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TED, Roselinde Torres: What it takes to be a great leader

Roselinde Torres: What it takes to be a great leader

What makes a great leader today?

Many of us carry this image of this all-knowing superhero who stands and commands and protects his followers. But that's kind of an image from another time, and what's also outdated are the leadership development programs that are based on success models for a world that was, not a world that is or that is coming. 0:45 We conducted a study of 4,000 companies, and we asked them, let's see the effectiveness of your leadership development programs.

Fifty-eight percent of the companies cited significant talent gaps for critical leadership roles. That means that despite corporate training programs, off-sites, assessments, coaching, all of these things, more than half the companies had failed to grow enough great leaders. You may be asking yourself, is my company helping me to prepare to be a great 21st-century leader? The odds are, probably not. 1:28 Now, I've spent 25 years of my professional life observing what makes great leaders.

I've worked inside Fortune 500 companies, I've advised over 200 CEOs, and I've cultivated more leadership pipelines than you can imagine. But a few years ago, I noticed a disturbing trend in leadership preparation. I noticed that, despite all the efforts, there were familiar stories that kept resurfacing about individuals. One story was about Chris, a high-potential, superstar leader who moves to a new unit and fails, destroying unrecoverable value. And then there were stories like Sidney, the CEO, who was so frustrated because her company is cited as a best company for leaders, but only one of the top 50 leaders is equipped to lead their crucial initiatives. And then there were stories like the senior leadership team of a once-thriving business that's surprised by a market shift, finds itself having to force the company to reduce its size in half or go out of business. 2:48 Now, these recurring stories cause me to ask two questions.

Why are the leadership gaps widening when there's so much more investment in leadership development? And what are the great leaders doing distinctly different to thrive and grow? One of the things that I did, I was so consumed by these questions and also frustrated by those stories, that I left my job so that I could study this full time, and I took a year to travel to different parts of the world to learn about effective and ineffective leadership practices in companies, countries and nonprofit organizations. And so I did things like travel to South Africa, where I had an opportunity to understand how Nelson Mandela was ahead of his time in anticipating and navigating his political, social and economic context. I also met a number of nonprofit leaders who, despite very limited financial resources, were making a huge impact in the world, often bringing together seeming adversaries. And I spent countless hours in presidential libraries trying to understand how the environment had shaped the leaders, the moves that they made, and then the impact of those moves beyond their tenure. And then, when I returned to work full time, in this role, I joined with wonderful colleagues who were also interested in these questions. 4:26 Now, from all this, I distilled the characteristics of leaders who are thriving and what they do differently, and then I also distilled the preparation practices that enable people to grow to their potential.

I want to share some of those with you now. 4:44 ("What makes a great leader in the 21st century?

4:46 In a 21st-century world, which is more global, digitally enabled and transparent, with faster speeds of information flow and innovation, and where nothing big gets done without some kind of a complex matrix, relying on traditional development practices will stunt your growth as a leader.

In fact, traditional assessments like narrow 360 surveys or outdated performance criteria will give you false positives, lulling you into thinking that you are more prepared than you really are. Leadership in the 21st century is defined and evidenced by three questions. 5:29 Where are you looking to anticipate the next change to your business model or your life?

The answer to this question is on your calendar. Who are you spending time with? On what topics? Where are you traveling? What are you reading? And then how are you distilling this into understanding potential discontinuities, and then making a decision to do something right now so that you're prepared and ready? There's a leadership team that does a practice where they bring together each member collecting, here are trends that impact me, here are trends that impact another team member, and they share these, and then make decisions, to course-correct a strategy or to anticipate a new move. Great leaders are not head-down. They see around corners, shaping their future, not just reacting to it. 6:28 The second question is, what is the diversity measure of your personal and professional stakeholder network?

You know, we hear often about good ol' boy networks and they're certainly alive and well in many institutions. But to some extent, we all have a network of people that we're comfortable with. So this question is about your capacity to develop relationships with people that are very different than you. And those differences can be biological, physical, functional, political, cultural, socioeconomic. And yet, despite all these differences, they connect with you and they trust you enough to cooperate with you in achieving a shared goal. Great leaders understand that having a more diverse network is a source of pattern identification at greater levels and also of solutions, because you have people that are thinking differently than you are. 7:29 Third question: are you courageous enough to abandon a practice that has made you successful in the past?

