Leadership U

Accelerating Through the Crisis Curve

Gary Burnison

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781119753339
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Leadership
• Index: Business

Accelerating Through the Crisis Curve

Leadership is all about others—inspiring them to believe, then enabling that belief to become reality. That's the essence of Leadership U: it starts with 'U' but it's not about 'U.'

Those timeless words are timelier than ever today, as leaders look to accelerate through the crisis curve. As author Gary Burnison observes, "There will likely be more change in the next two years than we have seen in the last twenty."

Now, in Leadership U: Accelerating Through the Crisis Curve, Burnison lays out a framework—his "Six Degrees of Leadership"—to show leaders how to create change.

Anticipate – foreseeing what lies ahead, amid ambiguity and uncertainty that are throttled up like never before

Navigate – course-correcting in real time, to keep the organization on an even keel

Communication – constantly connecting with others; the leader is both the messenger and the message

Listen – breaking down the organizational hierarchy to gather insights at all levels—especially what the leader doesn't want to hear

Learn – applying learning agility, to "know what to do when you don't know what to do"

Lead – empowering others in a bottom-up culture that is more nimble, agile, innovative, and entrepreneurial than ever before.

Only by embracing these truths can leaders master another 'U'—the "crisis curve" that will completely disrupt the business landscape. The world has changed—forever. The old days are fine to reminiscence about, but you can't stay there.

Today leadership means becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. As Burnison says, when a door closes, leaders cannot afford to stand there, staring at it. It's a "get up or give up" moment. For leaders, the only choice is to find and open another door. Leadership U defines and inspires the pathway through that door.

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CHAPTER 1
ANTICIPATE

Predicting what lies ahead

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WHAT LIES AHEAD

Having grown up in Kansas, I can remember hot summer days with cloudless skies. Then, suddenly, the temperature would drop, and ominous clouds would build on the horizon. At the first sound of the tornado siren, we were already sheltering in the basement.

Most things in life, though, are rarely that visible or obvious. Sometimes there are signs, but they tend to be subtle—like a slight shift in the wind.

To anticipate, you must predict tomorrow, based on accurately perceiving the reality of today.

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ANTICIPATE.

CREATE A VISION OF THE FUTURE THAT OTHERS CANNOT YET SEE.

ANTICIPATION IS LIKE PLAYING CHESS: THINK SEVERAL MOVES AHEAD.

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THE FOUR QUALIFIERS: YOU CAN'T ANTICIPATE WITHOUT THEM

As with any topic in leadership, it starts with you—and anticipation is no exception. There are four qualifiers that you must possess before you can anticipate. Without addressing each one, you won't be able to predict unseen roadblocks or know when and how to brake, then accelerate out of the crisis curve.

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1. EMBRACE HUMILITY:

Humility is the grace that constantly whispers, “It's not about you.” Without humility, you're at risk of being arrogant—always thinking that you're right and dismissing others’ input and ideas. With humility, you know—ego is not your amigo.

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2. BE SELF-AWARE:

Continually measure yourself—not overestimating your strengths and not underestimating your weaknesses. To do so, you must be able to look humbly in the mirror. After all, humility and self-awareness go hand in hand. Without self-awareness you will not see your blind spots—and all of us have them. Blind spots lead you to think that you're good at this, but you're really better at that.

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3. COMPLACENCY IS A KILLER:

Ironically, complacency often can be the unintended consequence of success. When things are rolling along, it's as if the music keeps blaring. It's so loud, it's hard to tell who is out of tune, who is in sync with the beat, and who is only lip-syncing. The problem, though, is that the music becomes mesmerizing, and it's so easy to get comfortable. That's when complacency can be a real killer! Leaders need to have a start-up mentality, constantly anticipating and reinventing. It's a mindset of continually asking “How would I put our business ‘out of business’?”

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4. REMEMBER: YOU ARE A “FUNCTION”:

Earlier in my career, people viewed me as a person. They spoke their minds to me, and receiving unfiltered feedback was never a problem. That all changed when I became the CEO—then I became a function. It's the same for all leaders, and it's worse the higher up you go. When people view you as a function, they are more guarded. You may not hear the full truth—only what they think you want to hear. If people are “coloring the truth” or outright lying to you, that will impede your ability to see reality clearly. As the leader, it's your job to make others comfortable in telling you the truth, without fear of consequences.

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EMBRACE HUMILITY, BE SELF-AWARE, AVOID COMPLACENCY, AND KNOW THAT OTHERS SEE YOU AS A ‘FUNCTION.’

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VULNERABILITY INCITES ORGANIZATIONAL CURIOSITY

Early in my CEO career, I would have described a great leader as someone with vision, a growth mindset, authenticity, confidence, charisma, courage.…

Then a board member called me aside: “Burnison, you need to be more vulnerable. You'll be amazed by the results.”

I could see a place for humility. But vulnerability? That didn't make it into my top 10.

That board member's wise words are even more impactful now. Vulnerability is actually a strength for leaders, who must admit that tomorrow's answers today won't be found in the corner office.

Vulnerable leaders incite organizational curiosity, creating a culture of collective genius. Rather than people being told what to do, they should be inspired by what to think about.

Just a few months ago, words like self-disruption and transformation were the slogans du jour. Now the world really has been disrupted—and the collateral damage is all around us.

Everywhere, the circuit breakers have been tripped. Organizations have had to make rapid decisions simply to survive. Now it's time for the big reset. To thrive, all companies will need to reimagine their future.

To accelerate through the crisis curve, the Six Degrees of Leadership...