Leadership Mr.

Hari Nair Resurrecting Organisations in Turbulent times: An adaptive Challenge HRD Newsletter,Vol:24

Global economy and therefore, our economy are facing very difficult time. Financial problems in the west have resulted in sharp fall of share markets in India. This, along with the governments efforts to control inflation has caused shortage of cash in the market. Economic conditions in the country have already resulted in drastic reduction in demand; most have even cut down even their production plans.

Difficult times have an impact on all of us. They engulf companies and even entire industries without warning, and often with little time for evasive action. Even a good manager may not be able to prevent his company from being sucked into the crisis. But sometimes it is not just the problems raging in the world outside that hit the company, but homemade difficulties, too. Under the impact of a deteriorating operating climate, years of poor, or simply lax, management are suddenly transformed from latent problems into full-blown, lifethreatening crises. At times like these, 'more of the same' no longer seems good enough. People and organisations are looking for direction, and craving leadership.

Executive leaders are facing the almost overwhelming task of restoring confidence and respect in leadership and business. They are being called upon to guide organizations through time s of turbulence and uncertainty, to show the way forward and to set an example. And all this in the face of a recessionary global economy, under threat of war, and in a climate of cynicism and mistrust - tough economic and political circumstances by any standards Leadership fundamentals are critical, especially in turbulent times. Those worth emphasising are: Vision. The most convincing managers can be gauged not just by the success of their initiatives, but also by their ability to implement preventive and far-sighted strategies. A strategically gifted entrepreneur or manager is able to look beyond the current situation and sense an impending recession. Only then can they start 'battening down the hatches' and preparing to weather the storm. Once the storm hits, the challenge is to find the right safe harbour as quickly as possible, then to refit and prepare for the onward voyage. Direction-setting. In times of uncertainty this becomes even more crucial. CEOs and senior executives, together with their top teams, as well as having the ability to establish a vision, must have a sense of how the organisation should get there. At the same time, effective leaders do not 'over plan'; they maintain a course without unnecessarily carving the details in stone. They retain a degree of freedom and keep their options open. They recognise which decisions have to be made by when and how to 'buy time' when uncertainty

might be of benefit. All of this implies a tolerance of ambiguity, coupled with the ability to prevent this ambiguity from transferring into high levels of uncertainty for the organization in which they work. Emotional Intelligence. There is a growing need for leaders with strong Emotional Intelligence. Low self-awareness is clearly counterproductive when it comes to effective leaders. In addition, no leader is good for all situations. Everybody has personal strengths and weaknesses. So when uncertainty is the only certainty, it is important to select a leader with a very good understanding of their own limitation. when to back their own judgement and when to seek counsel. A balanced personality In effect, a crisis brings out the need for great personal judgement in balancing the tensions inherent in good leadership. In our experience there are five elements of leadership when balance must be shown, as indicated in the table below.

More specifically: It takes a high degree of self-assurance to

successfully introduce unpopular measures and drive them through. By the same token, there is no sense in pursuing change for its own sake. A sense of loyalty and responsibility for the corporate purpose must also be present. In a crisis, specialist expertise plays a different role

than in times of continuity and prosperity. More than ever, a top manager must be in a position to weigh up and make decisions based on a deep understanding of the issue, to evaluate details without losing sight of the bigger picture or becoming absorbed in the finer points. Many poor management decisions are due to the lack of expertise on the part of decision-makers in understanding the consequences of their actions in a long-term context. This is also the reason that we are experiencing a renaissance of specialist

expertise, and experienced corporate leaders are being brought out of retirement to clear up problems created by their less-proven predecessors. In difficult situations, a manager must be highly

adept at striking a balance between a sense of direct personal responsibility and a pronounced team spirit. High personal identification with success or failure and a well-developed team -culture can go hand-in-hand, for self-assured managers recognise that they are carried forward by their team and are able to guide team performance with precision. In troubled times, managers must take an active

approach to shaping and moulding, giving direction and meaning to entrepreneurial activities. They must also be quick to learn, and receptive to new ideas, must resist the temptation to fall back exclusively on tried-and-tested methods, and avoid the trap of overlooking or misreading the warning signs coming from their immediate environment. Even when times are good, every manager should realise the importance of doing more than providing leadership and hitting targets in their own specific field. In times of crisis, the practice of looking 'outside the box' to make a contribution in the wider context is crucial. 'Upward management' - exerting influence to create the right conditions for organizational success - is never more important than in crisis situations

