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Four key leadership strategies for 2024 The repercussions of the pandemic, fluctuating financial markets, social upheaval: the underpinnings of our world and our workplace are not what they used to be. So how exactly do you go about being a leader against a backdrop where the only constant is change? Réal Jacob has four key strategies to help you keep your eyes on the prize.
2. Go with the (work) flow This wave of change is also affecting our work culture. Jacob cites issues such as equity, diversity, inclusion, talent attraction, employee retention and mental health as being equally daunting challenges for senior executives and board members. Wellness at work has never been so “front and centre” as it is now. Business leaders are having to take a long, hard look at how they deal with their people. Jacob likes to quote Henry Mintzberg in this regard: “An enterprise is a community of human beings, not a collection of human resources.” 3. Protect the psychological health of executives The pandemic drove home just how important mental health is, especially at the leadership level, where it can be “lonely at the top.” “The issue of mental health at the upper echelons of any organization is critical,” says Jacob. “And yet so many people are reluctant to admit to a problem, for fear of losing their jobs. When you put 70 hours a week in, you tend to pick up quite a few bad habits along the way. And that can spill over to your team.” The book Paroles de PDG , which Jacob co-wrote, emphasizes that the most even-keeled CEOs are the ones who look after their own physical, emotional and social health. Balance is something that has to be focused on from a broader perspective. Their wellness will inevitably shape their success as a leader. It’s simple, says Jacob: “Change within an organization starts with change within yourself.”
“The business context is increasingly complex for today’s leaders and leadership teams,” says Réal Jacob, a management professor emeritus at HEC Montréal. For a business to prosper in today’s economy and society, resilience is more important than ever. 1. Leverage innovation to manage change Jacob contends that businesses are dealing with things that nobody gave a second thought to only a few short years ago: the disruptive influence of artificial intelligence, for one, cybersecurity attacks, for another, not to mention global health crises. Add to that the greater expectations in terms of customer experience, turnaround, flexible work conditions (e.g., remote work) and employee engagement, and that puts an enormous amount of pressure on executives’ shoulders. The findings of a recent survey of CEOs show that they have doubts about their C-suite team’s readiness for the topsy-turvy years on the horizon, especially given the new and complex challenges that come with emerging environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns. “If the people at the top aren’t preparing for these complexities, it’ll be a bumpy road ahead for the troops on the ground.” A strategic, forward-thinking and adaptable mindset is crucial. Fortunately, there are lots of tools available to leaders to support them in their efforts to embrace innovation and collaboration, to bat around ideas and to tap into the power of collective intelligence, all of which tends to go underutilized and underexploited in many organizations.
48 EXECUTIVE EDUCATION HEC MONTRÉAL
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