Developing leaders of the future A QA with Colin Williams

Colin Williams is Professor of Practice and Director of The Transformational Leader program at Ashridge Executive Education. We spoke to him to get the low-down on leadership and find out why he believes it’s time we shifted our thinking on the role of those taking organizations into the future. Q:   What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today? A: It’s the inability to correctly predict what’s going to happen.   What do you do, when you don’t know what to do?   It’s about recognizing that the world is not black and white.   It’s full of paradoxes, and sometimes you need to do one thing and its opposite at the same time. You need to look at the bigger picture, while also focusing on the detail. This is a whole new world for some leaders, and they need to adopt a new mindset and find ways to become more flexible and adaptable. How can leaders develop agility in their teams? The current climate calls for a shift to a new style of leadership, which is less about offering solutions and more about encouraging people to think for themselves and come up with new ideas. Its then about supporting them to work through those possibilities. Leaders need to give people the confidence to take the initiative and act in line with the overall intent, while not necessarily following the plans that have been agreed or asking for permission. It’s about actively encouraging people to experiment, helping them understand what is an acceptable level of risk, and allowing them to learn from their experience if it doesn’t work. Leaders need to give people the confidence to take the initiative. Is there a danger in doing everything too fast? There’s a lot of focus at the moment on how organizations need to become more agile. Although we definitely need to be able to respond quickly, the idea that we should just accelerate everything is misguided. There are plenty of examples of where organizations have rushed to do things—like big IT projects—only to realize that they should have given it a bit more thought and involved a larger group of people in exploring what should be done. The ability to think on your feet is important, but sometimes it’s equally important to start slowly and pay attention to the detail.   What are the consequences of not shifting to a new leadership style? The banking industry is a good example of how some organizations have failed to adapt swiftly enough and have been left lagging behind their competitors. Some financial-sector businesses recognized very early on, for example, that mobile banking was the way forward and were quick to develop the necessary software.   However, it’s important to recognize that sometimes it’s about bucking the trend rather than following it. One of the banks I’ve been working with decided not to offshore their IT activity because they could see technology was going to be key to their competitiveness going forward.   It was a brave decision by the leadership team and cost them more money initially, but they have been able to react more rapidly to changing customer demands as a result. It’s important to recognize that sometimes it’s about bucking the trend rather than following it. How do we need to change the way we develop leaders? Research suggests that the ideal learning environment is a safe emergency.   In other words, we need to stress people, in a controlled and supportive environment. This makes learning memorable and helps them build new pathways in the brain that they can call on when faced with difficult scenarios in real-life. We put people on our leadership development programs in quite challenging situations, to push up their ability to think on their feet and deal with discomfort—because if you are going to innovate and experiment it is going to be difficult at times. It’s also important to help leaders develop a growth mindset,  so that they approach things as challenges rather than problems and are open to thinking about how they can apply new concepts rather than dismissing them out of hand. If you are going to innovate and experiment it is going to be difficult at times. Interested in further developing your leadership and management skills? Download a brochure  to find out more about Ashridge Executive Education at Hult International Business School. Grow your leadership capabilities with an MBA in international business at Hult. To learn more, take a look at our blog How leaders can make their dark side brighter, or give your career a boost with our Masters in International Business. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself. Colin Williams Professor of Practice and Director of The Transformational Leader program at Ashridge Executive Education. He began his career in the hotel industry with spells in Germany and the Middle East before spending eight years in France in a variety of management positions. With over ten years’ international experience managing operations in the service sector, Colin completed an MBA at Cass Business School, City University London. Related posts News Building success: Dual Degree students win at USASBE Community How going beyond business at Hult helped me launch my company Admissions Accepted Students Weekend: A weekend to remember Careers Career mapping: How to become an executive in the next 5 years 0 Thought leadership How to prepare for an uncertain future in a world of AI News Is mail a dying form for businesses and marketing? Instagram Hult Rotation offers you a chance to study in a truly global way. Our rotation program allows you to study and be immersed in some of the finest cities in the world. 📠¸: @jasminmanzano . Hult Rotation offers you a chance to study in a truly global way. Our rotation program allows you to study and be immersed in some of the finest cities in the world. 📠¸: @jasminmanzano . Each year, Hult seeks to enroll a talented and ambitious incoming class from all over the world. We look for diverse students with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and interests—students who will thrive in our unique educational atmosphere. Are you ready for a truly global experience? 