The Awaken Group Global Leadership Survey (GLS) 2010
U.S. Report
By: So-Young Kang, Hanna Kim
Contributors: Adam Edgerly, Xiaofei Tang
Available in English PDF

The Awaken Group Global Leadership Survey (GLS) offers key insights from over 100 U.S. business leaders (CEOs, Presidents and Executives) surveyed from companies, ranging in size from USD$3 million to over USD$1 billion, in various industries in the wake of the recent global financial crisis. Business leaders reveal their most pressing current leadership challenges and priorities, current strategies for addressing those challenges, and perspectives on what is required to lead globally.

Survey results indicate that many companies are focused on traditional strategies for developing people within their organizations while a new set of priorities have emerged. New “critical to succeed” priorities include: 1) Enhancing the ability to adapt to change, 2) Hiring the right managers and leaders, and 3) Creating or reenergizing a culture of innovation and creativity. Given these new priorities, leaders recognize gaps between what is needed and their current initiatives. To address the most critical gaps, The Awaken Group proposes a new model of leadership. The full report explores what is essential for leaders to equip themselves and their organizations for increasing global success and expansion.

If you are interested in the Executive Summary only, it is also available separately and includes high level findings based on the key insights found in the full report.

The Awaken Group Global Leadership Survey 2010: U.S.

Full Report (25 page English PDF) $16.95 Executive Summary only (5 page English PDF) $4.50

Please note: upon receipt of payment, the ordered Full Report or Executive Summary will be sent directly to the e-mail address you use to purchase the report.

If you have any questions, please contact us at: contact@theawakengroup.com

The Awaken Group’s  Webinar #3: “Creative” Leadership – How to design and lead a “creative” organization took place on August 26, 5p PST (August 27, 8a SIN).

During this Webinar we explored:

• Why does “creativity” matter?
• What do “creative” organizations look like?
• How can I foster a “creative” culture?
• I’m not an artist or a designer. Can I be “creative” too?

This webinar challenged and explored what could be possible if leaders led more creatively, and included interactive exercises, case studies, and practical examples to help attendees start unleashing the creativity within first to enable them to take their organizations to the next level.

You may also view past Webinars here:

Webinar #1 “Bringing the heart back into leadership” – Improving your impact as a leader

Webinar #2 “Human” Leadership: How to create and lead a “human” organization

So-Young Kang and Shauna Barnes with SAGE students

So-Young Kang was selected to be one of the judges at Santa Monica High School’s SAGE (Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship) presentation on July 16, 2010 to support entrepreneurship and the youth community.

SAGE offers high school students the opportunity to complete business and social ventures to improve their communities under the guidance of university business consultants and mentors. At the end of the academic year, student teams showcase their efforts on a regional, national and world stage. The Santa Monica High SAGE Team (2010 National Champions) will represent USA in South Africa at the 2010 SAGE World Cup at the end of July 2010.

To learn more about SAGE, please click here

2010-07-15 Human Leadership from The Awaken Group on Vimeo.

The Awaken Group’s So-Young Kang and Shauna Barnes held “Human” Leadership: How to create and lead a “human” organization – Webinar #2 on July 15, 2010 5pm PST (July 16, 8am SIN) to continue the exploration around the powerful integration of the head, heart and hands as a critical framework for effective leadership. The Webinar #2 explored what it means to have a ‘human’ leadership within an organization and how it differs from how most other organizations are managed today. So-Young and Shauna also shared ways in which leaders can create ‘human’ leadership in their businesses today.

What some of our participants had to say:

“This discussion brings new vitality into the leadership vision, a more human and incarnational approach.” - Jim Beise, Executive Director, La Fonderie

“I enjoyed the ‘human’ case studies, specifically [about] TOMS Shoes.”

If you would like a copy of the content for “Human” Leadership: How to create and lead a “human” organization – Webinar #2, please click here for content.

The Awaken Group officially started a new series of four Webinars on June 17, 2010 with “Bringing the heart back into leadership – Improving your impact as a leader” presented by So-Young Kang and Shauna Barnes. The Webinar series will continue to explore the powerful integration of the head, heart and hands as a critical framework for effective leadership. We believe there is significant untapped potential for increased leadership impact when we become more consciously aware of both what motivates our leadership decisions as well as both our intended and unintended impact.

What some of our participants had to say:

“I appreciated the attention to ‘heart’ matters which is not often discussed in the context of business.”

“The Awaken Group is the first organization to address this topic which I’ve been learning on my own through books, experience, etc.”

