Great Leaders Are Ambidextrous, Are You?
By: Melvin Greer Managing Director, Greer Institute There are many important characteristics of great leaders. Team players, good listeners and visionary are clear hallmarks. But being ambidextrous is required now more than ever. Ambidextrous leadership is a balanced approach where flexible leadership behaviors that lead to better business outcomes are the rule. Ambidexterity is the ability to engage in innovation (exploration) and operation (exploitation) equally well. But these are two very different yet complementary leadership behaviors. Exploitation: Reducing variance, adherence to rules, alignment and risk avoidan ce Exploration: Increasing variance, experimentation and failure, value alternatives and risk taking And why is ambidextrous leadership required now more than ever? Leadership is in crises and leaders are facing an increasing set of complex issues. This crisis manifests itself in a lack of employee engagement and retention along with lower market share and bus...