Leadership or Forwardship: Which Does Your Business Need?

Every once in a while, we come across a concept so revolutionary, we feel compelled to share it.

Today is one of those days.

A team member here at Exact Staff recently shared an intriguing article on the concept of “forwardship.” (If you’ve never heard of it, don’t worry – it’s a new idea!)

Okay, so What is It?

In a nutshell, forwardship is the process of preparing an organization for changes in the marketplace, and of pushing through stagnancy and fear to act in ways that drive innovation.

In the article, the authors assert that leadership failures are often due to knee-jerk reactions to disruptors – things like technological advancements, economic shifts, widespread corporate uncertainty, and other “wild cards” that can swiftly pull the rug out from under a seemingly healthy business.

It got us thinking: Can a company prevent critical leadership failures by cultivating forwardship?

We believe so. Below, we share a few ways to step out of reactive, survival mode and truly “forward” your business:

Get Past Your Fear of Disruption

Change is inevitable. Businesses that merely react will find themselves continually racing to catch up with the competition – and in serious jeopardy. If you systematically challenge the status quo, however, you prime your team for innovation. Fear is to be expected, but teach your team to accept it, embrace it and act in spite of it.

Confront Your Boredom, Safety and Complacency at Work

Stagnation is the enemy of innovation. To drive your business forward, you must be willing to abandon tried-and-true practices in favor of potentially better – yet unproven – ways of getting things done.

Focus on Your Customers’ Problems – Not Just Our Own

Truly visionary organizations look beyond their own problems and ask: “What problems are we trying to solve for the customer?” and “How can we solve customers’ problems more efficiently and effectively?” Focusing on customers’ current and future challenges, needs, desires and problems is an effective antidote to organizational myopia.

Build the Right Culture

A culture based on traditional, top-down leadership doesn’t support forwardship. What does? A culture that:

supports the development of great ideas across teams, departments and organizational levels;
rewards calculated risk-taking and makes occasional failure acceptable;
tolerates healthy conflict;
prioritizes continual learning, professional development and mentoring.

Hire the Right People

In this earlier post, we reviewed the dangers of “groupthink,” the practice of thinking or making group decisions that discourage creativity and dissent, for the sake of harmony. If you’re seeing too many heads nodding in agreement around the office, you might be stifling innovation – and threatening your company’s survival. Instead of hiring “yes men,” hire people who collaborate well, think outside the box, share their opinions (even when they are unpopular), value constructive conflict and thrive in empowered environments.