Leadership Hasn’t Changed as Much as You Think
The tools of the job keep moving. The heart of it has stayed exactly where it was. Pick up a book on leadership written this year, then find one written two thousand years ago. Strip away the language and you’re looking at the same argument. Somebody has to work out where a group of people […]
Could Politicians Cut It in Business? It Depends What You Mean by Leadership
Some make the jump look effortless. Others sink without a trace. The difference tells us something useful about leadership itself. It’s a fun argument to have down the pub. Take a senior politician, drop them into a big company, and would they thrive or flounder? People tend to answer it with their politics rather than […]
The Myth of the Born Leader
We love the idea that great leaders arrive fully formed. The evidence says almost the opposite, and that’s good news for the rest of us. You’ve heard it said about someone. “She’s a natural.” “He was born to lead.” It’s meant as a compliment, and it feels true when you watch a gifted leader at […]
Leadership in a Crisis: What Covid Taught Us About Being Ready
Almost overnight, every leader got the same test. Most had no plan for it, and that turned out to be the real lesson. In the space of a fortnight in March 2020, millions of people who lead teams were handed a problem none of them had rehearsed. Send everyone home. Keep the work going. Hold […]