How to build a global, agile and intelligent organization?

August 14^th 2014 was a very special day for our team.  We celebrated our Chairman of the Board’s 60^th birthday and the launch of our latest book in a celebratory seminar around the theme “leadership of the future”.  During this day, my dear colleague David and I tried to tackle this exciting question:  How to build a global, agile and intelligent organization?

We agreed that in our current business environment of constant change the answer to build this type of organization rests in the leadership.  The changing nature of our current business environment requires different language, behaviors, and thinking in our leaders.  By leaders we mean the people responsible for implementing the strategy i.e. everyone in the organization. In addition, recognizing that the whole human being comes to work, intelligent leaders have a holistic appreciation of the employee.  Therefore it is intelligent leaders, able to use their five sources of intelligence (practical, rational, emotional, spiritual, and cultural), who will be the most successful leaders.

What will be the most important characteristics for leaders to lead towards the vision of 2020? In addition to recognizing that the whole human being comes to work and utilizing their five sources of intelligence, these leaders are inspiring.  They understand what is the starting point for inspiration, how to inspire others and how to nurture their own inspiration.  For them, imagination and dreams are important.  A positive view of the future is a requirement.  These leaders have moved away from command, control, correct as a leadership style and coach their colleagues to Involve, Inspire, and Innovate.

They are also collaborative. They share the leadership as everyone has a leadership role to take and leadership is everyone’s responsibility. They can tap into their emotional intelligence to create connections and network. They enable, support and celebrate success. They coach their colleagues and ask open questions rather than give answers: they collaborate to find the best answer together.  Self-leadership is their strength. 

Our leaders also have a global mindset.  They network, persuade, influence and collaborate at many different points inside and outside the organization with people they have no direct authority over. They lead upwards and downwards, across the matrix.  Command, control and correct really do not work in this global organization.  Leaders in the future will have increasingly complex relationships and these relationships are increasingly with different cultures so their cultural intelligence is essential.  To develop their cultural intelligence, they need self-awareness.

Finally, these leaders are responsible. They are responsible to their clients, their people, shareholders, results, their values, the community and the environment. They are also responsible to themselves and their own learning.  They are future-minded and work for an inspiring purpose. This responsibility driven by a purpose will distinguish exceptional leaders.

In conclusion, building global, agile and intelligent organizations require intelligent leaders who are inspiring, collaborative, responsible and have a global mindset.  How are you supporting the development of these leadership characteristics, in yourself and others?

Laura Vargas

laura.vargas@pertec.fi

+ 358 45 319 2330

Senior Partner at Pertec Consulting