CARLY ABRAMOWITZ (CA CONSULTING GROUP) “LESS AGILITY THAN ADAPTABILITY”

Share the news

The brutal hiatus caused by the health crisis will have profound consequences for the conception and embodiment of leadership. Portrait of a leader with solid feet by Carly Abramowitz, founder of the soft skills expert firm, CA Consulting Group.

 

DECISION MAKERS (Magazine). What difficulty(s) do today’s leaders face?Carly Abramowitz. I’m seeing more and more difficulty in taking a step back from the situation, but also from oneself. Leaders also have a hard time finding the right speed with their teams. Sometimes they go too fast, sometimes not fast enough. Sometimes, the crisis period plunges them into a state of over-analysis, sometimes it accentuates their affection for change. Some are already in the next stage, while the employees have not yet fully grasped the extent and operationality of the current stage.
“A leader who is comfortable in his or her shoes does not need to be authoritarian to feel that he or she exists in his or her position.
The leader faces a certain disruption without having, at hand, ready-made recipes to meet the needs of the teams. Needs that managers are not always aware of.

 

Is this a cyclical phenomenon or is it the translation of a broader phenomenon?For me, this precedes the current period. As early as the end of 2015, we noticed fairly homogeneous changes among our clients. Regardless of their industry or corporate culture, they all took the acceleration of the world in stride and felt, along with it, the impression of less time available to deal with ever-increasing change. This has had an enormous impact on the way leadership is conceived and embodied. Little by little, the need for a leader with a solid foundation became apparent. In short, a leader who is comfortable in his or her shoes.

 

Precisely, what does a “good leader” look like?
It is a leader who does not need to be authoritarian to feel that he or she exists in his or her position. Verticality continues, of course, to be essential in leadership. But it is expressed differently. The leader carries a vision, gives meaning while being more humble, more connected. This is why we recognize him by his generosity. They transmit to their teams for reasons of efficiency, but know how to stand back, if only to avoid the temptation of old-fashioned management. I believe, in fact, that a leader who is at ease in his or her shoes places the autonomy and empowerment of employees at the heart of his or her mission. But, to do this, he must have a good knowledge of himself, of his strengths and weaknesses. Otherwise, it is difficult to let go or to adjust objectives.

 

What specific skills does he need?
Good communication is essential to give meaning and to re-mobilize work groups that have been severely tested. It is of course necessary to reassure people, but above all to insist on the fact that the changes are here to stay. Hence the importance, for the leader, to show less agility than adaptability.
“Adaptability goes to the heart of human relations”

 

For you, it’s not the same thing?
No, because I believe that the latter contains the former. Indeed, adaptability is not associated with a particular working method. It goes to the heart of human relations. While agility may refer to the almost gymnastic capacity of a person, it reflects a way of interacting with others, the environment and… oneself. An agile leader is one who is able to take into account his or her own situation, to analyze it and, in fine, to act.

 

How, if at all, can we cultivate this know-how?
To accompany leaders on their development journey, our coaches activate three levers: inspiring, learning, practicing. The first phase seeks to trigger a change of mind. Once they have understood why and what they want to change or acquire, we provide them with tools to put them into action or try out co-knowledge. The most important and sensitive part is anchoring. The way in which leadership is exercised is based on long-standing behavioral traits that are not easy to break out of. However, through practice and management rituals, the lines of soft skills begin to move, and leaders build a better knowledge of themselves that leads them to trust themselves more. Now, everything that a leader cultivates within himself, he will want to sow around him. This is to the great advantage of team effectiveness and organizational performance.

More news to discover

Do you want to be accompanied ?