📠¸: @iambrunadiniz . Each year, Hult seeks to enroll a talented and ambitious incoming class from all over the world. We look for diverse students with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and interests—students who will thrive in our unique educational atmosphere. Are you ready for a truly global experience? 📠¸: @iambrunadiniz . We’re excited to start 2020 on a ranking high! Hult is proud to have been placed #28 in Poets Quants 2020 rankings for Best Undergraduate Business Schools in the US. Taking a huge leap of 32 places from our 2019 position, we’re also very happy to have secured top positions in key categories like: life-changing experience, practicality of the degree, and global immersion. . With five global campuses, a student body of over 130 nationalities, and a learn-by-doing approach—Hult offers a student experience like no other. . We’re excited to start 2020 on a ranking high! Hult is proud to have been placed #28 in Poets Quants 2020 rankings for Best Undergraduate Business Schools in the US. Taking a huge leap of 32 places from our 2019 position, we’re also very happy to have secured top positions in key categories like: life-changing experience, practicality of the degree, and global immersion. . With five global campuses, a student body of over 130 nationalities, and a learn-by-doing approach—Hult offers a student experience like no other. . â€Å"I’m from an engineering background and needed a whole new skill set for the industry I wanted to switch to. I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with being out of my comfort zone. I learned both soft and hard skills, from how to work in very diverse teams to key accounting metrics and strategy. I was surprised by how weak I was at certain tasks in English or how strong I actually was in other areas. Hult gave me opportunities to try new things and meet people from places I never thought I would have friends. . My internship experiences gave me the chance to broaden my view of different cultures and different companies. I had the opportunity to work and live with people whose values differed from people in my home country. I thought that this would be difficult, but it gave me the chance to reflect on my own values and assess if they were a result of my home country environment or if they were intrinsically mine. . Diederick ter Kulve (@diederick.terkulve) Netherlands Masters in International Business . â€Å"I’m from an engineering background and needed a whole new skill set for the industry I wanted to switch to. I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with being out of my comfort zone. I learned both soft and hard skills, from how to work in very diverse teams to key accounting metrics and strategy. I was surprised by how weak I was at certain tasks in English or how strong I actually was in other areas. Hult gave me opportunities to try new things and meet people from places I never thought I would have friends. . My internship experiences gave me the chance to broaden my view of different cultures and different companies. I had the opportunity to work and live with people whose values differed from people in my home country. I thought that this would be difficult, but it gave me the chance to reflect on my own values and assess if they were a result of my home country environment or if they were intrinsically mine. . Diederick ter Kulve (@diederick.terkulve) Netherlands Masters in International Business . Say a big hello to our Bachelor of Business Administration program cover star, Elisa Orus Plana âÅ" ¨ . â€Å"I’m excited for the future—especially that I cant predict whats going to happen. Maybe Ill end up in Mexico working for a trading company or maybe in Africa, developing my own business. Everything is possible, and the options are constantly changing. I love the idea that Im never going to be stuck doing the same job until the end of my life if I dont want it to be like this. . Hult really supports me and my ambitions and truly believes that we deserve to be considered as professionals as well as students. Here, I get to express not just my opinions but all elements of myself. From my creative side with the Fashion Society to my finance and business sides in Trading Club and the Management Consulting Club. We get a different type of learning here. Not just essential knowledge and theory, but practical skills and mindset. The school is always evolving. We’re encouraged to innovate and to always look for new ways of doing traditional things. We learn how to be more confident and become aware of how we can impact our environment. The school aims to help you become a better version of yourself and to stand out from the crowd.â€Å" . Elisa Orus Plana French Bachelor of Business Administration Class of 2021 Say a big hello to our Bachelor of Business Administration program cover star, Elisa Orus Plana âÅ" ¨ . â€Å"I’m excited for the future—especially that I cant predict whats going to happen. Maybe Ill end up in Mexico working for a trading company or maybe in Africa, developing my own business. Everything is possible, and the options are constantly changing. I love the idea that Im never going to be stuck doing the same job until the end of my life if I dont want it to be like this. . Hult really supports me and my ambitions and truly believes that we deserve to be considered as professionals as well as students. Here, I get to express not just my opinions but all elements of myself. From my creative side with the Fashion Society to my finance and business sides in Trading Club and the Management Consulting Club. We get a different type of learning here. Not just essential knowledge and theory, but practical skills and mindset. The school is always evolving. We’re encouraged to innovate and to always look for new ways of doing traditional things. We learn how to be more confident and become aware of how we can impact our environment. The school aims to help you become a better version of yourself and to stand out from the crowd.