Author: Texem

The University of Oxford alumnus Professor Roger Delves shares insights into how leaders can win through better self-awareness. He also explains why executives should attend TEXEM UK’s forthcoming programme on Self-awareness for better management of change in Uncertain times.

Delves himself, Professor Paul Griffith, Ambassador Charles Crawford, and Professor Randall Peterson will help deliver the live sessions of this programme, which is slated to hold virtually between February 11 and March 4

1. How do you see the TEXEM February 2023 programme, ‘Self-awareness for better management of change in Uncertain times,’ impacting Leaders?

This TEXEM, UK programme is pertinent and comes at an appropriate time. There is no doubt that we live in times of enormous change. We are not the first to do so, but nevertheless, change and accompanying uncertainty are here and show no signs of departing. Therefore, leaders need to be self-aware if they are to lead with clarity and purpose. Leaders who lack this awareness will find that change and uncertainty are hard to lead through, and their followers will find such leaders unequal to the task.

2. Which sectors would this programme be beneficial to?
   I can’t think of sectors where change and uncertainty are not the current normal, so all sectors would benefit from this TEXEM, UK Self Awareness, for better management of change management development opportunities.

3. Do you have any doubts about the result of this programme, given that it’s an entirely virtual programme?
   Developing leaders and managers in a virtual environment has developed with astonishing speed over the three years since we first felt the bite of COVID-19. Lecturers are better versed in gaining and maintaining attention, while the participants are now far more used to meeting in a virtual space. With goodwill on both sides, and a real desire to learn on the part of the participants, this learning experience will not be highly effective. Also, given TEXEM’s leader-friendly methodology that makes learning fun and impactfully, this programme will help inspire, transform and make leaders more effective.

4. How would you recommend TEXEM’s forthcoming programme,’ Self-awareness for better management of change in uncertain times’, which holds between February 11 to March 4 2023, to Leaders?
   I would recommend this TEXEM, UK programme as a rare opportunity for leaders and managers to immerse themselves in learning how to be better at what they do, guided by robust models that have proved their efficiency and effectiveness repeatedly in businesses around the world. Unfortunately, opportunities such as these do not present themselves often.

5. Why does a mid-executive need to attend TEXEM’s programme?
   I have never met a manager who could not be better at their job. Almost always, this is not because they are not trying hard; it is because they do not have the time to explore and discover the thinking and the models that will help them to be better – they are too busy to improve! But an essential programme like this, packed with proven ways to do things better, ways to approach things better, ways to think about things better, and ways to resolve things better, is exactly what all managers need to take that step up to the next performance level. They will no longer have to improve by trial and error. Instead, they can improve by embracing proven techniques, models, and approaches and, in the process, challenge assumptions.

6. How could leaders achieve Self-awareness for better management of change in uncertain times?
   Self-awareness is a two-step process: knowing what to do and having the discipline and the application to do it. This executive development programme will provide the first step and advise on the second step, but the provision of application and dedication, which we term self-management, must be the responsibility of each attending individual.

7. Why are you best suited to deliver this executive development programme?
   Following an Oxford education and a career in advertising, where I was a board director of an international agency for several years, I have been reading, writing, and leading seminars about this subject matter for over 25 years. I have taught in several top business schools worldwide, including in London, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Dubai, Lagos, Nairobi, Sydney and Melbourne, all over Europe, several parts of India and China. This has been my daily endeavour for a very long time, and I have worked with thousands and thousands of leaders and working professionals, helping them to be better leaders and managers. I relish the opportunity to do so again with this TEXEM, UK cohort.

