The Bhutanese Leading the way.
During the Day-1 of Bhutan Innovation Forum, one the key discussions was on leadership and transformation.
Keith Ferrazzi Founder and CEO of Ferrrazzi Greenlight shared that Bhutan has as a true asset that he has never seen happen in any organization or any other country.
He said that the brand of Bhutan around the world, is exceptional. The fact that a country this size but could attract this quality of audience to want to be here is exceptional.
He said, “One of the things that we’re trying to encourage the ministers and the secretaries is that they have to open their aperture of who’s on their team and realize that even sitting in this room are future teammates, not somebody who will just come in and out, at one event or a conference.”
Christian Greiser, Executive Coach and Management Consultant, said that leadership is not about being in the spotlight, but more about shining your light on others, as it’s others you depend on.
“To me, transformative leadership, is about thinking about your teams. It is about thinking across boundaries. It’s about connecting and collaborating to achieve or to make such a big vision a reality.”
With his past experience, he shared that are three dimensions of leadership, the head, which is the big vision, the hand, which is then execution at the heart, which are about relationship with people. The head and the hand as number one, but these days, the heart is much more important, and this is also where it comes to mindfulness.
He shared that he is very excited to see some of these elements already shining up here in Bhutan.
Dasho Karma Tshiteem shared that while talking about leadership, whether transformative or otherwise, the overall playbook is the same.
He said that leadership is about the triple D. The first D about setting or shaping direction and it depending where you are in that organization’s hierarchy.
The second D about ensuring delivery results such as looking for return on investment or whatever one is after.
Third D about driving. Driving oneself, the people and team around you.
Additionally, Christian Greiser, European Commission, Retired DG, shared that every major corporation going through transformation follows a third rule.
He added, “If you have any difference, a third of the people will not make the transformation. The quicker they can exit, the better. A third of the people are mediocre, and they are waiting to see what the direction is. And a third of the people, you can probably coach them. The one thing you want to do is, as you are exiting the bottom third, you don’t want to replace them with mediocrity. You want to replace them with a third of the people that scares the best third that you already have.”
He further said, “For individuals that have become complacent in their roles, we need to think about the question of how are we going to replace that talent with individuals significantly better than the ones that are already there, that are good, and necessary for transformation. And that is going to be a great, bold challenge.”
Keith Ferrazzi recommended that with this kind of upskilling and mindset shifting, jobs are going to be necessary.
“Obviously there is a talent drain to other countries. So, one of the things we definitely need in Bhutan is more of a thriving entrepreneurship community. The last time I was here, we sat with a room full of entrepreneurs in Bhutan doing extraordinary things. We got to help them. Not just think about entrepreneurship within the Bhutanese market, but within the global market. And imagine the Bhutanese brand already is in the global market. How do we leverage that in so many different ways. And I do believe that not just eco tourism, but also wellness tourism and mindfulness tourism and there is so many things we can do,” he said.
Christian Greiser shared that sustainability is not a barrier for Bhutan since we are already there. But it is much more about promoting that and making that visible.
Dasho Karma Tshiteem said, “In Bhutan, one common thread that should now be evident in all the significant transformation, including the GMC, is the leadership of His Majesty The King, who is able to unite the people in thought and action.”
