February 5, 2014

Gregory Duerksen
President, Kincannon & Reed

THE NEW STANDARD

In our senior executive search work we are often asked, “What is required for success in today’s hyper-competitive and increasingly globalized world of agriculture and agribusiness?” Aspiring leaders, scientists, and professionals know that what was sufficient a decade ago is not today. To advance to the top general management or functional levels, they must meet The New Standard:

• Nurture a superior and focused work ethic.
  Even the definition of work ethic is different today than just a few years ago. We used to define this as the disciplined, reliable, and rigorous application of capabilities. Today we must add focused due to the risk of distraction by the constant bombardment of emails and social media which prevent us from getting the best value out of our time. We must lever technology rather than be trapped by it.
   
• Think and act both strategically and tactically.
  A decade ago a CEO could focus on strategy and outward-facing actions and leave the tactics to the lieutenants, who in turn had the luxury to concentrate on actions and execution. Today all senior executives must do both, although of course the weightings change for each.
   
• Understand and embrace the gray and drive it to black and white.
  Our world is fraught with uncertainty and ambiguity and uncharted territory. Top performers get comfortable with the gray areas and think broadly and deeply about which questions must be resolved and when, yet have a sense of urgency to get the answers and drive decisions to the black and white of actions and results.
   
• Develop a keen self-awareness and a 1:1 ego-to-capability ratio.
  Great capability will be squandered unless coupled with a healthy ego that is focused on customers and colleagues rather than yourself. A balanced ego-to-capability ratio requires the self-awareness and security to ask for help and surround oneself with others who are smarter, more knowledgeable, or more capable than the leader, and thus complement the leader’s strengths and shortcomings. This attitude also creates an environment more conducive to robust dialog on key strategic and tactical issues.
   
• Become both clever and wise.
  Smart, educated, and wise do not overlap without years of experience, success, and mistakes in multiple roles, environments, and cultures. Great leaders know that intellectual rigor and insight are required to synthesize the complex or ambiguous into a short list of clear, understandable, and memorable points, or to make decisions that look beyond the numbers and reflect the wisdom born of experience. Simple is hard.
   
• Be a “strategic doer” and simultaneously lead others.
  We no longer have the luxury of support structures and large staffs. Today’s superior executives must both complete tasks themselves and concurrently inspire, motivate, manage, and work through dozens, hundreds, or thousands who are not wired like them. This latter capacity remains the most challenging to nurture and develop.

In summary, to rise to the top you have to do it all.

Greg Duerksen was a member of the speaking faculty at Global AgInvesting Middle East 2014, February 24-26 in Abu Dhabi, as well as Global AgInvesting 2014 in New York, April 28-May 1.

The opinions expressed in this editorial are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Global AgInvesting.