In thinking about what it takes be an effective executive in today’s world, Resiliency comes to mind as a highly valued leadership attribute. Think about it this way: nothing is easy. Competitive cost pressures abound in all industries, new products and services are coming to market at a record pace and, while unemployment is still relatively high, there is a war to attract and develop the right talent. The landscape seems to change daily, if not hourly. An executive’s ability to lead through these turbulent times require resiliency.
Against this backdrop, an executive needs to make decisions and drive their implementation. This used to mean making decisions and giving orders. Now, it means building consensus among team members, worrying about being second guessed by a watchful board, negotiating with colleagues in a matrixed organization to get the resources to implement the decision and fighting for funding against competing priorities in the budget process. Wow, what executives need now is strength to react, respond, and continue forward momentum through clear communication and compelling actions.
Resiliency is the measure of an executive’s acceptance of these realities and, beyond that, the ability to drive business results in this complex world. It has become so critical to executive performance that it is time to do a deep dive on what personality traits and thinking styles enable resiliency in executives. More to come as I develop this theme in future blog posts.
Comments are welcome.