THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Everyone can be a 10X leader, but we must unleash the Force

Everyone can be a 10X leader, but we must unleash the Force

I REMEMBER discussing with one of my clients how employees are so committed and gung ho when in college, but somehow their attitudes and demeanour take a beating in the workplace.

How can we get our employees out of this floundering and drifting state? Yes, this particular client organisation does have great hiring practices and goes to great lengths to boost employee engagement levels. But it’s just not enough.
This did not surprise me, because the focus of current human-resources practice is to target “top talent”, roughly 1-2 per cent of the organisation’s population. The top talents are put on a fast-track programme, groomed to be the best leaders, assigned to special projects and paid handsomely, way above the market. They are expected to be future leaders of the organisation.
You don’t have to be a genius to know that this top talent group will be switched on and raring to go every day compared with the remaining 98 per cent of the employee population.
But if we want employees to be full of energy and commitment, clearly something has to change. Talent programmes are clearly not sufficient.
In a recent article by Josh Bersin, principal and founder of Bersin Deloitte, “Why people management is replacing talent management”, he advocates that “companies should focus on everyone’s strengths and finding roles that help people leverage their skills, empowering them to add value wherever we can”. The operative word is “everyone”. He calls this “people management”.
The challenge then becomes how to empower and engage everyone to be future leaders, and not just a select few. This goes against the thinking that you are either born to be a leader or not, that leadership is not for everyone.
Well, this is no longer true. There has been a breakthrough.
Ex-Harvard professor Tal Ben-Shahar and his colleague Angus Ridgway, former McKinsey head of leadership development, found that by changing intrinsic behaviour, everyone can be a “10x leader”. A 10x leader is someone who is 10 times as effective as an average leader. In terms of rank, a 10x leader is the equivalent of a Jedi master.
According to Ben-Shahar and Ridgway, not only are 10x leaders attainable but they are also desirable. After all, both organisations and individuals want the same thing, to reach their full potential. It’s human nature.
Imagine the impact from unleashing the power of 10x leaders inside an organisation: the creativity, the commitment to quality, the customer service and the productivity. Why? Because your employees will be operating within the peak performance zone instead of the drifting state. Your employees will be full of energy and drive.
To use a “Star Wars” metaphor, by changing your employees’ intrinsic behaviour, you have increased their level of midi-chlorians that allow harnessing the Force within and becoming a Jedi master – a 10x leader.
Over the next few articles, I will be sharing with you the principles of becoming a 10x leader. How can we propel ourselves to operate at peak performance zone? Until then, may the Force be with you.

Suvit Chansrichawla is next-generation HR consultant under the brand Serendipity & Co, a partner of the Curve Group in Thailand.

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