Leadership Innovators

Tag: self-improvement

  • Redefining Leadership: Navigating Leadership in a Complex World

    Redefining Leadership: Navigating Leadership in a Complex World

    Leadership is being redefined. In the face of relentless technological advancement, global shifts, and economic uncertainty, organisations are encountering profound and overlapping challenges. Based on extensive research and practical insight across industries, the most pressing concerns organisations face today include:

    • Uncertainty about the future
    • Relentless, ongoing transformation
    • Technological, AI and digital disruption
    • Globalisation and interconnected markets
    • Attracting, developing, and retaining talent
    • The accelerating demands of climate change
    • Ever-tightening regulation and compliance
    • Competition inside and outside traditional industry boundaries
    • Delivering exceptional customer service and enhancing human experience
    • Evolving expectations for organisations to act as both instruments and shapers of society
    • Organisational conditioning and cultural inertia
    • Economic volatility across the globe

    Leading with Intent: What Can Be Controlled?

    When facing complexity, the first imperative for any organisation is to focus on what can be controlled. Strategic plans must be built around this principle—establishing definite actions for known factors while remaining agile through scenario planning for the unknown.

    In practice, this means balancing operational decisiveness with strategic flexibility. Whether an organisation is on a burning platform seeking survival, or on a growth trajectory aiming to scale, success will be determined by the mindset and capability of its leaders.

    Leadership Mindset: Resilience Over Rigidity

    Effective leadership in today’s environment requires more than functional expertise. Horizontal development (skills, knowledge, and tools) and vertical development (mindset, emotional intelligence, systems thinking) are both essential. But it is mindset—the ability to lead through ambiguity, sustain energy through transformation, and foster resilience in others—that defines truly future-fit leaders.

    To grow, thrive or simply endure, organisations must also look inward. Organisational conditioning—deeply rooted beliefs, behaviours, and unspoken norms—often form hidden barriers to progress. Unpacking these with honesty allows collaborative leadership to take root, shaping a future that is both aspirational and achievable.

    Cultural Architects: Embedding Leadership at Every Level

    Transforming culture requires more than top-down directives. It calls for cultural architects—individuals embedded at every level of the organisation who champion new ways of thinking and working.

    These leaders:

    • Define and role model the organisation’s leadership behaviours
    • Share inspiring messages across internal and external channels
    • Influence peers through authentic everyday interactions
    • Act as change agents who drive progress from within

    When colleagues see energy, commitment, and integrity from those they interact with daily, it sends a powerful signal. This grassroots approach, paired with senior leadership sponsorship, creates a dynamic and sustainable transformation.

    Supporting Leadership Amidst Rising Complexity

    Leadership can be deceptively simple in theory—create clarity, inspire action, and deliver results. But in reality, the scale and complexity of today’s challenges intensify the pressure on leaders. It is essential that organisations invest in supporting, developing, and empowering their leadership at all levels. With the right support systems, leaders can meet challenges with confidence, foster innovation, and help shape a thriving future.

    The San Antonio Spurs exemplify leadership continuity and cultural alignment. Under the long-term guidance of Coach Gregg Popovich, the team established a resilient culture grounded in mutual respect, adaptability, and consistent performance. By valuing character, teamwork, and growth over star power alone, the Spurs have built one of the most respected leadership ecosystems in global sport.

    Cleveland Clinic is recognised globally not just for clinical excellence, but for its leadership in healthcare culture. Through the Cleveland Clinic Leadership Academy, the organisation has focused on empathy, resilience, and collaboration. Leaders are trained to manage complexity and support both patients and staff through change, particularly visible during their agile response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Brown-Forman’s UK division has embraced inclusive and values-based leadership as a strategic differentiator. Their “Leadership at Every Level” initiative has cultivated a culture of empowerment, where individuals at all layers of the organisation are encouraged to challenge the status quo, propose innovations, and collaborate across functions. This approach has not only driven performance but helped embed resilience in a highly competitive and regulated sector.

    How are you developing and preparing your leaders for the future?

    Future-Proofing Leadership

    Are your leaders future-proofed for the challenges to come?
    Leadership is no longer about position—it is about presence, influence, and the capacity to drive transformation. The leaders of tomorrow must be identified and developed today.

    Your organisation’s future will be shaped by those who lead it. Investing in leadership development isn’t optional—it’s a strategic no brainer.

