In most organisations, there is an ever present tension between the bottom line results that are
expected – both internally from upper management and externally from stakeholders and shareholders. Sadly, we live in a society that attaches a strong focus on the short term – and this focus generally translates to a focus on the bottom line. Stakeholders all too often want short term results and this usually means we ignore the impact on culture, and of course people.
To change it, we must demand the focus extends its lens to sustainability for the long term – from a people, brand and financial perspective. Too frequently financial results are prioritised – at the expense of people and brand. So we need more creative thinking to find collaborative and holistic ways of managing this ever present tension.
Increasingly these stakeholders are customers and clients, so the question must be asked: are we prepared to allow our customers and clients to dictate the way we treat our people and develop our brand?
It is time to be courageous and stay true to culture and brand and have the courageous conversations with our customers, It is time to explore the importance of these conversations to innovation, collaboration, engagement and high performance.
So what holds us back then if the benefits are so great? Fear of consequences holds people back – they do not want to make themselves vulnerable – as vulnerability is still seen by many people as weak.
Too often I feel myself becoming disillusioned because challenging others and being prepared to have those courageous conversations is still not embraced constructively. This is because when emerging leaders unleash their courage to initiate a challenging conversation they are met with a response that comes from positional power!
So their vulnerability is rewarded with power (another opposing tension!) When you are about to engage in a challenging conversation fear for your continued employment in the business is not a comfortable place to be.
So, what can you, as an existing leader, do today to promote innovation, collaboration, engagement and high performance?
I can tell you the answer is courageous conversations.
This post is a rewrite of blogs from 2011.
