Microsoft Leadership Summit's key note presentation from Oxford Leadership Academy's CEO Cyril Legrand

1. Leadership in a global context

2. “Everything we hear is an
option, NOT A FACT.
Everything we see is a
perspective, NOT THE TRUTH.”
Marcus Aurelius

3. “When the rate of change on the outside
exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the
end is in sight.”
Jack Welch

5. WINDS Strategies, Goals, Targets,
KPIs…

6. CURRENTS Culture, Values,
Habits, Beliefs, Patterns, Traditions,
Fears…
WINDS Strategies, Goals, Targets,
KPIs…

8. Leaders today face increasing
complexity and uncertainty…

9. …the need to adapt to new realities…

10. …a capacity to innovate and transform…
Think Big Scale FastStart Small

11. …and… a change in mindset
“Those who cannot change their
minds cannot change anything.”
George Bernard Shaw

12. LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT
CONTEXT & CHOICES

14. WORRYING CIRCLE
(VICTIM)

15. WORRYING CIRCLE
(VICTIM)
INFLUENCING CIRCLE
(PROTAGONIST)

16. If you`re going through hell
KEEP GOING
Winston Churchill

17. What kind of system are our organizations?

18. Our organizations are
living systems, not machines.

19. • Complex
• Dynamic
• Non-linear
ORDERCHAOS CONTROL
• Self-organizing
• Co-evolving
• Unpredictable

20. Self-organization

21. Self-organization
Living systems are
continuously self-
organizing
in response to inner and
outer conditions

22. We do not really "organize" anything.
We just influence the way things self-organize.

23. Microsoft 2008
30 billion instant messages
250 million people
6.6 degrees of separation
Facebook 2011
721 million users
4.74 degrees of separation
Connectivity

24. Everything is
connected at
some level.
Sometimes the
connections are
hard to see.

25. Look for the
connections.

26. Simple acts
can have
enormous
consequences

27. Entropy
Left to themselves,
living systems
disperse energy
with time.

28. We need to inject new energy into a system
periodically – ideas, people, opportunities, etc...

29. Consciousness
Our mindsets, beliefs, and
values
shape our reality.

30. Consciousness
Our mindsets, beliefs, and
values
shape our reality.

31. Translating ideas into reality
to improve human life

32. If you want to change
a system, you have to
change the thinking
behind it.
Albert Einstein

34. Four Lessons from Living Systems

36. Giving up the illusion that you can
predict the future is a very liberating
moment.
All you can do is give yourself the
capacity to respond… the creating of
that capacity is the purpose of strategy”.
Lord John Brown

37. LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT
CONTEXT & CHOICES

38. Change drivers
Institute for the Future – Palo Alto

39. Change drivers
Globally
Connected World
Increased global
interconnectivity puts diversity
& adaptability at the center of
org. operations
Institute for the Future – Palo Alto

40. Change drivers
Globally
Connected World
Increased global
interconnectivity puts diversity
& adaptability at the center of
org. operations
Extreme Longevity
Increasing global lifespans
change the nature of careers &
learning
¨
Institute for the Future – Palo Alto

41. Change drivers
Globally
Connected World
Increased global
interconnectivity puts diversity
& adaptability at the center of
org. operations
Extreme Longevity
Increasing global lifespans
change the nature of careers &
learning
Rise of Smart
Machines &
Systems
Workplace automation nudges
human workers out of rote,
repetitive tasks
Institute for the Future – Palo Alto

42. Change drivers
Globally
Connected World
Increased global
interconnectivity puts diversity
& adaptability at the center of
org. operations
Extreme Longevity
Increasing global lifespans
change the nature of careers &
learning
Rise of Smart
Machines &
Systems
Workplace automation nudges
human workers out of rote,
repetitive tasks
Superstructed
Organizations
Social technologies drive new
forms of production & values
creation
Institute for the Future – Palo Alto

43. Change drivers
Globally
Connected World
Increased global
interconnectivity puts diversity
& adaptability at the center of
org. operations
Extreme Longevity
Increasing global lifespans
change the nature of careers &
learning
Rise of Smart
Machines &
Systems
Workplace automation nudges
human workers out of rote,
repetitive tasks
Superstructed
Organizations
Social technologies drive new
forms of production & values
creation
New Media
Ecology
New communication tools
require new media literacies
beyond text
Institute for the Future – Palo Alto

44. Change drivers
Globally
Connected World
Increased global
interconnectivity puts diversity
& adaptability at the center of
org. operations
Extreme Longevity
Increasing global lifespans
change the nature of careers &
learning
Rise of Smart
Machines &
Systems
Workplace automation nudges
human workers out of rote,
repetitive tasks
Superstructed
Organizations
Social technologies drive new
forms of production & values
creation
New Media
Ecology
New communication tools
require new media literacies
beyond text
Computational
World
Massive increase in sensors &
processing power make the
world a programmable system
Institute for the Future – Palo Alto

