Loyalty

Welcome to the Loyalty Factor Information Exchange, a bi-weekly service providing summaries of major publications and books on various management and customer relationship topics. 

 Loyalty Factor has been instrumental in helping companies:

• Increase Customer Satisfaction by 20 – 33%
• Increase Revenues by 50% in 18 months
• Increase Manufacturing Production by 200% in 18 months

Our information exchange this week highlights the book entitled, ”Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World,” by Bob Johansen. This is the first of two summaries on this topic, covering the first of ten new skills future leaders need for success.

In a VUCA world – one characterized by
Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity -
traditional leadership skills won’t be enough.
Leaders who combine Vision, Understanding, Clarity and  Agility
can thrive in a VUCA world.

These new skills are characterized by:

Maker Instinct – the ability to exploit your inner drive to build and grow things as well as connect with others in the making. The challenge is to synchronize the maker instincts of leaders with those of others. The leaders of the future will be more engaged with others, since connectivity will be required to make the future. Leaders with the maker instinct are able to approach their leadership with the commitment of a job and the energy of a hobby. The leaders of the future will kindle this maker energy in themselves and in others.

Clarity - the ability to see through messes and contradictions to a future that others cannot yet see. Clarity requires external engagement. Leaders must express themselves clearly in ways that inspire others to follow and be able to make sharp statements about plans for the future with an enthusiasm that attracts others. Clarity requires flexibility. The best leaders will be clear about their long-term intentions, but very flexible about how to get there.

Dilemma Flipping – the ability to turn dilemmas into advantages and opportunities. In facing dilemmas, leaders of the future must revel in the space between judging too soon and deciding too late, leaning toward action.

Immersive Learning Ability – the ability to immerse yourself in unfamiliar environments, to learn from them in a first-person way. Immersive learning requires active attention, the ability to listen and filter, and to see patterns while staying centered. Once leaders get toward the top of organizations, even open and informal ones, they get more and more insulated from what is really going on. Leaders need to step outside their protected roles to step inside very different experiences from which they can learn.

Bio-Empathy – the ability to see things from nature’s point of view; to understand, respect and learn from nature’s pattern. One characteristic of bio-empathy is being able to see the big picture of ecological systems, not just the components. There are many ways to develop bio-empathy, but the first step is to observe and appreciate the natural processes that are always going on around you.

Loyalty Factor will cover the next five characteristics in the next installment of the Information Exchange.