A leader is someone who has the ability to make others do things, produce a desired result. He or she is not a person who performs astonishing feats by themselves. That type of person could perhaps be a hero, but not a leader. A leader, by definition, has the power to mobilize others.
The September-October issue of Latin Trade has become a publication about leaders and leadership. The cover feature on the winners of the BRAVO Business Awards offers the opportunity to review success stories, many of which are extraordinary by any standard.
This year it seems clear that BRAVO winners lead their companies in ways that share some important characteristics, maybe more so than expected. All of them think long term. Even if volatility is the norm in the emerging world, they look across cycles and plan far into the future. They focus on results and are very effective at getting things done. However, to achieve the best outcomes, some suggest bolder schemes of distributed leadership, like that of leading from behind– not having to be always in the driver’s seat, but allowing the best suited person to lead in a specific situation. They also know that results are attained by teams, and that’s why they strongly emphasize the need to respect coworkers. Most of them also say that they are not afraid to hire people better than themselves, because this is a key source of information and knowledge, and hence a spark for better decision-making. Along the same lines, finally, most of them say they listen more than they speak, guide, or command. Interesting facts? Sure.
In 2015, the economic and social environments in Latin America have been besieged by difficulties and tensions caused by slower economic growth and by painful increases in inflation and unemployment. Companies and countries are feeling the crushing weight of adverse markets, and poorly conceived microeconomics. In these conditions, outstanding leaders should be in high demand, because leading has everything to do with countries and companies doing better than others in hard times.
At MIT, one of the best universities in the world, they teach business students to develop four leadership capabilities. Visioning, the first one, implies understanding the world and painting a compelling view of the future that places a company or a country advantageously in that future scenario. Sense-making, the second capability, requires the leader to know and to explain what’s happening on the outside, and why the actions he is promoting in the organization will lead to success. Thirdly, inventing means creating the structures and processes needed to move the organization toward this vision. Relating, the last one, is about building trusting relationships among people inside and outside the organization.
Most leaders in the region have these skills. But why is it that some seem to choose the wrong direction? I believe that some leaders do not understand their new surroundings, or the way to best position their organizations to profit from them. As Forbes columnist Mike Kyatt puts it, “Leaders who can’t see it, probably won’t find it.” In other words, the problem is that they don’t “get it.” It’s not a matter of being well intentioned or not, as they might honestly believe in the correctness of their actions.
Mistakes take a toll on the welfare of populations, and in volatile times damages sometimes come with unsuspected intensity. With GDP growing at an expected 0.4 percent in 2015, Latin America should try to avoid these costs.
Aside from other capabilities that BRAVO winners and MIT teach, good leaders have to make it their duty to have a clear vision, a coherent interpretation of where their country or their company is, and where it should head. They do not have to be the smartest people in the room, but they have to be well aware of what they don’t know. Yes, there is a reward to education. We just ran an experiment that ranked the education levels of the president and the minister of finance in a number of countries in Latin America. Not surprisingly, there is a clear, positive correlation between countries that have better trained teams, and good macroeconomic performance. On average, better-educated teams do a better job of “getting it.” Who knows, perhaps the results hold if the experiment is extended to other leadership spheres like those of lawmakers, mayors, judges and CEOs.
Education is not always an absolute requirement for a leader, but if one listens to BRAVO winners, strong, empowered teams are absolutely necessary to home in on true north and to walk straight in that direction. Get it?
Santiago Gutiérrez,
Executive Editor
sgutierrez@latintrade.com
