Good Leadership

What the world needs is good leadership.

Good leadership? What do we understand by “good leadership”? The many books on administration would define it as a managerial activity that produces gains in terms of the objectives of the enterprise. Leadership is reduced into managing. As I understand it, management and leadership are different. Stephen M. R. Covey (in his book Trust & Inspire) makes a great point about the difference based on the idea that management is about physical resources and leadership is about people. (Understanding that people are not physical resources.)

At present, the world is in crisis and many countries are turning to right wing personalities to lead their lives. Recent elections in Argentina and The Netherlands two populist won elections based on the message that they are the ones that can manage the country. Superficially, people voted for them in the hope that they will solve their country’s problems. The message of these populist is pushing the idea that their government will command and control the situation. Not aware that when dealing with human activities the paradigm if command and control is ineffective. In today’s culture a more open paradigm based on human values is what is needed.

Society is becoming more diverse. Diverse in many ways, chronological, ethnic, sociological, etc. Leadership need to be an emerging force that brings all these diverse factors into consideration and play. The best example I have in my mind now is how Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft) was able to transform a company with more than one hundred thousand employees to regain it place in the market and the world. For sure this success was not accomplished by command and control, it has to be through tapping to the deepest of human values, inspiration. Where everyone was free to collaborate in the effort to innovate and transform what was a decaying company. A company that many business analysts have said that its time has passed! Now Microsoft’s value is in the trillions of dollars.

Is good leadership important at small scale? Family? Yes, of course! More so there because in this highly interconnected world the small and the large are part of the same field. Flourishing family members are flourishing members of society. Therefore educating good leaders in every aspect of our society is crucial for the wellbeing of all.

“Trust & Inspire” by Stephen M. R. Covey is a book that everyone has to read. Do not miss it!