There are many different challenges faced by leaders for each role of the business lifecycle. The leadership quality therefore must change to fit the role. This may be difficult if not impossible for leaders to be able to perform in each role. According to the Leadership Lifecycle, businesses can suffer if the leader is unable to transition to the next stage. As the creator, the leader must be creative to establish the organization. Their main focus must be the strategic priorities of the business. A clear vision and mission of the organization is crucial if the business is to survive. Whereas the Accelerator role is very different since they must establish systems and have more of external focus on the market share and to find the niche for the company as well as staying on top of internal communication.
The role of the Sustainer is completely different than the roles of the creator and the accelerator. The business becomes very chaotic in this mature stage of business. Consistency becomes more important as the leader works to refine the mission. In order to steady the business activities the leader must look for ways to improve efficiency and to streamline operations. The focus becomes more external than ever before.
I believe I am capable of performing all of these roles as my knowledge increases for the characteristics of each role. Although I would find the role of sustainer more challenging than the creator or the accelerator I think I would enjoy it by looking for ways to improve efficiency and communications to make operations run smoothly.
Leadership Decisions
When asked the question, is it possible to avoid making the decision to close a business or rejuvenate it...I have to say, "It depends". The external and internal factors will drive the business at the mature stage. Decisions will be based upon the company’s decisions and the impact of the competitor’s decision. The outcome of their decisions and their marketing strategies will drive the company to project the identifiable outcome of each strategic decision.
1 comment:
You have it, Karen. Very few people can do all three roles successfully. Bill Gates comes to mind, the CEO of Microsoft. He has been able to keep the ship going, but even it needs to change its strategy over the next five years.
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