6 Leadership Failures That Put Your Company at Competitive Risk

by Glenn Llopis from Forbes

Companies lose momentum when they fail to see the opportunities that their
competitors are consistently seizing. This happens when a companys senior
leadership refuses to change with a rapidly evolving marketplace and the
consumers who want brands to evolve with them. Companies fail to grow and
compete when their senior leadership gets lazy and they lack the required skills
and competencies to stay in lock step with the market, let alone stay ahead of
it and define the trends themselves. At the very least, they must start paying
more attention to their employees and the consumers who are telling them its
time to do things differently.
Successful companies are led by market-driven leaders that are constantly in
search of ways to define new workplace cultures and anticipate new product
and marketing strategies to stimulate employee and consumer
engagement. These are the companies that are five steps ahead of the
market and that set the tone for the industry they lead. On the other hand,
companies that fail to grow and compete are led by operationsdriven leaders that rarely change and believe that they are not vulnerable to
new marketplace conditions. They lack the vision to see beyond the obvious
andeasily grow complacent.
Is yours the type of company whose focus is on the here and now or is it on the
short and long-term future? Do leaders and employees spend too much time
mimicking what your competitors are doing, or are they driving the
requirements to create and sustain competitive advantage?
In todays rapid-paced, globally competitive marketplace, your companys
leadership must adopt a new mindset and accept the fact that without
strategy, change is merely substitution not evolution.
As you evaluate your senior leadership team, be on the lookout for the
following six signs that if not addressed proactively and strategically will put
your company in a position of competitive disadvantage, thus disrupting its
ability to grow and compete.
1. The Glass Is Always Half Empty
Be concerned if your senior leadership team is slow or not receptive enough to
new ways of doing things. You might be winning now, but the marketplace can
catch you by surprise at any time and you will begin to lose momentum quickly
when it does. Competitors are always ready to beat you at your own game if
you dont stay on your toes.
The fiercely competitive landscape requires constant forward thinking and the
adoption of a survival mentality. Create a sense of urgency not out of fear
but as a means to stretch the organizations thinking. Always seeing the glass
as half full will stimulate an environment of competition.

When I walk into a leaders office, the first thing I do is glance at their desk and
book shelves to determine their state of mind. What are they reading and who
is influencing their thinking? My goal is to identify their mindset, how they
manage their time and what steps they are taking to identify the next big
opportunity.
2. Without Preparation, Often Blindsided
Your senior leadership team should be optimistic about the companys future
and prepare itself to avoid being blindsided. When leaders are not receptive to
change, and reflect negativity in their tone, body language and attitude, its a
crisis waiting to happen.
Senior leadership must embrace the mentality of change agent, constantly
anticipating the unexpected with a healthy dose of skepticism. Every leader
must be a change agent or soon they will face extinction blindsided without
preparation to competitive strategies and the evolution of the marketplace.
For example, are your leaders prepared for the cultural demographic shift?
Hispanics, Asians and African Americans will represent $4.2 trillion in
purchasing power in the United States by 2019. In just four short years, they
will represent nearly 27% of the U.S. total, according to the Selig Center for
Economic Growth at the Terry College of Business at the University of
Georgia.
Unfortunately, the majority of organizations are not anticipating and preparing
themselves for thiscultural shift in their business models and what it means
to their talent pipeline and the positioning of their brands. This puts their
organizations, their brands and their retention of top talent at risk as the
demographics of the marketplace change and they lack the preparation to
change with it.
3. Not Courageous Enough With Their Thinking
Todays unpredictable market demands courageous thinking from its leaders. If
your senior leadership team is not passionate enough to explore endless
possibilities for your company, then its ability to grow and compete is limited.
Senior leadership must have the belief in its people and clients to become
potent pioneers in the organization and trailblazers in the industry they serve.
Its their responsibility to build high performance teams and push the
boundaries to see and seize opportunities previously unseen in the
marketplace to elevate consumer trust and loyalty.
As Steve Jobs said, You have to have a lot of passion for what you are doing
because it is so hard. If you dont, any rational person would give up. In other
words, if your leadership doesnt give it everything theyve got, your
companys value proposition will quickly become irrelevant.
4. Dont Invest in Relationships and Resources
Having access to and investing in the right resources and relationships are
critical factors to grow and compete. Beyond your employees and clients, how

you engage with your external partners/strategic alliances is of utmost

importance. This requires senior leadership to embrace an entrepreneurial
attitude where they are in constant search of making things better. Their
strategic focus must be on building momentum well before the marketplace
takes it out from under them.
If your senior leadership team is not investing in relationships and resources to
strengthen the companys foundation in order to further fuel growth it will
be difficult to sustain competitive advantage. Dont ever assume that your
company is investing in the right resources and relationships. You will know
that they are when the effects of this strategic priority is felt across all
departments and levels within an organization. You will witness an abundance
of new resources and relationships brought about by all levels of leadership. If
they are not, you will witness this too (perhaps you already are).
5. Selfish, Siloed and Hidden Agendas
To grow and compete, your senior leadership must promote a spirit of trust and
transparency where communication is strong, consistent and boundary less.
When leadership is selfish and territorial, silos form between
departments/functional areas, making it difficult to build organizational
effectiveness and a high performance workplace. When this happens, the
organization becomes infused with hidden agendas, instead of a company
based on a foundation of trust where everyone has each others backs.
21st century leadership is about advancing yourself by serving others. If your
senior leadership team is making it difficult for you to have a voice that is
heard and valued, take this assessmentand evaluate the readiness of your
company to grow and compete (if your overall score is below 50, or below 8 in
any of the categories, youve got some work ahead of you).
6. Unhealthy Culture
Success comes most to those who are surrounded by people who want their
success to continue. If your senior leadership team cares more about
recognition than being respected, your corporate culture will head down an
unstable path. Collaboration, reciprocity and teamwork are the keys to a
healthy workplace culture and set the tone for growth and the ability to
compete.
Todays market not only requires teamwork, but more so it demands
ecosystems created to help transform organizations, change the status quo
and lead new paradigms. Leading the development of organizational
ecosystems requires a deep understanding of what each team brings to the
table the value they can contribute, their willingness to learn, the desire to
reach a higher level of performance through the sharing of best practices, etc.
all for the betterment of a healthier whole.

Though they may experience some constructive disruption along the way, with
proper strategic focus, teams that are stitched together into an ecosystem in
the right combinations will be geared for success and the most effective
change management results.
If you feel like your company is no longer growing and starting to lose
competitive ground, its time to take a serious look at your leadership and the
culture they are promoting. Do they consistently miss the mark with their
inability to see beyond the obvious? Or are they forward thinkers who can
anticipate the unexpected and are not afraid of change because they are
potent pioneers? If they also value relationships, share their good fortune with
others, and lead to leave a legacy through the promise of their brand, they will
be supporting a culture that attracts and advances top talent, and enables their
organization to grow and compete for years to come.