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Inspiration

Leadership for a new era

or some time now, industry experts have advised • Start, experiment, learn and repeat
ISOs and merchant level salespeople to become • Innovate fast
consultants offering a range of business services,
F not just payment processing alone. This has been Russell Reynolds, owner of business consulting firm
good advice. An industry that once managed to fly under Russell Reynolds Associates, has researched this topic
the radar now receives attention from many quarters. in depth. "In category after category ‒ from having an
Investors see opportunity for lucrative returns, fintechs entrepreneurial spirit to testing limits ‒ this new generation
seek to forge profitable new partnerships, politicians envi- of digital executives consistently scores higher across five
sion a way to shape policy and gain recognition, and cer- broad areas: innovative, disruptive, social adeptness, bold
tain startups don't just want a slice of the pie – they want to leadership, and determination," he stated.
grab the whole thing.
Cracking the status quo
Adapting isn't enough
Russell and his research team also found that productive
Given the escalating disruption within payments, I believe disruptors are 56 percent more likely to cut through
it's time we do more than adapt. The question can no longer bureaucracy than the broader population of senior leaders,
be, when are you going to stop selling on price and focus 52 percent higher in thinking outside the box to get past the
on value instead? We need to go further; we can't just hold precedent and groupthink that commonly cloud strategic
our ground. We must become disruptors. And to do that we decisions, and 49 percent higher in their willingness to
need leaders who can think and lead like disruptors. challenge traditional approaches.

"Your company needs people who will question how things So how does an aspiring disruptor break with the status
are done, innovate, lead the charge and create something quo and do something that's never been done before? Here
entirely new," business consultant Jo Miller stated in a post are four ideas Miller offered:
on the Be Leaderly website.
1. Identify your allies at work and enlist their
The questions we now need to ask are, how do you become engagement.
a disruptor? How do you learn to challenge the status quo 2. Take on a challenging project outside of
and help others do the same? One way to start is to study your usual duties.
what qualities leaders of disruptive, innovative companies
have in common. 3. Assume what you have to say has value, and
share your vision.
Examining disruptive leaders 4. Reach outside your organization to gain
expertise you do not yet possess.
After studying current CEOs known for shaking things up,
Mark Wilczek, contributor and adviser to CIO US, listed
the following as common attributes of today's disruptive Just imagine where we could all take payments if even just
a fraction of us became disruptive forces transforming the
leaders. They: industry from within.
• Thrive in the face of uncertainty
• Select their digital-era strength
• Focus on ideas that leapfrog ahead Kate Gillespie, President and CEO
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