Peter Dorrington - CX analytics expert, award-winning blogger, and inventor of Predictive Behavioural Analytics
It's no surprise that the impact of COVID-19 has been both wider and deeper than many people anticipated. the lingering effects on the national and global economy, public health and society will be profound and long-lasting as we adjust to the ‘new normal’. We now look to leaders to create a compelling vision for the future and layout a strategy for their part on the road to recovery.
No matter what type of organisation you are in; public sector, education, non for profit, scientific research, or a commercial entity, the purpose of an executive team is to ensure that the organisation meets its financial and strategic goals.
Often, this boils down to money; because, without revenue it is impossible for an organisation to pay its bills or invest in the future. However, it would be disingenuous to say that money is the only concern of executives - for any organisation to survive it has to be relevant to all its stakeholders.
As we enter a post-national lockdown era, the vision and leadership provided by the executive team is going to be more important than ever as organisations deal with the new economic, technical and societal pressures; for example, the economic challenges that will be a fact of life for many months, possibly years, to come.
All executives members have a fiduciary responsibility - to act in the best interests of their investors (or equivalent in public or not-for-profit organisations). This typically means achieving the best possible return on investment possible. It is often forgotten that executives are obliged to put the interests of their shareholders first (which is why they can sometimes seem 'all head, no heart'.)
However, another key requirement of executives is to achieve balance while the world is changing about them. They need to understand the priorities of their stakeholders, their employees, the customers they serve and the value of the products and services that they provide.
These priorities may be appear contradictory at times, requiring judgement about which stakeholder's interests take precedence. All of this needs to be done within a broad framework of compliance, regulations, commercial considerations and balancing risk vs. reward. In doing so, the executive team face a uniquely demanding set of responsibilities and challenges.
Typically, executive team members each need three key attributes:
- Think strategically and act tactically - they need to establish a vision for their part of the organisation and invest time and energy at creating and then executing strategy in their area and align with the others. They balance risk, cost, and innovation, in addition, anticipate future needs and opportunities, and seek to ensure the organisation can sustain itself.
- Collaborate - Executives take a broad view of their individual, partners', suppliers' and team's capabilities. They strive to make the organisation “'business agile', breaking down silos, jointly developing business solutions, constructively supporting each other on solving enterprise-wide problems.
- Interact, engage and respond - executives need to listen and communicate well; seeking input from each other, from teams and stakeholders - both giving and showing trust and respect for each another. They need to be role models for these behaviours, helping to embed corporate habits of good interaction and engagement.
These attributes are particularly important as executive decisions, thinking, and behaviours must spread quickly across large numbers of people and at all levels of the organisation.
To discuss how senior leaders can embark on the ‘Road to Recovery’ in the post-lockdown era,
XMplify Consulting, together with Computers Processes and Management are recording a series of free online executives briefings. Sponsored by the Executive Leaders Network, each episode discusses two or three key topics of interest to a specific role.