Training Industry Magazine - Fall 2023 - 9

GUEST EDITOR
JULIAN MALNAK
WE NEED LEADERS WHO ARE
READY FOR ANYTHING
Aug.
29, 2023, was a beautiful
day in Akron, Ohio. At Goodyear's
international headquarters, associates
celebrated the company's 125th
anniversary. With the Goodyear Blimp
flying overhead, Goodyear's CEO, Rich
Kramer, provided some remarks.
Rich's comments connected Goodyear's
past to its present and pointed toward its
future. While our history presents us an
opportunity to revisit the past, it's also a
great time to focus on the opportunities
that Goodyear has for the next 125 years.
MOVING FROM PRIORITY-DRIVEN
TO PURPOSE-DRIVEN
Reflecting on our CEO's remarks, it
would have been easy to take the alltoo-familiar
path of creating a list of
development priorities for leaders. But
the reality is that these times call for a
paradigm shift in leader development.
Our focus in learning and development
(L&D) needs to shift from prioritydriven
to purpose-driven. Given our
current landscape, I propose that a
purpose-driven approach would be to
focus on enabling leaders to be " ready
for anything. "
We can begin with emotional
intelligence (EQ). Amid so much
ambiguity and change, leaders that
demonstrate interest and concern
for people are more necessary than
ever. From EQ, we can expand to
other " quotients " that are essential for
leaders who are ready for anything:
* AQ: Adversity quotient.
* DQ: Digital quotient.
* CQ: Connection quotient.
HIGH AQ: ESSENTIAL FOR
MANAGING CHANGE AND
DISRUPTION
Change and disruption is now a reality
of organizational life at all levels. For
global manufacturers like Goodyear,
disruptions in global supply chains, a
war in Eastern Europe and the varying
levels of inflation are phenomena that
leaders and their teams must be ready
to contend with daily. Higher AQ leaders
are more capable of adapting their teams
to operate effectively through change.
L&D NEEDS
TO SHIFT TO A
PURPOSE-DRIVEN
APPROACH.
HIGH DQ: UNLOCKING THE VALUE
OF DATA
Digitalization is now the main driver
of everything organizations do, from
products and services to internal
workflows and business-customer
interactions. There is a massive amount
of data available now available to teams.
This means leaders must direct teams
in managing, leveraging and protecting
data, as well as using it to evaluate risks.
An example of this at Goodyear is our
SightLine technology, which uses data
to help fleets and automakers identify
and address potential problems before
they become issues and understand
tire health to enhance uptime and
safety. High DQ leaders deliver value
by enabling their teams to unlock value
embedded in data to the benefit of the
organization, its customers and partners.
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HIGH CQ: CONNECTING TEAMS TO
GET WORK DONE
Today's teams work across various
environments, with many toggling
between varying degrees of onsite,
remote and hybrid models. Our
workforce also includes a greater mix
of
full-time,
part-time and contingent
workers. Through all this, effective
leaders know how to play the role as
master orchestrator, or " connector, "
fostering ties among team members and
connecting them to internal networks
and the larger culture that unites the
organization. Goodyear recognizes this
complexity and the importance of the
leader's role in managing it, recently
releasing an immersive program to ready
leaders for leading teams in an evolving
environment. Leaders with a high CQ are
the key to helping teams stay connected
and adapt, no matter what is required to
get work done.
Taken together, these four elements -
EQ, AQ, DQ and CQ - are an example
of the foundation for a purpose-driven
framework that simplifies what we
expect and want from leaders. Every
leader I know has a list of challenges.
Shifting to a purpose-driven approach
in L&D offers some welcome news for
those we serve: " Leaders, we will not
be adding anything to your list today!
Instead, we are shifting our focus to
give you tools to be ready for anything
so you can tackle challenges on your
list, in whatever form they may take. "
Julian Malnak is
the
global head of
talent development for the Goodyear
Tire and Rubber Company. In his role,
Julian oversees the development and
implementation of Goodyear's enterprisewide
talent initiatives and leadership
development programs. Email Julian.
9
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