The 8 Personas of Highly Effective Leaders

The 8 Personas of Highly Effective Leaders

Opinion Editorial by Rajesh Achanta, Vice President -Supply Network Operations, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (AMA) at P&G

I recently had the opportunity to share with thought leaders and supply chain professionals at LogiSYM Asia Pacific in Singapore,on how organisations can work on Leveraging Digital Capabilities in the Go-To-Market Supply Chain to Create Shareholder Value.

Supply chains are in the news headlines nowadays for many reasons. For supply chain professionals this is our ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ moment – a time to exert influence, amplify impact & enjoy the limelight. However,
this requires a mindset shift and a culture change in supply chain organizations.

When I joined the profession 3 decades ago, as a newly minted engineer, supply chain folks were seen as ‘backroom boys’ (yes, there were virtually no women then). We were expected to stay in our silos and focus on ‘making, packing, shipping’ flawlessly. When the business was successful, the supply chain organization remained largely invisible. But took the blame when supply disruptions affected the business.

Fast forward to the noughties and it had become clear that this way of working wasn’t tenable. The best supply chain leaders recognized that the ‘business of supply’ had to go well beyond supplying the business. The pandemic years made it obvious to many others that supply chain performance was critical to business success.

The mindset shift for ‘born again’ supply chain leaders is to see themselves as business leaders first – with supply chain mastery. Supply chain leaders must ‘show up’ in new ways; develop business acumen, develop the ability to switch styles (or personas) appropriate to the situation. And become comfortable sitting at the top table. Carpe diem!

Paraphrasing Robert Heinlein, a supply chain leader “should be able to plan, design, execute, learn, take orders, give orders, motivate self, inspire others, cooperate, confront, solve problems, analyse situations, write, serve, save, sell influence and delight.” Be versatile, in other words.

Any resemblance to successful supply chain leaders you know is intentional and consistent with the overall message. Have fun!