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Visionary leadership for fostering creativity, innovation and business excellence

Visionary leadership for fostering creativity, innovation and business excellence

Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2020) Visionary leadership for fostering creativity, innovation and business excellence. In: Dubai Global Convention 2020 and 30th World Congress on Leadership for Business Excellence and Innovation, 21 -23 Apr 2020, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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Abstract

More boards are acknowledging obligations and responsibilities to a wider range of stakeholders and future generations and/or reviewing the purpose of their companies and embracing social, economic and environmental as well as financial considerations. However, elegant, efficient, imaginative and exciting business activities, innovations and transformational breakthroughs might be, boards should question whether they can be regarded as excellent if they damage the environment, reduce biodiversity, increase global warming and are not sustainable. The leadership and strategy required for creating a competitive and world class organisation depends upon who and/or what an entity decides to compete with, over what timescale and for what purpose, and the criteria used to determine what represents world class. The impacts of digital and other technologies depend upon how quickly and widely they are adopted, and where, by whom and for what purpose

For those worried about the future of mankind and the fragility of our planet, the strategies of many boards appear to be compounding challenges and problems rather than offering viable solutions. Board motivations seem to reflect what was felt to be desirable in a previous era and to largely ignore current challenges. In the digital economy as scientific breakthroughs occur, a reluctance to address them and embrace opportunities for inclusive, social and holistic transformation can lead to impatience. Those who are concerned represent fertile soil for more imaginative, inspiring and positive leadership that recognizes the impossibility of mass populations in developing countries adopting the current lifestyles of developed countries. Now could be a last opportunity for some boards to engage a wider range of stakeholders, re-purpose companies, adopt environmental and social as well as financial goals and objectives, and set new priorities for excellence, innovation and investment that might create a simpler, healthier and more fulfilling and sustainable future.

Item Type: Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords: leadership, corporate leadership, transformational leadership, business excellence, innovation, environmental damage, biodiversity, climate change, sustainability, sustainable development, boards of directors, governance, good governance, corporate governance, corporate purpose, strategy, business strategy, high performance boards, rethinking excellence, repurposing innovation, transformative leadership, creativity, fostering creativity, corporate transformation, world class, framework for business excellence, digital disruption, digital technologies, disruptive technologies, enabling technologies, social impacts, social innovation, corporate culture, economic growth, limits to growth, journey of excellence
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Business
Faculty of Business > Centre for Work and Employment Research (CREW)
Faculty of Business > Centre for Work and Employment Research (CREW) > Leadership & Organisational Behaviour Research Group (LOB)
Faculty of Business > Department of Human Resources & Organisational Behaviour
Related URLs:
Last Modified: 20 Feb 2020 12:16
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/26981

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