What Leadership Transformation Means in APAC€¦ · What Leadership Transformation Means in APAC...
Transcript of What Leadership Transformation Means in APAC€¦ · What Leadership Transformation Means in APAC...
What LeadershipTransformation Means inAPACGrace Abella-Zata | May 26, 2018
IRC’s Asia Pacific (APAC) member firms and guests
gathered in Singapore for its March 2018 C-suite
roundtable themed “Leadership Transformation:
Strategies in a Disruptive, Uncertain and Digital
World.” IRC explored how different variables impact
leadership in APAC, a dynamic region characterized
by one of the higher growth rates in the world.
Keynote speaker, thyssenkrupp AG Asia Pacific CEO Vivek Bhatia, shared
how the €40 billion diversified industrial multinational that has thrived
under three previous industrial revolutions is planning to take on Industry
4.0.
Some basic business philosophies remain relevant.
“Leaders must think beyond the products they want to provide but focus
instead on the solutions to respond to the needs of customers,” he said.
Bhatia shared four main leadership imperatives to survive and thrive during
Industry 4.0.
Leadership competencies of the future
With the volatility and chaos characterising the business environment, it is
even more important for leaders to set a clear purpose and direction for
everyone in the organisation.
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Innovation is one value that is a clear differentiator for many companies
today. thyssenkrupp is one of the few industrial companies consistently
named among the top 25 most innovative companies in the world.
The corporation has been innovating and embracing digitalization to address
the needs of its customers through a variety of initiatives, for example, via
its web portal titled “Materials for Me” where customers can order
thyssenkrupp’s products online. In another example, the ERP system at
leading manufacturing locations is connected to clients and suppliers to
allow large degrees of operational flexibility to customers that traditional
B2B environments cannot deliver.
The second key competency of leadership is to lead from the front and
drive outcomes. The speed with which new challenges mushroom holds
leaders more accountable. But the best leaders also join their teams in the
trenches to solve bottlenecks within and outside the organisation enabling
positive outcomes.
The third key imperative of leadership is securing talent pipeline. A
talent management development plan must make individuals aware,
not only of their performance, but the alignment of their own values
to that of the organisation.
Companies today face tough competition from leading digital innovators and
start-ups like Google, Facebook, Uber, and other disruptive businesses in
hiring tech-savvy millennials.
Talents now are also less drawn by stability, a long history, or a big name.
Instead, many are attracted by a company’s values and employment brand.
Leaders have to be more innovative about communicating its value
proposition to employees and talents and be aware of how their companies
appear on social media platforms where the current generation decides
which career and firm they will pursue.
The fourth and final leadership imperative is the alignment between a
leader’s personal values and that of the organisation’s.
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Vivek Bhatia, IRC APAC Regional Meeting 2018 in Singapore
“This is about the individual himself. If the leader does not reflect the culture
or values that he expects from his organization, it is impossible to expect
subordinates to accept them. Any broad change in the organisation that is
expected to last for years to come has to have the buy-in of leaders.” - Bhatia
The six themes that have arisen in the midst of the latest industrial
revolution were discussed at IRC APAC’s C-suite Roundtable:
• New technologies
• Constant change
• Connect & collaborate
• Markets & competition
• Learning & daring
• Uncertainty & unknown elements in the marketplace
These changes create new challenges for leadership. Thus, it becomes
important for executive search firms to contribute to building a more
relevant profile of the leaders of today.
New technologies
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New technologies have created new customer segments and expectations,
and competitors.
“Technology may be a threat to individual jobs, but if taken as an enabler in
business, can create new roles and skills, and new jobs,” IRC Malaysia and
Thailand founding partner Manish Mehta said.
CropLife Asia executive director Tan Siang Hee said his business, which
largely communicates and shares Good Agricultural Practices with farmers,
is seeing both its B2B and B2C supply chains shortened thanks to the
prevalence of smartphones in the farming community.
Meanwhile, big data is helping the agriculture industry reduce costs and
increase efficiencies for distributors from the mix and tailoring products to
farmers needs in sync with crop season.
With the added technology piece, businesses can now hire for jobs that did
not exist five years ago. This nature of work will continuously evolve, as
more facets of industry become digitised.
As formal education providers are slow to evolve, companies must take an
active role in upskilling employees for new roles. HR is also called upon to
help in the design and definition of new roles.
Constant change
Changes in the business environment are no longer sporadic but are
happening constantly and at a more frenzied pace. This requires more agile
responses to developments like the emergence of new competitors, new
technological discoveries, the change or addition of distribution models for
consumer products and the increasing sophistication of consumers,
including millennials.
