By Nick Jonsson
Being a leader is draining. While they are helping everyone to succeed, who is helping them navigate through difficult situations and become a better version of themselves?
A recent study by Harvard Business Review revealed that 50% of CEOs have reported feeling a sense of loneliness because they are unable to discuss and share their work-related challenges, and 61% of them felt that the condition holds them back from delivering their best at work.
Leadership is only getting more complex every year – uncertainties driven by the ongoing pandemic, issues around environmental sustainability practices and workplace inclusivity as well as technological and digital transformation are just a few of the recent challenges faced by many at top management levels.
Executives’ Global Network (EGN) has also conducted a survey in 2019 through its Singapore office revealing that 30% of senior executives were suffering from executive loneliness. These numbers had doubled to 59% by December 2020 due to the fact that many senior executives then felt isolated due to the pandemic. To make matters worse, over 80% of them were reluctant to talk about it in their company.
Senior executives today need to combine agility and emotional intelligence with innovative thinking and a forward-looking mindset. They must be agile and able to pivot quickly with sudden market changes in an uncertain economic and geopolitical climate. In short, leaders need to make important decisions with imperfect information.
Indeed, it helps when a leader can ‘spar’ with their management team and receive energetic and creative debate on the directions to take. Ideally, a leader can have creative and productive ‘sparring’ sessions with their key people. In a best-case scenario, robust conversations will bring clarity and commitment to the next steps.
In a worst-case scenario, however, it is an uncomfortable and draining process where a leader feels a lack of depth in the discussions as well as a lack of courage, creativity, and energy from the team to effectively tackle the challenges at hand. This is where it can get frustrating. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) once revealed that honing effectiveness and leading a team is amongst the most common challenges faced by leaders on a regular basis.
Imagine if leaders could present their challenges to a confidential group of seasoned peers of a similar level for their questions and feedback. This is how we define ‘sparring’ at the Executives’ Global Network (EGN). When a proper sparring session is held, our members – who consist of business leaders and senior executives – present their professional challenges to their peers for input.
Founded in 1992, EGN today is the second-largest peer-based network of business leaders and executives in the world, with around 14,000 members representing more than 8,000 companies and 70 professions from 14 countries.
With a quality peer network, we provide our members with access to peers that have been or are going through similar challenges; out of the box ideas that most people may not have considered; direct expertise in the challenge that leaders face; and a network of resources whom their peers can recommend.
We believe that the right environment is where a leader feels they are in the right room, sitting at the right table, with the right peers who will engage with them on their challenges in a constructive manner. This atmosphere of openness and trust is when the magic happens, and inspiration and novel solutions appear. In this environment, one can simulate “a personal board of advisors” who are able to empathize with your professional challenges and understand how to navigate through challenging work situations.
As the largest growing economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is no exception to benefit from a peer network and hence the establishment of EGN in Indonesia last year, headed by an Indonesian artist who has now plunged into the world of entrepreneurship, Dona Amelia, as Co-Founder and Managing Director of EGN Indonesia. EGN in Indonesia is scheduled to kick off its first peer group session for Executive Leadership on May 24 and Business Owner/SME on May 25 at Fairmont Hotel, Senayan. These first sessions are by invitation only for existing members and we now have started to welcome new members' applications.
Our members are able to experience an ever-growing community, which every year features six in-person peer group meetings, 12 in-person cross-functional events, 24 virtual cross-functional meetings, and four networking events. Moreover, each peer group is assembled by our experienced networking consultants to ensure that they match the members’ level and professional discipline.