How – and when – to adapt your leadership style
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Historically, executives were told to be decisive and pyramids. Today, the advice has turned away from it – as it is smart and cooperative. But the great leaders, according to IMD professor and social psychologist Jennifer Jordan, understand that there is time and place for both traditional and new driving methods. In this episode, Jordan is divided into seven major tensions-such as adherence to power in exchange for the participation of strength and tactical concentration against the big vision-and explain when it tends to every style of more effective leadership.
Jennifer Jordan: Originally, my goal as a researcher was to know what are the competencies that leaders in this new world really need to succeed? Our research identified seven competencies. Being a participant in power, or insight, being a transformer, being hurry, analyst, professional, being a great listener. However, while we work more and more with the leaders in this world that has been broken, we see that the best, are still manipulating and still have one foot in this traditional leadership and traditional leadership style. Sometimes they are more driving and controlled. They are ATMs, they are the owners of energy. Yes, these new worlds or these emerging features are important, but sometimes we still need to be traditional, and this is where these seven tensions were born.
I call them the seven tensions in the digital age. It is tension between the traditional and young world. The power holder is a person who carries power in a way that provides reassurance and security. Therefore, when there is a lot of change, when people feel they may be unsafe or unstable, the power holder really carries this power in a way that creates security. Power share is a person who shares energy in a way that helps to develop others. They also see the participation of power as a way to liberate their time for more strategic endeavors. So, what can I take off on the table so I can really focus on what I need to focus on or what is good?
The tactical is a more focused in the short term. What are the following steps and can they break this vision of how they are linked to the various roles in the institution and different levels? Insight is a person who sees the big picture, able to create an inspiring vision. But moreover, they can influence people and persuade them to adopt this vision.
The constant is a person with a very clear North star. They say this is not negotiating. They are clear in their messages, and these messages are very stable. The transformer is a person who understands that the change is fixed and sees the adaptation of their message when new information becomes available as power instead of weakness. Perfection is a person directed towards detail, ensuring the delivery of an ideal final product. The hurry says he is a person who sacrifices perfect for speed, he says we can please sometimes, good, good enough, we need to move quickly. So, intuition is a person who makes decisions of the intestine. [inaudible 00:02:23] An analyst is a person who brings data and evidence to make their decisions.
Therefore, a mine worker is a deep person. He really wants to understand a specific technology, a specific part of the market, etc. A person who greatly extends and understands and understands opportunities and threats in the environment around them. The cashier is someone who gives guidance, has the answer, and may be the expert, and therefore his responsibility is to provide the answer. The listener is a person listening to his understanding. They are curious. They have an educational mindset, so they are educated.
A good leader never stands on one side of this tension or on the other side. Perhaps in a moment when they speak or when they are at a meeting, they are, but when they leave this context, they must think, well, is this the right pattern that I need? This requires a lot of emotional intelligence.
I will never tell the leader, “a goal to achieve a great balance in the seven.” I think this is very much. Choose the three or four that they think is really important so that they can move between them and focus on it [inaudible 00:03:31]. If you rely on one side exclusively, the negative aspects of this side will become clear.
Therefore, let’s take the first tension that we are talking about, listener and cards. If you are just a cashier, what are the negative aspects of being an expert? Well, others feel separated. Others do not feel their voices. You will focus the experience you bring very tightly on your experience. The same with being listener. If you are only listener and never spoke, what are the negative aspects of being listener? Well, you may not hear your voice. You may not get much to say in the direction. You may actually need to be a great listener. Add this position, you may also need to be able to keep energy. Meaning, I listen to the people around me while I am giving a clear framework, and give them notes, so I may be a little teller. I give them notes, and also create that psychological safety as they can return to me if they have questions. So I am a listener, but I am also a powerful holder in this position.
I have questions I ask. One is the situation, what is happening? So, what do I feel in the environment around me? What happens here? It may be a context question. I need acceleration because the world is changing quickly, so I need acceleration. It may be a question in circumstance and it can also be an emotional smart question. What do I feel from people around me? People around me already feel, I feel they need to say something and should be silent. Or Shagha that they are frustrated because I shared all this power, but it may not be ready for that. I need to carry a little strength.