Multinationals are moderating bureaucratic tendencies by empowering local
leaders in the APAC region to make quicker decisions, based on a more
intimate knowledge of local market and competition. Global companies are
also working closely with consultants or “experimental labs” to quickly
respond to problems and opportunities. Singapore, for instance to
companies which physically house start-ups. This allows business leaders to
work directly and quickly with innovators.
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IRC APAC Regional Meeting 2018 in Singapore
Connect & collaborate
The millennia-old style of alpha management, hierarchy, and traditional
command-and-control structure is giving way to shared leadership styles of
open communication and employee empowerment, disrupting cultural
stereotypes.
Leaders now support an environment that encourages and cross-pollinates
ideas from the ground and among different business disciplines and
industries.
The IRC roundtable examined the evolution of the 130-year-old DSM
(previously Dutch Steel and Mining) in making changes to better suit
markets and the environment and be profitable while adhering to
sustainability principles.
Sticking to its core purpose of Sustainability, DSM shaved off companies that
did not align with the new business direction and brought more green
businesses on board. It also grew CEOs from within. DSM's core purpose is
built on a foundation of People, Profit and Planet, around which choices and
decisions are made.
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Evolutions such as this call on leaders who embody two key traits: living the
core values of the organisation, internally and externally; and being
proactive in planning for and anticipating potential risks much ahead.
Internally, leaders have to ensure that the employees are invested in the
organisation, with a shared sense of destiny, which then inspires them to
welcome an empowered culture.
Such kind of leadership provokes critical thinking: challenging people,
asking questions, and empowering them to be active participants in thinking
through difficult business issues,” IRC Malaysia and Thailand Managing
Partner, Raj Kumar Paramanathan said.
On the flip side, transformation initiatives risk being delayed, if the
leadership team overlooks the undercurrents that influence operations and
underestimates the amount of time it will take to achieve goals. Execution
teams can face enormous disruptions or distractions in the transformation
journey. Identifying the support that employees need, whether coaching, new
skills training or technology will reduce the likelihood of failure.
Markets & Competition
Compared to previous industrial revolutions, Industry 4.0 is making
competition fiercer and multi-directional. The focus now has shifted to Value-
to-Customer (and not product).
International Hotel Supply Company, which distributes products to hotel
chains globally, is seeing the surge in Airbnb listings affecting their business.
“Given that the largest Airbnb market in Asia is Indonesia, we are evolving
to find more sophisticated ways to reach out to this new set of potential
customers. In the USA, we have added a B2C platform to our traditional B2B
model,” International Hotel Supply Company managing director (Asia) Miles
Wilson shared.
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Peter Thewlis at the C-suite roundtable discussion hosted by IRC
Private equity independent consultant Peter Thewlis meanwhile noted that
competition also extends to channels that may sometimes support or oppose
each other.
“For instance, brick-and-mortar fashion houses are challenged by sites like
Net-a-Porter online, but at the same time, there are sites like Farfetch who
are supportive of traditional retail and deliver luxury goods to a consumer’s
doorstep within hours. Solutions like this help luxury retail players enter the
online business quicker,” Thewlis said.
The increased diversity in both markets and competition call on leaders to
continuously take a pulse on trends. Teams also need to be more
collaborative both internally and externally with other channels to share
information and take advantage of opportunities.
Learning & Daring
In today’s environment of uncertainties, repeating the same management
practices that have proven to be effective in the past is no longer a
guarantee of future success. Millennials are not only sensitive to how
companies can quickly adapt to megatrends, but they also want to join or
buy products and services from companies whose values align with their
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own. There is a shift in focus from profits to purpose. To engage millennials
and all others entering the workforce in the future; leaders need to be
conscious of leading with purpose.
The Roundtable also revealed that some multinationals had changed the
mindset about leadership maturity. Historical norms are being rewritten. The
traditional climb up the career ladder is being challenged. Age boundaries
are almost non-existent as the lines on who should lead are becoming
blurred. Some are appointing young country heads in their mid-twenties to
Country Head positions in smaller markets. They take this risk not only to
meet career expectations and retain young high potentials but also because
digital natives have an advantage in the new economy.
Also, the education system in many countries is challenged to keep pace
with technological change. One example shared was where a company had
resorted to creating a university to educate the talent they needed for their
business.
“Learning and daring also affect how often a company can embrace change,”
IRC South Korea President Steven B. McKinney said.
