March 10, 2011

Call to Action: Present and Future Business Leaders

Dr. Gerard Seijts

Dr. Gerard Seijts Associate Professor, Director Leading Cross-Enterprise Research Centre Ivey Business School March 10, 2011 South China Morning Post Ivey's recommendations on what current and next-generation business leaders should do post-financial crisis.

Faculty at the Richard Ivey School of Business have put the experience of the global financial and economic crisis of 2007-09 under the microscope, coming up with important lessons for current and future leaders.

Current leaders must be the strongest advocates of anticipatory leadership and the prime enemies of complacent thinking. They must be more aware of the dangers of viewing their business environments solely through the lens of their current business models, realizing that their current models - and what got them there - will not necessarily work in a new environment.

They must integrate short-term shareholder returns with other stakeholder demands and societal expectations if their enterprise is to be sustainable.

They must create and sustain cultures of constructive dissent in which individuals and groups can express their concerns with policies and strategies and can contribute to vigorous debate about alternatives without being devalued or marginalized.

They must strive to create learning organizations by demonstrating they are also continuous learners.

They must insist as much effort be placed on character development of their up-and-coming leaders as on developing their competencies.

They must recognize words, policies, principles and processes mean nothing unless they are reflected in their behaviours and may, indeed, be undermined by any "say-do" gaps that are not closed quickly.

So what are the implications for next generation leaders?

First of all, we call upon them to strive to develop the full range of their leadership potential. We call upon them to know themselves, to get in touch with their values, to understand their personality traits, and to recognize how they impact on others.

Second, we call upon them to take reasonable risks with their careers in order to stretch and to learn. We call upon them to be prepared to make mistakes. More importantly, we call upon them to learn from their mistakes when they happen.

Finally, we call upon the leaders of the future to stay grounded. We encourage them to recognize that no matter how much success they may achieve, their only guarantee of continuing success in the future is to retain their basic humility.

In the following three weeks, we will continue to summarize our calls to action to key business groups in the columns of this newspaper.

Next week: Call to Action for Leadership and Development Specialists

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