Category: Leadership

Last week, the eyes of the world’s press turned to Doha and its hosting of the World Athletics Championships. Here in the UK interest was intense. Dinah Asher Smith’s victory in the 200 meters was a masterclass of controlled and specialised technique, but it was Katarina Johnson Thompson’s Gold in Heptathlon that caught my eye.

The Heptathlon Tests Everything

The Heptathlon is one of the ultimate trials of all-round athletic ability. From shotput to sprinting, the discipline tests speed, strength and stamina, as well as the mental ability to hold it all together over two days of competition. In contrast to Asher Smith’s 20 seconds of brilliance, Johnson Thompson’s victory required a balance of skills, none of them world-beating on their own, but which collectively others could not match.

Running a Company is like the Heptathlon

Since returning to the UK as CEO of Connect Group, I’ve been impressed by a similar quality in our news and magazine distribution business. Handling an average of 5 million copies every day, it delivers to 27,000 outlets from superstores to corner shops, collecting unsold copies for recycling, processing data to forecast demand, taking customer calls, invoicing… and all of it achieved in the tightest of time windows. The physical logistics is only half the story; I recall being astounded to learn that by noon our publishers can typically view their sales figures from the day before, right down to that corner shop I mentioned.

And yet, if we examine the unique skills of news wholesaling, what we find is that success more resembles a heptathlon than a sprint. What underpins our competitiveness is in not so much that we are very best at physical or even time sensitive delivery, nor are we peerless leaders in information management, invoicing or customer services. Rather, we are good at all these things, and it is this optimum combination of our arguably sub-optimal parts, which make us world class at what we do.

Business as in Athletics there’s Always Room for Improvement

That’s not to say, there isn’t room for improvement. As with athletics, standards move on, expectations increase; the competition is always at our shoulders. As leaders and strategists, the lesson from this week’s heptathlon in Doha, is that we must take a holistic view, considering the impact of each initiative in its wider context — ensuring the strength we build in one area, doesn’t sap our speed or stamina in another.

It strikes me that the metaphor of ‘leader as coach’ is never more apt than in complex and well-established organisations — not least because, the catalogue of good companies brought down by supposedly transformative projects should give us pause for thought. But that pause must never lead to indecision.

Complexity is Always With Us

The danger in managing this type of complexity is that answers can tend towards those that start with ‘But…’ As professionals we must accept that all decisions involve some risk, including the choice to leave matters alone. Risk can feel uncomfortable, threatening even, but a failure to commit is the surest way to ensure the competition will soon be pressing at your heels.

Analysis and Experience are the Best Guides

Making progress, while limiting our exposure requires that we draw on analysis as well as experience; creativity balanced by objective measures — and occasionally some counter intuitive thinking. Standard operating procedures, for example, might appear to be a restrictor to change — but we should view them more as athletes see solid technique. For only when we have sound and consistent foundations, can we test, and most importantly measure, the impact of changes we might introduce. In a world where all the parts are different, it’s tough to know what works, what doesn’t, or what to do next.

If I were to add one more ingredient, it would be to encourage, and be seen to exercise, appropriate humility. For no one can be right all the time and not every idea will be a success. Occasionally — though hopefully not too often — we must hold up our hands and learn from the experience. It is not being wrong that we should fear, it is being too proud to change course when the evidence is clear.

Returning to Doha, in the time I’ve drafted this piece the UK teams have won silver medals in both the sprint relays — pipped, I might add, by the Americans if not the Belgians!

Success is More the Sum of the Parts

The relay, of course, is all about passing the baton, with success being more than the sum of the parts. That’s a subject for another day, but it reminds me that harnessing the commitment of our teams to a bold but measurable strategy, is the best way to exceeding our expectations.

Sports are often a tool through which we can learn critical life lessons and skills. However, sports teach more than just teamwork and good sportsmanship, it can also provide a lens through which we can view the path to and expectations of CEOs.

On June 14th of this year, the FIFA World Cup will kick off in Russia. The World Cup is the most popular sporting event in the world by quite a distance. It is estimated that more than half of the world’s population consider themselves soccer followers. With more than 4 billion fans worldwide, it dwarfs any other sport in terms of global appeal. Even more impressive, at any given point, there are an estimated number of 265 million active soccer players, which equals about 4% of the world’s population.

