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| Knowledge Core |
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| To Lead in New Realities |
During a CEE custom programme, 'Leading Within New Realities’,
designed for senior management of Ericsson, Stephen Newman, Programme Director, Executive Development at Ericsson, discussed
in length about what exactly ‘new reality’ denotes, the changing
face of the Indian manager, and the growing importance of
learning and development, even in trying times as this.
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CEE Emerge - What exactly do you mean by ‘New Realities’? |
Stephen Newman - By ‘New Realities’, I mean all those things
that drive the business from
 outside the windows of the offices
where executives sit. This, obviously, is a broad set of
drivers, open to all sorts of interpretation and categorisation.
In one’s career, the longer one tends to work, the more one
depends on networks and mindsets that are increasingly encrusted
within the firm. There is a need and a latent hunger to see what
is going on the
outside.
What is Google really up to? What is going on in India that goes
beyond what one reads and sees on TV? How are young people using
social networks and what might this mean for my business? These
are examples of new realities for Ericsson executives.
New Realities are the realities themselves, of course, as well
as the mind set that says there are lots of things out there
that I should happily approach and learn about.  This mindset is
driven by curiosity and openness, interest in young people, and
taking the time to explore, to play, to experience.
Ultimately, the most salient realities are the ones inside of
us. The reality of being excited, inspired, and humble about
what there still is to learn, will bring great energy back to an organisation and assure that young collaborators see a leader
who is interesting and interested.
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What is the unique pedagogy of this programme? |
The
pedagogical features of the programme are opportunities to
explore a spiral of increasingly ‘different’ and complex ideas
and activities and then make an effort to reflect upon,
integrate and communicate what one has experienced. If many
leadership programmes are situational, what to do when this
happens and what to do when that happens, this is
transformational. It concentrates on the person doing the doing,
rather than what needs to be done. It is not about how to run an
organisation or function. It is about becoming a more engaged
and attractive leader for others to follow, one that values
learning and growth, wonder and excitement. It is more about
questions than answers, directions than facts.
Paradoxically, there is less pressure on the pedagogical aspects
than in most leadership programmes. One or two skilled
facilitators can help with the process and sense making. Then it
is a matter of organising speakers, storytellers, visits, and
exchanges with students, etc., so as to amass rich content with
which to work. I have found the ISB and Boston University to be
particularly open to and skilled in this approach.
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What does an Indian manager mean to you? What are the changes
that you observe in an Indian manager today? |
I
have been in India a couple of times and have run programmes
here before. Though I am not an expert on Indian managers, but
what we can all see is that there is a tremendous passion for
what they are doing. We can all learn from that, and we are
indeed very
impressed by that. Second, a mixture of business and social
responsibility that can be seen in the Indian manager today is a
very healthy indicator, and I think it will then migrate to the
rest of the world. I think we are seeing something in India that
will actually be exported to the rest of the world – that there
is no reason to completely separate the business side of life or
the business side of a company from the social side of the
company. The other thing about an Indian manager is that because
people in India are so proud of their country and are so
patriotic, almost everybody has a mission beyond what simply
their business does. They seem involved in developing the
country, developing the people, and moving things forward. These
are very inspiring stories for people to experience when they
come to India.
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How important, according to you, is learning and development to
an organisation? |
It
is extremely important in our experience. We have never stopped
executive programmes, albeit whatever happens in the business
cycle. Even during the dotcom bubble burst in 2001, we still
conducted Learning and Development Programmes. We will stop
anything except executive development because it would give out
a wrong signal to our people. If the next generation leaders see
that the company is not investing in them, we risk losing them
and we risk deterioration. Thus, it is extremely important and
strategic what we do in Executive Development.
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Can you brief us about the participant profile of this
particular programme? |
The participants, as in all our executive programmes, come from
all around the world. It is a global group. Many different
countries, many different functions, they are all executives in
local management teams or business unit teams. They all have a
lot of experience, they have all lived in two or three
countries, and they have probably been in more than one
function. Many of them would have business degrees and
technology degrees. They have all worked directly with customers
as part of their work.
I would also like to add and say that my experience with the ISB
is that not only does the School deliver excellent programmes,
but it also understands what we are trying to do pedagogically.
Many schools do not really get this kind of concept as you do
here, and I really appreciate that.
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