Ten years ago I wrote something I almost didn’t post, worried it might seem ‘too soft’ for business leaders and prospective clients. I posted it anyway. I’ve changed a few words, but its core message is even more important today. When our teams are feeling challenged by all that’s happening in business – and the world more generally – the need for leadership is greater than ever. But this is more than a call for ‘heroic leadership’: it is about institutional leadership.
What I wrote came out of a conversation with a colleague that engaged both my rational-analytic and emotional self. Conversations that engage both aspects of the self are the source of inspiration and sense-making that leave you buzzing hours later; that wake you in the middle of the night; that create new insights through connecting previously disconnected ideas.
Exploring the role of purpose in organisations, my colleague challenged me to articulate my purpose: why do I do what I do? This is what I wrote.
I believe in the capacity of leadership to create great organisations: organisations that can develop and execute strategies that match the demands of a complex and changing environment; that can build connections with customers that transcend simple transactions that characterise too many marketplaces; that create customer experiences that build longevity into the relationships. And this comes about through leadership’s capacity and commitment to engage with the people who are the body and soul of any organisation; who want to make a contribution, beyond just earning a wage.
This is the profound responsibility of leadership. If not this, then what is our job as leaders?
I also believe in the self-evident truth: it is the leadership teams which need to design, develop and energise the change in organisations. Our job as consultants and advisors is to help them in that pursuit.
This is my ‘bias.’ It shapes the conversations, approach, and expectations in my work as a strategist, facilitator and teacher. And it is largely reflective of my clients. The people I have worked with over the years, who I connect most deeply with, feel that profound responsibility.
But over time many leaders slowly, often unconsciously, withdraw from this profound sense of responsibility, reflecting a felt lack of a shared sense of responsibility among their peers and their leaders. Or sometimes in the face of challenges that seem overwhelming.
That is why this demands institutional leadership: it is beyond the capacity of individual leaders.
I’ll ask you what I asked 10 years ago: do you feel this profound responsibility?
How often do you experience deep, creative conversations within your organisation? Conversations that engage both your emotional and rational-analytic self? Do the conversations leave you buzzing? Or just frustrated?
As AI homogenises the analytics, the emotional half of these conversations may become an important differentiator.