Leadership in Chaos: 1st edition.
Everyone’s vulnerable, the age of outrage and the era of EX.
“Hope I leave New Zealanders with a belief that you can be kind but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused…that you can be your own kind of leader, one who knows when it’s time to go”. Jacinda Ardern, on her resignation.
Frank Kunert
Change: everyone’s vulnerable.
Google are worried. Their $149 billion search monopoly is threatened. AI chat bots, like ChatGPT, could provide more accurate search results, while TikTok has fast become a fun search engine for many. Current CEO Sundar Pichai issued a company wide code red, upending plans, fast tracking AI development and even drafted in founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. History professor at the University of Washington, Margaret O’Mara makes the point here that “No company is invincible; all are vulnerable” and “for companies that have become extraordinarily successful doing one market-defining thing, it is hard to have a second act with something entirely different.”
A thought for leaders: In times of great change, there’s often a need to jump s-curves or shake things up. For example, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, ruled during a time of great pressure on the empire. He recognised a global shift in power towards the East, and moved the capital city from Rome, to Byzantium (later Constantinople), where the empire thrived for another millennium. Big scary change, sometimes needs the courage to have big scary ideas.
Frank Kunert
Leadership: the age of outrage.
We live in chaotic and sometimes angry times. Leaders need to get used to dealing with angry stakeholders and managing in the age of outrage. Why the outrage? Well, this is the fall out from an increasingly polarised and uncertain world. This piece however, advocates a 5 step framework for managing stakeholder outrage; 1. Turning Down the Temperature, 2. Analyzing the Outrage, 3. Shaping and Bounding Your Responses, 4. Understanding Your Power to Mobilize Others and 5. Renewing Resilience.
A thought for leaders: Successful leaders in the age of outrage, manifest a certain stoicism. They can distance themselves from dangerous emotions, to look objectively, without being dismissive. The key is that “an organisation’s resilience is affected by how well its leaders manage the tension between dealing with today’s problems and planning for better management of tomorrow’s”. It’s that balance, that great leaders work on.
Frank Kunert
Culture: the era of EX.
“I no longer have enough in the tank”. New Zealand’s brilliant Jacinda Ardern’s words have echoed around the world, at a time when we are witnessing historic levels of burnout and disengagement. A US survey in June by Gallup revealed that more than half of workers described themselves as not engaged at work and did the minimum work required. So now, underlying its importance, one of the fastest growing roles in the US, is the Employee Experience Manager (EX).
A thought for leaders: Human Resources and people management, will always evolve. But, we’re entering a phase where employee experience has never been more critical for success. Does your business understand how to design meaningful employee experiences? And what steps can you take tomorrow to find out?
We’ve created a Manifesto for leadership in chaos. Each month we’ll introduce one of the principles, so here’s the first one.
Leadership Principle: Remember that Happiness is about having 3 things.
Dig deeper into this principle here or click here to download the full manifesto.
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P.S. Our featured artist this month is Frank Kunert. He often features surreal and fantastical settings, exploring themes such as technology, the environment, and the human condition.