Meanwhile, the 2018 Formula One racing season is in full swing. The nexus of speed and technology, exhilaration and excitement, Formula One speaks to the imagination of an ardent and growing fan base. It is also an iconic sport where a very select few have the opportunity to compete for the coveted world title. Each year, no more than 20 drivers are allowed to participate in the Formula One Championship, two drivers for each of the 10 racing teams in F1.

Jozef Opdeweegh, CEO

While it may seem surprising, the experiences of a soccer player and race car driver are quite illuminating on the trajectory and journey of CEOs. With nearly two decades of business leadership experience, Jozef Opdeweegh explores the similarities between reaching success in the athletic and business worlds.

Football, Soccer, is Everybody’s game

Football/Soccer Players

Many of the world’s greatest soccer players had very humble beginnings. The Brazilian legend, Pele – who is universally recognized as one of the greatest players of all time – was too poor to afford cleats or even a soccer ball growing up. He used to make a ball using his parents’ socks filled with paper to play the game in the streets.

Soccer is a sport with virtually no barriers to entry. It is inexpensive to play. The game can be played on any open patch of grass, sand or concrete. Successful male soccer players range in height from 5 ft 6 to 6 ft 2. No less than 95 percent of the world’s adult male population fit within that range (to contrast this with other sports, professional basketball and American football players for instance require levels of strength and height that exclude over 90 percent of the adult male world population).

Simply put, success on the soccer field is available to almost anyone.

The $8 million price tag of access

Race Car Drivers

Becoming a Formula One driver is no easy feat. In fact, there may be not be a smaller or more elite group of athletes in the world. There is a recommended path for racecar drivers whose ultimate ambition is to end up in the most prestigious of all categories. It typically starts with karting. Those who are very successful at karting may evolve to one of the entry-level racing categories to subsequently try their luck in Formula 3 or 2. Very few ultimately make their way to Formula 1.

Are they the most talented drivers? They most certainly are better drivers than you and I. But what separates them from the pack is a very large wallet. It is estimated the path to a Formula 1 seat comes at a price tag of at least $8 million dollars. And while there are driver traineeship programs to promote very talented youngsters, even those come at a steep monetary price.

Best versus good

To excel at a game with more than 260 million active players and become one of the game’s 50,000 or so professional soccer players, you have to be exceptionally gifted. The sample size is so large that it may be concluded the most successful soccer players are also the most talented soccer players. In a game with universal access and appeal, it is virtually impossible for a hidden gem to go undiscovered. In the world of soccer, “best” truly equals best.

Conversely, while a Formula 1 champion is undeniably a very good driver, he (or she) is almost certainly not the best driver on this planet. Countless are the people out there who unknowingly have tremendous potential as a racecar driver but shall forever remain anonymous. Without the monetary means, they simply will never be given the opportunity to sit behind the wheel of a racecar. In a sport with very high barriers to entry, it is virtually impossible for the biggest gemstone to ever be discovered. “Best” equals (very) good, in Formula 1.

Cleats or a racing seat for the CEO?

The path to becoming a CEO is arguably more akin to the story of the race car driver than it is to tale of the soccer player. Certainly, being a good CEO requires a combination of relevant education, experience and skills to handle the role with success. But good fortune undeniably plays a major role in whether a qualified professional ever gets a shot at the top job. Being in the right place at the right time is very relevant to the opportunity of being selected in your very first CEO position. And once you have been chosen to run a company, you will quickly become a proven commodity and your next job will very likely also be a CEO job.

Much like the race car driver though, there are many people who would make excellent CEOs but never get a chance to demonstrate their talent for running a company. In any organization with a sizable workforce, it is a near certainty that there are one or more employees who are intrinsically better equipped at running the business than their CEO. But despite their efforts and their talent, they don’t rise to the top, often due to office politics, shortfalls in talent recognition and development or a predisposition to recruit outside the organization. Consequently, these professionals often leave the organization to try their luck elsewhere, thus depleting the company’s talent pool.

At social functions or industry conventions, you can’t help but overhear CEOs explaining to their peers how they carefully, step by step, crafted their path to the leadership job. They will lay out in excruciating detail how they realized from a very young age that they were destined for success. Without taking anything away from their professional journey, the reality is that these CEOs simply had a healthy dose of plain luck on their side.

