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Our take on leadership

Through decades of directing Executive Development programmes and researching leadership in practice at some of the world’s leading business schools, our approach to developing leadership has evolved around three core concepts

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Luck, legacy and leadership

Business performance over a given period of time is influenced by three key factors:

  • The Legacy of organisational capabilities inherited from previous leadership.
  • The good or bad Luck arising from unpredicted events external to the business.
  • How the organisation’s Leadership builds new capability (future legacy) and harnesses existing Legacy and Luck to advantage or squanders them to the detriment of the business.

Understanding the luck-legacy-leadership dynamic is critical to maximising business performance.

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1 2 LEADERSHIP 4 LUCK EVENTS 3 NEW CAPABILITY & PERFORMANCE LEVELS 5
1

Legacy Capability Levels

The state of 7 organisational capabilities that both enable competitive advantage and limit current business performance and potential.

2

Organisational Performance

Measured achievement against stakeholder expectations, hard and soft business KPIs, and sustained advantage.

3

‘Luck’ - Good or Bad Events

Unforeseen changes in the environment happening over time (such as disruptive competition, technology breakthroughs, sudden market shifts) that influence performance and competitive advantage.

4

Leadership

Decisions and actions taken through time that intervene to harness existing capabilities (Legacy) and build new capabilities to take advantage of the opportunities that ‘Luck’ presents for sustainable performance.

5

New Capability and Performance Levels

Every Luck and Leadership intervention changes capability levels, influences immediate performance and lays the foundation for future performance. Over any time period new levels of capabilities and a new potential for sustained performance becomes the legacy for the following period.
Legacy Capability Levels

The state of 7 organisational capabilities that both enable competitive advantage and limit current business performance and potential.

Organisational Performance

Measured achievement against stakeholder expectations, hard and soft business KPIs, and sustained advantage.

‘Luck’ - Good or Bad Events

Unforeseen changes in the environment happening over time (such as disruptive competition, technology breakthroughs, sudden market shifts) that influence performance and competitive advantage.

Leadership

Decisions and actions taken through time that intervene to harness existing capabilities (Legacy) and build new capabilities to take advantage of the opportunities that ‘Luck’ presents for sustainable performance.

New Capability and Performance Levels

Every Luck and Leadership intervention changes capability levels, influences immediate performance and lays the foundation for future performance. Over any time period new levels of capabilities and a new potential for sustained performance becomes the legacy for the following period.

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An external perspective

Every leader will claim it is essential to have peripheral vision, to avoid a perpetual heads-down approach in the face of immediate operational problem-solving which prevents sufficient foresight to anticipate future threats and opportunities.

However, keeping abreast of the macro political-economic, industry and business sector trends shaping the business’s future capability requires a high level of vigilance.

This takes a lot of time and energy.

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7 6 5 4 3 2 1P E R I P H E R A L V I S I O NP E R I P H E R A L V I S I O N
1

Focal vs peripheral vision

Focal Vision: What’s front and centre of attention? What is the immediate focus?

Peripheral Vision: What’s in the periphery of attention? What significant changes are taking place?

2

Role Perspective

A view of how  a specific role contributes to functional effectiveness.

3

Functional Perspective

A view of  how the function contributes to the business model and performance.

4

Cross-Functional/Business Perspective

A view of how the business model works and is affected by external and internal changes.

5

Business Sector/Market Perspective

A view of how a specific industry sector or market is responding to relevant drivers.

6

Multi-sector/Cross-Industry Perspective

A view of  how different industries respond to micro and macro-economic drivers.

7

Global Political and Economic Perspective

The way global economy trends shape industry environments.
Focal vs peripheral vision

Focal Vision: What’s front and centre of attention? What is the immediate focus?

Peripheral Vision: What’s in the periphery of attention? What significant changes are taking place?

Role Perspective

A view of how  a specific role contributes to functional effectiveness.

Functional Perspective

A view of  how the function contributes to the business model and performance.

Cross-Functional/Business Perspective

A view of how the business model works and is affected by external and internal changes.

Business Sector/Market Perspective

A view of how a specific industry sector or market is responding to relevant drivers.

Multi-sector/Cross-Industry Perspective

A view of  how different industries respond to micro and macro-economic drivers.

Global Political and Economic Perspective

The way global economy trends shape industry environments.

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Constructive organisational politics

Good leaders don’t rail against politics or see it as a ‘necessary evil’, yet the principles of good business say they have every reason to. They have seen that organisational politics has a value and can go hand in hand with a more rational view of organisations.

They see politics as value adding and indispensable. ‘Politics’ is not about rational decision-making, letting the data guide you: it’s about navigating the practical realities of stakeholder interests and leveraging relationships. For most, acquiring a political mindset is the hardest step towards effective leadership.

To achieve that the starting point is to examine the view we have of how organisations work.

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RATIONAL MINDSET 1 POLITICAL MINDSET 2
1

Rational mindset

Organisations are perceived as pursuing a unitary corporate purpose through top management defining mutually consistent objectives which are cascaded by means of formally delegated authority and accountability.

2

Political mindset

Organisations are perceived as having diverse corporate purposes pursued by stakeholders with potentially conflicting interests by means of personally acquired authority and accountability. What are the skills? Where is the ethical line?

How do you maximise the virtues of rational business principles with a political mindset? How should leaders combine the principles of one with the reality of the other?
Rational mindset

Organisations are perceived as pursuing a unitary corporate purpose through top management defining mutually consistent objectives which are cascaded by means of formally delegated authority and accountability.

Political mindset

Organisations are perceived as having diverse corporate purposes pursued by stakeholders with potentially conflicting interests by means of personally acquired authority and accountability. What are the skills? Where is the ethical line?

How do you maximise the virtues of rational business principles with a political mindset? How should leaders combine the principles of one with the reality of the other?

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