Human Excellence In The Smart Machine Age

It is only when things change that we can see clearly how stable they were before. In organizations leaders frequently leave and are replaced not because wider change is sought or required but because the individuals wish to move on to other challenges (or to enjoy their accumulated spoils of power). In these cases the replacement leaders often feel the need to stamp their new authority with sweeping reorganizations, or strategy changes, whether required or not, and so set the foundations for how their leadership time will be judged. The change is therefore more about them then the organization.

Today’s world is different. For many the uncertainty these potential changes will bring highlight how much certainty there was before, and the benefits being claimed are far from either certain or worth the pain.

In such times it is not the strategy that leaders follow (in the UK and USA these have been loosely outlined in the campaigns) but the style and manner of their implementation that will count. It is not ‘strong’ leadership but ‘good’ leadership that is required. Bringing disparate and conflicting parties together. Creating consensus and momentum as the road of change is travelled. These are softer more nuanced skills than the salesman rhetoric of the campaign trail, but if the rhetoric is to be translated into benefit for the greatest number then they are the necessary follow ones.

These are the skills we have been covering in Developing Leaders for all our 25 issues over the last six years. They are skills sets that are well understood by academics but inordinately difficult to practice well and consistently. But from countries leaders down we all must continue to try.