Excellent leadership qualities such as knowledge, experience, vision, strength encompass a leader. However, an unflinching ability to conquer adversity and crop up stronger and more committed than ever are the guiding lights that shape extraordinary leaders. These distinctive leadership abilities are not born in a trice. They are often a result of intense, unplanned experiences that later transforms into sources of their ultimate vision.
Dejan Stancer, a pioneer in the Global Leadership landscape, is a rare example. The details of his story are unique and significant. He found his truest sense through various decisions and contributions by bridging gaps.
“A global leader is someone who has an exceptional intellectual breadth,” he says. He emphasizes on the need to think globally and read the differences between the business climates from earlier days to current trends.
A good global leader is one who, in his own words, “prioritizes human solidarity, a better future, is sustainable, and seeks environmentally friendly solutions.” Dejan’s transformation was, above all, an empathetic one. His North Star is dispelling problems from nature and chalking out ways for future generations to live a life of peace and harmony.
Switching the expectation from a focus on capability to behavior instead allows leaders to focus on the integral expectations of the job, not uncontrollable things (like idiosyncrasies), too specific requirements (like specific knowledge), and unrealistic aspirations (like irrelevant skills).
Time and again, Dejan had to shuffle his set of thoughts to examine his values, align his goals, hone his judgments and question his assumptions. And invariably, it made him more sure of himself and his purpose, eventually shaping him as a Global Leader.
THE BEAUTY OF BEGINNINGS
There is a strong sense of confidence in taking the first step to realize your goals. However, starting something new and taking stock of opportunities could inspire fear. Fear of making mistakes, embarrassing yourself or to even ask for help.
But Dejan believed that he could — and should — dream big and bold.
His vision to lunge forward and make a difference was a certainty in his head. He had nurtured the thought to become a business leader quite early on in his life. His awareness about the bundle of responsibilities that come wrapped up as a business leader had never made him regret his decision for even a moment. His sustained concern about the extent of effort required to realise a business idea and the accompanying freedom that it brought to him, made his goals clearer.
Teams work best when they find a collective sense of purpose and it falls on the leader to rally the teams to greater outcomes. This is how Dejan felt while working with his talented pool of people from different walks of life, thereby adding another slice of fulfilment to his endeavors.
Dodging turbulent times and dusting off disappointments makes one more adaptable to the complexities. His golden experience leading two reputed organizations – Global Chamber of Business Leaders (GCBL) and Kazakh-Slovenian Business Club (KSBC) has guided him to unlock the doors to go global, understand the rules of engagement and navigate through multicultural teams. His understanding of the optimum balance to act globally, or locally, or a soon-to-be-discovered “glocal” method is truly remarkable. This has certainly fastened the pace of success for these two globally-respected organizations.
He believes that working purely for joy, by putting all of your heart, makes the job much more easier and fulfilling. This reflects in the unique strategies that have instituted peace and helped to open up incredible avenues of expansion.
A TRAILBLAZING JOURNEY
Memorable organizations are those entities where insightful ideas are whipped into meaningful actions. The Global Chamber of Business Leaders is one such organization that defines transformation by prioritizing its goals with the UN-declared Decade of Action. Several government leaders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, executives and other prominent leaders team up together for the collective well-being and sustainable growth of businesses, especially in an era where disruptions like climate change guide the global economy.
The overall goal of this organization is to recognize the innovative business models and help to govern, develop policies and grow businesses in a way that makes a positive impact on the environment, society, and our interconnected economy.
Being a Chairman, his role is to be active, lead initiatives, connect timely, and make decisions for the all-round benefit of the organization. Despite his term lasting just over a year, he feels that within this year they have completely transformed as they continue to integrate sustainable development goals into the business models of the future.
Like all great feats that require a dream team to make headway, GCBL members — advanced companies and business leaders — lead by example. Dejan opines “It is not only a strong global network that includes not only strong multinational companies and governments but also and above all a relationship that we cultivate with our members.”
