How to sequence an antidote for ailing leaders

When asked to name a leader who stands out today, many of us struggle to find an answer. The media rarely highlights leaders who are excelling in difficult circumstances, and it’s challenging to identify role models for the next generation. The latest Edelman Trust index reveals that levels of trust in business, media, and government leaders are still low, at just 51%. Furthermore, three-quarters of HR directors from major corporations believe their organizations lack the leadership needed for today’s challenges and the bench-depth for tomorrow. Scandals, both political and corporate, are rampant, and the biggest societal challenges remain unresolved.

Despite these issues, the fundamental function of leadership has not changed. The current crisis stems from a misalignment between today’s leadership context and the skills and mindsets that have traditionally shaped leadership practices. This misalignment can be corrected by acknowledging existing shortcomings, identifying necessary adjustments, and supporting leaders in evolving.

There are three dominant shifts that require distinctive adjustments in leadership practice and mindset:

#1. Engage with systemic complexity

Businesses and governments have always operated within complex systems. However, today, more parts of these systems are shifting simultaneously and at a faster rate due to advancements in technology (digital, AI, biotech, materials tech), and changes in societal, demographic, geopolitical, and regulatory environments.

In this dynamic, complex, and uncertain context, leaders must make more decisions more quickly, while assimilating a broader range of inputs and perspectives. Traditional approaches break down because we never truly know the future. Previously, with fewer factors in play and a slower rate of change, leaders could formulate confident forecasts and wait for confirmatory data. Now, delays come with significant penalties.

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Leaders have always needed to balance working ‘on’ the business (reshaping and repositioning for the future) with working ‘in’ the business (achieving current results). Today, working ‘on’ the business is an almost constant requirement, not restricted to the annual planning cycle and strategy review. Consequently, leaders have less time to work ‘in’ the business, increasing the distinction between forward-leaning leaders and operationally focused managers. Investors disproportionately reward forward-leaning leaders who instill confidence in their ability to overcome unknown challenges. For example, Tesla’s price-to-earnings (PE) ratio remains above 40, while GM’s is approximately 5.

Adapt: Given the unknown future, leaders need to be adaptive. In a dynamic and ever-changing context, forward-leaning leaders must adopt an experimenter’s mindset. They should make decisions that build momentum and create more options for the future, rather than setting out on a presumed correct path. Course-correction should be expected and celebrated; leaders must peer into the unknown, acknowledge uncertainty, and still take timely decisions to increase optionality and enhance adaptability.

However, this approach can be challenging to communicate. Imagine telling your investment committee that the projected returns on a new project are a best guess and almost certainly wrong, but that you’ll do your best to achieve or exceed them. Such honesty can be unsettling, yet it is crucial for adaptive leadership.

#2. A new talent equation

Talent with the skills and mindsets to help enterprises thrive today and tomorrow is in short supply. The World Economic Forum forecasts that 6 out of 10 jobs will be changed due to new technology adoption by 2030. The talent market today is characterized by increased churn, languishing engagement, and reduced trust and loyalty. The multi-generational workforce highlights significant differences in attitudes toward work and career.

In this environment, followership [the actions of someone in a subordinate role] is best understood as a choice. Talent is mobile across and within enterprises. Even when contracted to a team, individuals make daily choices about their level of effort, engagement, adherence to policies, and loyalty. Their choices create the culture “as lived.”

Ally: Today’s leaders need to form alliances within and beyond their teams. People come together as unique individuals, each playing a part in the alliance network for current initiatives. Roles do not define them. Today’s employee might be tonight’s social media critic or tomorrow’s investor. Individualism is increasing, and people want to be seen and embraced for who they are, not how they conform.

Leaders must appreciate that they are the minority. It is the leader’s job to lead, making themselves relatable and forming alliances with people “not like me.” Leaders should strive to ensure a positive experience for everyone, genuinely caring for those around them and providing flexibility within policies to equitably accommodate individual circumstances without compromising performance objectives.

#3. Broader expectations and greater scrutiny

Today, an increasingly broad array of stakeholders expects leaders to be aware of and respond to their concerns. Leaders need to make decisions that move the enterprise forward positively, despite uncertainties and complexities. Missteps are inevitable, and it is impossible to keep everyone happy all the time. However, there is no proportionality to the volume and intensity of critique a leader may face. Minority voices are amplified by chat-bots, while fake news and sensationalist reporting go almost unnoticed and unchallenged.

In this hostile context, many leaders fail to lead. Some may be deliberately irresponsible or self-serving, but many failures are due to leaders being intimidated by critique, to the point of being disabled. They delay, are “willfully blind,” ignore, or are less than transparent on difficult decisions they fear will provoke attacks.

Aspire: Leaders who achieve positive impact have deep positive convictions and the courage to expose themselves to hostilities. While popularity can be gained by describing an attractive vision, effective delivery requires being anchored, authentic, and consistent. Personal aspiration motivates leaders, helps navigate uncertainty, reinforces resilience against criticism and setbacks, and fosters trust and followership.

Finding your purpose and values is challenging, requiring stripping away layers of self-deceit and over-confidence. Many leaders have not worked sufficiently on self-knowledge, leaving them unanchored and ill-equipped to navigate contradiction and hostility. They avoid controversial decisions, act inconsistently, and fail to hold themselves accountable, eventually losing trust and followership.

Why don’t we have enough effective leaders today?

Firstly, we develop and promote people based on past models of success. We use “rear-view mirror” elements such as case studies of past situations, mentors, and role models who share their prior experiences. Secondly, we focus on the “what and how” of leadership rather than the “who.” Development programs typically create opportunities to learn about and apply tools and techniques. However, we need to help individuals find their inner selves, often requiring healing and strengthening to build a solid foundation for conviction and courage.

Accelerate: Your time and energy are limited, so you need to learn faster. There’s a crisis of leadership, and you are the solution. Take ownership of your development and accelerate the development of others around you. Role-model humble curiosity and continuous learning. Demonstrate and build your capacity to be adaptive, to ally with others, and to pursue your aspirations with conviction and courage.

Leadership is in a crisis, but the antidote is known: Aspire, Ally, Adapt, Accelerate. The solution is within reach because leadership is just plain you.