The Leader of the New Reality

The Kontakt InterSearch Russia blog has published the results of a survey of owners, CEOs and HRDs of companies concerning the roles of leaders in today’s world. How does the portrait of an executive change in response to constant turbulence? What challenges await top managers in 2023? Valeria Seledkova, CEO of GEFCO Russia, answered these questions.

Before answering, I would like to revisit the basics of the concept of a leader. What is a leader? A leader is someone who walks ahead of the others and shows the way. This definition remains relevant at all times: yesterday, today and tomorrow. Today’s world is different from yesterday’s. Having said that, I believe that leadership is never limited to the actions of a single “hero”, but is always a landscape between the team and the business, as well as the social environment.

Hence, as I see it, today’s leader is not afraid to challenge the constantly changing order of things, does not take the situation for granted, but always looks better way forward, creates an atmosphere of safety and dignity for the team, and continues to develop alongside them.

Being oriented both towards your team and towards success are the main roles of a leader in today’s world

What characterizes our world today? All indications are that we have entered a “perfect storm” — a myriad of unfavorable circumstances, each reinforcing the effect of the other. My guess is that the major challenges from the realities of the current year will persist:

• Ability to manage change as a complex task. This aspect includes business adaptation (partners, clients, contractors, markets), timely and accessible communication within the team (reducing stress levels, creating a safe environment), and preserving and maintaining one’s own resources (working under uncertainty also affects the leader);
• Being prepared to develop multiple scenarios and understanding that none of them will work, so it is important to have one more “in reserve”. The underlying conditions are constantly changing, and yesterday’s narrative — approving a budget and setting goals for the year on a routine basis — is no longer applicable today;
• Business development is the most important, as most of us have been working hard this year mostly to survive and stabilize the business. The 2023 challenge is to preserve and grow. This will require retaining and developing expertise within the team, communicating regularly with the team on where we are going and what opportunities exist to grow the business. This is also where auditing and process adaptation, cost management and investment plans as part of the development strategy come in handy. And finally, regular communication with partners, observations, analysis. I am really keen to support and grow our business to a level where it is ready to be tested by success.

It’s important to remain charismatic a and architectural leader. Any crisis, especially a “perfect storm”, poses dilemmas for top managers in the area of professional self-development, acquiring new skills, or applying those skills that have been unclaimed. I wouldn’t say that the role of a CEO is transforming; it’s still the same, but the applied skills and abilities are changing or improving.

These are what I think are the core ones: active listening and engagement, motivation, confidence, personal effectiveness, partnership ability, big picture vision, awareness at your own level, and the ability, willingness and desire to develop similar competencies within the team. It’s important to work on overcoming stereotypes. The key is to create an environment where every team member is engaged and focused on a common result.

Original publication: Leadreship 2.0 | Kontakt Consulting Company