Moreover, there is also a strong reflection of “business ethics, sustainable development, environmental protection, climate change,” he adds further.
MEETING THUMPING EXPECTATIONS
The act of recognition – praise, appreciation, respect, acknowledgment or feedback – drills a positive response to a person’s job well done or good service offered. It is a worthy medium to celebrate careers of individuals who have provided unmatched value to their communities.
Dejan believes that “every recognition means a responsibility to continue to do good, help people, and strive to make everything different one day – better.”
This moment of pride and honor further cements the vision that has been brought to life after multiple setbacks and immense hard work. He feels that even though recognitions are versatile and influential tools, they also push the right buttons of incentives for the future. This is a key motivator to walk the extra mile by looking back at the history and deploying the correct resources for future needs.
The presence of clear expectations and accurate vision creates an ever-present opportunity of being exposed as a competent leader. This is where establishing connections with others to build trust, share ideas and get work done in a contented manner matters.
Part of any leader’s job is caring about his people and working to induce in them a feeling of happiness, motivation, and pride in what they do, who they are and where they belong. The prime importance of this ingredient cannot be neglected as it is too important to leave it up to chance. Dejan’s set of vision and beliefs are also closely knitted together to happiness. He says, “Happiness is the generator of everything, and if the people around me are happy, I am the happiest myself.”
CHAMPIONING OVER DARKNESS
Adverse events are one of the most reliable indicators and predictors of a person’s ability. This is where a sophisticated understanding of true leadership shines. Incredible outcomes are a result of consistent learnings and redefining yourself with trying times.
Dejan has stood tall in the face of obstacles. Being appointed as the Chairman of GCBL has had many ups and downs for him, with its operations extending to over 100 countries globally. Enhancing his leadership armor with tremendous will, effort and patience has been integral to his performance, especially in stormy circumstances like the pandemic.
With COVID-19 challenging unconventional ways of working together — for teams and individuals — around the world, organizations had to instantly switch gears to embrace a remote work system successfully. Despite being forced into this brand new way of working without any preparation, Dejan adapted well. He managed all the systems, built a stronger culture of trust and compassion to make decisions. Blending the muscle of inclusivity for diverse teams also helped to empower people and speak their minds without any inhibitions.
As an individual with grand ambition, Dejan Stancer aspires to lead one of the most prestigious organizations in the world, perhaps also one of the largest, and investing his efforts in expediting GCBL’s development. While sharing his plans for the upcoming years, he has a positive outlook for GCBL where his focus, along with world’s top engaging executives’, is to make the business world “as easy as growing across regions as it is selling across the street.” This collaboration would be a great catalyst in reinforcing exceptional global transformation and sustainability for companies around the world.
HIS RUDIMENTS OF LEADERSHIP
We live in a time where building and running exciting businesses fall no longer under the realms of only business veterans. Numerous young minds have risen, rinsed and repeated their formulas for successful businesses. However, for many young entrepreneurs with a mold-breaking idea, some challenges may seem daunting without falling back on lived experience.
There is incontrovertible wisdom in learning from different perspectives. Dejan Stancer’s take on leadership is what demarcates him from others. Making any impact, small or imposing, requires resilience, focus and tremendous foresight. He was able to achieve this through uninterrupted self-introspection. He says, “Be in solidarity and always strive for solidarity with those who deserve it, but cannot or do not have it.”
His advice for young and ambitious leaders and entrepreneurs is striking, yet modest. He urges you to make curiosity your friend and forage for unique answers. “Be determined and strong, but honest and fair to people,” he states.
Dejan also emphasizes the importance of time and people in one’s life. He says, “socialize with people who have related expectations and, like you, strive to achieve their goals and have ambitions.” This repertoire of optimistic actions can blossom into strong forces to reach the final destination. Embrace an open mind and an open heart, he suggests. “What you do for others today, one day someone might do for you.”
