The Need for Agile and Responsive Leadership Teams

If organizations have sufficient resources, trained and experienced personnel, technical expertise, and leadership, why do they fail to achieve the set goals or respond to market shifts adequately and promptly? I believe it is imprudent to apply conventional tactics when attempting to solve novel challenges. In my professional engagement running for 15 years at the Executive and board-level, I have come to understand the need for a paradigm shift regarding the balance between dynamism and stability. The current business environment is replete with examples of disruptive trends that effectively challenge the old paradigm, and successful companies respond to these changes effectively, promptly, and with assertive sobriety. The leadership and management of an organization are obliged to take proactive measures that ensure continuity, the espousal of new and innovative approaches to business, and effective response to shifting trends and expectations.

In my analysis of the business environment, I have noticed four challenges organizations face because of the digital revolution. The first is a rapidly changing environment that demands action to accommodate priorities. The second is the constant introduction and adoption of disruptive technology that has led to the commoditization of established industries and businesses. The third challenge is the accelerating pace of democratization and the digitization of information because of the vast amounts of data, the call for transparency, and the need to ensure the distribution of information. These changes require companies to engage in multi-directional communication that will facilitate collaboration with all stakeholders. The fourth force is the war for talent, where organizations seek individuals who demonstrate creative knowledge, adapt to new environments, solve problems amicably, and provide distinctive value propositions. I believe our organization has reached a phase where it must re-examine all aspects of its operations to remain relevant, competitive, and sustainable.

The leadership of every organization is a critical determinant of success or failure. Trends evident in the industry have dramatically altered the way organizations engage their employees to ensure efficiency, productivity, and profitability. Companies are under pressure to balance dynamism and stability, and some leadership teams are afraid of taking risks or changing the status quo because of the fear of failure. I believe an organization can only meet its goals when it is both firm and dynamic. It should design robust backbone elements capable of slow evolution while supporting dynamic capacities that can adapt rapidly to novel opportunities or new challenges. In the face of a crisis, an organization should react accordingly and should demonstrate its robustness by turning challenges into opportunities for growth. I believe the organization can master practical approaches to become a digitally enabled business that manages employees effectively, coordinates all activities efficiently, manages stakeholders’ expectations, and creates a corporate culture that nurtures creativity and innovativeness. In all the above undertakings, effective leadership is paramount.

If a company wants to be fast on its feet, transform end-to-end customer experiences, and continuously outpace competitors, it needs more than lots of agile teams. A truly agile enterprise requires that the company's top officers--most, if not all, of the C-suite--embrace agile principles, too. The job of a conventional agile team is to create innovative solutions to a problem--be it the need for a new product or service, a better business process, or an advanced technology to support new offerings. The job of an agile leadership team is to strike the right balance between standardizing operations and pursuing innovation. Most agile team members dedicate virtually all of their time to their agile roles, but that's not possible for executives. They have to simultaneously build and run the agile enterprise operating system, oversee business units and functions, serve as mentors and decision-makers, and handle the crises of the moment.

In line with the above, I suggest that the organization changes the way leaders make critical, strategic decisions and empower employees and team leaders. It is vital to re-examine the communication structures and their effects on organizational success or failure and reevaluate how hierarchy leaders take control of and allocate resources to manage the results. Visionary leadership should design and implement business operations, establish policies that enhance the vision and culture, and oversee operations and the work of all executives and employees. Leaders require an agile mindset that responds to new demands accordingly. I understand that some leaders can become obstacles instead of facilitating approaches that help to develop new products and services. In the conventional business world, individuals attain leadership positions based on their expertise, experience, and skills. While at the top, they become used to making decisions and overseeing their implementation by middle-level managers, supervisors, and employees. I believe the time has come for a shift in attitudes and leadership approaches. Leaders and managers should not fear failure and should not resist innovative perspectives and ideas that transform organizations by making them sustainable. Equally important is the need for collaboration between members of the leadership team because not a single executive can claim to have a monopoly on ideas. Financial institutions and FinTech companies need to embrace change by adopting fresh approaches to leadership and incorporating innovative ideas (Khare, 2020). Importantly, they should make decisions based on timely and accurate information gathered from sufficient business intelligence and market research. Management of organizations is undergoing rapid change and transformation occasioned by shifts in the operating environment and the need to embrace sustainable growth and profitability.