â€Å" . Elisa Orus Plana French Bachelor of Business Administration Class of 2021"> During the final days of 2019, you probably reflected on what you’ve accomplished this year—and even this decade—and what you’d like to achieve in 2020. Let us know in the comments below. During the final days of 2019, you probably reflected on what you’ve accomplished this year—and even this decade—and what you’d like to achieve in 2020. Let us know in the comments below. â€Å"The first time we did group work on the program, I went head-to-head with a colleague. It taught me a lot about how I see people, how people see me, and how conflict can be resolved in a kind and productive way. The best feedback you get, when delivered constructively, is the most critical because it really feeds into how you lead. I’ve completely reversed my leadership style—the result is so much richer and more powerful when you lead from behind and lead with strength. . Studying in tandem with working, whilst challenging, gave me the perfect platform to directly apply learning concepts into my business environment, the competitive landscape, and the real-estate industry as a whole. When I started the program, I was very happy in my corporate role. But my courage and aspirations grew to the point that I took on a whole new direction. Having my career coach, Joanna, as a sounding board allowed me to really be strategic and get to know myself. She coached me thro ugh all the interviews, the research, and the questions. It went in parallel with what I was doing academically and after six months everything just clicked. . I went into the EMBA knowing I had nothing to lose and I’ve come out with everything. Great strength, global friends, amazing learning, mentors from professors, a job I love, and the knowledge that I can set my mind to achieve anything and with the right support and resources I’ll get there.† . Kashani Wijetunga British, New Zealand Sri Lankan Associate Director Senior Strategy Consultant CBRE EMBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"The first time we did group work on the program, I went head-to-head with a colleague. It taught me a lot about how I see people, how people see me, and how conflict can be resolved in a kind and productive way. The best feedback you get, when delivered constructively, is the most critical because it really feeds into how you lead. I’ve completely reversed my leadership style—the result is so much richer and more powerful when you lead from behind and lead with strength. . Studying in tandem with working, whilst challenging, gave me the perfect platform to directly apply learning concepts into my business environment, the competitive landscape, and the real-estate industry as a whole. When I started the program, I was very happy in my corporate role. But my courage and aspirations grew to the point that I took on a whole new direction. Having my career coach, Joanna, as a sounding board allowed me to really be strategic and get to know myself. She coached me thro ugh all the interviews, the research, and the questions. It went in parallel with what I was doing academically and after six months everything just clicked. . I went into the EMBA knowing I had nothing to lose and I’ve come out with everything. Great strength, global friends, amazing learning, mentors from professors, a job I love, and the knowledge that I can set my mind to achieve anything and with the right support and resources I’ll get there.† . Kashani Wijetunga British, New Zealand Sri Lankan Associate Director Senior Strategy Consultant CBRE EMBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"It was now or never. I knew that I’d have likely stayed in my neighborhood for years to come if I didn’t take this opportunity. I’d not lived or studied outside of the U.S. before. So I left my job as a global strategist at an advertising agency and moved halfway around the world. I’ve come back a more culturally aware, well-versed person. I’ve realized that everything is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. Ill definitely carry this mindset with me into the future. Technology and social media allow us to be different people in several places at once. Im excited to see how I can establish myself in whatever city Ill be lucky enough to call home and still maintain deep connections with people all over the world. I’m inspired by my classmates every day. Hearing some of their life stories and how getting this degree fits into their greater mission has been very humbling. My biggest challenge has been finding the ‘right’ path for me. There have been rooms Ive felt like I shouldnt be in, but now Im proud to feel as though I truly belong, wherever I am.† . Dwayne Logan, Jnr. American MBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"It was now or never. I knew that I’d have likely stayed in my neighborhood for years to come if I didn’t take this opportunity. I’d not lived or studied outside of the U.S. before. So I left my job as a global strategist at an advertising agency and moved halfway around the world. I’ve come back a more culturally aware, well-versed person. I’ve realized that everything is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. Ill definitely carry this mindset with me into the future. Technology and social media allow us to be different people in several places at once. Im excited to see how I can establish myself in whatever city Ill be lucky enough to call home and still maintain deep connections with people all over the world. I’m inspired by my classmates every day. Hearing some of their life stories and how getting this degree fits into their greater mission has been very humbling. My biggest challenge has been finding the ‘right’ path for me. There have been rooms Ive felt like I shouldnt be in, but now Im proud to feel as though I truly belong, wherever I am.† . Dwayne Logan, Jnr. American MBA Class of 2019 . Happy New Year, Hultians! . Happy New Year, Hultians! .

