Leadership Innovators

Tag: Leadership 5.0

  • Redefining Leadership: Effective Leadership in Today’s Changing Landscape

    When I am asked how leaders should lead, the answer is simple: leadership should be defined in alignment with the organisation’s strategy, supported by a clear leadership framework that sets expectations and fosters development.

    As per Schein (1990), culture is defined as a set of shared values and behaviours that serve as a guide to success. Leaders must understand what effective leadership looks like within their organisation to align their actions accordingly.

    The Challenge of Leadership in a Changing World

    In today’s uncertain and evolving landscape, no one is a completely natural leader. While some individuals may have dominant personalities or excel at certain leadership tasks, truly effective leadership requires understanding how to empower, trust, and grant autonomy to people while balancing organisational needs. The challenge has only intensified in the wake of the pandemic and the onset of AI, with remote leadership becoming a critical competency in most industries and organisations.

    New leaders rarely instinctively know how to lead unless they have learned from previous managers or understand what is expected of them. This underscores the importance of having a well-defined leadership model or framework that sets clear values and behaviours, alongside the right development tools to foster growth. This structured ‘Leadership Model’ enables leaders to take accountability for their own development, supported by on-the-job assessments and coaching.

    Defining Leadership: A Common Pitfall

    Many organisations assume they have defined leadership effectively, but if leaders within the company struggle to articulate what good leadership looks like, there is a fundamental gap. This can result in inconsistent leadership styles, confusion, and ineffective leadership development solutions that merely tick a box rather than drive meaningful change.

    The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) provides an exemplary case of leadership under extreme conditions. In military settings, leadership is not only about strategic command but also about fostering trust, resilience, and rapid decision-making. The British Army, for instance, has long embraced the concept of ‘Mission Command,’ a leadership approach that empowers subordinates with autonomy while ensuring alignment with overarching objectives. This approach mirrors the need for trust and empowerment in today’s corporate leadership landscape.

    To understand how leaders should lead, we must look at the evolution of leadership over generations:

    • Industrial Era: Command-and-control leadership dominated, with a boss-worker dynamic.
    • Office Era: Emotional Intelligence (EQ) emerged, shifting the focus toward understanding and managing emotions in leadership.
    • Situational Leadership: Leaders adapted their approach based on specific situations, balancing directive, delegating, selling, and coaching styles.
    • Coaching Revolution: Leadership became more about empowering individuals, self-awareness, and leveraging psychometric tools.
    • Modern Leadership: According to Korn Ferry’s ‘Third Wave’ model, leadership now emphasises Agency, Authenticity, and Agility.

    In sports, Jürgen Klopp’s leadership as Liverpool FC’s manager has demonstrated the power of vision, emotional intelligence, and team cohesion. Klopp’s approach is deeply rooted in trust, motivation, and adaptability. By fostering a strong team culture and creating an environment of belief and commitment, he has transformed Liverpool into one of the most successful football teams in recent history. His leadership highlights the importance of passion, clear communication, and creating a shared vision—qualities that are directly transferable to business leadership.

    A compelling case from the business world is Tesco’s turnaround under Dave Lewis. When Lewis took over in 2014, Tesco was facing declining profits and reputational damage. His leadership strategy focused on transparency, employee engagement, and decisive action—three critical pillars of modern leadership. By prioritising clear communication and empowering teams to take ownership, he was able to restore trust and drive a successful business transformation.

    The Need for Human Leadership

    In the post-pandemic world, leadership demands greater empathy, compassion, humility, and respect. While strong leadership is still required to make difficult decisions—such as managing redundancies, mergers, and business closures—leaders must balance these with emotional intelligence to guide teams through change effectively.

    Pre-pandemic, the expectation was that people would be given autonomy and empowered, especially with millennials entering the workforce. However, the pandemic reinforced that leadership is about inspiring others, providing comfort in crisis, and fostering resilience. A great leader takes responsibility when things go wrong and steps aside to celebrate their team’s success.

