Leadership of 21st Century Organizations

Managing talented people through diversity, inclusion and innovation

The ‘dandelion principle’ 3 for managing talent inspires inclusion and diversity at the workplace, and although it may require a paradigm shift, it is quite worth it for the 21st-century. Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the fractures and faults of organizations and their inherent processes have become all the more obvious, hence utilizing the dandelion metaphor to manage talent in these unprecedented times makes even more sense. We need places and spaces (real and virtual) that are inclusive, equitable, and respectful of people who are differently abled. Recognizing so will help us manage people, keeping their authenticities in mind – and we will be less likely to force them to conform to traditionally set ritualistic attitudes and systems. Ultimately, I hope that we move closer to workplaces that celebrate diversity in everything and everyone, and that will become the sine qua non for impactful innovation, creativity and, entrepreneurship for 21st-century organizations globally with transgenerational workforces. With diversely talented people, innovation would become an easier call to action because of creative freedom through adequate spaces (actual and virtual), with appropriate access to capital, time, and expertise.

Leading in crisis, execution of strategy, and the role of organizational culture

‘Never waste a good crisis’ is a very insightful statement for a leader, because that is his/her opportunity to lead by example, walk the talk, and be a real team player. The leader can loop in the most trustworthy people to engage with the board members through one-to-one conversations to get them to agree to her crisis mode strategy. In tandem recalling further that no matter how bad things are, they will get worse would help her keep on her toes vis-a-vis ongoing risk mitigation and damage control. No matter how brilliant the strategy may be, the proof of the pudding lies in execution. In other words, weak execution eats great strategy for breakfast. How not to lead in a crisis was evident from the lessons learnt from the financial crisis of 2008, in which there were several failures of leadership4. First and foremost it seemed like the Wall Street CEOs and other high-powered bankers/investors/executives/politicians were more driven by greed, self-interest, egos, etc. They demonstrated characteristics that were reminiscent of the transactional and great man theories of leadership. There was no higher purpose; they lacked a vision; other than instant gratification, the huge amounts of bonuses that those folks collected, while millions of individuals across the globe suffered. Moving away from the transactional leadership theory and towards ethical and transformational styles was the take home for me.