Leading a company through a crisis goes beyond enabling it to survive by the skin of its teeth, emerging with fewer products, fewer employees and fewer markets. A company that survives a crisis must square up to its revised environment and be given a new direction. Often this will imply a degree of restructuring. Employees will need to move to new positions and new markets must be opened up. In other words, a crisis has only been mastered in a sustainable and longterm sense when a company develops new drive, repositions itself, and begins to play an active and influential role in the marketplace again. Leading through a crisis is a painful business. In tough times, managers cannot please everyone. But if, at the end of the day, decisive crisis management can rescue a company, many more jobs will be saved than by half-hearted leadership that may well ease the symptoms of the crisis in the short term but is powerless to prevent the ultimate collapse of the business. When the aggregate competence profiles of managers at crisis-hit companies are compared with their counterparts at stable companies, the most striking differences are in results-orientation and strategicorientation. This is logical, given that results-orientation measures the strength of people's drive to improve business performance. Good companies treat this competence as critical and go to great lengths to recognise, foster and reinforce this capability. In other companies, however, it is rare - and sometimes even systematically discouraged -

for managers to take personal responsibility for goals other than those that have been set for them. Strategic orientation is also critical because it provides the road map to the company's entrepreneurial goals. To bring about far-reaching change, managers need a capacity for critical analysis and an ability to draw-up not just short-term action lists, but workable mid- and longterm solutions Decision-making in times of crisis and rapid change What strategy should managers adopt when the competitive situation changes so dramatically and both growth and profitability are hit hard? What can be done when, as a result of internal shortcomings, the stability of the company is at risk and a question mark hangs over its future viability? A knee-jerk reaction is to look to a corporate leader for snap decisions. However, in crisis situations, simply making decisions is not enough; the corporate leader must first set the right direction and then maintain that course unremittingly. To be sure, the courage to make tough, unpleasant decisions and to make them quickly is indispensable. In a crisis, the last thing that a leader can afford to waste is time. However, if that means deciding without a clear view of the bigger picture or the long-term impact, this will prove detrimental. So in times of crisis, the basis for any sustainable and successful management strategy lies in a sense of responsibility, built on self-assurance, inner calm and focus on execution.

As to identifying the correct course of action, the only meaningful approach is to analyse the situation critically, taking a hard, objective look at the market situation and the competition. There may be little time available for an exhaustive appraisal - sometimes only a matter of days is available. So the assessment will be incomplete, but it must cover the essentials. That calls for a leader who is objective and willing to accept hard truths. After a rapid appraisal of the situation, there must be immediate action, often involving dramatic measures. At this point, the true crisis manager gets to prove their worth. Many corporate leaders are well capable of analysing a crisis - often with the support of advisors - and of prescribing the necessary remedy for the ailing patient. Where they fail is in the attempt to put in place - often in the face of strong resistance - the necessary grass roots changes. What is required is not the wanton destruction of traditional structures, but a rigorous commitment to purging the actual shortcomings revealed - even if this means substantial job losses, all the way up to the executive suite. The skilled crisis manager is no autocratic 'go-it-alone hero'; instead they are able to communicate effectively in order that all concerned grasp the full extent of the crisis, and accept the necessary and often extremely painful measures - even when they are directly affected. They will also have the ability to handle and resolve conflict, and the communicative skills and openness to gather at least a majority of the top management team around their banner. The power to win-over others takes on far greater significance in critical situations than in the

day-to-day business operations, where the stakes are lower and people may be easier to convince. SUGGESTIONS Leading in turbulent times is different. It is more complex, more personal, and more demanding. And leadership during these times is more critical than ever. 1. Leading in turbulent times presents a special opportunity to grow as a leader. Leadership challenges naturally bring out the best and worst in the personality 2. Living in a "world of not knowing" is common in turbulent times.. Stay open to new experiences and new ways of seeing the world. And learn to master "confident humility," the state of being self-confident, yet humble enough to listen and learn from the surroundings. 3. When faced with uncertainty, its important to keep one foot in the present and one foot in the future, bridging hope an d reality.

4. Honesty, integrity, courage, resilience, and commitment to excellence are critical values that can guide through uncertain times. When times get tough, and the world gets confusing, relying on these steadfast principles can go a long way toward preventing stupid mistakes. 5.Turbulent times are by definition full of conflicts and contradictions. Sometimes multiple forces are at play, and leadership requires a multi-faceted response. Leaders often find themselves in a paradox the concept of two seemingly disparate ideas that, when put together, make sense rather than oppose one another. Consider this list of leadership paradoxes when the leader face uncertainty-

Realistic optimism,Reflective decisiveness, Authentic flexibility, confident humility, Pragmatic trust, Urgent listening, Tough empathy, Flexible firmness, Participative boldness, Strategic experimentation, Constructive impatience . CONCLUSION In these Turbulent Times the most Challenging comments are faced by the Leadership at every level of the organization. Global and local challenges in almost every industry is facing these Times. Economists are going in for many predictions with all facts and figures available. With increasing rates of environmental change and diversified nature of most large firms, stability and predictability no longer guarantee business success. Leaders can increase strategic and organizational capability in these turbulent times by (1) establishing strategic visions, (2) creating successive adaptation and dispersion, (3) creating strategic unity, (4) driving efficiency, (5) continually scanning the competition, (6) encouraging transformational leadership, (7) increasing capacity for change, and (8) modifying and managing organizational practices. RefererrrrrrrRrRreceR

rere adv Mr.Hari Nair Resurrecting Organisations in Turbulent times: An adaptive Challenge HRD Newsletter,Vol:24

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