Organization Transformation

Topic:Organization Transformation
READ ARTICLE 1 AND 2 AND RESPOND TO EACH WITH A DISCUSSION POST ABOUT 150 WORDS EACH. SEE UPLOADED INSTRUCTIONS

Support for Idea Topic Comprehension
Advances argument/discussion with
well-researched evidence and
documentation.

Demonstrates disciplinary understanding and
interconnections; makes links that suggest discovery
of new information or new ways of relaying
information.

Article 1
It is critical for leaders in today's to be as well-rounded as possible to face the ever-
evolving external environment of today's business world. According to Groysberg,
companies are prioritizing specific skills over others as they select their C-Suite
executives (Groysberg, 2014). Over the last decade, executives' necessary skills and
characteristics have evolved, and history proves that will continue to be the case as
the world grows with technology and human advances. In Groysberg's research
study on C-Suite executives, he found that in terms of assessing top-level
executives, companies say what matters the most to them are:
 Leadership skills – Cited as the most indispensable skill amongst them all. This is the most
sought-after skill.
 Strategic thinking and execution – Companies are looking for their leaders to set the
organization's strategic direction. Often times in today's world, this involves thinking on a global
basis.
 Technical and technology skills – This skill was defined as the individual's understanding of how
technology impacts the organization. Companies are looking for "industry-specific content and
knowledge."
 Team and Relationship-building – Stressing the need for executives to be able to hire and
develop a world-class leadership team, as no one person can succeed on their own.
 Communication and presentation – Companies are looking for their CEO to have the power of
persuasion and excellent presentation skills.
 Change Management – Motived by a "continuous improvement mindset," companies are looking
for their leaders to drive transformational change in their organization.
 Integrity –  This trait speaks for itself. A leader with unquestionable ethics would be ideal in every
situation.
..(Groysberg, 2014). From these seven skills, we can begin to see the things that
might make up a successful leader. No one person is going to be great at all of
these skills; however, it is vital to the success of a C-Suite executive to possess as
many of these core skills as possible if they are going to be successful long term.
Researchers have found a simple truth – Leaders produce leaders, and managers
produce followers (Khoshhal & Guraya, 2016).
References
Groysberg, B. (2014). The Seven Skills You Need to Thrive in the C-Suite [The
Seven Skills You Need to Thrive in the C-Suite]. Harvard Business Review.
Khoshhal, K. I., & Guraya, S. Y. (2016). Leaders produce leaders, and managers

produce followers. Saudi Medical Journal, 37(10), 1061-1067.
https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2016.10.15620
Article 2
Soft vs. Hard Skills

Over the past 15 months, soft skills and team leadership have been on the rise and have
become more important due to the pandemic and the new way of working remotely. A recent
article listed the top five skills for relevant leaders to have in 2021 and among them was the
ability to manage remote teams (team leadership) and having empathy and emotional intelligence
(soft skills) (The C-Suite Wishlist, 2021). I believe that being able to manage remote teams will
still be needed far into the future as many businesses have decided to either let people continue
working from home or at least move to a hybrid where employees only return to the office one or
two days a week which is what my employer is doing. In fact, we are in the process of
refactoring our workspaces to more collaborative setups and employees, including top
executives, will no longer have dedicated office space when they are finally allowed back onsite
this fall. The C-Suite Wishlist mentions that emotional intelligence and empathy are becoming
more important not only due to the nature of the pandemic and what we just went through but
also because teams are more and more cross-functional, have varied cultural backgrounds, and
need to collaborate more (2021).
Rao points out that in today’s world, soft skills can make all the difference when you are an
individual contributor or a manager. He goes on to explain that leaders with soft skills can
transform the attitudes and behaviors of their employees. In addition, soft skills can help in
change management activities and ensure they are more effective (2016). In another article by
Rao, he mentions that both hard and soft skills are needed and soft skills can