50% of CXO's do not think that their direct reports have the skills to assume greater leadership roles in the organization.
Why is it that the majority of America's business leaders lack confidence in the future of their posts? It's because most of these leaders fail to put into practice all the good ideas circulating in modern management thinking.
Reality Check:
We love to see and talk about: edgy, shiny, new...
We love to actually do: whatever felt comfortable yesterday...
We expect business as usual to magically build a different tomorrow...
So we know there's some better things for us to do, and we're seeing them. (here's what's in store for 2015) Let's think about some corporate leadership trends that racked up headlines this year:
- Work Less
- Sleep More
- Be Authentic
- Destroy Bull$#!^ HR Rules
How many articles did you read this year with Fortune 500 CEO's bragging about how many hours of sleep they're getting each night, or refusing to schedule late meetings and check email at home? Or how about challenges to celebrate your individuality (think: Zappos)? What about all these hot new companies with unlimited time-off, open salaries, and no managers?
You read about all of this because they do exist, all of them, but only amounting to a token level of change. A fraction of a percentage of companies and leaders live these philosophies - which means that almost every other company out there isn't changing. We're just clicking through to the next article...
Advice not taken is simply a passing cloud - we spend plenty of time looking at it, admiring it, and then let it float away. *tweet this*
It's going to take billion dollar organizations (and I mean $bn revenue streams, not speculative valuations), with thousands of employees - lots of these firms - to actually make a shift in the examples set by corporate leaders as well as the policies they create and enforce.
Executives: You are NOT thought leaders!
Wait, you think you are? No, I highly doubt that, at least not yet anyway. Jeff Kilman will let you down for me, and explain why just talking bold, or maybe doing bold doesn't cut it. You have to take that next step and practice bold things that no one else is talking about yet. Then you will be a thought leader, and will be able to transform your organization.
Managers: You can be the next American Idol!
Stay with me a second here... If you cut through all the commercialized hollywood crap, there's something really unique about this brand: it got people to finally listen to advice [and take a chance at singing]. This is an external voice urging you on, or an internal voice taunting you with something new and crazy. Aside from the millions of dollars in production and marketing the network dumped into the brad, I would argue that what really drew audiences in was seeing people actually act on advice they're heard - and believe they too could share that experience.
^^ That is inspiring ^^ If you're a program manager that has the chance to design and implement some of these heretical ideas about making work more human and enjoyable - just freakin do it already!
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