Leadership in 2017 - my wish for the New Year.

It seems apt to write this on Christmas Sunday. In a year filled with war, conflict, terrorism and so much political uncertainty, spending the morning remembering the true meaning behind this day (leaving religion aside) seemed the right thing to do. Over the past few months our television and mobile screens have been plastered with images from across the world, with people subjected to such great pain and suffering, much of it man-made. How far we are from a day to celebrate peace and kindness, how few have a chance to truly celebrate this festival surrounded by the warm comfort of a home and family.

As I sat at church thinking about this sadness which sorrounds us, I was left reconciling some of the root causes behind these events. Our world it seems is increasing being run by strongmen, attempting to fill vaccums in leadership which are beginning to appear across the sociopolitical fabric of society. With these thoughts the clichés about leadership ran through my mind – how its about responsibility not power, creating and setting frameworks to guide organisations through uncertainty, being an effective communicator and empathetic listener, leading from the front! But these are all but skin deep.

What this year has shown us all is that the conventional way of thinking just does not work any more. Irrespective of whether you are on the political right or left (I am not even sure these still exits in the traditional sense) there is a deep crisis in conscience across the globe and the vast majority of people don’t feel like they are being heard. I was personally so deeply frustrated by the events of Brexit and the US elections that I turned to Plato’s The Republic for comforting. And as I consoled myself about the potential benefits of a society led by the philosopher king, it dawned on me -- leadership is not some abstract quality residing within the political class. Its not the skillset acquired in B-school allowing an employee to rise through the ranks of a corporation –- it’s about you and about me.

A couple of years ago I was introduced to the concept of mindfulness. Another buzzword that is circulating amongst various professional classes, at first I was a skeptic to this fad. But if you peel back the layers, at its simplest, it makes sense. Traditional thinking portrays a leader at the top of a pyramid. Invert the pyramid and you have the more contemporary view of thinking about leadership, supporting the organization from below. I however propose a concentric circle model in which relationships rather than connections foster intimacy within an organization and allow a leader to influence its direction.

I believe that applying this level of mindfulness or intimacy for our employees, shareholders and customers, and then more broadly the community and the environment is the right way to develop a leader for the times in which we live. The great thing about this approach is that mindfulness is a skill that can be taught, it is an exercise that can be practiced, and it is a behaviour that eventually can be habituated.

So how do we create a generation of leaders that align to this virtue? Honestly speaking, I feel our generation of millennials is already on that journey. Being aware is the single largest obstacle to overcome, and the vast majority of this generation is increasingly in tune with one another, irrespective of colour, class, creed or country. We are increasingly in tune with the environment and about building businesses and organisations that focus on the triple bottom line concept. And we are increasingly in tune with creating a life and career that is worth meaning rather than just success.

The one proposal that seems most relevant from The Republic is Plato’s insistence that to achieve Utopia, society must ensure equitable education. This is as true today as it was 2500 years ago. If we are able to allow people to learn, right from their childhood, about each other’s differences and similarities, about nature and the world around us and to encourage play through learning about science, technology and the arts, then we would have provided the platform for building knowledge that leads to mindfulness.

It now is this generation’s responsibility to speak, which I differentiate from wanting to be heard as that is a passive experience rather than an active one. It is our duty to connect with those whom appear on the other side of an argument and talk. Not shout and react, but listen and respond. Increasing the involvement of the young and diverse in the conversation, currently maintained by the status quo, will help drive a change in the current leadership and also build a pipeline of future leaders that feel included in the process and encouraged to participate. Such a platform need not be reserved just for politics, but is as equally relevant for local community meetings, business organisations, public sector bodies and beyond. And there are great examples of these platforms available the world over.

As young leaders within the community, it is our individual duty, to engage with our peers and energize one another to become involved. To discuss and debate the issues in the world around us, akin to the Socratic method of critical thinking, and provide opportunities for all voices to be heard. And this should in no way be limited to just one group alone. Starting at a young age, schools and colleges must foster the same sense of curiosity and provide equal opportunities for their youth to engage with the wider world around them.

Responsive leadership will thus be created by a generation of unconventional thinkers whom create a culture of purpose driven intimacy; a pledge each and every one of us must make to one another. This is my wish for 2017 - Happy New Year.