45. Mega Shifts …
From Separateness
to Connectedness
From Fragmentation
to Partnership
From Competition
to Collaboration
From Trust in external
authority to Trust in
inner authority
From a Feeling & Need
to control to
Empowerment &
Response-ability

50. This is YOU
This is your
ORGANIZATION

51. This is YOU
This is your
ORGANIZATION

52. Perception Reality (?)

54. Being intentionally focused on the vital behaviors
that will make the biggest difference
Generating trust, teamwork, and commitment
to excellence through shared purpose, values,
and vision
Developing collective organizational wisdom and
capacity, with all stakeholders aligned, engaged,
and accountable for performance
Creating interconnected leadership communities
aligned by a common purpose
Developing leadership from the inside-out
A need for more integrated & holistic approaches.

55. LEADERSHIP IS PERSONAL
IT’S ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS
is the
relationship
The
conversation

56. LEADERSHIP IS NOT
FOR YOU
IT’S FOR THOSE YOU
LEAD

57. Mastering the
CURRENTS
(﴾…and the Winds)﴿

59. The TOTAL
INTELLIGENCE
of the Leader
Intuitive Intelligence

60. Leaders must expand their intuitive intelligence
and develop greater trust in their 'flashes of
insight’
Be present
See the whole picture
Clarify your intention
Engage your value
Fierce resolve
Initiating
Intuiting
Interpreting
Integrating
Institutionalizing
At Personal Level As a Collaborative Process

61. Collaborative actions based on collective
wisdom
Defines the framework for collaboration
Creates a climate for discovery and emergence
Encourages and honours diverse perspectives
Asks powerful questions
Suspends premature judgment
Explores assumptions and beliefs
Embraces ambiguity and not-knowing
Articulates emergent solutions
Act decisively

62. Towards a new operating system for leaders:
from an EGO system to an ECO system
about ME about US
Top Down Control Influence
Command Empowerment
Independent Silos Aligned Agility
Territoriality Partnership
Power Struggles Mutual Support
Limited Information Joint Knowledge Development
Individual Responsibility Mutual Accountability
Task Driven Strategic Thinking
Functional Interaction Matricial Interaction
Transactions Relationships

63. Or is it a different sport?
Is it just about putting
the bar higher?

64. Cultural Differences
Competition Consensus Loyalty and
hierarchy
Loyalty,
hierarchy
and implicit
order
Hierarchy
and
impersonal
bureaucracy
Order
Contest Network Family Pyramid Solar System Machine
AUL, GBR, IRE,
NZL, USA
DEN, NET, NOR,
SWE, FIN
CHI,HOK,IND,IDO,
MAL,PHI,SIN
BRA,CHL,COL,
ECA,
SAL,GRE,GUA,
ITA SOUTH,
KOR,MEX,PER,
POR,RUS,TAI,TH
A
TUR,URU,VEN
BEL, FRA, ITA
North
SPA, SWI
(FRENCH)
AUT, CZE, HUN,
GER,
SWI (GERMAN)

65. What’s Not Different?
Beneath the surface, we’re all the same….we’re human.
Great leaders are first and foremost, great human beings

66. What’s Not Different?
TRUST
+
RESPECT

67. High Performing Code of Conduct & Communication

68. sense of
identity
sense of
direction
sense of
purpose
WHO
WHY
WHERE
Keeping Focus in Chaos & Complexity

69. Student:
Why do I keep missing?

70. Student:
Why do I keep missing?
Master:
Because you are
focusing too much on
the target and too little
on your actions.

71. LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT
FOCUS & EXECUTION
Student:
Why do I keep missing?
Master:
Because you are
focusing too much on
the target and too little
on your actions.

72. Imperatives for Breakthrough…
FOCUS
CAPABILITY WILL
Do It
• Skills and Talents
• Aligned Resources
• Calibrated Targets
• Response-Ability
• Compelling Common Purpose
• Shared Vision
• Coherent Strategy
• Aligned Goals
• Motivated Teams
• Fierce Resolve
• Relentless Execution
• Absolute Personal
Responsibility

73. F
O
C
U
S
The Few Things that Make the Biggest Difference
Organisational Alignment – Coherent & Calibrated Agendas
Consistency of Priorities. New Habits and Behaviours
Unloading. Aggressive Pruning and De-Selecting
Stay the Course. Relentless Monitoring. Fierce Resolve

74. Einstein‘s Formula
Understand What’s REALLY
Going on
-
Discover the Right Question
-
Co-create Visions of Possibility
-
Develop Workable Solutions

75. Napoleon‘s Formula
See the Big Picture
-
Study Lessons from History
-
Presence of mind
-
Coup d’Oeil (Flash of Insight)
-
Fierce Resolve

76. “Leadership is a potent
combination of strategy
and character, but…

77. “Leadership is a potent
combination of strategy
and character, but…
…if you have to be without
one, be without the
strategy”
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

78. Great leaders
help others
to be MORE!

79. Think Big Scale FastStart Small