"Last year, Chief Executive Officer met with Kevin Lane Turner, president of the executive development firm Turner Leadership Strategies, to discuss the state of the leadership development industry. Now we catch up with him to hear his views on the current role of today’s corporate leader.
What are today’s stakeholders looking for in their senior executives?
Kevin Lane Turner: Adaptability. Organizations experience change (and/or the need for change) far more frequently than what once was the case, especially companies with global operations. Consequently, senior leaders must have the mental and emotional capability to adapt their strategies and tactics appropriately. This level of psychological agility is simple to develop. However, it requires focused “re-construction” of a few key habits of which most people are not aware. We assist with this process.
In addition, stakeholders also want to be involved and empowered. This is truer now than it was at the end of the 20th century. There are a number of factors for this such as the growing Millennial workforce, for which inclusion is an important factor. So, the successful leader creates systems and networks (or Solutions Teams, as we call them) that empower stakeholders to contribute to and execute important decisions.
What are the particular challenges the typical leader faces today in the corporate sector?
There are four ever-present pressures that every senior leader shoulders:
a. Talent: How strong is our talent-base and how strong is our talent pipeline?
b. Profitability: Are we profitable?
c. Competition: Are we competitive and are we winning (or is our competition winning)?
d. Relevance: Are we current?
Assuming you have the last three under control then by far, the greatest challenge is talent. We have a half-billion dollar client whose 2020 corporate objective is to double in size. The very nature of this objective creates a significant talent dilemma. Who’s going to fill the new roles demanded by this growth? How strong and deep is their current talent pipeline? How strong is their industry’s talent pipeline for various but specialized skill-sets? And within their current workforce, who is capable of being coached and groomed to progress and grow with the company as it grows toward these 2020 objectives?
The current talent shortage is not industry-specific, but it is very real. Today’s talent pool is not keeping pace with the economic growth of world markets.
How does a company like that meet those increased talent needs?”
Click here to read the rest of Kevin’s interview with CEO Magazine.