The latest research by McKinsey (2024) reveals that many leaders have mastered all the right executive skills (financial, strategy, operations etc) but still struggle to link their knowledge to the actual performance of their organisations.
What holds these leaders back isn’t the lack of their expertise or talent, but the lack of reflection of what it means to connect with themselves and their people.
What they miss are excellent people skills (good, or ok people skills aren’t sufficient with the proliferation of AI) that further develop human capital; and developing others inevitably begins with increasing leader’s self-awareness and the capacity for reflection.
Why does it matter?
IMPROVED BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Research shows that some of the most successful CEOs have embraced the importance of the human side of leadership and have taken the time to go deep within themselves to build that capability. Businesses that focus on human capital development in addition to financial performance are roughly 1.5x more likely than the average company to remain high performers over time and have half of the earnings volatility.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND GENERATIVE AI (gen AI)
Routine and analytical tasks are already being handled by AI algorithms, and provided the software continues to improve this trend might replace all the tasks. Leaders that will make a difference will be those with high levels of self awareness and people skills that will inspire and develop others to unleash their own potential.
How do you start?
WORK ALONE
Assign time several times a week (or daily) for a self-reflection. Develop your own strategy by focusing on where you are, and where you want to be as a person, and as an executive. Define the resources needed to get there (focus on the soft skills such as empathy, resilience and authenticity). Define the threats. For a deeper, guided work
WORK WITH A COACH
Find an executive coach with whom you get along and that you find trustworthy. Good executive coach is skilled and experienced, but is also able to connect with as a person.
APPRECIATE HONESTY
Assemble and surround yourself with a team that you can trust, and that tells you the truth about yourself and the business.
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