Four Key Elements for Competent Leadership

IBM recently published a remarkable worldwide study based on direct interviews with nearly 1,500 CEOs, general managers and senior leaders from the public and private sectors.

Titled “Capitalizing on Complexity,” the study looked at the insightful ways competent leaders generate success in a stunningly interdependent and interconnected world. The study came up with four primary findings:

1. Complexity in perpetual evolution hallmarks the global environment.
2. Creativity tops out as the single most important quality of effective leadership.
3. Customer engagement ranks as essential for co-creating product and service lines.
4. Simplicity clinches ideal end-user interactions via effortless interfaces and functionality.

The report describes creative leaders in words that could easily define innovation leaders and corporate entrepreneurs as well:

“Standouts practice and encourage experimentation and innovation throughout their organizations. Creative leaders expect to make deeper business model changes to realize their strategies. To succeed, they take more calculated risks, find new ideas, and keep innovating in how they lead and communicate.”

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Stefan Lindegaard is a speaker, network facilitator and strategic advisor who focus on the topics of open innovation, intrapreneurship and how to identify and develop the people who drive innovation