Challenges facing CEOs

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Author(s): Tony Heneberry

THE chief executive officers (CEOs), general managers and company directors voice the same concerns and frustrations time and again.

Some of the most experienced CEOs in Malaysia are challenged by the single most important step in leadership, which is in getting the entire company to change their way of working in order to survive in an increasingly competitive environment.

According to Oh Teik Tatt, former managing director of Tractors Malaysia Bhd, in almost every situation where change is required, it indicates an exaggerated sense of comfort and of complacency.

"At some point, the board of directors will recognise that growth, or even survival, requires fundamental and perhaps substantial change in the way the company does business and therefore in the way all of its employees carry out their responsibilities. They might even appoint consultants to confirm their fears, but the challenge is not in recognising the problem, but rather in successfully implementing the necessary change throughout the organisation.

"The single most important step, which is the first step in implementing a 'change programme', would be to create a deep feeling of discomfort in the status quo. Even with a business which is currently running well, discomfort can be created around key performance areas such as service levels or customer satisfaction indicators. If the feeling of comfort is not removed, CEOs will not succeed," he added.

Lee Siew Lee, country manager of American Express Malaysia says, "The ability to change and steer organisations to adapt to change is a significant requirement for great leadership. A leader must understand market dynamics and have the vision in order to build a culture of productivity and innovation. In today's rapidly changing environment, being competitive entails a company's ability to encourage creative thinking at all levels of the organisation.

"At American Express, innovative thinking and finding creative new ways of conducting business is essential and our teams create opportunities to gain unique perspectives on business issues. We then apply methods and tools to enable ourselves and others to generate new ideas and approaches to these issues."

Another challenge for leaders of organisations is the prevalence of a corporate culture where everyone is used to taking instructions. Bob Stewart, who is a 'keyman' in the MBO team of Linatex, formerly part of the UK plc, Elementis Group, a UK listed company and a specialist in latex added-value products says, "The answer to this is as simple as it is complex. The first step in addressing leadership in an organisation is to look at your own leadership skills.

"Start by asking your top team what qualities they associate with an effective leader, then do an inventory. Be honest with yourself. Compare your own qualities with the expectations of your team. If there is a significant gap something has got to change, that's the easy part. Choosing what has to change is the complex part, whether it is you, your team, or more typically a combination of both.

Leadership is perhaps the biggest challenge facing companies today, not just in Malaysia. It is a global issue and the winners in a global market will undoubtedly be those who treat this issue seriously and find an effective solution for their own organisation."

So, is there a simple and quick solution to getting the people in a company to see new solutions, to think out-of-the-box?

"This is a common problem but amazingly one which keeps coming back up with companies," says Datuk Peter Wentworth, who is a chartered engineer with 35 years experience in oil, gas & petrochemicals. He has been CEO of BP Malaysia since 1998 and is a director of the Business Council for Sustainable Development and an adviser to CEO Solutions.

"To understand the solution, it helps to understand the root of the problem. The most common reason that companies struggle with creative and novel thinking, especially long-established companies, is because they tend to be populated by like-minded people. This is inevitably an inhibition to change.

"To do things differently, you need to think differently, and that happens more easily when you have diversity - cultural, gender, age Some companies deal with this by, in a sense, outsourcing the 'diversity' to consultants but this can deprive a business of the longer term rewards. The quick solution, if speed really is essential, is to supplement your team with short term focused resource in the form of consultants. However the only sustainable way of maintaining diversity is to build it into your company's HR and recruitment policies."

* The writer is a partner at CEO Solutions Sdn Bhd

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