Change leadership – the Black Swan. In this episode Judith Germain has an insightful discussion about leadership and change with Peter Donovan.
Key Takeaways
- Change is now continuous and frequent rather than occasional “black swan” events. Leaders must view everything through this lens.
- Business growth should be examined through the lens of change – iterative, innovative, and disruptive.
- Leaders tend to excel at one type of change but need diverse teams to accomplish broader change.
- Most companies are not ready for disruptive change initially. Small innovative changes prepare the groundwork.
- AI and automation will displace some jobs, so individuals must continuously gain new skills and reinvent themselves.
Topics:
Why innovative leadership is critical today
- Change is now constant and frequent rather than occasional. Black swan events are regular occurrences. This increases the importance of change-focused leadership.
Examining growth through the lens of change
- There are 3 types of change – iterative (improving existing offerings), innovative (new offerings/value), and disruptive (radical change).
- Companies have 6 key business drivers they can influence. They must identify 1-2 that need innovative/disruptive change to spur growth.
- Most companies are not ready for disruptive change yet. A few iterative changes first makes them more open to innovation.
Leadership profiles for different change types
- Iterative leaders optimise existing people, processes, technology.
- Innovative leaders launch new products/services within a company.
- Disruptive leaders transform the company’s strategy and offerings.
Strategies for growth in 2024
- Flat growth – “keeping the lights on”, survival
- New growth – finding new revenue streams
- Sustainable growth – seizing opportunities like AI to transform
Recruiting and change
- As recruiters, they now focus on bringing in game-changing leaders and teams vs just individuals.
- They use GC Index® to build cohesive teams suited for iterative, innovative, or disruptive change.
Organisational change
- Real cultural change happens once new habits are institutionalised across the organisation.
- Their goal now is facilitating game-changing organisations by embedding practices.
AI and jobs
- AI can help all workers achieve “top performer” output. But lower skilled workers must proactively gain skills.
- Jobs will be displaced but new opportunities will arise if people continuously gain skills.
In this conversation they discuss how iterative leaders accelerate performance through people and process. Innovative leaders launch new offerings. Disruptive leaders transform strategies. Each change type demands tailored leadership and team skills.
Peter Donovan is an executive search professional specialising in organisations seeking positive change and a new or sustained path to profitable growth.
Maverick leadership is all about thinking outside the box and challenging the status quo. It’s about having the courage to take risks and the confidence to lead in a way that is authentic and genuine.
But amplifying your influence as a leader isn’t just about having a strong vision or a big personality. It’s also about having the right leadership capability and being able to execute on your ideas and plans.
The consequences of not having the right level of influence as a leader can be significant. Without the ability to inspire and motivate others, you may struggle to achieve your goals and make a real impact.
How Influential Are you? Take the scorecard at amplifyyourinfluence.scoreapp.com and see.
Peter Donovan can be found on LinkedIn here. His website is here.
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