Oxford-Trained Professor Roger Delves has recommended collaboration, trust-building and strong relationship among others to navigate the complex and volatile nature of Nigeria’s economy.

The don, who is part of the team delivering the TEXEM hybrid programme entitled: “Effective leadership in a distributed world: Pioneering enduring legacies,” described the local business environment as one faced with constant challenge and change.

According to him, it has become imperative for leaders to master emotional quotient, learn to influence and persuade individuals rather than tell individuals how to behave.

The hybrid programme is scheduled to hold between March 9 and 23 online and between the March 25 and 27 in the United Kingdom (UK).

Delves said the TEXEM methodology inspires among participants the determination required to build a better self and then to try to build a better Nigeria.

According to him, participants will be driven to continue to make the necessary efforts until they have mastered the tools and techniques to which they are introduced.

He noted that they would be encouraged to persevere with applying theory to practice until they have developed an improved leadership practice for themselves.

The professor said building trust remotely takes longer than building trust in a live environment, and it is more difficult and takes longer to build psychological safety.

He said: “Trust can only be built successfully with psychological safety being present. So, if your organisation consists of remote teams, or a mix of live and remote teams, or a mix of hybrid, remote and live teams, Nigerian leaders must make stringent efforts with each individual in each team, regardless of the nature of the team.

Delves stressed the need for business leaders and executives to diligently manage their emotions to become better influencers and persuaders thereby leveraging better those stakeholders who are well-disposed and influential, and changing the opinions of those who are influential but less well-disposed.

He explained that two outward-looking competencies of emotional quotient, social awareness and relationship management are important in engaging different stakeholders virtually.

He said social awareness brings more awareness of the needs and the backgrounds of stakeholders and of any diversity among stakeholders and how that might affect how they act or the opinions they may hold.

“For example, Nigerian nationals who lack the social awareness skills that EQ brings may mismanage a stakeholder map that includes nationals from significantly different parts of the globe. At the same time, socially aware Nigerians will understand and know how better to respect diversity and harness the power of diversity to serve the needs of the project or the organisation with which the stakeholder is in contact.”

“Equally, socially aware Nigerians are better equipped to create an environment where every stakeholder from whatever background (for example, from whatever industry, regardless of gender, age, religious belief or sexual orientation) can feel valued, safe and wanted. This ability can create significantly better stakeholder environments, significantly benefiting the organization”. (The Nation)

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