There has never been a period of greater instability and uncertainty. The climate and biodiversity crises, global health challenges, shifts in supply and value chains, rapid social change, growing populism, geopolitical tensions and the advent of AI and machine learning are all combining to present unprecedented corporate challenges. But, with those challenges, come extraordinary opportunities. And the leaders who can rise to those opportunities and demonstrate real agility of mind and purpose, will be the ones that flourish.

Achieving that agility will not come easily.  It will involve completely re-examining how we live, work and do business in the new, streamlined, digital world. Until now, organisations have been configured and directed to leverage stability and predictability with the simple function of maximising returns for shareholders, but that model is now in question as businesses react to the shifting demands of societies in flux.

A new style of leadership needs a fresh pair of eyes

In a fascinating article in its Quarterly Magazine, McKinsey suggests that leaders will need to reimagine their roles and points to the fact that more and more business are transforming their management structures to become more fluid and adaptable.

For the CEOs of organisations seeking to embrace these changes, there has never been a more important time to seek the support of 1:1 coaches and mentors who can give clear external advice to help them challenge the orthodoxies and hang-ups ingrained in long established corporate structures.

The best of these coaches and mentors have already experienced quantum shifts in business models and are experienced in handling the radical changes needed to thrive. Approaching from an unfettered, external viewpoint, they can pose the searching and salient questions that will cut through the uncertainty and help leaders address new challenges and resolve conflicts as they arise.

Unless you embrace change, change will consume you

The prize for embracing change is clear. Allianz, Haier, Microsoft and Nucor are already demonstrating how transformations in their businesses, to more flexible, open structures is inspiring new energy and passion in their people and delivering real value to their stakeholders by generating sustainable and inclusive growth.

This level of change does not come naturally, and it transforms the way in which business leaders must lead. It involves redrawing corporate architecture to foster more open and collaborative modes of working. It means leaders relinquishing traditional hierarchical powerbases as networked leadership teams step up to meet the increasingly complex demands of a brave new world.

Once again, targeted 1:1 coaching and mentoring will be invaluable as leaders deal with radical shifts in the dynamics of their teams and individuals step up to new, more integrated, leadership roles. Traditional leaders will need guidance on how to step back from the rigid, direct management hierarchies that are increasingly seen as a barrier to progress. They must be inspired to have the confidence to give the new leadership networks of smaller, self-managing teams the freedom to use their new-found agility to deploy more swiftly – capitalising on shorter cycles to deliver greater value for their stakeholders. 

New leadership styles will need fresh imagination

Whilst we are moving from a world of individual leaders to one in which networked leadership teams steer organisations, companies will still need leaders who are accountable for their individual roles. However, leadership itself will be transferred to teams of leaders acting within the wider organisation. These high-performing leadership teams will always outperform the capabilities of individual members. Empowered in this way, they are better able to work and learn together and to create a perpetually evolving system for creating value and meeting the needs of stakeholders.

This kind of evolutionary shift takes leaders far beyond the historic assumption that they will simply add to their skill base and undertake continual professional development. It will require a compete reset in which they must reimagine their roles and alter their mindsets. A 1:1 coach or mentor, who truly understands the tectonic shifts at work here, will help leaders navigate the process and flourish within the new structures as they take shape – helping them to maximise their value and performance within new systems.

Recognising the five critical shifts

Historically, successful companies and their leaders simply focused on earnings and results, exercised authority and control, and acted highly competitively. But for organisations to thrive now McKinsey suggests that their leaders, must undergo five fundamental shifts in their mindsets and ways of working:

• Leaders’ focus must shift from being managers seeking profit for shareholders to a more holistic, visionary approach where impact for stakeholders is the primary consideration.

• Instead of acting as planners, competing for value with a scarcity mindset, leaders must envision themselves as architects cocreating value by adopting a mindset of abundance.

• Rather than organising as directors, exercising authority over a rigid hierarchy, leaders must leaders must act as catalysts collaborating with empowered teams with a partnership mindset. 

•  When it comes to getting work done, leaders must evolve from being controllers operating through detailed prediction and a mindset of certainty to become coaches embracing a discovery mindset.

• In terms of how they show up, leaders must shift from operating as professionals with a conformity mindset to adopt a role as humans, enabling people to be their best selves with a mindset of authenticity.

These shifts don’t mean abandoning traditional skills. Rather, they build on your existing skills to expand your capacity as a leader.

Leading change of this magnitude and complexity can seem daunting. Which is why there has never been a more salient time to enlist the support of highly experienced leadership coaches and mentors to support your most senior managers through the transformation process. Pinacl gives you access to a broad portfolio of some of the world’s leading coaches and mentors, all of whom are eminently capable of delivering invaluable 1:1 support to individual members of your C-Suite as they navigate the changes needed to flourish in challenging new corporate environments. To arrange an introductory conversation about the support we can offer, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.