C-suite roundtable discussion hosted by IRC
Uncertainty & Unknown Elements in the Marketplace
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VUCA elements call for leadership that is strong and smart enough to know
when a current strategy is not working. This can be a monumental task for
larger companies with multiple revenue streams and global operations.
Sanofi regional talent management lead Annie Lim shared how the 120,000-
strong corporation hired consultants from the Big 5 consulting firms who
had previously done work for Sanofi. This group is tasked to create an
internal strategy team that would streamline strategy across multiple global
business units (GBUs).
In strategising, the IRC roundtable concluded that leaders should place
emphasis on threat analysis within the SWOT model. Too often leaders are
focused on what they do best, not what is likely to take business away.
Instead of merely asking “How can we win?”, leaders should also ask “How
can we lose?”
“Leaders need to also focus on what would be destructive for their
businesses. A leader also has to be very agile, able to make quick changes
and be cognizant of the fact that failures are fine, but you need to fail fast
and have the courage to make necessary changes promptly,” Hill-Rom APAC
regional marketing director Angela Low said.
Delegates of IRC C-Suite Roundtable on "Leadership Transformation",
Singapore 2018
Executive Summary
Companies are adapting to the VUCA environment by adopting new
technologies, and new business and distribution models that allow them to
communicate with and respond to individual needs of customers. Leaders
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must therefore have the capability to build a vision around the new
technologies and to establish new external partnerships.
In the midst of the chaos and transformation, it becomes even more
important for leaders to articulate a clear purpose and direction, to be alert
to risks in the environment, to forge an empowering environment that allows
responsible risk-taking, greater participation from employees and agility in
decision-making. Millennials as consumers, employees and leaders are also
impacting businesses with their social advocacies and with the technological
savviness that is second nature to them. The paradox is that while the
changes are mostly technology driven, many “soft” leadership competencies
like humility, listening to others, forging teamwork, being self-aware about
one’s own values etc. are becoming even more important.
What kinds of transformations must today’s leaders embrace to
thrive in Asia now and in the future?
1. From Expert to Learner. Everyone can be considered a newbie
because of how the new technologies are creating new jobs and
transforming business processes and models. A Microsoft survey has
shown that one of the major challenges to digitalization in some Asian
countries is the lack of top management competency to “ideate, plan
and execute digital transformation. “Leaders need to be literate in big
data analytics and the new technologies and be able to drive and
participate in discussions related to digitalization.
2. From a directive and authoritarian style to empowering
leadership. Leaders must listen and be prepared to learn from and
empower their team, without abdicating leadership responsibilities like
direction-setting. For instance, he or she must be comfortable with
learning from and consulting younger members of the team who are
digital natives and are more competent in working with the new
technologies. A leader also needs to listen to people in order to create
an empowered culture that results in greater sharing of information
and more agile responses. Many millennials prefer to work in more
open cultures where their views are valued. Since the war for talent
will continue to intensify, an empowered culture strengthens a
company’s employment brand.
3. From a utilitarian perspective to one that is value-driven.
Consumers and employees have become more discerning and the
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practice of social responsibility is driving sustainable business results.
Leaders must therefore be keenly aware of how their own values and
decisions align with the company’s True North.
4. From homogeneous global leadership to one rooted in both
universal principles and distinct cultural norms. More
multinationals are localizing top leadership or giving greater decision-
making powers to Asian leaders, debunking the notion that Asian
culture does not produce strong global leaders. To be sure, there are
enduring leadership traits and competencies common in all cultures.
Leaders from Asia, especially from some Southeast and North Asian
countries have the added challenge of building on the positive aspects
of their culture but also leading change to overcome impulses that
inhibit the openness and risk-taking necessary for innovation and
agility. Asian leaders are called to build on the teamwork and harmony
that are strengths of Asian cultures on the one hand, and on the other
to wean people away from the dysfunctional conformity often present
in traditional hierarchal organisations. As one employee puts it.” it is
easier for the person on top to go down than for the person at the
bottom to struggle to climb up.”
Grace Abella-Zata
Graces professional expertise is in job / person-organisation fit and human
resource planning and acquisition. She is currently the CEO of the IRCI
Global Executive Board. She has always been interested in research and
groundbreaking perspectives in leadership and management, and as
President of Corporate Executive Search, a pioneer in the Philippines, she
has had access to practical knowledge and the evolving insights about
executive talent management. Coming from a culture where East easily
meets West, she relishes the opportunity to study and shape leadership
thought, together with colleagues from more than 40 countries in the IRC
Global Executive Search network. She continues to be an active member
of the community of human resources management professionals in her
home country, where she is a past President of the People Management
Association of the Philippines.
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