Although they are spoken of as recent, the changes that the pandemic forced us to seem old, which are added to the changes that are going to occur due to the new Government policies.
The new scenario includes abrupt increases in costs, decrease in customers’ purchasing power, possible threat of opening up imports, a general increase in the cost of the country in hard currency. This implies the need to review the strategic plan, evaluating these possible scenarios, the possible paths, the necessary transformations, the resources and capabilities that will be required.
Furthermore, if inflation were to drop abruptly, it once again emerges that good resource management is the competitive tool par excellence because inflation covers up inefficiencies, but if it drops, and the market hardens, we will not be able to raise prices and we will have to lower costs.
In this context, everything that has been talked about and implemented about digitalization and agility becomes urgent. And here arises the need to have leaders who can carry out the changes.
Many entrepreneurs know this and are worried because they perceive that, with the current people, they cannot make the changes with the depth and speed they need. And hence many of the searches we are asked to do at this time point to profiles capable of leading transformations. But, when they want to hire these profiles, they feel trapped, because the first impact is that they are very complicated to incorporate.
What’s happening in the talent market? It is found that there is a certain profile that is common to many needs, whether for the role of General Manager or for some C levels that report to him. They are people who can take charge of those roles. They are expected to have experience in the function, but, above all, to have the ability to change the way it operates, leading the company to be much more digital and agile.
Traditional executives, although many have some digital skills, do not have enough experience to transform what needs to be changed. Many times people who have this modern outlook do not have the experience that one dreams of in the field in which one wants them to have it. An important difficulty is that these more transformative executives have a culture that I define as a post-pandemic culture, which includes certain demands such as seeking a purpose, an attractive industry, a short travel distance, and a significant number of days with virtual work, in addition to remunerations above what one would expect.
What can they give in exchange for these demands? If they are accompanied by aligned leadership, and a critical mass of people with similar characteristics, they are indeed the ones that can transform a company. Not only in digital and customer experience aspects, but cultural in general. They are fast, they are not afraid of beta mode, testing and correcting, they get to the point, they work as a team, and they generate a climate that is essential to be able to adapt the company to the needs of the market and those that arise from new competitors.
What is the trap we must get out of? It is to analyze the feasibility of incorporating resources based on cost and not due to the strategic value they offer to an organization. To evaluate this properly, my recommendation is to go up a notch and analyze the more strategic aspects. What type of company should I have to be able to succeed in the environment that I anticipate for the short term, where, as we said, the market may open, competitors from abroad will enter or there will be some that invest heavily. Once I have clarity on the type of company I want to be, I will be able to evaluate the incorporation of this type of talent as a strategic acquisition that is part of the new vision, and, surely, they will not be the only addition I will have to make to the team. .
As I said before, Only a clear strategic visualization will allow you to put everything in context and reach a firm conclusion.. I have not seen so many companies that have done an exercise of reviewing and analyzing scenarios to define the impact that these will have in all aspects. Products, origination, structure, way of reaching the market and type of profiles to incorporate. Perhaps we are still absorbing the impact of the recent elections and the summer, so I imagine that the new work year will bring profound revisions to the decision-making that will allow us to take advantage of the new winds. And show that we are not trapped, but that we will navigate freely, in new directions.
*Ricardo Backer is Founding Partner of Backer & Partners. Consultant specialized in Searches for Senior Executives and Cultural Transformation of Organizations, coach in Neuroleadership.
by Ricardo Backer
