According to a recent KPMG report, some of the significant issues that public sector leaders are currently facing are the necessity to adapt to digital transformation, embrace innovation and disruption and build public trust. Needless to say, there are massive expectations on leaders to tackle these issues and take their team/organisation forward.
Public sector leaders need to embrace a dynamic approach and think on their feet in order to overcome these issues. Unfortunately, some tend to hold on to the status quo and stick to practices that may have worked previously, but not necessarily moving forward. Maintaining this kind of status quo often limits people from becoming more adaptable, resilient and responsive to their stakeholder needs.
This is where thought leadership can help. To put it simply, thought leadership is the ability to find a way forward that will address a group’s questions or problems. In a volatile, uncertain, ambiguous and complex world, people often look up to their leaders for a way forward. This article looks at three attributes that can help leaders build their thought leadership, enabling them to serve their organisation better.
1. What are your strengths?
To be a thought leader, it is important to identify what your strengths are and how you add value to your team/organisation. By being clear on your value proposition, you are able to identify the ways in which you can make a difference. Here are some of the questions you can reflect on:
- What are my areas of expertise?
- What problems can I solve for my team?
- What unique perspectives can I share?
- What improvements can I suggest?
- What are the conversations where I can lead the group confidently?
Having clarity on your strengths makes you aware of your abilities. This is not to ignore the areas of improvement, but to leverage your strengths in moments and situations when your team needs them.
2. Simplifying things
An underrated attribute of leadership is keeping things simple. People often assume or expect that others would understand their message, but easily understandable messages are more likely to resonate and receive more engagement from others.
Leaders struggle to simplify information for two main reasons— they have gaps in their own knowledge and they do not understand their audience. If you often struggle to engage others, chances are you need to simplify things. Specifically, you need to work out if there are gaps in your own knowledge or if you need to understand your audience in terms of their wants, aspirations, motivation and concerns.
3. Collaboration
On the topic of innovation, experts and studies often highlight one theme that enables innovation— collaboration. When public sector leaders look at collaborating with others, outstanding results are achieved and complex problems are solved. Quite often, organisations see groups operate in silos, which can hurt the groups’ ability to innovate. The key to greater innovation and problem-solving is to be able to collaborate with others. Think of your current environment. How well do you/your team collaborate with others?
The impact of your leadership is amplified when you choose to be a thought leader. Through your thought leadership, you create something that every organisation needs— a culture that supports performance, innovation and collaboration.
Arpan Roy is the Director and Co-Founder of Arman Consultancy, a business focused on Leadership and Sales Consulting and Training.
Arpan Roy is the Director and Co-Founder of Arman Consultancy, a business focused on Leadership and Sales Consulting and Training. Through his business, he collaborates with leaders in corporate organisations and businesses to improve engagement and productivity, which enables them to create and add value for stakeholders and customers. He is the author of an Amazon best-selling book ‘A Servant’s Heart- Leadership That Inspires’ as well as the recipient of ‘100 Top Training and Development Minds- Global’ at the World HRD Congress 2018. Arpan’s purpose as a leader is to enable others to realise their peak potential. He has a corporate background with proven experience of leading teams of 20 or more, managing programs to the tune of $5-10 million annually. Arpan has extensive experience in boosting team engagement, managing team dynamics, analysing and solving problems, and mentoring team members to make them better leaders. Arpan has worked with global corporate organisations, as well as multiple small to medium businesses. Some of the key problems he addresses for his clients is strengthening their mindset for change and growth, lack of team engagement, low productivity, challenges around sales, culture of reactive thinking within the team, and inspiring their team to realise their potential and seek growth.
