SUPERCHARGE YOUR LEADERSHIP - Rialto · SUPERCHARGE YOUR LEADERSHIP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, SUMMER 2019....

SUPERCHARGE YOUR LEADERSHIP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, SUMMER 2019

Introduction

Constant change and unpredictability in the business world over the past decade means that the only certainty for leaders is yet more uncertainty. Which means it isn’t onlyservices products and organisations that are having to be reinvented but leadership skillsets, too.

As well as analysis of the factors affecting organisations like next generation digital transformation, constant disruption and the shift towards automated workforces, redefining leadership requires imagination and creative thought on the part of today’s leaders.

To help equip leaders to face these future challenges, Rialto has embarked on a 10-year research project in which we invite participants to discuss the future capabilities and skillsets they think will be important based on experiences of current and future trends.

The research feeds into the Rialto Accelerated Leadership Index (RALI), which enables leaders to benchmark their capabilities and skillsets. To date, more than 250 leaders have provided a contribution to the project this year.

The common thinking arising from all those taking part, who are invited from a range of functions and industries, is the need for all leaders to be more collaborative, flexible and agile. It has also been suggested that leaders will need to become an exemplarrequiring a range of capabilities and skillsets that can be switched on and off, enabling them to react to what is happening around them.

Rialto will continue to feedback findings on a regular basis as the research proceeds and what follows are five key leadership capabilities that have emerged in our supporting research this year, which will help leaders to ensure both they and their organisationsare fully fit for the future.

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Become a digital Navigator

A great deal has happened since the terms “digital disruption” and “digital transformation” became part of the mainstream business lexicon. Organisations and entire industries have been eradicated or transformed and new business models and industries emerged. And the pace of technological change is such that the disruptors themselves will soon be in danger of being disrupted if they haven’t been already. Indeed, if digital transformation was defined as a week-long exercise, it’s probably still the very early hours of Monday morning.

Whilst Gartner predicts 70% of companies will have deployed artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist their workforce by 2020, it will be some time before such technologies reach their full potential. If indeed they ever do, as the nature of AI means it is constantly learning. Much is made of how many jobs AI will displace –according to analysis by PwC some 7 million existing jobs in the UK over the next 20 years – but its true impact will be about far more than replacing humans. And what of the hypothesised 7.2 million new roles it will create?

Similarly, a high percentage of organisations make use of big data and analytics to inform decision-making and strategies but many remain in the first wave of this. The next phase will see more sophisticated uses of predictive analytics to model a company’s processes, products, services and indeed its entire future.

This is the reason why organisations need digital navigators to survive and thrive. They combine digital vision, strategy and action and can map the future against known and predicted technological trends so the organisation has a clear transformative digital roadmap for its future.

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Digital navigators don’t have to be technological whizzkids but do need to understand where the organisation fits into the digital revolution and how to make sense of new and emerging technologies to ensure they hold credibility and can stay a step ahead of the competition. They will have closely observed what has happened in the era of digital transformation to date and gleaned what works and what doesn’t. They will have an enthusiasm for technology but are not blindsided by it. Digital navigators do not have all the answers and understand the importance of keeping an open mind because when new technology emerges, it isn’t always apparent how it can be best deployed.

Digital navigators are also important because they can help embed a digital mindset into the leadership team. Some boards have failed to connect with digital transformation programs and absolved responsibility for them. This time round, that simply isn’t an option.

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Delivering the ‘X’ factorSU

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The past 12 months has continued to see heightened importance placed on both customer (CX) and employee experience (EX) and the two are increasingly seen as intrinsically linked.

Notably, we are seeing the emergence of new roles like chief employee officer or head of digital workplace while Forrester predicted at the start of 2019 that employee experience is poised to take Centre stage fueled by low unemployment and high quit rates.

What is really building momentum in this area though is the recognition that delivering a great employee experience is critical to business success. Ensure that your people want to come to work and love doing their jobs and it will translate into a great customer experience. And this doesn’t just apply to customer-facing roles but across the organisation, including the back office. Make people feel special and valued whatever their role and it will help to release discretionary effort and ensure employees go the extra mile.

