What’s Gone Before

We’ve looked at a few of the many traps and pitfalls of leadership.  We’ve examined the spectrum of leadership from the Dictator to the Hope Bringer. We’ve shown that each of these approaches have strengths and weaknesses.  So what now?

Understanding the Challenges of Great Leadership in The Modern World

The problem in understanding great leadership is not whether one pole or the other of the leadership spectrum is right or wrong. That debate is a distraction from the central question of what great leadership is.  The challenge of leadership is not a problem of deciding which is the best ideology. We now have more than enough evidence to conclude that ideologically based leadership strategies may be appealing but often have fatal flaws in them.  Simply because no ideology is capable of encapsulating all the various circumstance that a leader will be confronted with in their lifetime.

The Hurdles

The truth is there are many challenges for modern leaders. For one, many leadership training programs teach ideological, theoretical models. Which as has been shown already bring a number of problems. Another obstacle confronting leadership is the various circumstances a leader may find themselves. What works superbly in one situation may completely fail in another. Similar to this is the fact that society and business change constantly. Change is the new Constant.  What worked at the beginning of the 20th century, a semi-monarchistic /hierarchical/government driven model where the population was socialised to live for King and country would fail miserably in the modern world where free will, individuality, diversity and complexity dominate.

A Shift In Thinking

No longer is a good enough for a leader to rest on theory and ideology. A leader must be ready to adapt their leadership style and strategies to the existing conditions. A leader needs a methodology of complex problem-solving that takes into account a wide range of psychological, social, economic and environmental factors. Now this may seem overwhelming or even impossibly complex however I am going to introduce you a  methodology and the definition of highly adaptable leadership which I hope will help you advance in your skills as you become a great leader.

Whilst what I’m about to show you is not perfect and is another voice in the debate I am hoping that it will be thought-provoking enough and sufficiently valuable for you to start to shift your thinking toward a methodology of complex problem-solving.

In doing so you will you grow in confidence in your ability to lead, you will you develop your own authentic leadership style.  You will also become capable of adapting to a wide range of circumstances, You will become highly effective and you will also have the foundations that will see you being able to navigate your way successfully in any circumstances no matter how difficult.

In the next blog we are going to look at the 4 pillars of great leadership

For now these are just a few things to think about.

Cheers

Jim