The pandemic has challenged managers as never before, but one powerful leadership strategy is being overlooked, say Boris Groysberg and Susan Seligson: Be kind. “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” —Henry James As a professor of business administration in...
If there ever was a year when corporate leaders were made to feel how little control they have over events shaping their organizational future, it was 2020. The upheaval of the pandemic; the switch to remote work en masse; the protests for racial justice; political strife and growing tensions have created a challenging, tumultuous environment....
Remote work options were supposed to keep employees engaged and loyal. The latest jobs data shows it isn’t quite working out that way. The Great Resignation. It’s been the headline of the day and the topic that looms large at any company trying to snap back to business quickly. The question is, which group is...
Chief human-resource officers in Europe say a shift to employee-centric policies is long overdue. The pandemic is a big factor in their thinking, but process fatigue has been building for some time. For years now, human-resource leaders have found themselves on a cost-efficiency treadmill that applies analytics and big data to existing HR operating models. Their...
How many of us are currently living without margins — the space to handle life’s simplest stresses. I know I’ve fallen into this trap myself. It can happen after being mentally stretched and dealing with chronic stress for too long. Basically, we are left with zero margin for error. It also means that we don’t...
And then came COVID-19… This Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company was suddenly facing challenges that were unpredictable, unthinkable and unheard of. Survival was at stake and, unfortunately, their practices, processes and systems were not ready to weather this storm. They decided that a transformation was inevitable. Effiqual partnered with this client to expediently implement the...
In an effort to become more agile, inclusive, and better equipped, our client sought to provide an internal cohort of employees with an innovation training that would enable them to acquire the knowledge, tools, and skillsets required to co-create innovative concepts and solutions for cross-cutting challenges within the organization. Aimed at improving the client’s ability...
Authenticity has become the gold standard for leadership. But a simplistic understanding of what it means can hinder your growth and limit your impact. Consider Cynthia, a general manager in a health care organization. Her promotion into that role increased her direct reports 10-fold and expanded the range of businesses she oversaw—and she felt a little shaky...
We helped this paper-manufacturing client implement a cultural transformation and continuous improvement process from head office to five manufacturing plants and ten trade operations. We supported them to move to a distributive management strategy through decentralization of knowledge, responsibility, authority and accountability. Effiqual also supported this company in the complete life cycle project for the...
We have worked with a global IT solutions company to support their evolution from a start-up of two guys to a thriving corporation with 150 engineers and 12 central office employees. From helping them develop their strategic plan, operational system, and organizational structures, we now support this company to expand their work to 11 different...