    The Future of Leadership

    For organisations to define what good leadership looks like, they must consider both historical leadership models and the evolving demands of modern leadership. The best leaders of the future will be those who cultivate leadership in others—allowing individuals to develop their own unique leadership styles while staying aligned with the organisation’s core values.

    Leadership, at its core, is about helping others dream more, do more, and be more. It is about being visible, present, and adaptable in an ever-changing world.

    What are your thoughts on the future of leadership?

  • Redefining Leadership: The Rise of Values-Based Leadership in Today’s World

    Redefining Leadership: The Rise of Values-Based Leadership in Today’s World

    “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein

    When we consider the change and disruption in the world right now, the type of leader required is one of humility, compassion, and empathy. Leaders must support their people as individuals and empower them to be leaders in their own right through human connection. Effective leaders uphold company values and act with respect, integrity, and transparency, ensuring their leadership fosters trust and inspiration.

    From an ethical and moral perspective, there is now a widespread demand for value-based leadership. Leaders are expected to embody the principles they preach, creating organisations rooted in fairness, accountability, and moral responsibility. While this is easier said than done in a world filled with competing agendas and conflicting objectives, the most successful leaders today demonstrate the soft skills necessary to connect, support, and lead with compassion. These are the leaders for good.

    The Importance of Values-Based Leadership

    Having a clearly defined set of values that leaders and employees can rally behind is crucial for long-term organisational success. Many companies articulate values, but only the truly exceptional ones have leaders who role model and embed these values into the company culture. Leadership should be authentic and values-driven, as this fosters credibility and trust among employees.

    Leadership styles will always be a topic of debate, but the starting point should be an alignment between leadership and organisational values. The world is evolving, and so must leadership. The pandemic era has redefined workplace expectations, making it essential for leaders to adapt to this new normal but change is happening all around us with the onset of artificial intelligence and technological advances. The transition is not just about operational changes and adapting to AI but about how leaders engage with their teams on a human level.

    Apple’s Leadership Evolution

    Apple provides a compelling case study of leadership transformation and values-based leadership. Under Steve Jobs, Apple’s leadership was visionary, innovation-driven, and relentless in pursuit of excellence. Jobs’ approach, while often demanding, focused on pushing the boundaries of creativity and product development. His leadership was built on inspiring employees to think differently and revolutionise technology.

    Under Tim Cook, Apple’s leadership style evolved to incorporate a more inclusive and collaborative approach. Cook has placed significant emphasis on ethical leadership, sustainability, and corporate responsibility. Apple has invested heavily in environmental initiatives, diversity and inclusion, and corporate social responsibility, reinforcing its commitment to values beyond just product innovation. While Apple remains a profit-driven enterprise, its leadership shift under Cook exemplifies how modern leadership integrates financial success with ethical and sustainable business practices.

    Leadership in Sports: The Role of Values in High-Performance Teams

    In the world of sports, values-based leadership is also a defining factor in success. A prime example is Pep Guardiola, the highly successful football manager known for his leadership at FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City. Guardiola emphasises team cohesion, discipline, and respect. His leadership philosophy focuses not only on winning but also on fostering a positive team culture, accountability, and mutual respect.

    Guardiola’s leadership is rooted in emotional intelligence, strategic innovation, and player development. He treats players as individuals, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, and motivates them through encouragement rather than fear. This values-driven approach has led to sustained success across multiple leagues and serves as a model for business leaders seeking to cultivate high-performing teams.

    Ethics vs. Profit: The Leadership Dilemma

    While companies like Apple have made strides in ethical leadership, challenges remain in balancing corporate responsibility with shareholder expectations. When large corporations exploit tax loopholes or engage in questionable labour practices, they undermine trust and ethical leadership principles. The fundamental tension between profit maximisation and ethical responsibility continues to shape leadership decisions globally.

