Archives for November 2020

Today, more than ever, the topic of leadership competencies has become very important. Among them in particular is the level of vital energy (VQ or vitality quotient).

The vital energy coefficient is applicable to both an individual and an organization. Leaders who are unable to control and replenish their VQ according to circumstances will not be able to achieve high results.

And the unpredictable world of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity ) gives us new lessons and sets new accents.

It doesn’t matter how strong your blow is, the main thing is how strong a blow can you withstand”, – the words of the legendary Mike Tyson

Which companies will resist a blow today? What qualities of a leader allow you to do this?

Resilience has become an important concept and is actively applied nowadays in the context of the resistance to stress of different countries due to unexpected changes. But being resilient to risk is important not only for countries but also for companies and top managers.

Lee Howell, Managing Partner and Head of Global Programs of the World Economic Forum, defines the concept of resilience as an element of systems thinking and the strongest competence of countries in general, organizations / enterprises and their leaders. He emphasizes that resilience to risk is just as important for companies and leaders as it is for countries.

The degree of resilience should also be adopted by recruiters and consultants who assess the top managers of a company at different stages: from attractiveness to the organization to participation in various projects that require this competence.

A system or a person possessing this resource can withstand even the most severe crises since they are capable of amortization and recovery. Energy, inner balance, the ability to define reality and move forward are preserved. This is what determines the productivity of actions in various difficult situations.

Crises and transformations are becoming an integral part of our life: in economics, politics, business, social relations.

A stable business is almost an illusion, and you must always be ready for changes or, better yet, anticipate them. If resilience in earlier days was necessary in rare critical situations (deep failures and defeats, difficult choices, qualitative life changes), today it is a mandatory competence of the leaders of companies in the modern world.

This means the ability to correctly assess whether oneself and others have the ability to quickly recover, to not lose energy and to remain balanced. In other words, the ability to be ready to accept any risk of being in a stressful situation, regardless of its origin, be it a pandemic, global economic crisis or unexpected threat to business.

For a better understanding of the assessment of this competence, you can separate the concept of resilience into components:

• As a personal skill, resilience is, first of all, adaptability. Ability to quickly accept and then reap the benefits of unexpected changes. It is important to be able to assess all these changes as positive, as new opportunities, and not just obstacles and unpleasant circumstances.
• Also, I include in the concept of resilience and stress resistance the ability to maintain a constant level of vitality, health, performance and just a good mood. More than ever in a crisis it is necessary to create additional value, which is impossible in a state of one’s own stress.
• Proactivity is the most important competence for a leader, as in the ability to act proactively when it is necessary, to engage and consciously make efforts and direct energy in the required direction. And this is a discipline.
• Resilience is also the ability to think strategically, to think “on the contrary”. In other words, to analyze and assess the existing risk not only from the angle of the present day, but also from the future, suggesting and evaluating various ways in which events might develop.

A leader with such qualities is able to create a stress-resistant environment in the company, a strong anti-crisis team and a system that can withstand stress of any complexity.

Such systems can adapt to changing conditions, withstand sudden shocks, and not only recover to the desired equilibrium, but also develop.

Please contact Anna Nesterchuk or your region’s Cornerstone Office to discuss how we can help you place your next executive with a high vitality quotient.

We found ourselves in a VUCA world – volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous – long before COVID-19 found us. But the pandemic has made change faster and more volatile, harder to predict, more uncertain, more difficult to analyze, more complex, more ambiguous and more challenging to interpret.

Nowhere more so than in the global environment of Life Sciences and Healthcare.

Last week, a webinar organized by the LS&H practice of Cornerstone International Group brought together senior industry executives from Brazil, China and India  – BRIC countries sharing exceptional growth prospects but with widely different experiences today.

“We are living on the same planet and enduring the same storm but not in the same boat,” says Gaetano Crupi, President and General Manager of Bristol Myers Squibb in Brazil.

Gaetano was joined on the panel by Stephane Mascarau, General manager, Servier in China and by Luca Visini, Managing Director India subcontinent, Eli Lilly and Company, India. The webinar was moderated by Eric Bouteiller, Head of Global Practice, Life Sciences & Healthcare.

Managing Uncertainty

Gaetano described a situation where one size does not fit all, but where basic preparations are essential to managing uncertainty. Avoiding big stock outs, quickly putting people to work without compromising safety, quickly adopting to digital transformation of processes and interactions and recognizing social workers & doctors who are putting their life on line were steps shared by these leaders.

A great culture was an important asset for all of the organizations navigating during crisis.

Human Capital

At the end of the day, leadership is about getting things done and delivering value for all stakeholders. So what does effective leadership in a crisis look like?

People look to their leaders for guidance when confusion and panic ensue. Hence much of the engagement and focus which a team demonstrates is the result of the experiences their immediate leaders created.

Being visible and over-communicating during a crisis was the success mantra of all the leaders on the panel. Leading effectively  empowers teams to stay focused and aligned amid uncertainty. Measures adopted by these leaders to build bonds and reduce anxiety were summed up as follows:

“Tone and tenor of interactions, sharing pride, engagement programs and surveys, well-defined WFH practices, a strong culture and sense of belonging, patient first policy, engaging with family of employees, slowing down conferences, and work-life balance including mental health.”