The Benefits

The financial services industry faces formidable challenges occasioned by disruption and rapid change. Markedly, both unprecedented competitions in the industry and disruption strategies adopted by key industry players threaten traditional business models. In this regard, there is a need to rewrite the leadership handbook for the financial industry to align approaches to the digital age. Leaders must have the skills and competencies to steer their organizations through the current turbulent times. Research shows successful financial institutions will have to embrace change by preparing for the inevitable disruption, capitalize on diversity, and invest in leaders who demonstrate agility and responsiveness (Alt, Beck, & Smits, 2018). The sector continues to evolve amid challenges and opportunities, where the leadership of financial institutions must reevaluate their roles and capacities to guarantee survival and growth. 

The top management of financial institutions requires digital skills and competencies to drive change and ensure efficiency at all levels of the organization. I propose a solution to this challenge by encouraging the organization to ensure self-directed learning for all senior managers, where they should attend technology conferences. Equally, they should embrace digital tourism that enables them to learn from established professionals in the industry who have demonstrated unparalleled capabilities to drive change. The organization should organize several digital strategy retreats that focus on emerging digital threats and opportunities. Available research reflects the need for financial institutions to recruit or train leaders who show robust digital experience and the need to transform all aspects of the organization’s operations (Saunders, 2018). In this regard, the solution for the challenges financial organizations face is digital literacy on the part of the leaders. Digitally adept leaders understand the risks and opportunities organizations face and possess the competencies needed to respond to industry changes.

Facts

Digital technology has fundamentally changed consumer expectations and behavior, and the trend is evident in the financial services sector. Competitors in the industry have embraced measures that guarantee seamless services and personalized experiences across various channels. Evidence shows that 93% of financial services providers implement the digital strategy to enhance their customers' experiences and engagement (Deloitte, 2020). The implication is that such companies should embrace digital transformation to ensure they provide services in line with customer experiences. One of the main challenges organizations face is the failure to manage risks effectively because of the lack of an operational framework for the industry. According to Hofberg (2019), the last 150 years have witnessed tremendous innovation in the banking sector in response to new challenges. In every situation an organization faces, the leadership should demonstrate change management skills modeled on proven frameworks and effectively executed by incorporating all stakeholders.

The leadership of financial institutions requires a new focus on innovation geared towards enhancing the user experience. Research shows that banking institutions can reduce taxes and depreciation by more than 40% if they become entirely digitized (Anglo African, 2017). These changes and improvements cannot be realized without the direct involvement of the top leadership. Srinivas and Ross underscore the need to accelerate the digital transformation of financial institutions to record massive improvements in all areas of operations; they also observe that 52% of customers cite more reliable data security, 44% appreciate their ability to carry out various transactions on their mobile apps, and 44% cite real-time problem resolution as the key reasons they embrace digital services. Accordingly, there is a need for the leadership of financial institutions and all organizations to evaluate the benefits they stand to accrue by engaging digital technology in all their operations.

Effective Change...Effective Leadership

Effective change begins with top management and includes the views and opinions of all stakeholders and employees. I propose a systematic approach to change that will be executed in line with the organization’s goals and objectives. This will be done after gathering sufficient business intelligence about the industry trends and prospects. In line with this, leaders must call upon their anticipatory abilities to respond to the need for change, inspire teams to make the right decisions, empower colleagues through relationship building and emotional intelligence. Leadership must focus on continuous improvement while committing to building trust and a formidable corporate culture. Ultimately, the leaders of any organization must collaborate with everyone within the organization to ensure a change in leadership mindset that will guarantee agility for sustainable growth.

References:

Anglo African (2017). Digital transformation in the banking sector brings a new revolution for the banking industry.

Deloitte (2020). Digital transformation in financial services.

Hofberg, M. (2019). The Impact of Digital Transformation in Financial Services.

Khare, R. (2020). Banking in the digital era: Challenges and opportunities. 

Rainer, A., Beck, R., & Smits, M. (2018). FinTech and the transformation of the financial industry

Saunders, L. (2015). Digital Transformation in Financial Services: challenges and opportunities.

Srinivas, V. & Angus, R. (2018). Accelerating digital transformation in banking.