“What got us here won’t get us to where we want to go.” This common quote from CEOs is so true. We know that various phases of business maturation (entrepreneurial, standardization, and reinvention) require different leaders. What CEOs now critically face is the need to entirely transform their business, creating a unique value proposition, outcomes-based strategies and solutions to meet the complex needs of their customers or stakeholders. Transformational change requires a new lens and a new set of leadership skills, often a new organizational structure and absolutely, the right senior leaders.

Picture a common scenario of today’s CEO. The senior team is comprised of loyal lieutenants who, in the past decade were dutiful, stalwart soldiers who made the necessary changes to squeeze out profitability during the economic downturn. They downsized, restructured, and re-engineered the organization and drove processes. They crafted metrics, managed scorecards, drove excellence and efficiency, and led from the front.

The CEO ponders, can these same leaders lead us through transformation change? Will these skilled individual leaders with impressive track records collaborate? Can they see our market differently? Will they thrive in an organization where power and control has been redefined?

The CEO wonders – WHO will be the TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERS on my team, who are:

–Forward thinkers; readily translating the company’s vision into bold strategies, providing a clear view to the future for their business/function

–Entrenched with the customer

–Inspiring others, bringing them along through change

–Persistently driving collaboration and alignment.  Comfortable with interdependence, networks and matrix organizations versus hierarchy

–Thriving in ambiguity and emergence; willing to leave old models behind

–Understanding the levers which influence culture and engagement

–Worldview and systems thinkers (well beyond analysis and problem solving)

–Continuous learners; an agile mind to solve bigger problems

The CEO alone is tasked with the daunting task of assessing their current senior leaders to predict who will not only respond well to a new leadership culture, but who will help drive the organizational transformation. This requires an authentic review of talent, an understanding of leader motivation and an eye for the cues. It’s a moment of truth for the CEO – who can be counted on for the future?

Don’t face the truth alone. The Bailey Group helps CEOs assess their leaders for their capacity for transformational change and helps CEOs in creating a transformational leadership culture.