I definitely saw leaders unable to do this. They have a very clear message, it is well thought out, it’s smart, however people below them do not buy it. There is no change, there is no behavioral transformation. However, the message remains the same. They are not able to understand that, yes, I have done all the work, I listened, I created a good strategy, but for some reason it does not work. What do I need to do differently? How do I need to adapt? And this interrogation, I think it is what the leaders also need.
A person who justifies for me is Angela Reigns. She was the former CEO of Barbari and retail head at Apple. As for me, she bounded a listener and drafted beautifully because she said: “I am not a digital person. The world is changing. I know that my future, our future customer in Burberry will be Platin. I don’t really get them. She was an incredibly curious person, yet she also said,“ These are some non -commissioned things. This is the history of the barbarian. These are the things we want to stick to. Thus, this is the frame. This is not negotiable for us. So I can bring this company to success. “
Another leader who admired him is Matthias Duvirner. The head of the German media company was Axel Springer. The perfect balance was on Miner and Pros Egypt because the advertising media is one of the most contemporary spaces when he entered the image about 15 and 20 years ago, saying really, “I need to understand how this industry changes, and how our readers and customers want to digest media differently.” Therefore, to a large extent Prospector. He took his upper team to Silicon Valley. Six months there. He took the following levels with him and said: “We will live like startups. I know that you are in your comfort area in the executive life. We will take you there. You will fly in the economy. You will share rooms in a hotel that is not morals until you really feel the world we are trying to adapt to, the starting world of operation.”
This was part of driving excavation, but then says: “Well, there are some areas that we already have efficiency. There are some of us that we do not sell. We will sell it, but where we have efficiency, we will dive into this and invest and we will be of miners here.” Therefore, it was great in switching between this Prospector and MINER.
I usually see when the leaders are on one side, so they have a sweet spot on one side and their range is very short and very focused. One of two things happens, either a lack of skill. Therefore, they are many tactics. They really don’t know how they are visions. They do not know how to create a vision. They do not know how to influence people. Or they are many energy projects, they really don’t know how to carry power, but most likely, I see that they know how, but there is a fear that prevents them from going there.
Let’s say that it is a steel on the absolute power. What is their fear? Their fear is the downside of existence, to become the power to power, seen as authoritarian, and may be very firm, or very aggressive, and pushes the voice of the people who work for them, this is their fear. And so explore, are all this energy owners? Why do you have this opinion? Give me some examples of powerful people who think he is doing it in a way that helps the team.
These fears can be launched from where these concerns come from their release more encouragement, to explore this range. The same when I see insight in exchange for tactics. Sometimes people are afraid to go to the visual side, to love, “Oh, this is very thin and I don’t know what exactly it will be. I am not very good. I am not very inspiring.” So, they are also afraid to go there and fail, and explore this visual aspect of them and say: “What does the vision look like? Challenging their fears or misconceptions about what these other aspects of tensions may appear in a negative way.
Many leaders come to the completely terrified semester of this world. They will not say that. Yes, the world is changing. There is no doubt about it. And yes, not all of their experiences may be relevant anymore. Can they be effective leaders if they share strength and if they listen? Even with these young generations that may have technical answers and may want to hear their voice, they sometimes search for this leader to give them guidance and provide security and accommodate them from the policy that exceeds them so that they can do their work. And those traditional characteristics. Thus, I think it gives some comfort to the leaders.
Hannis: This was Professor IMD Jennifer Jordan in a quick study video. You can find this video, and more, on the HBR’s YouTube channel.
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This episode produced Scott Laper and I, Hana Bates. Curt Nikish is our editor. Kuma music media. Special thanks to Ian Fox, Mourin Hoish, Amanda Kersisi, Rob Erickt, Erica Truckler, Ramsay Khabaz, Nicole Smith, Ann Bartholomeoand And you – our listener. We see you next week.