8. What is Self-awareness, and how can a leader leverage it to better manage change in uncertain times?
   Self-awareness is understanding what is important about me – my values, purpose, needs, strengths, weaknesses and so on. The more self-aware I am, the more confident I am, the more sure-footed I am around decision-making, and the more likely I am to be able to tell others what I stand for, offering them expectations of behaviour around concepts like personal integrity, for example, which are very important to followers or team members. For more information, please sign up for the TEXEM, UK programme at https://texem.co.uk/self-awareness-for-better-management-of-change-in-uncertain-times/

9. Can Self-awareness be taught or enhanced?
   Anyone who is eager to learn can be taught how to become more self-aware. Think of it like a muscle that, when exercised, becomes stronger and stronger, more and more reliable, and capable of more and more demanding tasks. For more information about how to be more self-aware, please email [email protected] or register for this programme at https://texem.co.uk/self-awareness-for-better-management-of-change-in-uncertain-times/

In this interview, winner of the equivalent of two Oscars and Oxford alumnus Ambassador Charles Crawford explains why executives should attend the forthcoming TEXEM Self-awareness for Better Management of Change in Uncertain Times programme. Other TEXEM’s faculty delivering this programme include Professor Paul Griffith, the World’s first Professor in Management to lead a team to launch a rocket into space and Professor Randall Peterson of London Business School.

1. Please tell us what role you will play in the TEXEM February 2023 programme, ‘ Self-awareness for better management of change in uncertain times, ‘ impacting the Leader today?

I’m pleased to deliver one of the live sessions featuring fundamental practical communication skills that will help any leader or manager sound smart, confident and convincing in all settings.
The key idea is this: It’s not what you say – it’s what they hear. So, if you’re trying to motivate a team to do something new and difficult, your words may be (more or less!) OK. But what if they’re hearing from your tone and the wider context such ‘deeper’ things as Boring, Lazy, Doesn’t Mean It, Sexist, Time-waster, Irresponsible, and Annoying? Your words will be wasted against this broader cynicism.

2.Do you consider this programme pertinent to the needs of Leaders?

Yes. Because if you don’t know how you’re coming across to the team, your seniors, customers, and regulators, what do you think you’re doing all day?

3.What benefits do executives stand to gain from participating in this programme?

The core benefit of the programme Self Awareness for better management of change in uncertain times is that they’ll think differently about themselves and their work. Coping amidst uncertain and challenging times requires just the right combination of determination and flexibility. You may think you’re getting that right? But what’s your test of success and your test of failure? This programme will make leaders optimise their decision-making credentials about areas for improvement, and it will make their organisations consistently learn, innovate and deliver excellent products and services to all stakeholders. The programme will help organisations win.

4. How would you recommend TEXEM’s forthcoming programme titled ‘Self-awareness for better management of change in uncertain times’, which will be held between February 11 to March 4, 2023, to Leaders?
Leaders anywhere in the world need to grasp the operational and policy distinction between what’s important – and what matters. It’s not enough these days to be grand or powerful and astute. You need to be convincing and effective. This programme helps you think hard about the necessary ‘mindset’ to achieve that. Also, TEXEM’s methodology of making learning fun, engaging and impactful is another critical reason why participants should attend this programme, Self-awareness for Better Management of Change in Uncertain Times. Also, research has shown that organisations with strong financial performance have a distinct feature of possessing more self-aware leaders than poorly performing companies. Also, organisations with more self-aware employees are likely to have more collaborative and cohesive teams and deliver superior performance.

5. How successful can a leader or manager be without Self-awareness?
Quite successful until everything abruptly crashes to the floor in pieces. A leader or manager with no self-awareness is like one of those children’s cartoon characters who walk confidently off a high cliff into thin air and keeps on walking happily in the air for a few paces before gravity starts asking difficult questions and the speedy painful fall begins. To achieve enduring success, teams in organisations must be emotionally savvy. They must possess the ability to identify and manage their emotions and identify and influence others’ emotions for results. When individuals, teams, and managers have excellent emotional intelligence, this could lead to a culture of learning and innovation that is challenging for others to imitate and could be one of the contributors to sustainable competitive advantage.

6. Many change initiatives fail; how could self-management help make change- management succeed?

There are no guarantees. You may even do the best possible job and succeed until something completely unexpected (say, a new invention or new policy context) comes along and wrecks everything. It’s genuinely hard to summon just the right balance between discipline, hard work, creativity and flexibility. But all these things require you to have the right competence and emotional stability to make you resilient despite headwinds, which is why this programme is relevant and necessary. This programme, Self-awareness for Better Management of Change in Uncertain Times, is critical as it equips organisations and their team to pay serious attention to their open and subliminal messages: their messages to your teams, customers, stakeholders, and yourself.

