Quick snippets from my morning read on Tuesday, 23rd May 2023
The world has never been more connected. Yet many of us feel more disconnected than ever before. In particular, CEOs and managers can often feel isolated from their peers, and therefore crave a greater sense of community and belonging. This lack of social connection can have a detrimental impact on both them and their team—putting the future of their company at risk.
Vince Molinaro shares ways you can build a strong community of leaders in your organization, enabling you to more successfully execute on strategy, drive growth, and deliver results.
As the saying goes, “It’s lonely at the top”. Research reveals that a lack of social connection at work can have serious consequences, including health problems, diminished performance or creativity and impaired decision-making. According to the MIT Sloan Management Review 2020, 76% of senior leaders say they had difficulty making connections with their work teammates. 58% feel their social relationships at work are superficial.
The pandemic made it harder for people to connect with coworkers on a personal level. The hyper-competitive and individualistic culture in most organizations makes things worse. Here are some examples;
- Limits innovative ideas.
- Overwhelms and creates stress.
- Limits diversity and sense of inclusion.
- Promotes macho cultures
- Creates heroes and zeros in organizations
All these serve to create weak leadership in organizations. It is time to let go of this old model of leadership and embrace the new connections that teams all over the world are forming.
The Critical Need for Leadership Communities
If done right, the effects of building a strong community of leaders in this new era of work can be extraordinary. However, few companies have a strong leadership culture in place.
According to Molinaro’s Accountable Leaders, 89% of people say that having a strong leadership culture is critically important to an organization. 15% of the companies have the culture they need to succeed.
In weak leadership cultures, leaders demonstrate the following behaviours;
- They lack clarity around strategic priorities.
- They fail to inspire the people they lead.
- They tolerate ineffective and mediocre leadership.
- They demonstrate animosity for the success of other leaders, teams and departments.
- They work at cross-purpose with each other.
- They prop themselves up while downplaying the contribution of others.
- They don’t engage stakeholders.
- They regularly badmouth and throw colleagues under the bus.
- They withhold information as a way to retain power other others.
- They act as bystanders when colleagues need help.
Building a strong community of leaders has become critical as the world continues to grow more complex and uncertain. No one person will have all the answers today.
What Does a Strong Community of Leaders Look Like?
| Characteristic | Aligned Behavior |
|---|---|
| 1. Have clarity on the strategic direction of the organization | Be determined to deliver on the most important strategic outcomes for the company |
| 2. Create excitement about the future | Spread optimism about the company, even through adversity |
| 3. Share a common aspiration to be great as leaders | Commit to their roles as leaders and help other leaders thrive |
| 4. Lead with a united front and a one-company mindset | Lead in the best interest of the whole organization |
| 5. Hold each other accountable by calling out unproductive leadership behaviour | Demonstrate the courage to call out misaligned and unacceptable behaviours |
| 6. Celebrate success and key milestones | Ignite passion by recognizing others and showing progress towards goals |
| 7. Break down silos and collaborate effectively | Identify accountability gaps that weaken the leadership culture |
| 8. Keep internal politics and personal agendas to a minimum | Behave in a direct and transparent manner with peers |
| 9. Demonstrate resilience and resolve in the face of adversity | Turn to each other while navigating tough challenges |
| 10. Support one another and have each other’s backs | Build high-trust relationships with one another |
Benefits of Creating a Strong Community of Leaders
- Promotes a stronger sense of belonging.
- Allows for greater knowledge sharing.
- Encourages higher levels of performance.
- Creates a culture of accountability.
- Improves employee engagement.
Moreover, research shows that employee engagement is directly linked to a company’s culture and value system. In fact, employee engagement levels can reach up to 72% when managers work well with each other.
With the working world transforming before our very eyes, it’s time to establish a new leadership contract so that CEOs and managers can lead their organizations successfully into the future.
Most leaders want to be in an environment where there is real clarity, alignment, commitment, and mutual support—it just takes one accountable leader to make it happen. That leader can be you!
This article was originally published here.
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