The executive value proposition has become one of the trendiest, most cutting-edge business terms in recent years, partly because its nature is so elusive.
For many years, a good CEO only needed to make decisions that would satisfy stockholders and the bottom line was the only thing that mattered.
But even without COVID-19 impacting supply chains, workstations, wages, and buying decisions in unpredictable ways, the 21st century C-level leader needs to do more than satisfy stockholders.
To handle more than routine decisions. To understand there’s more to success than the balance sheet.
In short, the quintessential leader in a VUCA world needs to be something – or someone – more.
A strategist. An influencer. A mentor. An innovator.
Creating a sustainable vision and formulating winning strategies are critical to riding out fluctuations in a volatile, constantly changing business environment.
Engendering trust and inspiring teams to buy into new methodologies and transformational processes provides the internal stability required to battle future shock and the uncertainty of the unknown.
Effective training and coaching at all levels of the workforce, even the highest, along with an emphasis on cross-functionality, can instill the new skills demanded by an increasingly complex, globally interconnected digital society.
Jettisoning traditional thinking in favor of agile experimentation, building on experience, and maintaining a sense of integrity, enables a company to succeed with financial and qualitative KPIs even when the context is necessarily ambiguous.
In short, a growth mindset is the solution to the challenges of VUCA.
But I believe the most elusive components of a CEO’s value are, ultimately, even more basic. Steve Jobs once described them: “Passion and love are the ingredients you need to succeed in everything you do.”
There’s no way to quantify passion, no price tag on love. But for me, the proposition that defines value in a C-level executive is found in these two qualities.
Even in a post-pandemic world, the truest definition of a leader is a lifelong learner, driven by love and passion, with endless opportunities to succeed.