7. What is the format of the programme?

The Self-awareness for Better Management of Change in Uncertain Times programme is a combination of self-paced study and live sessions. Participants will study for an average of one hour every day between February 11 to March 4, and there will be live sessions every Saturday for four weeks. The experience has been gamified such that participants will get points ranked on a league table for every article read, video watched, and comment made. The top 5 on the league table will be recognised each weekend when we have the live sessions via zoom, during which different faculty will deliver. For example, each live session on Saturday will have Professor Randal Peterson of London Business School, Professor Paul Griffith, the world’s first Professor of Management to lead a team to launch a rocket, and I deliver.

Let’s face it! We thought COVID-19 was the worst crisis the world had ever faced, but even before its effects were over, political instability across the world began. The Russia-Ukraine war has affected supply chains worldwide, and there seems to be no relief soon. All these and others have severe effects on the global economy. Following the sharp slowdown in 2022, various international bodies have warned that there could be a recession in 2023. Indeed, in October 2022, the International Monetary Fund warned that the global economy’s growth would fall by 2.7% in 2023.

As a leader, whether in government or the private sector, you have a unique role in inspiring confidence, even during times of turbulence. Already, there are signs that the projected global economic recession is beginning to bite. So, your organisational models could only succeed with proper leadership during hard times. But, while some effects are inevitable, you can prepare for the uncertain future and find a way to sail through the tough times. There are several strategies you can use to ensure that your organisation responds appropriately to the volatility that the global economy is facing now and in the future and still achieve sustainable success.

a)    Mental health for leaders and employees

Working and living in times of uncertainty creates anxiety, depression, burnout and other mental-health-related issues. All these eventually affect performance, and it gets even worse when there are crises and volatilities in the market. As a leader, you are responsible for supporting activities that promote good mental wellbeing for everyone. One way to do so is to create initiatives and efforts that help reduce the effects of issues related to mental health. In your strategies as a leader, some of the best initiatives you can try include the following:

Counselling: Avail counselling to everyone and ensure leaders and employees have support when needed.

Platforms for sharing experiences: Create platforms or touch points where employees share their experiences and feelings. You can also use activities or sessions that help bring people together.

De-stigmatise mental health: Establish various programs that help de-stigmatise mental health in your organisation. The idea here is to create a community of support.

Notably, supporting mental health and wellness is a game changer. It separates organisations that thrive from those that suffer losses and stagnation, especially during crises. Moreover, unlike other challenges that affect organisations, mental wellness directly affects performance. So, let it be a priority area when leading during turbulent times just as Microsoft, Pinterest and Unilever have been taking promising steps in the right direction in employee wellbeing and in optimising performance for sustainable success.

b)    Embrace Innovation & Adopt Innovative Practices

As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of innovation/invention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations that innovated at a fast pace thrived, while does that did not cease to exist. Chinese scientists sequenced the COVID virus in just three weeks. The UK’s National Health Service constructed a 4,000-bed capacity hospital within four days. Teams from London, Oxford and other places also developed vaccines in a few months and started testing rapidly. In addition, the CACOVID organised the financial muscle of the private sector and deployed resources for philanthropy offered to the downtrodden.

If you embrace innovation during a crisis, you increase your chances of survival. Your focus on innovation should be more than just during times of crisis. If you can sustain the same efforts over time, even after a crisis, you are sure of growth and top performance. To do so, you need to replicate proxy crises and allocate resources to innovation and build a culture of learning, collaboration and exploring novel solutions. That way, you will lead your organisation to success both during turbulent and good times

c)    Communicate Effectively

Proper communication plays a very vital role during times of uncertainty. It enables organisations to function effectively despite disruptive events and risks. People want information, and whether good or bad, you need to ensure it gets to the right people on time using the right platform for young folks social media could be the best means while older employees might prefer emails. In addition, you need to provide clarity and direction if you want to sustain good performance. So, you need to step up your communication, especially when times change and tomorrow seems very uncertain. Here are suggestions that can help you communicate effectively:

• Control your messages and create one version
• Emphasise clarity over volume
• Provide updates regularly
• Don’t go into hiding when things get thick; provide leadership
• Stick to facts and avoid speculations
• Provide tools to aid communication and ensure leadership is on the same page
• Join the dots for your people lest rumor mongering becomes the order of the day.

