Reshaping boss’ code

Every top-level executive must work hard every day to create growth, value and profitability in the face of change. To help these leaders capitalise on change by creating organisations where employees and managers can strive for greatness and thrive, executive coach and consultant Judith E Glaser presents seven leadership practices for building a company culture where people work together more effectively.

Using the DNA metaphor to describe a process that guides and determines a company’s destiny, Glaser profiles seven major firms to demonstrate the importance of the seven practices and show how they can improve results by spreading power horizontally.

The key to empowering each person’s leadership DNA, Glaser writes, is found in conversations. She explains that the DNA of leadership is about “discovering how to create conversational environments that enable the growth and expression of each person’s unique DNA.”

SEVEN DNA DIMENSIONS

The DNA of Leadership offers detailed descriptions of the seven dimensions of 21st-century leadership that comprise the first strand of leadership DNA. These “genes” are built around the acronym “CHANGES,” and each one has a corresponding culture that reflects the power of the gene. These are:

Community: Foster open communication where people feel included, involved in the strategy, engaged in the business and accountable for results.

Humanising: Create an atmosphere that values uniqueness and diversity, and respects the talents of each individual.

Aspiring: Marshal the wonder of individual imagination.

Navigating: Ask others within teams for guidance in making headway toward common goals.

Generating: Nurture innovation that leads to inspired breakthroughs.

Expressing: Encourage all to speak up, take risks and develop themselves to develop the organisation.

Spirit: Create an atmosphere of ongoing homage, accomplishment and evolution so that everyone pulls together to move towards the future.

Throughout the book, Glaser not only offers a refreshing perspective on leadership that can help organisations tackle the challenges of the modern workplace, but she also offers the case studies from successful businesses that demonstrate what each of her lessons looks like when it is effectively applied. By attaching real-world examples to the principles she presents, Glaser helps both the individual and the organisation evolve toward a brighter future.