    This dilemma mirrors the long-standing debate in performance management: balancing ‘What’ goals (results) with ‘How’ behaviors (values). Many organisations have attempted to integrate ethical leadership into performance evaluations, but execution often falls short. True leadership success lies in ensuring that the ‘How’ behaviors—integrity, transparency, and empathy—are weighted as heavily as business results.

    The Return to Human-Centered Leadership

    The concept of values-based leadership is not new. Ancient Greek philosophers emphasised ethical leadership, and Confucius promoted empathy and understanding as core leadership principles. However, in today’s fast-paced, results-driven world, the return to human-centered leadership is more crucial than ever.

    So, the pressing question remains: Do your people know and understand your company’s values? Do they live and breathe them? Can you see the opportunity to redefine your organisation’s leadership model to align with ethical values? Will empathy and compassion be valued as essential leadership traits?

    The Business Impact of Values-Based Leadership

    Employee engagement is directly influenced by leadership credibility, inspiration, and support. A study by McKinsey & Co found that 89% of employees reported higher satisfaction levels when working under leaders who were inspirational, supportive, and focused on development (Global Survey: War on Talent). Organisations that prioritise values-based leadership experience higher employee retention, greater innovation, and stronger customer loyalty.

    The Future of Leadership: A Call to Action

    In an era where individuals, leaders, and organisations can do more to support their colleagues, employees, and communities, the time for compassionate and ethical leadership is now. The world is calling for leaders who act with integrity, lead with empathy, and inspire trust. The future of leadership is not just about achieving business success but about shaping a world where leadership is synonymous with ethical responsibility and human connection.

    Do you agree?

  • Redefining Leadership: Unlocking the Power of Leadership Development

    $166 Billion – spent on Leadership Development each year in the US alone – Forbes 

    70% – variance in employee engagement caused by managers – Gallup 

    1 in 2 – employees who have left their job to get away from their manager – Gallup 

    86% – of companies do not feel like they have a strong leadership bench – Global Leadership Forecast

    Why Leadership Matters

    With $166 billion spent annually on leadership development in the US alone, a key question arises: what is the return on this investment, and how is it measured? If companies are allocating such vast resources to leadership development, the implicit assumption is that leadership has a substantial impact on business success.

    But how exactly does strong leadership influence an organisation’s bottom line? The answer lies in the impact of effective leadership on profitability, employee engagement, innovation, and long-term business resilience.

    Organisations that strategically invest in leadership development can expect tangible benefits:

    • Enhanced profitability: Well-trained leaders drive business results by setting clear strategic goals, fostering innovation, and improving operational efficiency.
    • Improved employee engagement: A leader’s ability to inspire and empower employees is a critical factor in retention and performance.
    • Resilience in the face of change: As businesses adapt to post-pandemic realities, leaders must navigate uncertainty with agility and confidence.
    • A culture of continuous learning: Organisations that develop ‘learning cultures’ see increased innovation, risk-taking, and long-term growth. Research by Carol Dweck and Senn Delaney found that such cultures create greater trust and commitment to the company’s future.

    Google’s Project Oxygen

    Google’s data-driven approach to leadership development underscores the value of strong leadership. Through Project Oxygen, Google analysed what makes an effective manager and used those insights to reshape leadership training. The study identified key traits of high-performing leaders, such as coaching ability, empowerment, and communication skills. As a result, teams led by trained managers showed significant improvements in engagement, performance, and retention.

    Manchester United & Sir Alex Ferguson

    In the world of sports, Sir Alex Ferguson’s leadership at Manchester United serves as an exemplary model. Ferguson transformed the club into a global powerhouse by developing young talent, fostering a culture of discipline, and emphasising long-term vision over short-term success. His ability to adapt, motivate, and create a winning mindset within his team ensured sustained success over decades.

