Make Leaders Great Again

We’ve been witnessing a world spinning slowly but inexorably out of control. Wildfires. Epidemics. Violence. Viruses. Economic and environmental chaos.

And yet many of our leaders remain out of touch. Disputes are settled not by diplomacy but by drones. Dissent is dissed, gassed, or otherwise suppressed. They flock to Davos, or the latest G-something Summit, in their private jets and complain, briefly, about carbon footprints. Leaders of the free world speak more like schoolyard bullies, trumpeting how they are better than anyone else. They preach that in nations as in business, it’s everyone for themselves, and no one for all.

This isn’t a critique of any one leader, although some more radioactively glow in the dark than others. It is a symptom of the current era, where resurgent nationalism, partisanship, and selfishness dominate. And those who criticize them are often no better, casting everything in terms of class or race or gender discrimination rather than looking constructively at how bridges can be built for the good of all.

One need not be a prophet to foresee where all this is heading. Arctic ice is melting. Seas are rising. Cities and islands are starting to drown. The air of cities is filled with toxic fumes while meltdown radiation, spilled oil, and discarded plastic poison our seas. Runaway development is destroying the rainforest and making the world’s cities into gas chambers.

In the world of business, we witness a parallel development as trade barriers go up and international cooperation is replaced by tariff wars. It is understandable that CEOs are concerned about their bottom lines and the next quarterly or annual report, but are they really much different than politicians in their focus on short-term gains – retaining their roles, salaries and perks – rather than thinking out of the box and consider the long-term impact of their shortsighted focus on production and profits above all.

Technology has forever changed business and the pace of change is inexorably accelerating. In the past five decades we have moved from industrial pipelines with a focus on ramping up production and distribution to cloud-based ecosystem which focus on attracting (or distracting) our attention and inducing (or seducing) us to share someone else’s interest with our friends (most of whom are not friends at all). We may be followers and fans, but are we really following what’s blowing in the wind?

The answer, my friends, also eludes the vast preponderance of our leaders. Immersed in and chained to a transactional mindset, they are unable to execute the strategic transformation that the changing times demand. Most corporate transformations fail miserably. Companies which fail to adapt quickly enough and wisely enough go the way of the dinosaurs and the dodos. Where have you gone, Eastman Kodak and Polaroid? Where are you today, Nokia and Bayer? Thomas Cook? Barnes and Noble? Monsanto? We can’t just round up the usual suspects. We need new thinking.

If we look past the headlines and bottom lines, we see for the most part: the same old same old. Transactional thinking. Bureaucratic, egocentric leaders. Hierarchical, top-down, technocratic rule which rides roughshod over the interests of human beings and the need for listening and cooperation. The fish stinks from the head, every culture tells us.

Here and there we find bright spots, leaders who guide their executive teams and entire enterprise in an altogether different way. They lead from within, they listen with empathy. They think outside the box, they see the big picture. They recognize the importance of cooperation and synergy among traditional competitors. Captains of industry recognize that, ultimately, we’re in the same boat and that a rising tide raises all ships.

This new breed of leaders has no patience for the parroting of teleprompted propaganda targeted for political or financial gain. Rather they turn to each other, seeking out leaders who share their values and their vision of a way out, for fellow humans and for the planet we inhabit. The remarkable thing is that, across national borders, transcending age and ethnicity, they recognize each other.

It’s in the eyes. It’s in the smile. It’s in the manner of speaking.

It’s civility. It’s humility. It’s humor. All those things that are lacking in the politicos and old school bosses. Transformative leaders lead from within. They catalyze chance by setting personal examples which inspire, energize, and actualize. They walk the talk. 

What we recognize in each other is a common humanity, an appreciation of the need and value of an expanded consciousness about our shared earth and our role as its caretakers. We grasp the critical importance of human aliveness to energize and catalyze our unfulfilled potential to transform ourselves, our societies, our worlds.

The answer to the same old, same old is a new approach to connecting and interacting so that courageous leaders can learn from each other, strengthen each other, support each other. Sometimes console each other.

The zero-sum game of transactional, strictly technical thinking is dying. The wheelers and dealers that now run this world are running out of ideas, and out of steam. The deal they offer has proven less an art than a fart. And they are being exposed, like the wizard of Oz, as con-artists not scions of conscience.

A new era of transformational leadership from a place of aliveness, awareness and shared mutual concern has begun.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the French writer and pioneering aviator, once wrote:

"If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

Time to set sail!