"More than 95% of the strategies that comes across my desk are highly dependent on cross functional work. The ability to execute cross functional things will be a question of competitive advantage"

Johan and I delve into the world of strategy and execution and how to obtain aligned results. How do we ensure alignement when executing strategy in the digital business landscape ? What effect is AI having on these strategies and operations ?

We discuss the need for simplified methodologies inspired by Agile practices and the fact that despite technological advancements, current strategic processes remain manual, necessitating better use of data, A/B testing, and AI for automated reporting and enhanced strategy execution. Executing strategy effectively is about refocusing on what matters – strategy must be simplified for busy managers to aid implementation, given that the CEO/strategic process is far less digitised than other parts of organisations.

Digital tools enable frequent monitoring and adjustments, moving away from infrequent reviews, while transparency in communication aids progress tracking and alignment. Storytelling is crucial for connecting strategy formation with execution during digital transformation and successful execution requires stepping out of the overwhelm, narrowing initiatives and effective resource allocation.

‘Future’ trends in strategy execution are happening now thanks to AI. We discuss how AI helps leaders focus on strategic activities, identify key initiatives and analyse unstructured data. AI also offers help for reactive leaders by providing meta data to suggest activities and support priorities and by creating space for senior leaders to make quality decisions, keep across operations and empower their teams.

We explore the critical role of proactive leadership in connecting operational practices with strategic discussions. By translating concepts like digitalisation and sustainability into actionable projects, organisations can achieve clarity and accountability in their initiatives. Think about how your organisation is adapting to these challenges and where the pitfalls are for you.

The main insights you'll get from this episode :

- Executing strategy effectively is about refocusing on what matters – strategy must be simplified for busy managers to aid implementation, given that the CEO/strategic process is far less digitised than other parts of organisations.

- Moving from strategy to execution requires a good methodology and the model is shifting due to behavioural responses and the inability of the C-suite to give strategy meaning and make it actionable.

- The fast-moving external environment requires agility, but agile has become too binary for the complexity of the topic, which involves two major phases: strategy formation and strategy execution.

- Strategy formation tends to be overambitious, and management consider engagement with strategy execution too low, but from an external point of view, it starts at the top with a failure to prioritise and take a cross-functional view.

- A good strategy formation process is both top-down and bottom-up – good ideas combined with management responsibility – but digital acceleration can be a distraction and dilute strategy.

- The real value of digitalisation is the ability to aggregate deviations to a higher level where they can be resolved quickly and enable faster follow-up – simply ‘beautifying’ the process does not help.

- AI offers help for reactive leaders by providing meta data to suggest activities and support priorities and by creating space for senior leaders to make quality decisions, keep across...

“Empathy flows both ways and it’s not just the leader’s job or the organization’s job to show empathy.”

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, one quality stands out as both a humane virtue and a strategic advantage: empathy. Maria and I delve into the dilemmas surrounding empathy and empathy in leadership, which are powerful tools for fostering engagement, innovation, and customer loyalty while simultaneously boosting retention and revenue.

We discuss the multifaceted nature of empathy by distinguishing between cognitive empathy—understanding another’s thoughts—and emotional empathy—connecting with their feelings. We also discuss common misconceptions about empathy, which can lead to burnout and ineffective leadership. We go back to the necessity for human connection to create meaningful relationships and workplaces. Empathy is about connection - understanding other people’s thinking better can result in compromise and fruitful discussions – and can leverage healthy challenge. both these things are necessary for innovation, productivity and ultimately competitive advantage.

Both employees and leaders share the responsibility of navigating workplace challenges with empathy, especially in hybrid settings. Personal agency, self-awareness, and decisiveness are vital, and as automation increases, the relationship between empathy and AI becomes more pertinent. Leaders must continue to develop human skills like emotional intelligence to remain relevant.

Maria shares her insights, models and experience of leading with heart and head—because empathy isn’t just about understanding; it’s about building a brighter, more connected future !

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- What is empathy? At work, an accessible definition is the ability to see, understand, and, where appropriate, feel another person’s perspective and use that information to act with compassion.

