leaders to strengthen stakeholder motivation and engagement is to show Gratitude on a regular basis. I call these Gratitude champions Type-G leaders for short.
Complexity is a fact of management life in our interdependent global marketplace. Paradoxically, the more complex things become, the greater the need for leaders to be able to extract, focus and act on core essentials.
Thriving in complex times involves seven crucial leader performance areas. Do you consistently deliver in these areas?
Twice in recent weeks I’ve found myself in small-group meetings that included senior executives who did not need to be there. After one of these meetings, I asked the chief operating officer, someone I know well, why he was at a gathering that clearly did not require his input or endorsement.
“Damned if I know,” he replied honestly. “Few people here seem to value my time.”
To finish the year strong, you and your team must exercise discipline with time allocation so that priority tasks and commitments are completed thoroughly and well. What activities fall into this category? Performance reviews, budget decisions, and customer care leap to mind. These are
not activities to be rushed. Yet in reality they often are, with the result being missed opportunities to maximize talent performance and bottom-line results.
To help calculate your Return-on-Time (ROT), check out our online Meeting Value Calculator Tool. It can help you determine the “cost” of a meeting for planning purposes. It can also help you determine after the fact whether a meeting yielded a reasonable ROT.
©Susan Battley. All rights reserved.
