CEO's Communication
Dear Learners, Leaders and Change Agents
My work in field of Organization and Leadership Development has taken me across
the globe. In various forums, I have heard a lot of talk about inclusive and integrated
leadership and people have often engaged me in conversations seeking solutions to
the challenges that they face in doing so. As the global footprint grows, organizations
and their leaders need to get on with actually integrating the diversity and not
merely talk of the need for integration. Leaders of organizations will need to build
new competencies to be able to lead systemic integration.
Integration is often misunderstood or misinterpreted. It is seen as a process of
clubbing together people and processes into one basket. The lesser the number of
baskets the better! I see this as a process of homogenizing, which kills all that
is unique and diverse. For example, it is so ironic that across the world most people
see homosexuality as an unnatural process and heterosexuality is the accepted way
of being. Yet when it comes to managing this diversity around us, we tend to homogenize
as much as possible. I look at integration as a process that encourages surfacing
of differences within a system, enabling courageous and authentic conversations
at all levels within an organization.
Globalization and diversification of organizations cannot be supported unless leaders
are able to deal with polarities with a big "AND". While specialization is essential
to build expertise, it also leads to fragmentation within the larger system. Leaders
must notice all small things and see its impact on the whole system in order to
avoid the butterfly effect leading up to the proverbial storm. Building capabilities
through soft skill interventions and task focus cannot be seen as independent of
each other. All learning and development initiatives should be aligned to the organizational
vision and business strategy. Only then will integration happen at individual, group
and organizational level for people and processes alike.
In the coming years, I believe leadership development needs to be focused on building
competencies that will help the leaders to deal with diversity and ambiguity. I
believe that leaders need to develop indepth systemic understanding. They need to
learn how to create, build and sustain trust as a basic ingredient of organizational
growth. Besides, integration of left brain and right brain will be crucial in holding
polarities within the organization. The more global we are the deeper we need to
go into managing diversity and ambiguity.
All leaders will need to do things differently. So my friends, its's time to dare!
Dare to be different!
Sushma Sharma
- CEO, Resonate Consulting