Here is a brief excerpt from an interview of Tracy Wolstencroft, CEO of the global executive-search firm. He explains the importance of authentic leadership, listening, and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.To read the complete article, check out other resources (a video accompanies the transcript), learn more about the firm, obtain subscription information, and register to receive email alerts, please click here.
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The importance of authenticity
When it comes to talent and leadership, it starts with content. Today, you’re in a fishbowl. And part of being in that fishbowl means you’re taking information from multiple sources, you’re being evaluated on how you take in that information, you’re constantly learning, constantly teaching, and you have to have a constant ability to modify. Those who adapt best are the ones who thrive.
But how do you lead today if you’re going to have to change or be prepared to change tomorrow? How do you do that without being wishy–washy? It gets back to communication. You have to strike a balance between being confident and assertive, while helping folks realize, “Here are the risk factors.” There’s honesty in that.
The more the individual can convey that inner sense of integrity, that inner sense of authenticity, then the more folks will give them the benefit of the doubt that if they have to change, it’s not because they’ve changed their mind. It’s driven by circumstances in the world that have changed. If the individual has flagged that as a risk factor, that’s part of being authentic.
Merging innovation and consistency
The liability of being in a fishbowl is you’re being looked at from multiple vectors simultaneously—the proverbial 24/7. That’s the liability. The positive is you have information coming to you from so many sources and the ability to have an open mind to that information. The best idea for your business may come from an 18- or 20-year-old who’s living in Shanghai or living in Bangalore. You have to be open to that.
The way I’d say it is we live in what’s been termed a VUCA world—volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. In a VUCA world, there’s only room for humility. There is simply too much happening every given day that can make you humble. So get ready for it. Be comfortable. Be comfortable being humble in a VUCA world.
The more feedback mechanisms you have, the more you have organizations where people realize that no one person can have the best solution. The more minds on a problem, the better. And that gets back to the fact that the fishbowl can be an asset, not a liability. It’s constant feedback loop. And I think a compass, or a purpose, just gives you a sense of where true north is. What do we stand for?
Some of the best leaders have the ability to incorporate what I think of as a compass, or a broader purpose. A purpose statement or a vision statement in and of itself isn’t a strategy. But it is a compass. We live in a world that is looking for quick hits, looking for quick action. But there has to be a trend line. Those compasses, those purposes, help drive that.
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Here is a direct link to the transcript and video that accompanies it.
Tracy Wolstencroft is the president and CEO of Heidrick & Struggles. Rik Kirkland is the senior managing editor of McKinsey Publishing, based in McKinsey’s New York office.