Human Resource Executive - October 16 2018

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Sustaining Peak Performance
in Dynamic Leaders (Part 2)
By Arun Bajaj, Senior Vice President, CHRO, Alliance Renault-Nissan-
Mitsubishi, and Joe Bohling, Managing Director, BRG

Our previous article, “Seeing around Corners: Developing Dynamic Capabilities in the Enterprise and Its Leaders,” discussed the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment that organizations operate within. The article offered Dynamic Capabilities, an integrative and iterative forward-looking approach to tackling significant business challenges, as a framework for addressing this disruption in firms and in the executives that lead them.

Properly applied, the Dynamic Capabilities framework, introduced by Dr. David Teece and colleagues in 1997,1 allows managers to deliver rather than receive marketplace disruptions. Specifically, the framework draws out from the management team the intelligence to co-align strategy, innovation, and organizational capabilities, including critical talent and human capital. Dynamic Capabilities-based approaches prioritize decisions and the investment required to succeed in VUCA environments.

In this follow-up article, we delve further into the process for helping executives and senior leaders not only survive but also thrive as global demands increase their leadership responsibilities and as the marketplace headwinds of deep uncertainty and complexity heighten.

Work stress and burnout have
become ubiquitous. Constant
connectivity, international
responsibilities and unexpected
marketplace threats conspire to
keep organizational leaders on
edge. Professional athletes endure
analogous pressure. For the athlete,
it involves intense competition
and public scrutiny for mistakes or
mental meltdowns. Mistakes on the
professional playing field can result
in criticism by coaches, teammates
and sports broadcasters. Top athletes
have addressed their around-the-clock
pressures by having an entourage
of experts surround them. While
this includes teammates (akin to the
executive’s co-workers), it also involves
physical trainers, nutritionists and even
sports psychologists. Many of these
supporting experts are dedicated
to helping athletes rejuvenate their
energy and focus their efforts at critical
times.

Similarly, corporate executives are
often supported by executive coaches
who help them refine their leadership
skills. As helpful as this may be, it
neglects the holistic person. A more
comprehensive solution includes not
only organizational behavior but also
non-traditional work and personal
elements, such as mental, emotional
and community components. Ask
yourself, “How many executives do
I know who excel at leading their
organizations and yet suffer from
chemical dependency, depression,
marital discord and/or family
dysfunction?”
If your board and CEO
are demanding dynamic and
transformational leadership, then we
as HR professionals must support
these executives to help them and
their firms overcome the global
marketplace headwinds of change
without burning out the leaders
our companies depend upon. The
demands on executives and senior
leaders have never been greater.

Boards, shareholders and stakeholders
demand consistent, upper-quartile
performance—while also perpetually
innovating for the future. As a
consequence, HR executives must
broaden their leadership-development
programs to include access to
resources outside the typical executive
coach and strategy-development
firms to ensure top executives can
sustain peak performance. This holistic
approach may include annual physical
exams, regular respites to allow for
quality family time, participation in
purpose-centered community events,
and support systems of similar experts
for spouses, significant others and
family members.

This process, if done right, often leads to existential examination of one’s professional and personal life purposes, and thus, it should include a dynamic, business-strategic, issue-mapping and personal-prioritization process. The sequencing and proper prioritization of one’s physical, mental, emotional and community pillars aligned with a leader’s purpose create true “corporate athletes” 2 able to sustain peak performance— while ensuring they can be present and dynamic for their firms, families and themselves in this VUCA marketplace.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, position or policy of Nissan Motor Corporation or Berkeley Research Group, LLC.