There is one emerging topic in my space, which has been emphasised by the rapid changes we are going through, especially in the tech space, but it touches every business I can think of, and that is: what type of leader is needed in these circumstances, or, in other words, how would we describe the modern leader? Not so easy a task, and I would like to open the conversation on it.
What happened?
For a while now, there has been confusion that is shifting the ground, especially in large organisations, brought mostly by the evolution of AI. While I, too, am in awe of the rapid change, I am also waiting to humanise the ways we use this tool. I can certainly state that organisations now need exceptional leaders more than ever, and there are many reasons for this.
In practice, when there are major rapid shifts, there are two significant challenges: where to navigate the business, and how to lead people through that shift, and both are closely connected. I would like to add that I see it as an augmentation to make us better, to make work easier, and not replace us. There will be a point in history where they will try to describe and explain the current situation we are experiencing, and I think confusion and progress will be part of that description.
There are, in my opinion, many mistakes made in the name of ‘efficiency’, and this is where I see the importance of leadership – it needs to evolve into painting a picture that helps organisations and employees navigate significant changes with ease and optimism. I think we are currently painting a very poor picture of progress because it is tied to job elimination, whereas, on the contrary, every form of progress should lead to an easier life and improve people’s well-being. This is a broad topic that I may go into in the upcoming blogs, but I would like now to focus more on the type of modern leader needed in these times.
Top-down leadership approach
Let’s put the question from an organisational perspective. If your organisation goes through a major shift such as an acquisition, AI transformation, or rapid expansion, you need to have a certain type of leader already prepared to navigate those waters. This has to start with the highest level of management, because you cannot expect other levels to embed leadership on their own merit; the primary inspiration comes from above. This is why company values, mission, and vision are important, and have been very wrongfully treated as just letters, and I would also like to emphasize the part where leaders need to be prepared for these shifts, and that means working on their leadership style, communication, and problem-solving before major shifts arise.
If we are being honest, I have met people who carry stress and the weight of leadership far more easily than others; it looks effortless when you see them in practice, much like a highly successful professional athlete. The truth is that behind that sense of ease and the way they work and lead, there is a great deal of effort. You only see the end result. That is why I emphasise the need for leaders to evolve; organisations need to train them to be more adaptable and multifaceted. This means being able to lead themselves, lead others, and understand all of the systems within the organisation and how they operate.
If this groundwork is done successfully, everything else becomes much easier, and other leaders can adapt as well. It is a cascade effect: if the top does not function effectively, you cannot expect the other levels to do so.
The worst-case scenario and the best one
If you are the one in charge of people development, or the owner, you may ask: “Why do I need to evolve? Things will happen anyway”. You are partially right. Things will happen, but sharpening leadership skills within the ecosystem of your organisation gives you a competitive edge and a better chance of progress or even survival. Let me be clearer:
A good leader does not make decisions based on blind trends or panic.
A good leader builds a strategy instead of copying and pasting what everyone else is doing.
A good leader does not present efficiency as redundancy; they make plans to retrain people.
This is the reality: what you cut at the roots now cannot grow again. This is where leadership often makes mistakes, by eliminating too quickly, a gap is created that becomes very difficult to fill afterwards. That is why strategic leadership is more important than ever. It is easy to make decisions on a whim in the name of profit, but in the long run, those same decisions can drain long-term value.
My message to all organisations is this: train your leaders in time. Prepare them for shifts such as the ones we are experiencing globally, but also for those specific to your organisation, whether that is a merger, new product development, or an acquisition. If the groundwork is not done properly, many things will fail when the real challenge arises.
I can help you prepare your leadership and show you how to scale it, so that the groundwork is in place and your leaders are equipped to make the most of it. Let’s talk.