Pooja holds 18 years of career in leading & transforming wide range of businesses. She is an award-winning management professional and has worked in many sectors including financial services, textiles & elevators, mastering Business Strategies and Market Leadership. Having led multi-cultural teams across diverse functions including sales, Business development & Human resources, she is a seasoned industry leader.
In a recent conversation with Women Entrepreneurs Review Magazine, Pooja speaks about how technological advancements in the business landscape and the evolution of the world from VUCA to BANI necessitate agile organizations. She also sheds light on agile leadership, collaboration & communication, and much more. Read out the article to know more.
In the context of agile leadership, how do industry leaders ensure that their strategic vision remains aligned with rapidly changing market demands and technological advancements?
The concept of BANI- Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible is an appropriate term to define the global business environment today. This framework reflects the growing volatility in our world, marked by events like wars and pandemics that disrupt the corporate landscape. Leaders have no choice but to build agile organizations capable of navigating these unprecedented challenges every day.
The global financial crisis of 2007 exemplifies how isolated events can quickly lead to widespread economic downturns, highlighting the necessity for adaptable and resilient organizations. While an organization’s vision defined by its founders and board remains constant, business models and structures must evolve continually. Previously, strategies were set for three to five years, but in today's environment, these plans need frequent reassessment. Traditional business models and hierarchical structures are no longer sufficient; leaders must continuously align products, services, and solutions with the changing landscape.
Taking an example here of Schindler Group, our Purpose is to enhance the quality of lives in urban environments. Our core Purpose is our guiding factor, our products and Customer delivery model keep evolving basis changing expectations and evolving needs. This continuous evolution necessitates flexible processes, and systems and rebuilding an organization around hundreds of self-steering, high-performing teams, and changing the organizational culture.
What key steps do successful leaders take to foster a culture of adaptability and continuous learning within their organizations, particularly when transitioning from traditional hierarchical models to more agile frameworks?
Developing agile organizations hinges on four key principles:
Top team commitment Leaders must understand the changes in the ecosystem scan the environment continuously and evaluate changing needs of processes, systems & structure. Leaders need to include this as a part of their annual strategy and Customer journey maps could be a great starting point. To give coherence and focus to their distributed value creation models, agile organizations set a shared purpose and vision and ramp up communication.
Decentralization: For an organization to be agile, power needs to be decentralized. This allows larger teams to make quick decisions enabling the organization to adapt swiftly to external challenges and disruptions.
Culture of Experimentation: Encouraging a culture of experimentation is vital. Organizations should foster environments where employees are not afraid to fail and view failures as learning opportunities rather than setbacks. Innovation thrives in such culture.
Frequent Communication: Regular, transparent communication helps teams feel informed and engaged. It also enables leaders to understand ground-level realities and customer expectations, allowing for quick strategy adjustments.
Additionally, agility requires a shift in leadership style. Traditional directive leadership styles are to be replaced with affiliative and visionary approaches. For example, during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, many organizations demonstrated agility by quickly adapting operations in response to sudden changes. A recent example is the changing designs of showrooms in India of loved Brand BMW to cater to changing demographics and expectations of customers for the experience while car shopping!
What practices do leading organizations implement to develop and nurture agile leadership qualities among their mid-level and emerging leaders?
Organizations need to adapt from traditional management practices to more modern approaches. Recruitment, for instance, should focus on potential, curiosity, and flexibility rather than just past performance and relevant industry experience. As a Leader, I emphasize the individual's potential and adaptability, which is crucial for agile leadership.
For existing employees, it’s important to identify those in critical roles and offer them exposure to different environments. We encourage company rotations, function changes, and participation in task forces to broaden their experience. Inter-Company Exchange helps employees learn best practices from startups and other industries.
Encouraging diverse perspectives and experimentation within the organization can also drive innovation. For example, creating platforms that fund or incentivize innovative ideas can foster a culture of experimentation and agility.
Can you discuss how top industry leaders foster effective collaboration and transparent communication across dispersed and cross-functional teams in an agile organization?
To build an agile organization, structuring processes effectively is crucial. In B2B industries, complex processes and documentation often hinder fast responses to customer needs, creating inefficiencies. Simplifying and updating processes, and leveraging technology to streamline them, is helpful. Another key factor is establishing clear workflows between departments. Without well-defined workflows, conflicts arise, leading to organizational slowdowns and bureaucracy. Fast decision-making and clear accountability are vital for agility.
Organizations must also regularly reassess their structure to ensure it supports current needs. Structures that worked years ago may no longer be effective and can cause conflicts. Identifying and addressing the root causes of these conflicts—whether they stem from processes, structures, or system deficiencies—is important.
Additionally, implementing a common customer-focused KPI across all departments can enhance urgency and alignment with the company’s mission. For example, in a large B2B organization, a task force was created where factory members, sales, and finance teams visited customers annually. This initiative helped them understand customer pain points and process challenges, demonstrating the value of integrating customer perspectives into organizational processes.
What strategies do leading companies use to seamlessly integrate new technologies and digital tools into their existing workflows without disrupting productivity or company culture?
Agile organizations will need to provide products and services that can meet changing customer and competitive conditions. Traditional products and services will likely need to be digitized or digitally enabled.
For seamless integration of new technology, it’s essential to involve frontline teams in the redevelopment process, as they understand what disrupts their work. Providing a clear rationale for the change is also crucial. Pilots or small-scale tests are valuable to assess the impact before full-scale implementation. Organizations can use hack-a-thons, crowd-sourcing, and virtual collaboration spaces to understand customer needs and develop possible solutions quickly.
Additionally, it's important to continuously recruit individuals who are open to adopting new technologies to maintain progress and avoid regression.
How do industry leaders incorporate global perspectives and diverse viewpoints into their leadership practices to enhance innovation and competitiveness on a regional and international scale?
It's crucial for leaders today to think globally and act locally. In our interconnected world, global events can impact us in ways we might not fully understand. Leaders must stay informed about global economic trends. For instance, developments in China or the U.S. elections can influence markets worldwide, affecting everything from trade to job creation. Multinational corporations (MNCs) often handle these factors well, incorporating them into their strategies.
Diversity within teams is key. Global rotations and attending international platforms also help understand the trends and incorporate them into business strategy. For example, during the Red Sea conflict this year, our logistics, purchasing, and customer-facing teams assessed how it might affect our business continuity and devised solutions. Regularly brainstorming with your team about potential global disruptions and their impact is essential. Additionally, having a risk management document and a business continuity plan is crucial for preparing for various disruptions and ensuring smooth operations.
In summary, today’s environment is pressing organizations to become more agile; in response, a new organizational form is emerging that exhibits the principles above. In aggregate, these principles enable organizations to balance stability and dynamism and thrive in an era of unprecedented opportunity.
