Leading in a Polarized World: Insights from Outthinker Networks’ Roundtable with Oxford’s Karthik Ramanna

What does it take to lead in a polarized world? This month at Outthinker Networks, our community of chief strategy officers and innovation leaders met with Karthik Ramanna, professor of business and public policy at Oxford University and author of The Age of Outrage: How to Lead in a Polarized World .

As we approach election season here in the US, it’s clear that our country is in a divided state. But the trend is global. Karthik noticed deep, ideological divisions in his courses that prompted him to further explore the causes behind what he calls the “Age of Outrage.”

The Age of Outrage

Karthik explained that three things are animating intense emotions in people today:

1. Fear of the future: AI is disrupting our workplaces; humans around the world are dealing with climate change and demographic shifts.
2. A general feeling that the game of life is rigged: People who work hard aren’t necessarily getting ahead.
3. An increase in "othering”: Treating groups of people as different from oneself, with a shift away from globalization.

All three are substantially present in our society at this moment, and social media brings their presence to the forefront, exacerbating the intensity of emotions.

Levels of Outrage for an Organization

While the outrage mentioned above is occurring on a macro level, we can see it trickle down through organizations. Let’s say there are five levels of polarization in the world of the company and its strategy office:

1. Macro Level: These are global or regional conflicts such as wars or elections.
2. Company vs. Stakeholders: Investors want to see profits while people inside the organization may prefer stable jobs.
3. Corporate vs. Business Unit: Inside the organization, strategists are often challenged to align corporate strategy efforts and the goals of each individual business unit.
4. Between Divisions: Different divisions may have conflicting goals that cause them to act against each other (for example, sales and marketing working off different metrics).
5. Team Level: Conflicting interests or priorities can cause divisions within the team.

On the macro level, we talk about world news and geopolitics, but conflicts and how leaders deal with them can exist on any scale. Your organization might not be experiencing outrage, but even slight misalignment or tension can eventually lead to widespread cracks in the foundation.

A Framework for Leading through Polarization

Building a strong culture in times of calm is the best way to prepare for moments of outrage. As Karthik reminded our members, “If the culture doesn’t work in a moment of outrage, then why are we building the culture in the first place?”

And when conflicts do arise, how can you control the weather in your team as a strategy leader? In his Harvard Business Review article Managing in the Age of Outrage , Karthik offers a five-step framework. I recommend reading the full article for more insights and background stories, but I’ve broken it down below from the perspective of a strategist.

1. Turn Down the Temperature

First, start by acknowledging the clinical basis for outrage. In the article, Karthink explains that busy, distracted brains and social media can heighten our emotions and levels of aggression during a crisis.

When my 4th Option Network coaches and I work with companies using the Outthinker Process, we start with the “mess.” This is a chance for team members to vocalize their emotions and concerns for what the future will look like if they continue down the current path. The result is often a cathartic outpouring of frustrations. We find it can be really cleansing and helpful for a strategy session to start here.

In the latest episode of the Outthinkers Podcast, Rebecca Homkes offers a framework she calls Survive, Reset, Thrive for dealing with unexpected market conditions. “The first stage of ‘survive’ is acknowledging you’re in ‘survive,’” she says.

2. Create Listening Communities

Smart organizations and leaders anticipate problems before they arise. Developing a strategy requires listening. Otherwise, it won’t be fully informed or won’t create a sense of ownership for the rest of the organization. Our CSO members recommended a few tactical ways to stay plugged into the voice of the organization. One member invites all members who have been promoted in the past year over for wine. Another uses internal consultants to listen to employee feedback.

3. Build the Strategy

When it comes to managing outrage on the macro level, leaders must decide if it’s right to take action. Karthik recommends four questions for leaders to answer:

1. Are we directly responsible for the outrage?
2. Will our inaction exacerbate it?
3. Is acting to alleviate the outrage part of our contract with stakeholders?
4. Do we want it to be?

If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” it’s time to act. On the Outthinkers Podcast, Sally Susman, Pfizer’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, offered a similar set of questions for organizations to decide whether to participate in polarizing public discourse. From the perspective of a CSO and strategy team trying to cultivate alignment and build trust across the organization, the questions are more like, “What should we own because we have the capabilities? What shouldn’t we own because we can’t authentically deliver?”

4. Put the Strategy into Practice

Karthik calls this step “Understanding your power to mobilize others.” Consider healthy ways to deploy power and the type of authority you can leverage as a strategy leader. At Outthinker, we refer to seven influence tactics :

• Authority – citing an official authority (like the CEO) in order to persuade someone to do something
• Logic – putting together a set of facts to lead to an inevitable conclusion
• Friendship – cultivating trust and asking a friend for a favor
• Consulting – inviting people to help give you input to solve a problem or make a decision together
• Asserting – simply stating what you want to happen
• Vision and values – determining what would inspire the person to act
• Exchanging and interests – giving people something they value to get something in return
• Coalition building – building networks or groups to work together to make something happen

These influence tactics represent different ways to exercise your authority and get buy-in for the strategy.

5. Build Resilience

Recognize that managing any level of conflict through this framework is demanding. You can’t stay in firefighting mode all the time, so concentrate on what is most necessary.

Strategists can manage this by decentralizing decision making out to the front lines. Give guidance and authority so people on the front lines of the organization can act quickly before tension escalates. Like driving your car and adjusting the wheel as you drive down the road, good strategists make minor adjustments as the strategy is implemented.

Final Thoughts

Leading in a polarized world demands a proactive approach that anticipates conflict, fosters open dialogue, and builds a culture of resilience before outrage surfaces. Karthik’s insights remind us that the work of strategy leaders is not just about navigating external forces but also managing internal dynamics. By turning down the temperature, creating listening communities, and building a thoughtful strategy, leaders can not only weather turbulent times but also harness them as opportunities for alignment and growth.

As we move into an increasingly polarized era, the question remains: Are you prepared to lead with empathy, clarity, and decisive action? The choice to turn outrage into progress starts with you.