    Developing the Right Leadership Development Strategy

    A well-thought-out leadership development strategy must align with business objectives. Many organisations fall into the trap of reacting to external pressures, hastily implementing leadership programs without clear goals or alignment to strategy. Instead, businesses should:

    1. Define leadership expectations: Clearly articulate what good leadership looks like within the organisation.
    2. Foster inclusivity: Involve key leadership influencers and change champions across the organisation.
    3. Use data-driven decision-making: Leverage insights from employee feedback, business performance metrics, and leadership assessments.
    4. Balance scientific analysis with intuition: While data provides critical insights, understanding cultural and organisational nuances is equally essential.
    5. Clarify values, behaviors, and competencies: Avoid confusion by clearly distinguishing these elements to set proper expectations for leadership.

    The Leadership Imperative

    Whether an organisation has had success in leadership development or is just beginning the journey, it is crucial to periodically assess its direction. Instead of overhauling the entire leadership strategy, minor adjustments may be all that’s required to align with the evolving business landscape.

    “The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organisation that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders, and continually develops them.” – John Maxwell

    As businesses navigate an era of rapid change, the question remains: What kind of leadership will drive organisations forward? How can companies cultivate the leaders the world now wants to see?

    The challenge is not just to train leaders but to redefine leadership itself—making it more inclusive, adaptive, and visionary. Only then can organisations truly maximise their investment and create lasting impact.

  • Evolving Leadership in the Age of AI

    Evolving Leadership in the Age of AI

    In describing leadership…

    Leadership is a set of mindsets and behaviours that aligns people in a collective direction, enables them to work together and accomplish shared goals, and helps them adjust to changing environments.

    How then has leadership evolved in this new age of being human?

    When we think about all the change in the world we have experienced in the last 20 years, and the advances in the fields of technology, AI and automation we are on the cusp of living in a new era: the AI Age, along with meeting the demands of future generations expectations in the workplace. But from a leadership perspective this will be the time for human centred leadership.

    And when we think of all the change that has happened and is happening round us has leadership evolved at the same pace? What is leadership now? Has it kept up with the advances in the world, the recent pandemic, the onset of AI and developed across global organisations? Are the same leadership qualities required?

    Eddie Obeng describes in the ‘World after Midnight’ at some point around 15-20 years ago there has been a reset point (Midnight) where the rate of human learning is no longer keeping up with technological change. So is leadership part of this or has leadership evolved in the last 20 years?

    When we go back in time to the industrial era we would have seen in general coercive command and control leadership which developed slowly over time to develop a boss worker relationship. This became more progressive with the advent of office working and the discovery of emotional intelligence. EQ brought a new wave of thinking about leadership. The situational leadership model described the way a leader should use different styles dependent upon the situation in simple terms along a spectrum from directive to coaching. Then the advent of the coaching revolution to empower people along with the use of psychometrics was the spark to develop a leaders self-awareness aligned to EQ. More recently in an excellent article by Korn Ferry called the Third Wave the shift has been moving to one of Agency, Authenticity and Agility. And there has been some amazing strategic and innovative leadership especially in the big tech companies like Apple, Amazon and Facebook to name a few but when we look at political leadership have we gone backwards in time? 

    Recently I read an article on Leadership in the Future where the writer was challenged on where they currently see leadership. The challenger’s point was “I’m not sure what industries you have been working in but I’m still seeing hierarchical, political, command and control leadership across the organisations I partner with.”  

    The Spectrum of Leadership

    I guess in some respects we could create a spectrum of leadership and then place organisations across the spectrum as to where their leadership is right now. But then in any business there will be pockets of leaders who inspire, empower and motivate when others use coercive control and power. In a recent Gallup study it is claimed that 50% of employees are not engaged and 25% are disengaged so this in itself provides possible evidence that Leadership is not keeping up with new generational demands of our current workforce. Although I do appreciate there are many factors that can lead to employee dissatisfaction but what we do know is that most people will become disengaged and leave their job due to their manager. I’m pretty sure that if you have an employee survey that each year there will be leadership actions and development that comes from the survey if your workforce feel they can freely speak their mind. Do they have psychological safety?

