Modern Problems Require a More Nuanced Understanding of Leadership
In today’s ambiguous and complex environment, a more nuanced view of leadership is required in order to reward the right behaviors and get the most out of your people. Today’s post is by Chris Lewis, author of The Infinite Leader (CLICK HERE to get your copy). There are a lot of problems out there. We all know that. But what if there was one thing we could do to improve all of our problems? Well, there is. We can improve leadership. Why is good leadership so important? It’s not just because it improves efficiency. It’s also because it harnesses and applies talent. We have the skills to solve all our problems, but we don’t have the leadership. How do we know this? Because we keep getting surprised by events. Like the Financial Crisis.. Like Brexit. Like the Pandemic. Leadership’s job is to be ready for stuff like this. There’s no doubt these events are happening; the question is: Why? The research done by myself and my co-author Pippa Malmgren has resulted in some interesting insights on the topic. In The Leadership Lab, we analyzed the problem. In The Infinite Leader, we developed a new model for dealing with it. In short, the problem is gross imbalance in our leaders and their education. They are too focused on the short term, the tactical, the quantitative, and the notion that the leader alone has all the solutions. In leadership, we’ve become too focused on the leader and not enough on the ‘ship’ – the team that provides the leadership. Leadership isn’t just about a person; it’s about a culture, and the problem starts at school. We get credit for right answers, obedience, individual achievements, passing exams, action, attention, deduction, maturity, intellect, organization, and opportunism. Conversely, we get no credit for empathy, nonconformity, […]