HOW TO FIND THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS

Break the Pattern with the 'Magic Multiplier'

I often think I’m in a privileged position in my executive search and talent consulting role as I get to meet executives across a variety of industry sectors, sizes and business models. It often strikes me that many organisations today are struggling with the same issues i.e. culture change, how to make transformation happen faster, how do we innovate more effectively, and how do we identify and develop the leaders at all levels who will deliver an exponential step change in performance. There is no doubt there is a shortage, or a bottleneck, of people with the capability to make genuine transformation happen and achieve it within the timeframes that will enable organisations to meet their strategic objectives.

In today’s kinetic business environment leaders can no longer rely purely on the strategies that have worked in the past, or even those that are working today. Rapid cycle change is the new normal. Our world is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA). The old patterns are being broken, and the accelerating technology cycle is enabling agile firms to bring new, disruptive products and services to market faster than ever before.

Lifting productivity is one of the key challenges for the Australian economy if we are to genuinely compete on the global stage, and the old ways of operating are simply no longer sustainable. Seismic economic and demographic shifts are also forcing governments around the world to re-imagine the way they design and deliver public services. 

The reality is technology, in some way shape or form, is disrupting most aspects of our lives. And it’s doing it faster than ever before. And we, as humans, must figure out ways to utilise those technologies to improve our lives and the way we do our work.

The current thinking is we’ll see in the developed world a great decrease in the number of people employed in routine manual tasks, and a comparable increase in the need for analytical, creative and interpersonal skills. The creative work, the thinking work, will be the focus and the routine work will be done even more either by machines or be outsourced to people in the less developed countries. The changes are already upon us and by and large they will be great for us, but we need the capability to be able to capitalise upon the benefits they may offer us.

So, the world of work is changing. Jobs are getting harder, more complex, and broader. The good news is, as we focus more on the creative and innovative aspects of our work this appeals to the uppermost levels within Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs so if we get it right, we should be enjoying our jobs more. 

This rapid change is taking place as the supply of quality, high potential and innovative talent will not keep up with the demand for those people. Employers are having to fundamentally re-think the qualities the leaders of today, and tomorrow, will need. For these people we must think of a different approach, and break the old patterns, if we’re going to be successful in making transformation sustainable. Innovation, at pace, needs to become a natural part of the way we work, and we need to identify and develop the talent who will enable this transformation.

So how do we get there? What do we look for in these supremely innovative people who are going to help us change the world? We have to break the pattern. How do we do that? Well let’s look at some crucial indicators:

• We know that organisations with a comprehensive talent management strategy outperform the market by a ratio of 2.5 to 3 times. We know that because we can track performance against their competitors and the stock market in general.
• We also know that a star performer is worth on average 1.9 times more in productivity than that of a good performer.
• We also know from exhaustive research that 71% of High Performers are not High Potentials. Those people are good at their current job, but they don’t necessarily have the genuine potential to move upwards, or across, the organisation and be successful in another role.
• However, 93% of High Potentials are also High Performers. 

Does this mean these are the people who can make genuine and sustainable transformation happen? If so, what are the characteristics we should be looking for? In any recruitment or assessment process we should clearly ensure people have enough of the required subject matter expertise and experience combined with the right raw material i.e. the applied intelligence, emotional intelligence and the necessary career motivation.  In my experience most recruitment and assessment initiatives stop there. And that’s probably fine if it’s designed to identify the High Performers. However, if we are looking for the High Potential, innovative people who are really going to make transformation happen we should use the ‘magic multiplier’ of potential – Learning Agility.

So which competencies should we be looking for with Learning Agile people? Here are some examples:

• Results Agility – the ability to deliver results even in tough situations. Is resourceful, inspiring, has significant presence, builds high performing teams.
• Self Awareness – is insightful, reflective, clearly understands personal strengths & weaknesses, actively seeks feedback and is sensitive of their impact on others.
• Mental Agility – comfortable with complexity and ambiguity. Is highly curious, has broad interests and finds solutions to tough problems.
• People Agility – can work easily with a diversity of people. Is politically agile, a skilled communicator and manages interpersonal conflict well.
• Change Agility – is a constant tinkerer. Introduces novel perspectives, enjoys leading change efforts and willingly takes the heat out of any resistance to change.

The best performing teams or organisations have leaders who thrive on change and make sense uncertainty. They seek out and learn from unfamiliar experiences, and then apply those learnings to succeed in new situations. Learning Agility helps them to know what to do, when they don’t know what to do.

And the reverse is also true. We’ve probably all worked with bosses who stumble and stall, they are overly reliant on past solutions, they’ve got blind spots to their own faults, and they simply quit learning.

There are many, many facets involved when identifying and recruiting current and future leaders. If we are to identify the talent who will accelerate culture change, make transformation happen faster, and deliver an exponential step change in performance the ‘magic multiplier’ of potential should certainly form an integral part of the identification, recruitment and development approach.

John Whiting is an award-winning executive search & leadership assessment specialist and is the Managing Director of Excellence In Leadership.