    In any medium to large organisation there will be an inertia and level of organisational conditioning which means there will be certain expectations of how to lead in the organisation. These expectations at times become so deeply embedded in the leaders subconscious so much so that no-one has actually made the rule people but believe there to be a rule they need to follow. No one challenges the rule and everyone continues to conform. Action or lack of action is then in direct proportion to conditioning. The senior leadership team role model either exemplary or dysfunctional behaviours which shape the company culture and the by product is the need to lead and manage in the same way to conform to acceptable standards. We are creatures of habit and comfort so rather than choosing to swim upstream most will conform and not challenge dysfunctional behaviours or the culture. 

    Leaders can at times treat their people like children instead of adults and although they know they should not do this if the rules of work state something different they can execute this against what would be their own personal beliefs. Power and conformity overcomes common sense. Organisational conditioning takes a hold when leaders are not willing to challenge the norm. At a higher level in some board rooms the Exec’s play out a power struggle and some may display more dysfunctional behaviour than the people they have working for them. Sometimes the badge of hierarchy dictates when it should listen. So has leadership progressed now we live in a digital world?

    Assessing your Organisations on the Leadership Spectrum

    If you were to rate your organisation on the spectrum of leadership where would it be…

    1.0 Leaders are in control and dictate (Hierarchical command and control Leadership).

    2.0 Leaders transact with their people (Transactional leadership – I give you something i.e. incentive and you give me something in return).

    3.0 Leaders inspire and create followers (Transformational leadership – people follow you because they are inspired and want to follow you).

    4.0 Leaders create leaders (Creational Leadership – Leaders give their people the confidence and autonomy to be the leader they are).

    5.0 Leaders empower their people to be the leader they choose to be (Autonomous Leadership – the starting point is people are leaders and have the freedom to lead with autonomy and ideas – it is better to seek forgiveness rather than permission is the set point).

    For the day and age that we live in the expectation would be we should be playing at the Transformational, Creational and Autonomous Leadership levels where employees are empowered and treated like leaders in their own right. If that is the case then your organisation is possibly keeping up with the rate of change in the world and will be ready to meet the expectations of the generations to come. Because generations in the future will be doing more sophisticated work as AI and automation takes over the manual processes their expectation set point will be to be treated as a leader and given freedom to express themselves. Work in the future is more likely to be episodic so one may move from one organisation to the next more frequently but one’s expectation will be to be treated as a leader not as an employee. Josh Bersin from Deloitte talked recently about how the employee and organisation relationship will completely change due to expectations of the generations to come and with impact like the recent pandemic completely changing the landscape. And HR faces an inflection point around becoming career and people focused as oppose to performance and company focused. But then I don’t want to move too far in to the future because this is about leadership now and understanding if it has evolved to keep up with the rate of change in the present.

    So what keeps leaders up at night? Lack of talent, the digital tech space, lack of critical skills, employees lack of digital experience, automation at work, the onset of AI and an aging workforce according to Mercer’s Global Talent Trends so we have to accept that leadership is far more complex than 20 years ago. Especially when leadership was probably face to face line management whereas in this day an age you are a leader as an individual contributor and when responsible for people remote leadership across the globe is now the expectation along with agile working practices. In Mercers trends 96% of executives are planning structural changes and unique human skills are most in demand i.e. innovation, digital competence, global mindset, data analysis, complex problem solving, change and inclusive leadership. We also now see a greater talent vacuum where desirable skills in specific niche areas are not readily available and organisations therefore embracing exponential learning to upskill, upgrade and provide development experiences to their employees.

    The requirements and expectations of a leader have definitely changed considerably in recent years, the landscape changed when we faced the burning platform that the pandemic created and now a new burning platform approaches with the onset of AI, but the question has to be ‘Are your leaders equipped and ready for the future? Are they capable? Do you have the right leadership support mechanisms in place to be able to support your leaders for now and in the future?’ 

    The future is changing everyday.

    So what are your thoughts on leadership now and has it evolved in the last 20 years?