What is a top trait that moves organizations and teams to excellence? If we look at the typical actions of organizations and teams, the answer would be in gaining knowledge. Often we think that the greatest, cutting-edge, performing teams have the best knowledge (including strategy, talent or data). However, knowledge would not be the answer of a leader of one of the fastest growing companies.
I recently had the privilege of hearing Angela Ahrendts speak at a seminar by Giant Impact. She shared about how her company, Burberry, has grown to experience significant increase in profits through revolutionizing an old company into a new face in the digital age. As she spoke, I saw a theme of two important words.
Intuition
Her senior management team realized that in order to keep up with the fast pace of the digital age, they had to lead out of intuition instead of data and facts. They “value feeling over knowing.” They needed to transform the organization by creating a place where intuition was valued and supported. One unique way they have done this is by forming teams of the youngest people in the company with the charge to create the vision and new ideas. Then the more senior people in the company were formed into teams to execute the ideas.
Trust
The second important word I heard her use was trust. She stated that trust would lead transformation. One of Angela’s first priorities when she came to Burberry was to build a senior management team of trust, which she did. Then the team has worked to cascade that trust throughout the company based on their core values of protect, explore and inspire. It is interesting how Angela has tied trust and intuition together. She stated, “Intuition is the greatest output of trust in a strong culture.”
How are you capitalizing on intuition and trust within yourself and your leadership team? Are you vulnerable with your team? Is it okay for you not to have all the answers? Do you open the door for others to be vulnerable? Then based on that trust, do you allow intuition to flow? Instead of holding on to facts and figures, do you allow the God-given, unique, limitless strengths of your team to emerge?