It is crucially important to oversee your organisational story. Provide clear direction especially during crises. Make sure that communication is effective and that all messages reach the intended audience without distortion. That’s how giants sail through turbulent times and turn adversity into prosperity by building more resilient core competences that endures.

d)    Emphasis on Purpose and Corporate Social Responsibility

Contributing to the communities and societies where your profits come from is one way to win during turbulent times. It is a move that creates a beneficial cycle that will help your organisation to remain afloat even during crisis times. Note, however, that CSR is not just about giving to the community near your organisation. Your moves must be relevant and help tackle social issues, environmental hazards, governance issues and others. Leaders should also embrace societal leadership, which entails inspiring solutions that addresses society’s theming challenges. The societal leader demonstrates ethical leadership even when others are cutting corners. They embody value-based leadership, inspire their team to embrace morality and their organisation is a bastion of compelling purpose. That’s the best way to create impact, and you, as a leader, should be at the forefront when doing such activities. The ethical leader consistently inspire their team to always embrace President John F Kennedy’s  golden and evergreen advise that all should “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

e)    Be More Strategic

Leaders need to be more strategic in dealing with turbulent times. Traditionally, as a leader, you would try to predict markets and competition and then plan accordingly. Employees and other stakeholders would then work with you in executing your plan. And since markets were relatively stable, the only task to do while executing your strategic plan is monitoring and working to keep everyone on track. Such an approach worked well in the past, but you cannot use it anymore these days because the competitive landscape is changing quickly.

While conventional strategy-making techniques are great, they often fail since they need to consider various eventualities. Global financial crises, oil price spikes, wars, pandemics, climate change, digital disruptions and others can render your plans and strategies useless quickly. So, how do you survive all these and steer your organisation successfully even during such turbulent times? You need to be more deliberate about the choices (e.g., around intrapreneurship, internationalisation, acquisitions and alliances) that you make and the actions (e.g., processes, practice and leadership style) that you take to position (e.g. around; culture, resources, macro-environment and  engaging stakeholders) of your organisation for enduring success. Let your strategy-making be a continuous process which entail deliberately choosing a distinct set of activities and- is responsive to changing times to deliver a unique mix of value. This is what progressive and top 5 companies such as Amazon, Walmart and Apple all have in common.

f)     Develop Core Competence in Engaging Stakeholders Locally, Regionally and Globally

Stakeholder engagement plays a very vital role in the success and growth of every organisation, especially during turbulent times. It would help if you had a plan to do such an engagement, and it should be well-structured and exhaustive. In your plan, be clear on stakeholder identification, their power, interest level and the influence they have in the day-to-day running of your organisation. You can use a matrix to define every area and make a plan for addressing every critical aspect.

To develop and enhance core competence in engaging stakeholders, use the right tools and do not leave anyone out. Engage all stakeholders, starting with local ones, those at a regional level and even those on the global stage. You may have to create smart and specific plans targeting each group. For effective communication and engagement, use the right digital tools such as big and deep data, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality and internet of things. It saves time and ensures you include everyone. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement and Europe’s gas need due to the Russia-Ukraine war are two examples of immense opportunities that requires effective stakeholder engagement to unlock.

In conclusion, coping with the challenges of volatility, crises, and the dynamic global economy is challenging for leaders in government and the private sector these days. As a leader, you need to craft a winning strategy to keep you going and even grow despite the turbulence. Adopt the strategies shared here and improve your chances of succeeding as a leader.

Dr Alim Abubakre is on the advisory board of the London Business School Africa Club and is the non-executive chair of These Executive Minds (TEXEM)-An organisation which he founded and has trained over 4000 executives across multiple continents. He is a Senior Lecturer in International Business at Sheffield Business School (An AACSB accredited Business School) at Sheffield Hallam University. Sheffield Hallam was named the University of the Year for Teaching Quality by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020