Market intelligence company IDC projects that by 2021 at least three-fifths of theglobal 2,000 companies will actively monitor and manage employee experience and utilise EX as a key differentiator to build and maintain B2B and B2C relationships.One emerging trend in HR is the concept of workplace-as-a-service where each aspect of the workplace is re-evaluated to energise employees and help them to deliver top performance.


In some cases, this means applying the type of marketing and sales-oriented strategies as well as increasingly sophisticated technology and AI tools used to better understand customers, to your people.

Smart buildings that enable employers to personalise the experience for staff in terms of the environment also help to create a standout employee experience. The days of expecting individuals to perform in dingy offices with no air-conditioning are long gone.

And it’s not just about bricks and mortar but also about providing a supportive, positive and nurturing culture. Ultimately, it’s about helping to create a deep and experiential connection between individuals and their place of work.Despite this being a technological age, with increasing levels of automation within many organisations, people will continue to be the real differentiator and their actions will have a direct impact on the bottom line. An employer which understands the correlation between an exceptional employee experience and the customer’s experience of the organisation, its products and its service will be the winners.

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Adopt a game-changing mindset

In the digital age, it’s imperative for organisations to constantly innovate and reinvent themselves to stay ahead of the curve. Leaders must be able to spot the talent in their organisation who can change the game and in some cases the course and fortunes of the company. Take Jonathan I've, chief design officer at Apple who invented the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad and in doing so enabled the company to break into new markets and sectors. Consider if, for whatever reason, his ideas and talent hadn’t been able to surface? Succeeding in today’s competitive markets is about far more than putting in place a culture for innovation – it’s about being open and receptive and proactively seeking radical change and disruption.

While not everyone has the personality traits of true game-changers, everyone can be encouraged adopt a game-changing mindset and it is paramount that leaders recognise its importance. Game-changers can disrupt entire industries and create news ones. In the fast-paced world of digital transformation, they are even more vital to have in an organization.

The DNA of a Game-Changer report by the GC Index, a Rialto Consultancy partner company, reveals that game changers exist at every level of the organisation and the vast majority of leaders (84%) believe that the game can be changed by people who aren’t in senior management positions. This means that leaders not only must be able to identify who they are but provide a supportive culture and be able to build the right team around the game-changer.

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If everyone fitted the profile of a game-changer, organisations would unlikely be able to function efficiently. But with the right people and blend of skills and characteristics to support them, their full potential can be harnessed with minimal downsides for the organisation or those around them.

Business leaders must make certain that senior colleagues and board members understand the role of the game-changer and their purpose as those who are resistant to change or risk averse may struggle to tolerate them.

Indeed, game-changers can be risky individuals who enjoy living outside of comfort zones and breaking the rules. But at a time when many organisations are seeking daring new ways to set themselves apart from the crowd and win new customers as well as retain existing ones, game-changers hold the key. And it is only those leaders with game-changing mindsets that will be able to translate their ideas in to workable new products, services or solutions for the organisation to elevate itself above the competition.

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Develop the three A’s of agility, adaptability and acumen

Future leaders must be able to think on their feet to react and adapt to the constantly changing business conditions that have become the norm. It’s no surprise then that agility and adaptability feature on nearly every leadership hot skills list. Agility enables a leader to adapt, flex and respond to new business opportunities or, conversely, change course if they see danger/problems ahead.

The speed of technological change has shortened product lifecycles and business lead times, increasing pressures for any organisation that is trying to compete in the digital economy. Agile and adaptable leaders create agile and adaptable organisations that can respond and reinvent themselves to keep pace with the competition.

There is another ‘A’ that needs to be added to the list though: acumen. Needless to say that leaders need business acumen but not only is it required for boardroom decisions and business deals but to manage the increasingly complex set of multi-stakeholder relationships that organisations find themselves forging.

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Future business growth may well be reliant on strategic partnerships and ecosystems and it is essential for leaders to be able to combine agility and adaptability with both commercial and political acumen if they are to make the right decisions when it comes to pursuing and forming such relationships. They must use their sharp wits to assess business opportunities and be able to manage both risk and change in complex and ambiguous operating conditions.

As we stand at the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is impossible to predict where both the threats and opportunities will come from for organisations. Leaders in possession of all three ‘As’ will have the confidence and ability to think on their feet, problem-solve and strategise when under pressure, perfectly positioning them to take advantage of the digital age. They look both outwardly and inwardly and are well placed to spot new opportunities but equally will ensure they protect the business and its people at all times.