There's an expression: Go along to get along. But if you follow this advice, chances are as a leader, you're going to keep doing what's familiar and comfortable. Great leaders dare to be different. They don't just talk about risk-taking, they actually do it. And one of the leaders shared with me the fact that the most impactful development comes when you are able to build the emotional stamina to withstand people telling you that your new idea is naïve or reckless or just plain stupid. Now interestingly, the people who will join you are not your usual suspects in your network. They're often people that think differently and therefore are willing to join you in taking a courageous leap. And it's a leap, not a step. More than traditional leadership programs, answering these three questions will determine your effectiveness as a 21st-century leader. 8:45 So what makes a great leader in the 21st century?

I've met many, and they stand out. They are women and men who are preparing themselves not for the comfortable predictability of yesterday but also for the realities of today and all of those unknown possibilities of tomorrow. 9:08 Thank you.

9:10 (Applause)

Roselinde Torres: What it takes to be a great leader Roselinde Torres: Was es braucht, um eine große Führungskraft zu sein Roselinde Torres: Qué se necesita para ser un gran líder Roselinde Torres : Ce qu'il faut pour être un grand leader ロゼリンデ・トーレス:偉大なリーダーになるために必要なこと Roselinde Torres: Co trzeba zrobić, by być wielkim liderem? Roselinde Torres: O que é preciso para ser um grande líder Розелинде Торрес: Что нужно, чтобы стать великим лидером Roselinde Torres: Büyük bir lider olmak için ne gerekir? 罗瑟琳德·托雷斯:如何成为一名伟大的领导者 羅瑟琳德·托雷斯:如何成為一個偉大的領導者

What makes a great leader today?

Many of us carry this image of this all-knowing superhero who stands and commands and protects his followers. But that’s kind of an image from another time, and what’s also outdated are the leadership development programs that are based on success models for a world that was, not a world that is or that is coming. 0:45 We conducted a study of 4,000 companies, and we asked them, let’s see the effectiveness of your leadership development programs.

Fifty-eight percent of the companies cited significant talent gaps for critical leadership roles. El cincuenta y ocho por ciento de las compañías mencionaron brechas significativas de talento para roles de liderazgo críticos. Cinquenta e oito por cento das empresas citaram lacunas significativas de talentos para funções críticas de liderança. That means that despite corporate training programs, off-sites, assessments, coaching, all of these things, more than half the companies had failed to grow enough great leaders. Cela signifie que malgré les programmes de formation en entreprise, hors site, les évaluations, le coaching, tout cela, plus de la moitié des entreprises n'avaient pas réussi à former suffisamment de grands leaders. Isso significa que, apesar dos programas de treinamento corporativo, off-site, avaliações, coaching, todas essas coisas, mais da metade das empresas não conseguiram desenvolver grandes líderes o suficiente. You may be asking yourself, is my company helping me to prepare to be a great 21st-century leader? Você pode estar se perguntando: minha empresa está me ajudando a me preparar para ser um grande líder do século 21? The odds are, probably not. 1:28 Now, I’ve spent 25 years of my professional life observing what makes great leaders.

