Faced with the question of which comes first the chicken or the egg, people differ. The same is true about understanding which comes first with leadership. One option is “Insight” – recognize your talents and then take action. The other, which Dr. Ibarra Herminia proposes in Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader, is “Outsight” – taking an outside-in perspective. She belies that these three elements give you the external perspective, needed to become a leader:
- Engage in new experiences and experiment
- Diversify your network so you can connect and learn from a larger range of people
- Give yourself the opportunity to let your self-concept evolve into one of taking on leadership.
The implications of this approach for Companies leaders, including Human Resource Officers and Chief Learning Officers: give potential Next Generation leaders the opportunity to engage in these activities. How to do so effectively is a common topic among members of Vistage Worldwide, whether participating in Peer Advisory Groups and Vistage Inside, which puts the learning ecosystem at the disposal of a company’s senior executive team. In both cases growth of the company depends to a large part on the growth of executives transforming themselves from managers into leaders. (For more information, contact Dr. Cahn, who chairs Vistage groups in NYC.)
How are you helping your NextGen leaders achieve their potential to handle the demands of this VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous)? Share your experiences!