Oxford alumnus and TEXEM UK faculty, Ambassador Charles Crawford says self-awareness is a critical necessity to the success of any chief executive in the present global turbulent times.
Crawford made the assertion in a question and answer session on TEXEM’s website on Friday.
According to Crawford: 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,” he said.
Crawford emphasis on how leaders and executives would think differently about themselves and their work.
According to Crawford, 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?
Noted that leaders ought to optimise their decision-making credentials about areas for improvement, to make their organisations consistently learn, innovate and deliver excellent products and services to all stakeholders,” he said.
Crawford said leaders anywhere in the world needed to grasp the operational and policy distinction between what is important – and what matters.
Stressing that it is not enough 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, 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,” Crawford said.
“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,” Crawford said.
He said leaders must possess the ability to identify and manage their emotions and identify and influence others’ emotions for results.
Crawford said 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.
Saying that it is critical for leaders to equip organisations and their team to pay serious attention to their open and subliminal messages: their messages to their teams, customers, stakeholders, and themselves.. (NAN)