Leadership in Chaos: 12th edition.
Leaders Digest

Leadership in Chaos: 12th edition.

By 12th July 2024 July 16th, 2024 No Comments

Leadership in Chaos: 12th edition.

bad habits, storytelling, the / era.

“Remembering that you’re going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Steve Jobs

Rala Choi

Leadership: bad habits.

A new year brings new motivations. A great time to reflect about your intentions as a leader in 2024. You’ll want to do more of the unquestionable fundamentals like: a clear vision; a well-defined and aligned strategy; an inclusive, intellectually stimulating, and creative work environment; and a commitment to developing employees to their full potential. And you’ll want to avoid bad habits. So here’s three “Bad Boss” Habits to Avoid in 2024. Mindset traps that undermine effectiveness and erode trust within teams.
  1. The self-protector: driven by a need for self-preservation. Emotionally detached.
  2. The controller: tries to control results and drives people hard. Self-oriented, narcissistic.
  3. The complier: spends time managing “up”. Fears making hard decisions.

A thought for leaders: We start the year with the best intentions, but bad habits can creep in and take control. Great leaders ensure they continually align their actions with their intentions to avoid falling into bad habits. Are you making sure that you:

  • Lead, don’t manage – don’t mistake productivity for leadership.
  • Seek feedback, don’t avoid it – create and support a feedback culture.
  • Dedicate time for introspection and self-evaluation – don’t sleepwalk through it all.
  • Re-engage your curiosity – continue to learn, develop and grow.

Rala Choi

Communication: storytelling.

Most leaders right now, are facing change. It’s everywhere. But it’s often said, depending on the measurement used, up to 70% of organizational change efforts fail. And one of the big reasons for failure, is communication. That’s why storytelling that drives bold change, matters. Research has shown that humans think in metaphors and stories, so creating a compelling story can transform your organization, by shaping attitudes and beliefs. To do that, here are four key steps you can take: understand your story so well that you can describe it in simple terms; honor the past; articulate a mandate for change; and lay out a rigorous and optimistic path forward. Simple. But not easy.

A thought for leaders: if we’re navigating a sea of change, and leaders are at the helm, then increasing your chances of success is important. The right story will help you succeed. And as a leader, it begins with the story you tell yourself. This sets the tone and the stage for everyone else. Your emotions are contagious, and they’re connected to your story. So get it right. Your story, will become their reality.

Rala Choi

Change: the / era.

People have a different relationship with work today. Young people in particular. And it will continue to evolve. For example, many don’t like to be defined as just one thing and have multiple talents (e.g. writer / DJ / lawyer) in what can be described as the forward-slash era. Jodie Foster recently called Gen Z’s “annoying” in the workplace. It was a sweeping generalism, and her comments reflect broader criticism of Gen Z, who’ve been called entitled and lazy workers. Here a Gen Z employer gives their perspective, making the point that if you don’t pay Gen Z enough, train them enough and inspire them enough, then you will reap what you sow.

A thought for leaders: the world is transforming, but are you keeping pace as an employer? Are you designed for tomorrow’s talent? As this work in 2024 report highlights, work (for many) isn’t great right now. A mix of flexibility and trust issues and bad management are taking their toll. How can you change to better meet the needs of tomorrow’s talent? Do you understand their (flexible) needs?

Rala Choi

Podcast: Leadership Manifesto Principle #20: Zoom Out Often

For this edition, keeping in theme with its topics, we are revisiting episode 52: Leadership Manifesto Principle #20: Zoom Out Often. In this episode, we cover…
  • The Science of Zooming Out
  • Why Leaders are reluctant to step away
  • The benefits of seeing the bigger picture

… At this time of year, when we are trying to break bad habits, hone our storytelling skills and see things from another generation’s perspective, one of the most useful activities might be to step back and see the wood for the trees.

Listen to the full episode here. Enjoy!

You can follow Flow Group on Linkedin here.

P.S. This month’s featured artist is Seoul-based fine art photographer Rala Choi. His works often feature figures from behind, and stand out for their painterly quality and command of saturated colour. Scenes unfold within scarlet, sky blue or navy rooms where objects are kept to a minimum. The most important element for Choi is to communicate his characters’ innermost thoughts and feelings. His photography often embodies contradictory emotions, for example, loneliness and warmth. There is often a sense of being alone, together.