Key traits these leaders look for when hiring employees and leaders were also shared:  “I would look for an agent of change, a team player with integrity, excellence, learning agility, resilience and ability to adopt digital tools.”

Diversity & Inclusion

“Building and maintaining a diverse workforce leads to better business outcomes—increased cash flow, innovation, readiness for change, and more”, according to Shannon Howard, Product Manager at Predictive Index.

There is growing significance placed on creating environments where a variety of different voices are encouraged and heard. These voices come from people who may or may not be of the same gender, race, or ethnicity.

The three leaders on the panel were unanimous in their view that a diverse workforce would not happen on its own.

“You cannot wait for inclusion to happen,“ says Luca Visini. “You have to drive it and if you don’t drive it, it will not happen.”

Panelists agreed that inclusion for them involved accepting gender, religion and different thought patterns. Building teams with diversity is extremely important for the global organizations.

Leadership Practices

For any organization to succeed, it needs to have strong leadership. People who can manage their teams effectively in order to get the most productivity out of them are essential. But what makes a great leader?

Leadership qualities are the personality traits that a leader possesses – for example, vision, tenacity, EQ, charisma, confidence, etc. Leadership practices are actions and strategies that leaders will take and implement in order to consistently help their team better themselves, and attain growth.

How do you transition from a Manager to Leader? How do you lift yourself up from the operational to the strategic? What are the secrets to providing visionary leadership? How can you inspire and lead change in your organization?

What are the practices the panelists follow and their advice to young professionals were some of the questions posed to the leaders. Following are few points which came up during discussion.

Manage Yourself First

The first step towards leadership is to manage one’s self and have an ethical moral compass. Leaders need to have healthy emotional intelligence. Get to know yourself – what gives you energy and what takes away energy? Own your mistakes as well as the good things about you.

Physical & Mental Fitness

Body and mind balance, importance of physical fitness, meditation, yoga and exercises, pursuit of hobbies – these are regularly practiced by the panelists to achieve the  right balance which gets translated to their organisation.

Wider Perspective

Leaders need to have purpose and should aim high. They should be able see things globally in a wider perspective. It is good to have experience abroad and young professionals should seek international work opportunities.

Empower People and teams

A leader alone cannot achieve everything by himself/herself. Each leader needs a team.

Building and motivating teams with common purpose, enabling people, giving feedback, spending more time, and showing the way were some of practices recommended.

View the full presentation, Human Capital in Life Sciences & Healthcare.

The slow but steady progress to achieve gender equality in business has come under serious threat from the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest annual survey of Women in the Workplace from McKinsey finds as many as two million women are considering leaving the workforce due to pressures in remote working arising from the pandemic.

The issue was a discussion point last week for 900+ people attending a global webinar co-sponsored by Cornerstone and the Alumni Association of P&G. Cornerstone Chairman Simon Wan and global coaching chair Laurie O’Donnell joined three senior members of the alumni in discussing the Future of Talent.

”Women are always asking for flexibility to enable their careers and right now you would think they are thriving,” said P&G alumna Graciela Monteaugudo, an independent Board Director. “But not if there are children. One in four mothers is thinking of leaving. They are overwhelmed.”

Ironically, equality at work and equality at home are two different issues. Caretaking at home creates additional demands that usually are not being shouldered equally.

“Women are at a huge disadvantage working at home, especially if they have children,” says Laurie O’Donnell. “Kids bursting in on a zoom conference are cute the first time but not when you get to Month Three. There is phenomenal stress.”

Details of the Women in the Workplace report show the heaviest impact falling on senior level women who top the charts at over 50% reporting burn-out. With current estimates of 25-30% of the workforce working remotely by the end of 2021, the challenges for women working at home are a serious impediment to diversity.

The financial consequences could be significant. Research shows that company profits and share performance can be close to 50% higher when women are well represented at the top.

Panelists at the webinar placed responsibility squarely on the leadership of an organization to bring about improvement.

“A lot more communications now has to be done directly at the top level,” says Chairman Wan. “In order to attract and retain top talent it is very important to have a clear purpose of the company.

“And that needs to come from the top. It becomes a culture of the company and the leader has to be visible when you talk about the purpose and culture of the company.”

A new requirement of leadership has devolved upon managers at a lower level, resulting in what coaching chair O’Donnell describes as a democratization of coaching.

“Executive coaching originally was prescriptive and basically for the C-suite but that’s changing,” she says. “The people at the mid-level are on catch-up and it’s a steep learning curve. It’s a demand of humanity, a demand of empathy and understanding to manage all these people working remotely at home.”

The video recording of the Future of Talent webinar can be viewed here.

The P&G Alumni Network is a non-profit organization comprised of 35,000+ Procter & Gamble alumni around the globe. Its mission is to connect alumni to each other, provide shared learning and give back to local communities via philanthropic efforts.