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Be a transformative visionary strategist

These combined attributes have never more important at a time when people are looking for clarity, strength of character and trustworthiness from their leaders. High-profile appointments in the corporate world and political office have placed leadership and what it means under intense scrutiny and led to broader understanding of the principles. And it means the incoming generations will expect far more from their leaders than previous ones.

Leaders must never lose sight of the importance of being able to devise a strategy and vision and effectively communicating it to the workforce so everyone is aligned behind it. The language used to achieve this is extremely important. Leaders must ensure that what they say and the tone of voice is both inclusive and engaging for every segment of the workforce. In an era of multi-generational workforces, this is all-important.

Much has been made of the importance of the authentic leader in recent years and this continues to gain traction. To believe in a strategy and vision, employees need to have trust in the leader putting it forward. Leaders must be who they claim to be and this means upholding the corporate values and behavioral standards.

In the current operating environment, it is highly likely that the vision and strategy will be underpinned by transformational change and communicating this brings additional challenges. Employees can be fearful of change, especially if it feels enforced.

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According to research undertaken by Rialto, more than 80% of leaders claim they possess the leadership capability and experience to support organisationaltransformation but only half (54 %) think that the culture within their organisationsupports transformational leadership. Leaders must take action to correct this where necessary because the wrong culture can seriously impede change programmes.

Employees want their leaders to be visionary and charismatic but there must also be substance and pragmatism behind both the strategy and the vision. In the complex and unpredictable operating conditions that exist, there is no room for leadership rhetoric and vision and actions really must speak louder than words.

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Conclusion

Doubtless we will see the future leadership capabilities & skillsets continually added to as Rialto progresses through its 10-year project. Certainly, some of those skills highlighted today like agility and adaptability will continue to be highly significant for several years to come.

In addition to those skills featured in our report, leaders should take time to reflect on some of the softer qualities which will be required to underpin leadership skillsets in the future. When it comes to implementing transformational programmes, for instance, a high level of collaboration and emotional intelligence will be required so leaders can empathise with how the workforce is feeling.

Indeed, the power of self-awareness should be never be under-estimated when carrying out an assessment of leadership capabilities and highlighting where you can have the greatest impact but also alerting you to areas which may require development.

Being naturally inclined to listen to people, for instance, can be immensely powerful when it comes to managing people in challenging times but can be a trait that senior leaders have either lost on their journey to the top or simply overlook.Also, given the layers of complexity that exist in business today, leaders need to be naturally curious and questioning rather than take things at face value. This applies to dealing with people internally but also when managing external stakeholders and partners.

Resilience is another quality that will help leaders to cope with whatever the next five or more years will throw at the world of business and while some of the challenges can be predicted there are likely a raft if unknows out there, too.

Rialto looks forward to sharing further insight and trends with readers over the coming years . Those who are interested in taking part in events such as our leadership lunches and surveys should contact [email protected]. Those interest to find out more about RALI go to www.ralionline.com.

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Rialto is a multi award-winning consultancy focussed on delivering leadership and business success. We partner with organisations who want to set or accelerate the pace in their sector and have earned a reputation for building unique world-class Growth change management, businessand digital transformation and culture change solutions and for being at the forefront of leadership development.

In 2018, we launched the Rialto Accelerated Leadership Index (RALI), a revolutionary new algorithm driven leadership resource that profiles and assesses the alignment of current leadership capabilities and skillsets to future market needs and peers by leveraging real time data.

Our clients need to deliver a prosperous and sustainable future for all stakeholders. To do this, they need the right people, in the right roles and to develop a high performance culture within which all are engaged and the business can thrive. Combining research, technology, science and our experience, we focus on providing new levels of insight and enhanced mindsets to leaders whilst designing and implementing a range of integrated aligned solutions.

Together, we achieve tangible results by encouraging leaders to work on the edge of possibility, pushing the boundaries and doing things differently where needed, to enable the achievement of greater success and survival in a disruptive AI led world and workplace.

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SUPERCHARGE YOUR LEADERSHIP - Rialto · SUPERCHARGE YOUR LEADERSHIP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, SUMMER 2019....

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