I’ve worked inside Fortune 500 companies, I’ve advised over 200 CEOs, and I’ve cultivated more leadership pipelines than you can imagine. But a few years ago, I noticed a disturbing trend in leadership preparation. I noticed that, despite all the efforts, there were familiar stories that kept resurfacing about individuals. Me di cuenta de que, a pesar de todos los esfuerzos, había historias familiares que seguían resurgiendo acerca de los individuos. One story was about Chris, a high-potential, superstar leader who moves to a new unit and fails, destroying unrecoverable value. Uma história era sobre Chris, um líder superstar de alto potencial que se mudou para uma nova unidade e fracassou, destruindo um valor irrecuperável. And then there were stories like Sidney, the CEO, who was so frustrated because her company is cited as a best company for leaders, but only one of the top 50 leaders is equipped to lead their crucial initiatives. Y luego hubo historias como Sidney, el CEO, que estaba tan frustrada porque su compañía es citada como la mejor compañía para líderes, pero solo uno de los 50 líderes principales está equipado para liderar sus iniciativas cruciales. E depois houve histórias como Sidney, o CEO, que estava tão frustrado porque sua empresa é citada como a melhor empresa para líderes, mas apenas um dos 50 principais líderes está equipado para liderar suas iniciativas cruciais. And then there were stories like the senior leadership team of a once-thriving business that’s surprised by a market shift, finds itself having to force the company to reduce its size in half or go out of business. Y luego hubo historias como el equipo de liderazgo sénior de un negocio que una vez fue próspero y que está sorprendido por un cambio en el mercado, se ve obligado a obligar a la compañía a reducir su tamaño a la mitad o a cerrar el negocio. E depois houve histórias como a equipe de liderança sênior de uma empresa outrora próspera que é surpreendida por uma mudança de mercado e se vê obrigada a reduzir seu tamanho pela metade ou sair do mercado. 2:48 Now, these recurring stories cause me to ask two questions. 2:48 Ahora, estas historias recurrentes me hacen hacer dos preguntas.

Why are the leadership gaps widening when there’s so much more investment in leadership development? ¿Por qué se están ampliando las brechas en el liderazgo cuando se invierte mucho más en el desarrollo del liderazgo? And what are the great leaders doing distinctly different to thrive and grow? ¿Y qué hacen los grandes líderes claramente diferentes para prosperar y crecer? One of the things that I did, I was so consumed by these questions and also frustrated by those stories, that I left my job so that I could study this full time, and I took a year to travel to different parts of the world to learn about effective and ineffective leadership practices in companies, countries and nonprofit organizations. And so I did things like travel to South Africa, where I had an opportunity to understand how Nelson Mandela was ahead of his time in anticipating and navigating his political, social and economic context. Y así hice cosas como viajar a Sudáfrica, donde tuve la oportunidad de comprender cómo Nelson Mandela se adelantó a su tiempo para anticipar y navegar su contexto político, social y económico. I also met a number of nonprofit leaders who, despite very limited financial resources, were making a huge impact in the world, often bringing together seeming adversaries. También conocí a varios líderes sin fines de lucro que, a pesar de los recursos financieros muy limitados, estaban teniendo un gran impacto en el mundo, a menudo reuniendo a adversarios aparentes. Também conheci vários líderes sem fins lucrativos que, apesar dos recursos financeiros muito limitados, estavam causando um grande impacto no mundo, muitas vezes reunindo adversários aparentes. And I spent countless hours in presidential libraries trying to understand how the environment had shaped the leaders, the moves that they made, and then the impact of those moves beyond their tenure. Y pasé incontables horas en las bibliotecas presidenciales tratando de entender cómo el ambiente había moldeado a los líderes, los movimientos que hicieron y luego el impacto de esos movimientos más allá de su mandato. E passei horas incontáveis nas bibliotecas presidenciais tentando entender como o ambiente moldou os líderes, as mudanças que fizeram e o impacto dessas mudanças além de seu mandato. And then, when I returned to work full time, in this role, I joined with wonderful colleagues who were also interested in these questions. 4:26 Now, from all this, I distilled the characteristics of leaders who are thriving and what they do differently, and then I also distilled the preparation practices that enable people to grow to their potential. 4:26 Ahora, de todo esto, destilé las características de los líderes que están prosperando y lo que hacen de manera diferente, y luego también destilé las prácticas de preparación que permiten a las personas crecer a su potencial.

I want to share some of those with you now. 4:44 ("What makes a great leader in the 21st century?

4:46 In a 21st-century world, which is more global, digitally enabled and transparent, with faster speeds of information flow and innovation, and where nothing big gets done without some kind of a complex matrix, relying on traditional development practices will stunt your growth as a leader. 4:46 En un mundo del siglo XXI, que es más global, digitalmente habilitado y transparente, con velocidades de flujo de información e innovación más rápidas, y donde no se hace nada grande sin algún tipo de matriz compleja, confiar en las prácticas de desarrollo tradicionales se detendrá Tu crecimiento como líder.

