The challenge of setting ambitious targets as a leader
26 April 2024 • by Angelica Adamski in Leadership
Executive coach Angelica Adamski shares the challenges facing Lyndsey in aligning and leading a new and globally dispersed sales team....
2024 trends
Seven leadership trends to focus on in 2024
Global trends
What will 2024 bring for you and your business? IMD faculty and other experts offer their predictions for the year ahead.
Unsurprisingly, most leaders are feeling the pressure right now. How can you lead for sustained success in a world of constant change?
The responsibility of meeting the challenges ahead can feel daunting, even overwhelming, for leaders – even the most seasoned and sane. Here, IMD faculty offer insights to help you make sense of what’s required of you to lead yourself, your team, and your organization today and over the coming year.
Agile tenacity
Jean-François Manzoni, President of IMD and Nestlé Chaired Professor of Leadership and Organizational Development and Michael D Watkins, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change
Today’s business leaders are confronted with a daunting array of challenges that combine economic volatility, political and social upheaval, and technological acceleration. Success in meeting these challenges requires leadership that is both dynamic and robust, captured in a concept we call agile tenacity.
Agile tenacity involves a powerful blend of adaptability, resilience, and grit. Adaptability is essential in today’s world to adjust rapidly and effectively to changing circumstances, new information, and unexpected challenges, but it must be complemented by persistence stemming from resilience – the capacity to cope with adversity, recover from setbacks, and maintain motivation in the face of difficulties – and grit, which includes a passionate and enduring pursuit of longer-term goals.
Developing agile tenacity involves cultivating a growth mindset and establishing a clear sense of purpose, aligning goals with personal and organizational values to support long-term commitment. Embracing failure as a learning opportunity is also essential, enabling leaders to view setbacks as critical for growth and adaptation. Building strong support networks provides emotional support, which is essential in times of stress, while regular self-reflection and seeking feedback encourage continuous adaptation and growth.
Apocalyptic leadership
Susan Goldsworthy, Affiliate Professor of Leadership, Communications, and Organizational Change, IMD
Apocalyptic leadership goes to the true meaning of the word apocalypse, which is about revelation; ‘a lifting of the veil’ and seeing the world with new eyes. It demands a new leadership paradigm that views the world from an alternative perspective, understanding that (as Einstein so eloquently put it) the solutions to our problems cannot be forged with the same thinking that created them.
This calls for a radical shift from a focus on material success and a dominating, power-over, win-at-all-costs mentality to a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness and intrinsic value of all life. It necessitates the recognition that the essence of effective change lies in an inner transformation of consciousness. Such leaders view the world not as a hierarchy of power or a resource to be exploited, but as a complex, interdependent ecosystem where every action has far-reaching consequences.
Apocalyptic leaders operate from a power-with, co-creation approach moving from what Microsoft termed a ‘know-it-all’ culture to a ‘learn-it-all’ one. Inner Development Goals are an example of how global leaders are recognizing the need to change from within to change the world for the better. It starts with each of us making a conscious choice, stepping up to constructively challenge the existing system, and being willing to have courageous communication with each other.
Ultimately, it is about involving others to inspire a collective awakening where the guiding principles of compassion, understanding, and respect for the diversity of life lead humanity toward a future where the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants is our primary concern.
AMBIDEX: A pathway for building future-ready leaders and teams
Ric Roi, Affiliate Professor of Leadership and Organization, IMD
In our IMD research on future-ready organizations, leading companies across industry sectors are those that are effectively setting and deploying a dual transformation strategy. That is, they are able to continuously reposition and invigorate their core business to ensure it remains resilient, while at the same time transforming to create new business models, innovations, and future growth engines.
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While companies have always faced the need to perform in the core (exploit) and to create new (explore), they no longer have the time, space, talent, or resources to separate these two transformations. Winning companies are solving this dual transformation dilemma by expanding both the cognitive range and behavioral range of the senior leaders and teams across the organization so they can both perform today and transform for tomorrow. We call this ability of the leaders and leadership teams to run two simultaneous transformations AMBIDEX (short for leadership ambidexterity).
We have applied our AMBIDEX leadership performance model across a range of companies and have found that only 12% of their senior leaders naturally possess the leadership range required to lead a dual transformation organization. This means that 88% of senior leaders arrive at senior roles with a linear, not AMBIDEX, profile. They are strong at performing today or transforming for tomorrow but not both. The solution for improving this figure is to strengthen leadership ambidexterity for individual leaders and ambidexterity across the leadership teams at the same time.
