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by Sameh Abadir, Niccolò Pisani Published 24 June 2022 in Brain Circuits • 3 min read
The heightened uncertainty characterizing the global competitive landscape has changed the types of leaders needed to guide teams through the ever-changing business landscape. In times of crisis, “Swiss knife” leaders stand out as being particularly useful.
What is a Swiss knife leader?
A Swiss army knife is an extremely useful tool in all sorts of unpredictable situations, making it a huge asset when you are on an unpredictable journey. Like the attachments on a Swiss army knife, Swiss knife leaders have a wide stretch zone and a variety of tools at their disposal to support others and have a wide stretch zone. They are agile and ambidextrous and know when to switch to achieve maximum impact.
We have developed a test you can use to determine if you are a Swiss knife leader. Ask yourself how often you do the following things and give yourself a score from one to five. on the following scale:
1 – rarely
2 – infrequently
3 – regularly
4 – frequently
5 – almost always
Align and engage
Communicate and keep focus
Play offense and defense
Manage yourself and your family
Show empathy and compassion
If your answers were mostly 4 and 5, congratulations! You’re a Swiss knife leader. If not, don’t worry – you now have a road map for where to improve.
Further reading:
Toolkit for strategic leading through a crisis by Sameh Abadir and Niccolò Pisani
Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Negotiation at IMD
Sameh Abadir is Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Negotiation at IMD. He advises companies on negotiations and runs negotiation workshops in English, French and Arabic. He has recently directed custom programs for Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Jerónimo Martins, ArcelorMittal, and Merck, and he is Director of IMD’s Crisis Management online program. He was Co-Director of IMD’s signature program Orchestrating Winning Performance (OWP) and Co-Director of IMD’s Negotiating for Value Creation (NVC) open programs.
IMD Professor of Strategy and International Business
Niccolò Pisani is Professor of Strategy and International Business at IMD. His award-winning research has appeared in the world’s leading academic journals and extensively covered in the media. His work has been featured in both Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. He has also written several popular case studies that are distributed on a global scale. He also co-directs the International Growth Strategies program.
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