emerging trends, risks, opportunities) to balance the stronger signals that are louder but not always better • Test out understanding with others to build a more nuanced and informed point of view Relationship Ambassador Top performers channel their social energy toward understanding other people and what makes them ‘tick’. Mistakes to overcome: • Assuming you are the smartest person in the room • Shutting others down when you disagree with them • Over-relying on measuring everything Suggestions for improvement: • Reach out to respected people to be part of your network who have different experience and expertise • Listen thoughtfully and intentionally • Help people gain sense they are pursuing a special cause that is connected to an important strategic aspiration, not merely a set of numerical targets (as the latter disconnects people from the reason why the work is being done) Imagination Ambassador Top performers have an out-of-thebox mindset and an appreciation for creativity, even if they personally lack trained creative skills. Mistakes to overcome: • Letting limited resources (whether perceived or actual) restrict your ingenuity • Never questioning decision making • Dismissing creative ideas outright Suggestions for improvement: • Push for novel ideas on using existing resources • Seek alternative ideas and multiple pathways to help support and/or build evidence toward a potentially better decision • Resist immediate judgment, have an ‘and’, not an ‘or’ mindset, encourage people to build from new or different ideas before determining next steps Experience Ambassador Top performers are an articulate authority of their own experiences and crave the insights from others. Mistakes to overcome: • Overpromising, particularly on projects with large ambitions • Hiding mistakes and failures • Focusing on pleasing bosses Suggestions for improvement: • Frame a pathway of test & learn milestones that encourages quick, achievable learning insights that build toward a larger outcome • Openly share failures to create learning moments as these signal to others they, too, have permission to do the same • Show all stakeholders how they fit into and benefit from your efforts Brand Ambassador Top performers exude a compelling ability to advocate for their organisation, its people, and its image. Mistakes to overcome: • Relying on slick PowerPoint and detailed data to persuade others • Using overly-complex terminology to sound like an expert • Poorly connecting and communicating your work and that of your team to the company’s strategy Suggestions for improvement: • Use a story-telling approach that uses select data to highlight key narrative points about the potential future benefits of your idea • Simplify language used to open the access of understanding to more people. • Focus on fostering a deep sense of meaning. Once people believe their work matters, measurable performance will follow. Too often today colourful, loud personalities and demagogues grab the headlines. They aren’t top performers. They are simply being performative. In contrast, most top performers prosper because they enable others to succeed and help create a movement of stakeholders that builds positive momentum. Best of all, by practicing the Five Ambassadors almost anyone can rise to the top to represent the best of society, thereby helping their companies become a force for good. About the Author John A Davis is an award-winning academic, business leader and author of Radical Business: How to Transform Your Organization in the Age of Global Crisis published by Emerald. THE DISRUPTORS www.ceotodaymagazine.com 31
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