  • Redefining Leadership: Vertical vs Horizontal Development in Leadership

    Redefining Leadership: Vertical vs Horizontal Development in Leadership

    The world of work is undergoing seismic change. The growth of the gig economy, combined with the transformative impact of the pandemic, has fundamentally reshaped the nature of employment. Increasingly, short-term contracts, part-time roles, and freelance work are replacing traditional permanent jobs. This shift presents a significant challenge—and opportunity—for leaders and organisations alike.

    As these non-traditional work models become more prevalent, talent acquisition must adapt. Organisations are no longer seeking leaders based solely on technical expertise or traditional career paths. Instead, they are looking for individuals who embody a more human-centric, adaptive, and agile leadership style—those who can learn quickly, pivot confidently, and inspire others in uncertain environments.

    To keep pace, leadership development strategies must evolve. Fast-tracking leadership growth, embedding cultural alignment, and cultivating the right mindsets are now vital. This requires an integrated leadership approach —one that connects recruitment, onboarding, development, and succession planning around a consistent, mindset-focused framework.

    Right People. Right Mindset. Right Time.

    In today’s climate of constant disruption—economic volatility, remote work, technological innovation, and geopolitical flux—organisations need leaders who can operate beyond the constraints of conventional thinking. This is where the concept of vertical and horizontal leadership development becomes invaluable.

    Nick Petrie, in his white paper for the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), distinguishes between two types of development:

    • Horizontal Development: The traditional approach to leadership growth. This is about adding new knowledge, skills, and competencies. It’s externally driven, often through training programmes and expert-led courses. It answers the question: What should a leader know or do?
    • Vertical Development: A more transformative process. This is about evolving how leaders think, not just whatthey think. It encompasses values, beliefs, worldviews, and the ability to handle increasing complexity. Vertical development is earned through life experience, reflection, and deep learning. It addresses the question: Who is the leader becoming?

    While horizontal development builds capability, vertical development fosters maturity, resilience, and a broader perspective. Both are essential—but it is vertical development that truly future-proofs leadership.

    Horizontal Leadership Development

    • Adds knowledge and skills
    • Transmitted from experts
    • Focuses on what you think
    • Competency-based
    • Technical proficiency

    Vertical Leadership Development

    • Grows the capacity to think in complex, adaptive, and interdependent ways
    • Developed through experience and reflection
    • Focuses on how you think
    • Mindset and values-based
    • Transformation of consciousness

    HSBC – Leadership Transformation through Vertical Development
    Faced with rapid digital transformation and market complexity, HSBC invested in a global leadership development programme that focused not on skills, but on enhancing self-awareness, adaptive thinking, and systems-level decision-making. Leaders participated in immersive experiences that challenged their assumptions, encouraging shifts in mindset. The result: more resilient leaders who could drive cultural transformation across markets, with improved collaboration and innovation.

    Unilever – Balancing Vertical and Horizontal Development
    Unilever’s “Connected 4 Growth” initiative blended traditional leadership skill-building (horizontal) with programmes designed to cultivate purpose-led leadership and emotional intelligence (vertical). Managers were assessed not only on performance metrics but on their ability to lead with compassion, integrity, and adaptability. This dual approach enabled Unilever to build a leadership pipeline prepared for both current and future challenges.

    NHS Leadership Academy – Building a Compassionate Culture
    In the wake of increasing pressure and public scrutiny, the NHS invested in vertical development by helping leaders at all levels cultivate greater empathy, presence, and system-wide awareness. This shift from a task-focused approach to one rooted in values and mindset helped foster a more compassionate, inclusive culture that better supports patients and staff alike.

    The Starting Point: Organisational Mindset

    To harness the full power of leadership development, organisations must begin by identifying and articulating their own mindset. What does the organisation stand for? What attitudes and beliefs underpin its success? From there, recruitment and development can be aligned to attract and grow leaders who embody and reinforce that mindset.

    Without this clarity, leadership efforts risk becoming fragmented or superficial. But with it, organisations can cultivate congruent cultures—where internal and external leaders are aligned not just in skills, but in purpose and perspective.

    In an age defined by flux and complexity, the most successful organisations will be those that move beyond a narrow focus on competencies and instead prioritise mindset alignment. Horizontal development builds capability—but it is vertical development that shapes character, expands perspective, and enables leaders to thrive in ambiguity.

    Leadership is no longer just about what you do. It’s about who you are—and who you are becoming.

  • Redefining Leadership: The Essential Mindset for Success

    Redefining Leadership: The Essential Mindset for Success

    In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, redefining leadership has become not just important but essential. At the heart of this evolution is the concept of a leader’s mindset—a combination of traits, outlook and capabilities that underpin the potential and performance of effective leaders.