- Compassion is empathy in action: it is not always necessary to feel, we can use cognitive empathy to imagine what others are feeling. This can then lead to emotional empathy, i.e. experiencing an increased heart rate when feeling someone else’ anger.

- Empathy at work should be seen as a means to gather information – to understand the context and move forward with the right step, e.g. making an informed decision by listening.

- The common misconceptions for leaders are that ‘doing empathy wrong’ means that it goes astray and there are no benefits – it is not about being nice or caving in to unreasonable demands but about balancing decision-making and supporting other people.

- Empathy is about connection not conversion - understanding other people’s thinking better can result in compromise and fruitful discussions – and can leverage healthy challenge.

- There are five pillars of effective and empathetic leadership: self-awareness, self-care, clarity, decisiveness, and joy. Leaders must recognise their blind spots, emotional triggers and patterns and understand the difference between self-care and self-maintenance to resource themselves and react well.

- Empathy centres on balance, but the work/life balance is a myth – it is more of a work/life integration, constantly adjusting on different levels: ‘either or’ leadership in terms of efficiency vs. empathy is also a myth as it is not a binary phenomenon.

- Clarity paves the way to empathy in that leaving a team in limbo, unsure what they are doing and where they are going, is unempathetic; things must be clearly defined; candour must be kind; and feedback constructive.

- Covid proved...

"You must really develop the muscle for resilience because you will need it"

Resilience is a key leadership ingredient in today's complex world, whether you are inside or outside an organisation, however, for women in the business world it is even more important. Kelley and I explore invaluable insights into navigating these 2 paths of intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship, especially for senior female leaders in tech.

Entrepreneurship requires resilience, resourcefulness, effective problem-solving, and a strong sense of self-belief. Women often face additional challenges, yet they can draw strength from perseverance and intentionally building and nourishing their support systems.

Kelley’s successful acquisition by ServiceNow exemplifies how AI skills can benefit companies globally, and we discussed the need to passionately advocate for women supporting one another, and helping other women rise daily. AI’s potential to enhance diversity and inclusion by focusing on skills rather than backgrounds is a crucial takeaway. Organisations must adapt to recognise diverse capabilities for equitable advancement.

Generative AI offers a promising future by enhancing human creativity and potential, urging us to align with core values for impactful change.

Kelley shares her own insights and learnings, and her vision for a future where women in tech are empowered, and innovation knows no bounds!

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- Intrapreneurship is about developing and innovating from the inside - the pros are having an immediate lab, a captive customer, funding and resources, and speed of trust. The cons are having less time (due to the day job), encountering resistance to internal change, and only having the existing resources.

- The cons of entrepreneurship are that it is scary, lonely and offers no safety (net) or support. It requires key skills from both personal and professional life, i.e. resilience; resourcefulness; vision; aggression; creative problem-solving; humility; an ability to listen, influence, and persuade; charisma; be an inspiration for customers, investors and employees; be well networked.

- Overcoming multiple rejections and setbacks requires a strong belief in yourself and the project/purpose. Senior female leaders and tech founders do not generally receive validation or recognition from others so must be self-driven.

- A female leader needs a personal ‘board of directors’, i.e. a group of people they trust, can be vulnerable with, and who can offer skills and advice. Women must help each other in the corporate environment through mentoring and opening doors (build networks by maintaining relationships, having a genuine interest in people, investing the requisite time and effort).

- Women are socialised to find the win-win via empathy, sensitivity, and incorporating others’ needs – they sell a solution rather than a product, often addressing major problems in society, e.g. medical, social, or economic issues, motivated by the meaningful impact.

- A frustration with the lack of software to solve HR problems was the reason for building a solution to transform the workforce using AI to make the invisible visible by removing bias and focusing solely on skills. This connects leaders with underrepresented categories and also fosters diversity and inclusion.

- Transcending bias creates a more level playing field and counters systemic bias. Organisations must change rapidly but people have hidden skills and are boxed in by their roles. Generative AI is a gamechanger in that it can unleash human potential and creativity.

- AI has gone...