In fact, traditional assessments like narrow 360 surveys or outdated performance criteria will give you false positives, lulling you into thinking that you are more prepared than you really are. De hecho, las evaluaciones tradicionales, como encuestas estrechas de 360 o criterios de rendimiento obsoletos, le darán falsos positivos, haciéndole pensar que está más preparado de lo que realmente está. En fait, les évaluations traditionnelles telles que les enquêtes étroites à 360 ° ou les critères de performance obsolètes vous donneront de faux positifs, vous faisant penser que vous êtes plus préparé que vous ne l'êtes réellement. Leadership in the 21st century is defined and evidenced by three questions. 5:29 Where are you looking to anticipate the next change to your business model or your life?

The answer to this question is on your calendar. Who are you spending time with? On what topics? Where are you traveling? What are you reading? And then how are you distilling this into understanding potential discontinuities, and then making a decision to do something right now so that you’re prepared and ready? Y luego, ¿cómo está destilando esto para comprender las posibles discontinuidades y luego tomar la decisión de hacer algo ahora mismo para que esté preparado y listo? There’s a leadership team that does a practice where they bring together each member collecting, here are trends that impact me, here are trends that impact another team member, and they share these, and then make decisions, to course-correct a strategy or to anticipate a new move. Great leaders are not head-down. Los grandes líderes no están de cabeza. They see around corners, shaping their future, not just reacting to it. Ven alrededor de las esquinas, configurando su futuro, no solo reaccionando a él. 6:28 The second question is, what is the diversity measure of your personal and professional stakeholder network? 6:28 La segunda pregunta es, ¿cuál es la medida de diversidad de su red personal y profesional de partes interesadas? 6:28 La deuxième question est, quelle est la mesure de la diversité de votre réseau de parties prenantes personnelles et professionnelles? 6:28 De tweede vraag is: wat is de maatstaf voor diversiteit van uw persoonlijke en professionele stakeholdernetwerk?

You know, we hear often about good ol' boy networks and they’re certainly alive and well in many institutions. Sabes, a menudo escuchamos sobre las redes de Good Ol 'Boy y ciertamente están vivas y bien en muchas instituciones. But to some extent, we all have a network of people that we’re comfortable with. So this question is about your capacity to develop relationships with people that are very different than you. And those differences can be biological, physical, functional, political, cultural, socioeconomic. And yet, despite all these differences, they connect with you and they trust you enough to cooperate with you in achieving a shared goal. Great leaders understand that having a more diverse network is a source of pattern identification at greater levels and also of solutions, because you have people that are thinking differently than you are. 7:29 Third question: are you courageous enough to abandon a practice that has made you successful in the past?

There’s an expression: Go along to get along. Hay una expresión: sigue adelante para llevarte bien. Er is een uitdrukking: ga mee om met elkaar om te gaan. But if you follow this advice, chances are as a leader, you’re going to keep doing what’s familiar and comfortable. Great leaders dare to be different. They don’t just talk about risk-taking, they actually do it. And one of the leaders shared with me the fact that the most impactful development comes when you are able to build the emotional stamina to withstand people telling you that your new idea is naïve or reckless or just plain stupid. Y uno de los líderes compartió conmigo el hecho de que el desarrollo más impactante se produce cuando puedes desarrollar la resistencia emocional para resistir a las personas que te dicen que tu nueva idea es ingenua o imprudente o simplemente estúpida. Now interestingly, the people who will join you are not your usual suspects in your network. They’re often people that think differently and therefore are willing to join you in taking a courageous leap. A menudo son personas que piensan de manera diferente y, por lo tanto, están dispuestos a unirse a usted para dar un salto valiente. And it’s a leap, not a step. Y es un salto, no un paso. More than traditional leadership programs, answering these three questions will determine your effectiveness as a 21st-century leader. 8:45 So what makes a great leader in the 21st century?

I’ve met many, and they stand out. He conocido a muchos, y se destacan. They are women and men who are preparing themselves not for the comfortable predictability of yesterday but also for the realities of today and all of those unknown possibilities of tomorrow. 9:08 Thank you.

9:10 (Applause)