HR Magazine caught up with Dr Roland B. Smith, VP & MD—APAC, Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) to find out the key elements of becoming a pioneer of innovative leadership.
As organisations across Asia shift from an autocratic approach to a more participative style, the need to create an engaging environment has never been so important. According to Smith, “Effective leaders recognise the surrounding culture and adapt accordingly. When a leader places value and a sense of purpose on an individual the natural response is to strive and aim for excellence. Employees want to know they are being invested in.”
Smith explained that without question, the most critical challenge for many organisations in Asia is having the right talent who can overcome challenges and seize opportunities. He said, “Companies can be so caught up with looking for individuals that are not only equipped with the skills, knowledge, abilities, and experiences to operate in a fast-evolving Asia that they often forget talent that needs to be groomed for top leadership roles. In addition, developing the capability to develop the next generation of senior leaders is often an overlooked competency for sitting senior executives.”
Research by CCL reveals that to enable continued success, businesses in the APAC region need to understand the Five Paradoxes of Leadership Development in Asia. They must also have the foresight to determine if their best intentions for developing top leaders may actually be hindering the leadership development process. Leadership paradoxes differ vastly from region to region and understanding them is absolutely imperative to the organisation's success. It is the very appreciation of these paradoxes that will enable organisational leadership to be more effective. Success is hinged on the organisation's ability to determine the effects of the paradoxes, and still be able to fast-track development of talents, in order to fill critical senior level roles.
Five Paradoxes of Leadership Development in Asia:
- To foster learning—emphasise doing
- To accelerate development—slow down
- To excel at the task—harness relationships
- To achieve success—learn from failure
- To develop greatness—practice humility
With this insight in mind Smith concluded, “In APAC, particularly Hong Kong, there has been a strong history of entrepreneurialism and therefore taking risks is fairly common. The most adequate response for a leader, when dealing with a culture like this, is to nurture a feedback-rich environment.” He advises organisations to create opportunities for individuals to explore innovation through allowing them room for failure, recognising their individual contribution and providing them with plenty of constructive feedback.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
