This is a timely repost of my evergreen article on Open Leadership to pay tribute to a true Open Leader: Gord Johnston, CEO of Stantec, who was recently recognised as CEO of the Year in Canada. Gord epitomises the characteristics of #OpenLeadership, and it has been a privilege to contribute to his legacy.
Now, after nearly a decade as a Sounding Board supporting him and other senior leaders at Stantec, and with a robust foundation for #OpenLeadership in place, I am ‘going out on top’. I’m excited that, for the first time in several years, I now have space to work with a new CEO. If you are a brave leader ready to embrace #OpenLeadership, please talk to me .
Why #OpenLeadership? Why now?
Back in 2016, I conducted a survey asking 25 industry leaders around the world a simple question: “How long from when you put your Strategic Plan into action until it is obsolete?” Their answer was both sobering and alarming. Six months.
Global businesses publish Strategic Plans of 3-to-5-years duration, demanding hundreds or thousands of hours from key personnel, which are “not worth the paper they are written on” within six months. The modern business world is complexifying exponentially. #OpenLeadership is the solution.
This evergreen post introduces my #OpenLeadership model and its four key characteristics. It’s a framework I have developed over several decades, which has delivered an enduring legacy of success for those I work with. If this sounds like something you’re searching for, talk to me.
What is #OpenLeadership?
#OpenLeadership is my framework for ensuring that vision, strategy, and leadership align to enable businesses, organisations, and communities to thrive and help their people thrive. It sounds deceptively simple, but then, all the most powerful business concepts are.
In order to help explain the theoretical basis of what #OpenLeadership is, and how it functions in practice, it is helpful to ask two simple connected questions:
Why is #OpenLeadership so consistently effective for establishing enduring success?
Why is #OpenLeadership especially relevant now?
- Conventional Strategic Planning is too slow
- Traditional definitions of Vision and Strategy are limiting
- Leadership has not evolved in line with people
- #OpenLeadership transforms “doing” into “being”
1: The World moves too quickly for conventional Strategic Planning
I have supported CEOs and Leadership Teams with their alignment, context-setting, and vision and strategy creation for many years now. The world is not as simple as it once was. Black Swans proliferate. The pace of change is unrelenting and unprecedented.
Now, more than ever, it is impossible for Leaders and Leadership Teams to think fast enough, deep enough, or wide enough to have all the answers or to predict every change. Conventional 3-to-5-year strategies can no longer cover every development sufficiently. and when the plan fails or is shelved, it undermines trust in both leadership and the planning process.
My simple survey of industry leaders, mentioned above, found that the average shelf-life efficiency of a Strategic Plan was six months. As Chris van der Kuyl, a past guest on my WhatComesNextLive podcast, said:
“These are the fastest times we have ever lived in, and the slowest we will ever see”
If conventional Strategic Planning is no longer fit for purpose, what is the solution?
2: Vision and Strategy can potentially limit us
How do we create a Vision and its Strategy that doesn’t become obsolete within six months?
The key aspect in creating a Strategy that can withstand the tests of time is to establish the Context of your Vision, and that any following strategic measures are contextual, so they remain relevant and valid when the speed of change shifts things for and around your business.
What do I mean by this? Once you have set a context (Vision), choose three core focal points that are at a high enough context that they are relevant to your Vision, no matter what happens to and around the business. Those themes are your strategic plan, with operational plans under each of them, and represent touchstones for your people and all business activity.
But having established the context, how do we get our people to believe in the vision?
3: Leadership should be about people, but often isn’t
Most businesses and organisations are no longer about extracting from the planet; they are about bringing people together to add value. People will support a Vision and Strategy when Leadership supports them to reach their own highest possible value in pursuit of common goals.
There is timeless success and wisdom to this approach. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, adventurer and author of The Little Prince, exhorted:
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”
Empowerment is not only a psychological motivator, but a practical one; enabling people to find solutions themselves, in order to serve the mission, is a key aspect of the British Army’s Mission Command doctrine.
Faced with the prioritisation of people, who are by nature complex, and the relentless pace of change (addressed above), the key #OpenLeadership advice for all leaders is to remain resolute to the vision. In fact, I distil the job description of the CEO now to one line: “Keeper of the Vision“. The less a leader “does”, the more valuable they are. Their role is to listen to the organisation (the people within and across it) and keep the “hand on the tiller”, towards the Vision through focus on the strategic themes.
Under the #OpenLeadership framework, I support the CEO in the development of this function; their role is not to have the answers, but to trust and empower their people to find the answers. But how do we accomplish this?
4: #OpenLeadership transforms “doing” into “being”
What do leaders need to do? Sorry, trick question! The real question is, who do they need to BE?
Traditional “command and control” leadership models and performative behaviours are no longer credible nor appropriate for the modern business world. Contemporary leadership rests fundamentally on the individual who “shows up”; who they are “being” as a Leader.
That may sound arcane and impenetrable, but over time, I have distilled this practice to four clear characteristics of #OpenLeadership. Simply focussing on these characteristics within yourself and demonstrating them at every opportunity will mean you become the Leader you and your people know you to be:
Be Open.
You know our world is moving away from traditional hierarchies, and you are dedicated to pioneering a more effective model of #OpenLeadership.
Be Humble
Seven of the most powerful words in business are “I don’t know, what do you think?” Your role is no longer to have all the answers, but to create an environment with an energy that is open, that elevates your team, draws out the best from them and where the right questions come forth.
Be Brave.
You’re open to being uncomfortable, to stretching, as that’s where the growth lies. If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re playing it too safe. Bravery is a virtuous circle. When you embrace your full potential (discomfort and all), your vision becomes clearer, and your confidence increases, even in the face of uncertainty.
Be Hungry.
You’re not hungry for more status, wealth, or corporate perks. You’re hungry to work to your full potential to make a difference in the world. You’re hungry for what’s next.
My #OpenLeadership framework is not a magic bullet, nor is it a fleeting business fad. Over 30 years of intensive practice, its careful application has ensured enduring success for my clients and those under their care.
When you are ready to start your journey, talk to me about your next steps.