Experimentation mindset
Katharina Lange, Affiliate Professor of Leadership, IMD
When we assess leaders’ levels of ambidexterity, we often see the ‘experimenter’ category being one of the weaker leadership capabilities. Implementing an existing strategy seems fine, but experimenting and taking risks? Not so much. However, bringing the future into the present and testing what works is an essential leadership capability.
“The intersection between human- and AI-driven machines is more critical than ever before.”- Jennifer Jordan, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior
A productive way of developing an experimentation mindset and embracing uncertainty is to encourage individuals to run micro-experiments. These are small, unassuming, but impactful changes in your immediate area of responsibility such as changing a meeting routine, simplifying a reporting template, or systematically changing a conversational approach. What’s important is to try, do, learn, and try again. This leads to the growth mindset leaders will always need.
Leaders and machines intersect
Jennifer Jordan, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior
The intersection between human- and AI-driven machines is more critical than ever before. It is reshaping industries and economies, and yet we as a society still don’t know exactly what to make of it – how to collaborate and what limitations we should impose. The current realities range from augmented decision-making, which can improve strategic planning and create more agile responses, to challenges that companies face, to data-driven leadership where leaders can rely on AI to gain deeper insights into their company, workforce, customers, and markets.
A major challenge (or black box) comes in the limits – both ethical and technical. First off, the ethical: what can we rely on the machine to do – and not to do – and how do we mitigate known and unknown biases? And second, the technical. AI brings with it significant cyber-security risks that need to be considered and protected against.
The imperative of mental health
Alyson Meister, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior and Director of the Workplace Well-being Initiative
Today’s leaders are tasked with more than just strategic decision-making and driving their teams towards goals. They are also navigating a complex array of pressures that can significantly impact mental well-being. Looking forward to 2024, a critical trend in leadership is the heightened focus on managing not only one’s mental health but also that of team members. This emerging trend transcends a mere reaction to the global mental health crisis; it underscores a profound recognition that the mental well-being of leaders and their teams is crucial for effective, enduring leadership.
The demanding nature of leadership roles can lead to stress and burnout if not managed effectively. Leaders must prioritize building their self-awareness and developing strategies to manage their well-being. A mentally healthy leader sets a positive example for their team and is better equipped to handle workplace challenges.
Central to this is the concept of mindful technology use. Leaders are often tethered to their digital devices, leading to an “always-on” work culture that can exacerbate stress and burnout. Mindful technology use involves setting boundaries around digital communication and promoting digital detoxes and intentional recovery strategies such as exercise and mindfulness to counteract the mental strain of constant connectivity.
Integrating mental health strategies into leadership practices will be essential. Leaders increasingly need to cultivate environments where team members feel comfortable discussing mental health as well as providing access to resources and support. Proactive support can reduce stigma, help to prevent more significant issues and contribute to a more engaged and productive team. Leaders who embrace this trend will be better positioned to lead with resilience and effectiveness in the modern workplace.
Purpose-driven leadership
Winter Nie, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change and Managing Director of IMD China
Employees are increasingly seeking purpose in their work. Leaders who can articulate and align their organization with a clear sense of purpose beyond profit will continue to resonate with both employees and consumers. Many global trends, such as sustainability, social justice, and environmental responsibility, are different shades of such value-driven leadership.
When Satya Nadella took over as Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft in 2014, he found: “The company was sick. Employees were tired. They were frustrated. They were fed up with losing and falling behind despite their grand plans and great ideas. They came to Microsoft with big dreams, but it felt like all they really did was deal with upper management, execute taxing processes, and bicker in meetings.” The challenge for him was how to lead Microsoft, which had missed out on opportunities in areas such as search and mobile, onto a “new path.” Satya re-oriented the whole company to its original core — making a difference in the world. He told them he was committed to ruthlessly removing barriers to innovation so they could get back to the reason why they joined the company to begin with.
Purposeful leaders have three characteristics, they are clear about the mission (what they say); they align their actions accordingly and act consistently (what they do); and finally, they are authentic (what they embody). Easier said than done. The challenge is to bridge individual and organizational purpose when they differ.
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