Summoned Identification and Religious Life in a Jewish Neighborhood - Free Essay Example

Iddo Tavory’s Summoned: identification and religious life in a Jewish neighborhood builds up on the understanding of readers regarding social life and interaction, culture, and mainly identity by studying one particular group- the Jewish orthodox living in the Beverly-La Brea, South east of Hollywood. It is an example of symbolic interactionist ethnography that express how the interaction of humans with their surrounding will help us understand human beings more. It can also be seen as an auto ethnography in which the author writes it from both field and personal experiences. One of the major strength of the book is how its construction engages well with its arrangement and coordination. This is clearly seen in the logically coordinated eight chapters of the book. Even though the book is short, it consists of abundant evidences that are constructed professionally. It starts from the history of the neighborhood and continues to its current state focusing on organizational structure and current role in everyday summoning (p.13), to synagogue life in how religion gatherings and conventions help members get closer, to the distinction among the neighborhood Jews internally (p.79), to the differentiation of the non-Jewish people regarding work and other social life and finally to the way in which the Jews navigate their environment and its morally treacherous passages, such as button-operated crosswalks(p.127). Moreover, it emphasizes on how and when the orthodox Jews are summoned in everyday life and the unfolding of their interactions due to projects and summons of others (p.7). Their identity is constructed through their social life and experience. Another Strength of the book lies in its auto ethnography nature in which Tavory takes the readers to the field by acting as a medium. This makes the unfamiliar place understandable and more relatable. He also provides an in depth analysis of the theme from interpersonal things like the furnishing and predictability of Judaism by cloth, manner and food (p.66-67, 82-84, 94-96, 139-140), to the changing of the neighborhood and the day-to-day practices regarding symbolic boundaries (37, 40, 129-132).Moreover, Tavory uses imagery and metaphor to make his writing delightful and to express how life was to the readers. In addition, his language usage and metaphors provides a better insight to readers and makes the book enjoyable and relatable. For instance, to explain the thickness of the life of the Jewish people while he was living there, he writes: â€Å"living an Orthodox life in the Beverly-LaBrea neighborhood was like swimming in honey† (p.3).According to Tavory, to be orthodox is not just a status, it requires a lot to be one. Tavory expresses life in the community as exhilarating but at the same time tiring and overbearing (p.3). He builds up on his argument by mentioning how people start their day early in the morning by praying and stay involved throughout their day in the Orthodox world; even the streets reminds them their identity. The book’s main contribution is related with identity and social interaction within the clear boundaries as the setting. This is seen through Tavory’s unique building methods of his arguments and his setting choice. The main concentration of the analysis is that how the people live in a place with everything at opposite/odds regarding who they are both as an individual and collectively. The views of orthodox, a religious life that requires a lot, and Hollywood life, a life with fame and partying, is completely different. So how would it be possible to live in a neighborhood of 70%-80% of non-Jewish people and act as if this non-Jewish people are invisible to them? This is where summoning comes. Tavory explains the idea of summoning by relating it to Althusser’s juridical â€Å"interpellation† in which how the police officer in French shouts out telling you to turn around (p.6). This statement captures the idea in which people internalize culture and evoke them in our everyday life. Summoning can be both an emotional and labeling process. This idea of how the social environment affects our identity and the ethnographic genre is also studied under micro sociology, which studies about daily interactions of people at a social level and small scale and ethnographic genres including observation and interviews (you may ask yourself, 1). Even though tavory’s work was mainly on his observation, he also did 45 interviews as a way to support the ethnographic data regarding the neighborhood history and organizational structures. Tavory used abductive analysis as his research method and he precisely explains it the appendix of the book. Abductive analysis is a way of â€Å"theorizing qualitative data from observation† (p.163). He applies this methodology by mentioning how he encountered surprises while observing and how the world would â€Å"normalize† the surprises (p.163). This involves induction (generalizing after empirical observation) and deduction (start with a theory then test and design empirical observations and the research) (you may ask your self,2). For example, he mentions how the Jews see and speak about the non-Jews, and how they avoided passing by a non-kosher food place but then a rabbi can pass by and moreover, the rabbi can also read what’s written. It is clearly seen how Tavory goes to generalizations by theorizing their chances of being related in intricate acts of meaning that occurs over a period of time. I really enjoyed reading this book and was able to relate to most of the things since I come from an orthodox background. However, there were some things I hoped he included in his writing. Even though Tavory explained the summoning, culture, style social interaction, and ways of life, he didn’t stress the pain and resistance within the summoning. And also he didn’t mention the political conditions and history that made summoning possible. He refers back to an incident that happened while he was walking with a friend at Melrose. A passenger in the car pulled their middle finger out on them yelling â€Å"Jews!†(p.140). Tavor’s friend seemed really untroubled by this incident and he just thought of it as an ignorance. This might raise questions such as, â€Å"how did such kind of thinking and indifference came from?† in the reader’s mind. In addition, even if the setting is the most important part of the research, it has also it downs. Tavory only focused and analyzed summoning on a specific community making it homogenous even though the main occupiers of the neighborhood are the non-Jews people with different atmosphere vibe. This might have brought a slight change in the interpretation and analyzing of summoning. In general it was a well written book in an interesting manner. It broadens ones point of view and perspectives regarding social life and interaction and how they shape an individual as well as a community. I believe its in depth analysis of summoning and the relationship between identities and communities in reference to space and personal practices will make it an interesting topic for students studying ethnography. Also, the book will help them built up on their theoretical skills.