Political Intelligence in Transformation

A high IQ and an abundance of emotional intelligence are not enough for transformation leaders to thrive and sometimes survive for very long in large organizations. The dynamics that exist both within and across the various business units and functions can be challenging for someone with high levels of subject matter expertise but low levels of political intelligence. The best transformation leaders have matured their political intelligence in a way that enables them to interact strategically with others. My name is Rob Llewellyn and as you know, companies need people with the right capabilities to manage and lead transformation. As you know, orchestrating successful transformation isn't that easy, and I mean innovative transformation which creates a new future without the constraints of the past. Which is why I hope that what I share in this episode will help you get better equipped to to perform at your best as a manager, leader or consultant. If you want to learn more, go.

To studythrive.com while ambitious transformation leaders are busy learning how to develop strategies that will harness the delights of IoT, analytics, mobile and other technologies, one element of leadership that is rarely found among the virtual pages of digital transformation guidebooks is leadership, political intelligence or or Leadership pq. Regardless of the unprecedented value that the innovative convergence of digital technologies presents us with, unless transformation leaders also come equipped with mature levels of pq, they'll struggle. And the larger the organization, the greater the struggle. Leaders can be vulnerable among the long standing political players around them, or among teams shaped by an antiquated culture which is still averse to transformation. While some leaders put their own interests ahead of the companies, the best leaders who have mature levels of PQ want to make a positive difference to the world and they achieve this through their determination, skill and readiness to learn more. They mobilize highly capable people who they trust from their networks and they deliver a better future for their company, customers and society. Leadership PQ is the capability to work strategically with others in a world where business, government and society share power to shape the future. It's a leader's ability to interpret the intent and behavior of others, navigate the diverse agendas of multiple stakeholders, and make progress towards tremendous transformation outcomes. Leadership PQ consists of five facets which the best transformation leaders exhibit. These are futurity, power, empathy with purpose, Trust, and versatility. Each of the five facets is underpinned by five performance indicators and while experienced leaders are often strong in one or two facets, the most successful leaders use all five facets. Futurity is about being in the future state and reflecting on the big issues, problems and challenges of transformation. PQ leaders imagine a better future where these are overcome and they know how to create the conditions to make that better future become a reality. In the context of pq, power is the ability to build relationships and influence others with the intention of shaping the future towards both profit and a better place. Empathy is the capacity to imagine oneself as another person, emotionally to feel what the other person feels and cognitively to know how the other person sees the world. Trust is the foundation of all great relationships and leaders build trust through their behaviours which need to include integrity, transparency, inclusivity, consistency and reliability and concern for the best interests of others. People either trust you or they don't. Versatility is about having a broad range of thought and behaviour and the self command to use it intentionally. It's about responding swiftly and fully to demanding situations, knowing when to be flexible and subtle and when to be strong and focused. We've all seen those who seem to promise potential as effective transformation leaders enter the corporate arena only to prematurely exit after culture and politics have their way with them. Their technical and functional capabilities were unquestionable, but in a complex transformation environment, unless their PQ was also up to scratch, their longevity was always going to rest on shaky ground. And while most transformation leaders just want to do a good job by generating business value through innovative digital transformation, it's often not so straightforward. In large organizations. Problems frequently arise not from technology or business processes, but from people, and more effort in the technology or functional space is often not the right road to recovery for troubled initiatives. This is why the rational and irrational elements of transformation both need addressing. The irrational effort of business transformation can include fears of job loss, personal ambitions and interests, hidden agendas, political behavior and more, while the more rational effort includes the likes of technical implementation, business processes, finance and hr. It's the irrational effort which requires leadership PQ that some brilliant technical leaders often struggle with, and this shortcoming can result in transformation programs going terribly wrong. Despite the fact that politics always has and always will existing companies Long after we've all played out our careers, Few courses teach managers and leaders how to mature their pq. If you want to learn more, I strongly recommend you pick up a copy of Leadership PQ by Valerie Walk and Jerry Refo to learn more about increasing your performance indicators for each of the five facets of leadership pq.

If you want to take your transformation capabilities and credentials to the next level, go to studythrive.com.