Why Leaders must find the Courage to Un-learn the concepts of ‘Success’ & ‘Growth’!

Highlight – I am hosting a LinkedIn Live event ‘The Power of Invoice Finance!’

Invoice Finance is an alternative source of funding for B2B businesses. It is a dynamic & fast-growing world that now offers a range of easy-to-implement products, enabling early access to Cash trapped in trade receivable balances.

I will be joined on the day by Stephen McCarthy , Head of Business Development at Bibby Financial Services Ireland , a leading provider of alternative funding solutions.

If you are an SME business trading in the B2B sector and looking to optimise your Cash management, fund your growth or simply learn more about the benefits of Invoice Finance & how it works, then this event is for you!

Join us on LinkedIn Live this July 12th at 2.30pm GMT here:

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Article – Why Leaders must find the Courage to Un-learn the concepts of ‘Success’ & ‘Growth’!

This month’s article takes a honest & bold look at the world we live in today, and where it is headed if nothing changes in our ways of living, educating, thinking, growing & leading. The purpose here is not to be alarmist, but rather to shed some light on where humanity at large is at, why we are where we are & what needs to change in our educational, societal, economic & leadership models.

How often do we take time out of our daily/weekly schedule to step back & reflect on the world we live in today? Presumably not often enough… humans having a tendency to prioritize their own short term needs & wants.

It is a worthwhile exercise though, because what we are most likely to see is a world faced with unprecedented global challenges: climate change related disasters, loss of biodiversity, a plastic pollution time-bomb, East-West geostrategic competition, military conflicts in Europe & elsewhere with their daily cohort of atrocities, the rise of populism & autocracies, growing rejection of traditional politics in democratic countries, threats posed by generative AI to data privacy, intellectual property rights, ethics or cybersecurity, and so on…

What this simply means is that, while planet Earth itself will survive albeit in a different state, humanity is on a self-destructive trajectory & the world is becoming an increasingly threatening place to be… So, let’s explore a few essential questions here & how the concept of leadership is being challenged.

How did we get to where we are today, in the first place? What does this tell us about our global governance, political systems & societal models?

It is fair to say that, if the world is failing humanity in many regards with a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable, something isn’t quite right in our political systems & social structures, nor in our traditional leadership model…

• Truth is in Western democracies, the entire education & economic system was built on the idea that personal ‘success’ must be measured in terms of learning, doing, achieving & gaining therefore - by extension – having, possessing & ultimately exhibiting. To reach such ‘standards of success’ that society expects from them & evaluates or judges them against, not only are people inevitably driven by their egoistic mind & personal interest, but they also keep pursuing individualistic goals thus intrinsically competing with each other.

This is equally applicable in all walks of life, and primarily in professional life, career progression & business at large where delivering tangible results for shareholders & other stakeholders, logically is the number 1 priority.

• In addition, those in leadership roles have more often than not been selected according to their technical knowledge & general soft skills, without any serious consideration for their ability to lead other people. Some studies have shown that, as a result, the general level of people’s engagement at work is currently very low. While corporates have tried to fill the gap by sending their (aspiring) leaders to short dedicated courses, both leaders & those being led have been suffering for decades from a blatant lack of proper leadership education. However, those on a treadmill to conventional ‘success’ may not understand that…
• To be noted as well that while strategic leadership, as opposed to operational leadership, requires an ability to think ahead & understand the bigger picture, many of those in executive leadership roles are not thought-leaders…

The combination of all the above ingredients has created a perfect recipe for failure whose chaotic outcomes can be observed, witnessed or experienced across the entire world today.

If people engagement is low, chances are leadership effectiveness is low too. And if leaders continue to be chosen based on the same old criteria & keep doing things the same old ways, not only will they be crushed by the whirlwind of change, but humanity itself is at risk of perishing…

In actuals facts, the immediate world around us is changing very fast with new rules of engagement, news ways of working, new expectations & new technologies. Profound shifts are impacting corporates, with many leaders utterly unprepared to navigate same, feeling overwhelmed & caught in the web of doing... what is not right &/or not important…

So, something needs to change at the root of our political & societal systems, starting with awareness and a shift in mindset & priorities…

To continue reading this article and find out what leaders should do, or indeed what the so-called 'Gen Z' have to say, go to:

Do let us know your thoughts or questions in the Comment box below, by email on [email protected] or indeed through our Contact page https://financeotcconsulting.com/contact

If you need support with your Order to Cash Finance transformation journey, let’s have a FREE non-binding Discovery chat!

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Quotes – Inspirational nuggets

“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle

“ Success isn’t about the end result, it’s about what you learn along the way.” – Vera Wang

“Leadership is a series of behaviours rather than a role for heroes.” – Margaret J. Wheatley

“Ultimately, leadership is more about ‘being’ than ‘doing’.” – Henry Blackaby

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Recommendation – Join us on LinkedIn Audio for ‘Cash Flow management – Maximising your business Financial Health’ hosted by Werun Technology this June 29th!

With so many businesses faced with inflationary pressures & restricted access to funding across many countries, the topic could not be more relevant.

If you are a B2B business, chances are ‘trade Receivables’ is the biggest asset on your balance sheet. If so, then it is also your MAIN source of operating Cash Flow generation, therefore managing it in a professional way is KEY!

By the way, I will be a speaker at this event:

• looking at Cash Flow from an 'Order to Cash' (O2C) process perspective,
• helping you understand why it is so important for your business to get it right,
• and outlining best practice tips to get paid in full & on time by your B2B customers.

To register, go to:

We cannot wait to connect with you all on the day!

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