LEADERSHIP: A BROADBAND APPROACH

Published: 2009-02-02   please add a comment below

The Brookings Institution claims the US gains 300,000 jobs for each one percent increase in broadband penetration.  And, two European consultancies see 2m new jobs by 2015 from increased broadband access*.  That's the good news.  But, what about the bad?  What's the upside (and downside) of broadband for your leadership - and your job?

For some citizens, broadband opens vistas of connectedness, mobility, service innovation and so on.  For others, just overload and more confusion: larger data-downloads and intrusiveness into every corner of our life via Blackberry or its cousins.  So, where does digital technology contribute to your role as a CEO, division head, team leader or project coordinator?

With broadband, our individual research capacity has multiplied hugely - and is now 24x7.  So, wherever we are, we can check market trends, edit a memo or search for suppliers, review their prices and read how they're rated.  Or, check out the presentation our marketing team gave to the board this morning.  Or, yes, contact our family and send them our love.

So two questions.  First, how well are you leveraging technology to lift your leadership competitiveness - and keep your job?  How could you improve your market analysis and goals-setting, planning and resource allocation, communication and follow up, monitoring business of metrics, and so on?  These are tough times, so don't get left behind!

Now, the second question; and, let's be metaphoric.  How "broad" are you in thinking about the multiple "bands" of your leadership?  Mark yourself out of ten on each of the following.  Each is central to our V|E|C|T|O|R offering - and what our clients particularly commend!

• Action-oriented: do you have a leadership action plan?  Specific actions, not just not a list of issues or maybe a points of feedback you mean to address sometime?
• Integrative: does your plan cover both "hard" market and technical issues, as well as the so-called “soft” ones of people and culture?  Credibility requires both.
• Digital: is your plan created online using a problem-solving framework plus resource material for your challenges?  And, ability to print the plan, email it to colleagues, and update it as times change?  All important if you're serious about leading.
• Value-for-money: can you do all this in less than an hour and for less than $100?

Whichever way you look at it, broadband is central to our lives as leaders.  Technology provides a platform for activities, which help us lift our game and survive-the-cull in these times of ruthless competitors and sudden retrenchments.  And, remember: broadband involves both bigger pipes and bigger thinking: the key to inspiring followers and holding your job.

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®