OWP liVe REPORT

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Empowerment is the behavior where many companies get it wrong. In a crisis, many leaders immediately feel they should turn to command-and-control behaviors, when the exact opposite is true. The highest value in terms of sensitivity to customers comes from local teams, so it is important to decentralize and let ideas flow from the bottom to the top. This only works if people down the chain feel empowered, so it is important to focus on the psychology of your teams. How do we create an environment in which our people and teams exhibit the three critical behaviors? The environment or operating system (OS) created by leaders is the key lever they have to bring out the best in people, ensure work streams and projects run optimally and set the tone for how people interact and work as a team. We studied 50 years of research consisting of a thousand studies, looking beyond direct reports to processes, peers and stakeholders and tested our findings with 2500 leaders. The conclusion is there are three key factors in an effective leadership OS: Trust, Clarity, and Momentum. What constitutes a leadership OS?

Clarity means people have an understanding about the strategy of the business, who is accountable for what, why certain things are important, and how things should be done. It also means being clear about uncertainties. Momentum refers to the sustained activity that comes from motivation, confidence, empowerment, and togetherness. This generates drive and can counteract cultural toxins such as stress and siloed operating.

SHLOMO BEN-HUR

#1 Trust

How do you move from crisis to recovery?

Once you have established a high- performance OS, you will be able to easily ensure that the decisions made to fuel efficiency, evolution and empowerment are being implemented and success is within reach.

For high future performance, leaders need to focus on building a great OS, so it is important to look at the trust, clarity and momentum that currently exists in your organization and pinpoint where improvements can be made. Ask yourself what are the most difficult factors in your business context and how confident are you that your direct reports, peers and bosses would agree with your assessment?

#2 Clarity

Trust includes psychological safety for people, caring, reliability and fairness.

#3Momentum