60 Seconds to Leader "Must Have" Skills for Success in the New Economy

Given the changes coming with the New Economy (see July's Quantum Endeavors e-Zine mailed 7/9 for the major strategic implications), the role of Leader will be forever changed. Leaders not only have to embrace new mindsets, but they need to develop the skills that will enable them to lead effectively in the new business state. These new skills will be the performance differentiators going forward.

1. Lead Adaptation

Leaders face two simultaneous challenges. They must address both the issues of today and evolve the "what and how" they execute to thrive in the New Economy. Creating a culture of adaptation includes engaging the collective wisdom to identify key "new practices" without throwing out what will continue to serve. This skill also requires both managerial courage and savvy as legacy practices and loyalties to them must all be challenged to get to the best answers. The quality of the answers will be in direct correlation to the quality of organizational engagement the leader is able to create. The key element of adaptation is the concept of not throwing "the baby out with the bath water". Adapting versus starting over or anew to establish the new best practices for the new economy with speed and minimal resource investment will be key to competitive success.

2. Perpetuate "Productive Urgency"

Perpetual crisis requires perpetual urgency. In this new environment where the goal is never to go from the fire back to the pre-fire state, leaders must gain the skill of creating "Productive Urgency". Urgency of this type fully engages the organization in creating adaptive solutions against the clock of both competition and required results. Leaders must learn how hard they can push themselves and their people to keep the energy high and positive versus pushing people into the valley of fear and despair. The key to staying on the right side of this very fine line is "trust". Establishing this level of trust in business today requires leaders to hone their emotional intelligence abilities and to ensure that the people in the organization know that the leader and the organization care about them as individuals versus as dependable commodities. As you crank or keep up the level of urgency, this trust must be there or instead of "productive urgency", you will actually create

hunkered-down disengagement and retention issues.

The third skill required is to create leaders who take risks, ask forgiveness instead of permission, are focused on the agenda of the whole and not themselves and that possess all three of these key new skills. One obvious key to the ability for a leader to create these new leaders, is that first, the leader must be all these things. This third skill is the most important of all as we know that the answers in this New Economy need to come from everywhere and everyone. Leaders who believe or pretend that they have or are supposed to have all of the answers will be in the way. Creating leaders at all levels, leveraging all of their knowledge, expertise and wisdom in service to the bigger good, will be the way to success in this new world. Given that, the bottom line is that no leader is exempt from the need to embrace the new mindsets and the skills that go with them. And it is the ones who do so most quickly and effectively that will enjoy and create the most success!