Executive Coaching | Recruitment and Job Agency

The Intangible Demands of a Leader

“You’re fired!”

Everyone is familiar of the catchphrase, made famous by Donald Trump in “The Apprentice”. The common perception of charismatic top corporate leaders is high–power individuals that are extremely objective, highly confident in their viewpoints, and have strong beliefs in their own abilities. They are also individuals who are not afraid to upset and dismiss people. These stereotypical traits are perpetuated in movies, soap operas and in reality shows.

However, what seems like objective mindedness, confidence, and strong self-belief could actually be; an unmistakable lack of empathy, a strong bias over his/her own viewpoints over those working under them and also, self-centeredness. Some might even say they possess a lack in their ability to correctly perceive other perspectives.

The truth is, as an individual grows in stature and position within the corporate ladder, the demand for interpersonal and relational skills increases ten-fold. Being able to see, understand, and deal effectively with other perspectives is key to being a successful leader. This largely involves an important behaviour, and that is, through empathy.

Empathy, compassion and overall self-awareness are the three main qualities of a developed and matured mind. The clarity from self-knowledge fine-tunes one’s understanding of perspectives, values, aims, and personality traits of others. Resilient to stress, a mature leader is able to manage internal conflicts, connect with both members of the senior management team as well as the subordinates and still maintain a personal well-being – which stimulates a more panoramic view of the problems and unpredictable challenges that daunts the leader.

a mature leader is able to manage internal conflicts, connect with both members of the senior management team as well as the subordinates and still maintain a personal well-being

Increased power tends to make one self-centered, self-assured and more prone to dismiss or misunderstand the viewpoints of those who lack authority. The ability to correctly perceive others and their insights are diminished with increased power. Increased power diminishes the ability to be empathic an compassionate, because power appears to affect the “mirror system” of the brain, which is responsible for experiencing what another person is experiencing.

Leaders need to build awareness of one-self, through honest self-appraisals that relate to emotional strengths and vulnerabilities, emphasising the importance of overcoming self-interest and delusion, and the need to be open to personal growth and development. It is tempting for leaders to believe that they are not the one who needed change. With that said, leaders need to remain ready for change, but also to know what to change, on a personal level.

Once the three qualities of a matured mind is developed, you cease to be simply a set of skills performing a role but instead, become an enabler for everyone who works around you in order to achieve a greater synergy and effectiveness.

Are you ready for the intangible demands that being a leader entails?

Executive Coaching, Outplacement, Talent Transition

Survival 101: Staying Employable

In today’s ever-changing business climate, falling victim to retrenchment, or losing your job for any reasons at all – is not only possible but very likely to happen at least once in your life time. The pace of business has picked up in speed considerably over the past few years, along with quick technological changes. Some companies have turned their shutters before they even show the fruits of their labour.

According to International Labour Organisation, job instability has been increasing over the past few years, which have been caused by low rate of employment through permanent contracts since the financial crisis. Only 1 in 4 is employed on a permanent basis, globally. Taking your job for granted is generally, not a wise decision. We all must prepare ourselves for any sudden changes in company direction, which includes letting go of employees as they downsize or streamline their processes, as well as the rising trend of employing individuals on temporary or short-term contracts.

We cannot stop the demand for more short-term or temporary contracts, but we can possess transferable skills and intangible qualities that help us to stay employable, at the very least.

Communication and analytical skills, resourcefulness, a strong network and having a great personality that encourages teamwork and accountability among colleagues are skills that are attractive to employers and anyone seeking to hire competent employees.

All of these valuable skills will definitely allow you to be more resilient towards the increased mercy of volatile market forces.

Want to learn how to equip yourself with these vital skills?

Executive Coaching, Talent Transition

Do not Ignore Your Human Capital

It is a common adage to note that people are the most valuable asset in any organisation. And, this is not surprising when you take a serious look at the claim. As “turnaround king” Marcus Lemonis, entrepreneur and star of CNBC show “The Profit”, explains, “You can take a crappy process and an average product and put the A-Team on it, and you’ll beat somebody with a great process, a great product, and bad people.”

He emphasised, “The question is, what’s most important between people, process, and product? It’s not even a competition, it’s people. End of story. People, at the end of the day, are all that matters”” .

“The question is what’s the most important between people, process, and product? It’s not even a competition, it’s people. End of story. People, at the end of the day, is all that matters”

And, if you accept what Marcus said and take it to heart, then you will also immediately come to realise that the few whom are absolutely vital to the operations of an entire business, those who serve as the hub and heart of the company, and make critical decisions on a daily basis, deserves a lot more attention to their development, both as individuals and as leaders in an organisation.

Economist Theodore Schultz invented the term, “Human Capital”, in the 1960s, it was used to describe the very phenomena pertaining to how our human capacities are like any other type of capital. Through investment in education, training, and enhanced benefits – an improvement in quality of work and level of production is able to be induced, resulting in a higher economic value for the organisation as a whole.

Today, forward looking companies have started employing executive coaches to work with executive for a variety of reasons including; succession grooming, leadership development, performance coaching, interpersonal skills, promotion support, transition management, etc… Companies that do not invest in their employees find themselves running the risk of losing out to the competition in terms of competitiveness, talent drain and even wasting away untapped potential that had always been evident in the team

Invest in your team today.