Given this reality, CEOs not only are bestowed with luck but immense responsibility. A responsibility to deliver on their good fortune and hard work through thoughtful leadership, a commitment to doing what’s right and a focus on creating value – for shareholders, employees and the community at large. A rare opportunity to truly make a difference.

Responsible and measured crisis management has always been a key objective for Jozef “Jos” Opdeweegh, a seasoned C-suite executive with over 20 years of experience developing, leading, and growing public and private global companies. With a career dedicated to leadership, corporate culture, and business transformation, Opdeweegh has seen organizations rise and fall in response to a variety of unexpected and unplanned changes. In times of crisis, he argues that listening and adapting is critical, and to do so successfully is a test of truly effective leadership.

Jos Opdeweegh shared four key takeaways to guide the executives navigating through stormy waters.

Decision-makers must remain solutions-oriented.

According to Jos Opdeweegh, “Leadership in these circumstances requires more than bravado. It needs a cool head, an ability to take others with us, and perhaps most of all, a clarity of purpose as well as strength and consistency of will.”

A crisis is defined as a moment of intense difficulty or danger; a situation when critical decisions must be made. Specifically, it is a time of turning points — when the actions people choose will steer them to either recovery or disaster. Leaders are the primary decision-makers at these critical turning points in times of crisis. They must be level-headed, encouraging, exacting, and dedicated to those that depend on them.

In times of uncertainty, maintain your leadership values.

“The principles of good leadership surely still apply: a willingness to listen and learn, a focus on the common good, clarity, and consistency to our messaging,” said Jos Opdeweegh.

Experts often point to historical examples in offering guidance to help navigate a crisis. But often, in considering the specifics of a current situation, these parallels are less relevant. And occasionally an unprecedented crisis is what risk analyst Nassim Nicholas Taleb describes as a Black Swan event: a major unforeseen situation, for which we are entirely unprepared — and one with such wide-ranging impact that it changes our view of the world thereafter.

Without concrete lessons from the past, the principles of good leadership are something of a fail-safe. These principles include humility, compassion, emotional intelligence, competence, and cooperation. In troubling times, people recognize these qualities and are actively looking for them in their politicians and influencers.

Opdeweegh is a strong proponent of value-based leadership – the idea that leaders should draw on their own and followers’ values for direction and motivation. He claims that being a good leader involves drawing on these universal values to bring others with you.

Define the organization’s purpose before outlining the direction of next steps.

“The challenge for leaders is that in this moment of greatest uncertainty, the need to provide clarity of purpose and direction is more essential than ever,” Opdeweegh positions.

Jos Opdeweegh consistently champions the value of long-term thinking and cautions against the pitfalls of short-term solutions. In times of crisis, vision and intention are imperative to prepare for the consequences and opportunities that lie beyond our immediate difficulties.

Uncertainty and unease call for actions that demonstrate purpose and direction. And before any action is even taken, that intention must be established. If purpose is the core plan, then direction is the route for translating that purpose into action. Leaders must create a sense of shared purpose, set the direction of travel and guide behavior towards those goals.

Seek impact, rather than consensus.

Jos Opdeweegh also asserted, “Leadership, almost by definition, will never please all parties, nor is it intended to, but there comes a point when a path must be chosen.” To quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “A true leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of it.”

Ideally, that consensus should help to shape our actions beyond the immediate hiatus.

Opdeweegh suggests the various responses to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and how the decisions which followed have impacted those countries, are exemplary of the difference between action and avoidance. He points to the stark contrast between the outcome of the bold action taken by Germany in uniting its country and the grim realities of many former Soviet states.

In drawing lessons from the past, it is relevant that Germany acted with speed as well as clarity of vision. And in returning to the present, it is surely significant that organizations that take the most immediate measures, and proactively focus on containment are those that are successful in reducing further damage.

Opdeweegh concludes that in times of real crisis, whatever path is chosen, leaders must offer their constituents hope. “Today – more than at any time in history – we vastly greater potential to communicate and marshal our actions in a coordinated and steadfast manner. ” If we can add hope and the motivation which comes with it, then “leadership becomes the organization’s most powerful tool in tackling the challenges that unfold.”