“The content was useful and relevant in our world today.”

If you would like a copy of the content for “Bringing the heart back into leadership – Improving your impact as a leader” Webinar #1, please click here for content.

	Video Excerpt: Be Like Water – Cultural Adaptability An Interview with Dave Gibbons

The Awaken Group: Dave, Congratulations on your book “Monkey and the Fish” which has been given several awards recently. What is it about?

Dave: In one word, it’s about “adaptation.” In two words, it’s about “painful adaptation.” How do people weave in and out of multiple cultures; what’s the mindset and skill sets necessary to do that?

The title comes from an Eastern parable: a fish looked like it was caught in a maelstrom and a monkey saw it and thought that the fish was in trouble. So the monkey went into the water and took the fish to dry land, believing that he had just rescued the fish. The monkey left the fish on dry land to rest and then took off, thinking it had done something heroic.

This is similar to how we tend to enter into other cultural contexts—whether it’s an organization, country, or city—we go in with our own preconceptions and own frameworks, and we really don’t listen nor do we know how to adapt to the lives of humans within our reach.

The Awaken Group: What are some of the common challenges you have seen from your international experience when leaders are not adaptable?

Dave: There are multiple problems but the one that affects most people is relationally—they don’t know how to intersect and to actually listen well, and to learn and serve one another. Typically, I’ve found that because of that, they don’t deal with what I call, “the last 10%”—the difficult part of the relationship that no one wants to talk about. They avoid it, but that’s the very thing that will help take the team get to another level. So the challenges in dealing with third culture and adaptation have to do with relational intersections.

The East-West relationship is another significant challenge; leaders not knowing how to go over to the other side.

The Awaken Group: What does it take to be cultural adaptable as a leader?

Dave: It takes a mindset and will to love, learn and serve in any culture.

1. Listen: Are you really in a posture to hear? Or do you see yourself as a teacher? You will probably learn more from the locals by listening.
2. Learn: Get to know the culture by spending time in the environment and understanding the beliefs and mindsets of the culture.
3. Serve: Have a service mentality. Humility goes a long way in different cultural contexts. When people see a spirit of humility, kindness and compassion, it translates well into many cultures.

By the way, we would love to communicate with you vs. just share information with you so please post your comments or e-mail us anytime.

For the latest news and updates, please visit our Current page.

Michelle Lee recently joined The Awaken Group. Her experiences in working and studying abroad in Hong Kong and Seoul for business led to a keen interest in Asia’s impact on the global economy. It also triggered a passion for international travels and a deep appreciation for meeting new people from different cultures.

Michelle is very excited to be a part of The Awaken Group with its cutting edge projects in a entrepreneurial environment, and learn about leadership and from those who have gone before her.  She looks forward to bringing her enthusiasm and passion for the vision behind this company.

Growing up in a small resort town in the San Bernardino Mountains in CA, she became very adventurous and loves outdoor sports such as wakeboarding, snowboarding and cliff jumping. Her interests also lie in serving the homeless community and fighting against injustice of sweatshop laborers with the organization, Made in L.A. Michelle graduated from UCLA with a double major in East Asian and Global Studies.

Tsun-yan Hsieh previously wrote a guest post for Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) blog on recognizing the decisive moments in leadership. In his second installment for HBR’s blog, he recently co-wrote “How good are you at Critical Conversations?” (please click here) with Anthony Tjan, which expands on the previous theme and is based on Tsun-yan’s leadership research from the last five years in Asia, North America, and Europe.

Key speaker Dave Gibbons discussed third culture leadership at the National Conference, an annual leadership conference, in Melbourne, Australia held on May 3-6, 2010.

Third culture is not only about adaptation, it is about painful adaptation. It involves the mindset and will to love, learn, and serve in any culture, even in the midst of pain and discomfort.

Erwin McManus spoke at the West Coast Catalyst in Irvine, CA on April 23, 2010, which is a conference specifically focused on leaders under the age of 40. With a unique approach to programming and learning and defined by a fun, dynamic attendee experience, leaders were personally challenged to become “change agents” within their organizations and communities. Over 3,000 leaders attended this year’s event in Irvine.

Leadership has been the topic of focus for the Catalyst brand since its inception and will continue to be so. Catalyst and the annual Conferences address a variety of topics specific to “Next Generation Leaders”—including organizational leadership, personal leadership, integrity, character, relationships, and teamwork. Catalyst has only just begun to go deeper with the Catalyst Community in taking them beyond a conference experience and into a relationship that provides ongoing support for growth and continued learning.