LEADERSHIP WITHOUT FRONTIERS
ASSESSING LEADERS ACROSS BORDERS AT GALLUS WE WORK WITH LOTS OF ORGANISATIONS AND LEADERS ACROSS A VARIETY OF SECTORS, AT VARYING STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. MANY ARE GLOBAL ORGANISATIONS AND, OF THOSE WHO AREN’T, MANY WOULD LIKE TO BE. Leadership Capability is critical to the success of all of these organisations; without fail, every organisation we work with sees leadership capability as its number one potential enabler and its number one risk. Growth plans can be made or broken on the back of leadership capability; the leadership capability the organisation has in place and, perhaps more vital, the leadership capability it needs for the future.
GROWTH PLANS CAN BE MADE OR BROKEN ON THE BACK OF LEADERSHIP CAPABILITY. Organisations typically have strong personalities in their early leadership line-up with stand-out strengths which differentiate the organisation and its culture. It is tempting to expand the leadership line up with ‘like-minded’ people however overplayed strengths can be the greatest source of weakness and risk; cloning these across a growing organisation only amplifies any inherent risk. Diversity in leadership = more effective risk mitigation! Organisations often falter as they start to navigate fast growth. Growth is a balancing act; leadership capability has to keep up with the pace of change and increasing complexity whilst the organisation seeks to retain the positive elements of the culture that got it to where it is. The added complexity of global markets and multi cultural teams means that, in a growing organisation, the ability to lead global teams, virtual teams and multicultural teams become ever more important. Globally minded leaders = accelerated growth plans! The best case scenario is to catch future potential leaders early in their careers, identify them as such, and embark on a development path aligned to future business capability requirements. This takes time however, and demands an internal talent pool of sufficient breadth and depth and the resources to facilitate global development programmes.
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When we consider that, to develop a future senior global leader typically requires that individual to have had formative work experiences across three continents, it becomes quickly apparent that the resources required are substantial. Broader talent pool = greater the potential combined leadership capability! Back in the real world – you need global leaders now! Your organisation is perhaps expanding into an emerging market and wants to identify a proven leader that you can trust to lead the expansion in line with your strategic ambitions and company culture and who has the experience and capability to engage, motivate and direct a predominantly local workforce. Where resources are scarce, you will want to reliably predict the success of such a leader or identify an emerging leader that could feasibly rise to the challenge with adequate support. Equally, you want to make the most of the existing leaders in emerging markets that could add value to more established markets through the creativity, tenacity and adaptability they have intrinsically developed – doing business in emerging markets presents different challenges. Cultural differences = opportunities to learn, share and try new approaches! The demands upon leaders in growing organisations can quickly outstrip the internal leadership supply chain. Growth can dilute culture, fast. As the organisation grows its appetite for leaders who are ready and able to establish new territories leads to an insatiable hunger that can only be quenched
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