Through our respective experiences with transformations (Elizabeth leading change from the inside, Brooke accompanying leaders through change from the outside) we’ve reached a similar insight: changing behaviours and improving results comes from a mutually reinforcing integration of strategy and culture.
Often, a replacement executive is brought in as organizations move through natural phases. To draw an analogy to mountain climbing, reaching base camp and reaching the summit are two different phases, each with a separate skillset and each necessary to reach the ultimate goal. However, when there’s a leadership change, it is all too easy for the incoming executive to lean into a convenient narrative: “The old way of doing things doesn’t cut it and that’s why we need to change.”
The next five years will be a critical time for talent management because by 2030 even the youngest Baby Boomers will turn 65. But there’s a persistent challenge to making the most of your people’s potential: when it’s time for change, we too often reach outside the organization, dreaming of that superstar who is just waiting to arrive – if only we can find them.
In the first part of this series, we explored the shift from traditional top-down leadership to a more collaborative, collective model in the face of uncertainty. However, the question remains: how do CEOs take these initial steps toward shared leadership and translate them into sustainable, effective practices across their organizations?
Today’s leaders face a world that’s anything but predictable. Volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments are the new normal, demanding a shift in leadership that goes beyond strategy alone.