    A leader’s mindset can be distilled into three key pillars: Passion, Capability, and Outlook. These are critical considerations when recruiting, developing, and supporting leaders at all levels of an organisation.

    1. Passion – The Drive to Make a Difference

    First and foremost, does the individual possess a genuine passion for leadership? This goes beyond ambition or career progression. It’s about the intrinsic motivation to make a meaningful difference—to inspire others, to support growth, and to be a catalyst for positive change within the organisation.

    Authentic leaders care. They display empathy, emotional intelligence, and a strong sense of purpose. Their leadership is not transactional—it is transformational.

    When Satya Nadella took the reins at Microsoft, he brought with him not just technical prowess but a deeply human-centred approach to leadership. His focus on empathy, learning, and purpose rejuvenated the culture of a once rigid corporation. Nadella’s leadership has not only propelled Microsoft’s innovation but significantly boosted employee engagement and organisational agility.

    2. Capability – The Skills to Lead in Today’s Landscape

    While passion fuels the intent to lead, capability ensures delivery. Organisations often promote high performers or subject matter experts into leadership roles without assessing whether they have the necessary leadership capabilities. Technical excellence doesn’t always translate into effective leadership.

    In an era defined by hybrid working, digital transformation, and complex stakeholder needs, leadership capability must include agility, strategic thinking, and the ability to foster inclusive, high-performing cultures.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, NHS leaders were thrust into uncharted territory. Leaders had to rapidly reconfigure services, manage extreme pressure on front-line staff, and communicate clearly amidst national uncertainty. Those with high leadership capability—who could think systemically, delegate effectively, and act decisively—emerged as crucial stabilisers in the crisis.

    3. Outlook – Resilience, Adaptability, and Positivity

    The third pillar is a leader’s outlook. In an unpredictable and ever-changing world, the ability to remain positive, adaptable, and resilient is paramount. Leaders set the tone for the teams they lead. Their mindset—whether reactive or proactive—ripples through the organisation.

    The capacity to embrace ambiguity, bounce back from setbacks, and lead with confidence in the unknown is a defining trait of modern leadership.

    Regardless of opinion on his style, Elon Musk’s resilience and risk appetite have allowed SpaceX to redefine what is possible in aerospace. The mindset to accept failure as part of innovation (as evidenced by rocket failures and public setbacks) has built a culture of learning and relentless ambition.

    When you combine passion, capability and outlook, you form the blueprint of a leader’s mindset. But this mindset must be aligned with your organisational values and leadership framework. It’s not enough to hope that great leaders emerge—organisations must define what “great” looks like, codify it into values and behaviours, and build the infrastructure to develop and support it.

    Assessment tools such as the Mindset Equation Assessment (MQi) provide robust psychometric insights into an individual’s leadership potential. MQi enables organisations to evaluate leaders, teams, and entire cultures to shape development strategies aligned with future needs.

    However, some organisations falsely believe they’ve embedded values and behaviours because they’ve been defined at the top. The reality often tells a different story when these models fail to resonate across the business. The critical question is: Was this model built on inclusive research, unbiased data, expert insight, and employee voice? If not, buy-in will be limited, and behavioural change will be hard-won.

    Building leadership capability is like building a house: anyone can try to do it themselves, but when you bring in a professional, the results are more structurally sound and enduring. The tallest skyscrapers are built on deep foundations and detailed plans—the same principles apply to leadership. Without the right architecture, organisations risk instability, disengagement, and stagnation.

    Investing in leadership doesn’t just improve management—it enhances culture, drives productivity, and fuels sustainable growth.

    In the wake of the pandemic, and amidst ongoing global disruption, human-centred leadership has become more vital than ever. The era of command-and-control has given way to an age where empathy, psychological safety, and servant leadership are critical competencies.

    We no longer have the luxury of certainty. The leaders of tomorrow must be comfortable operating in flux, responding to complexity, and guiding others through ambiguity. And while we will emerge from the current turbulence, the lesson is clear: the time to build resilience is before the next crisis—not in the middle of it.

    To prepare for the future, we must shape it now. A leader’s mindset is the first step—forming the lens through which decisions are made, people are inspired, and cultures are shaped.

    By intentionally defining, assessing, and developing this mindset across your organisation, you create not only better leaders but stronger, more future-ready organisations.

    Because in the end, mindset is everything especially when developing future ready leaders.

    Wouldn’t you agree?