This month Trendwatching’s musings highlight the work of German philosopher Zygmunt Bauman and offer an interesting insight into the leadership qualities most needed today.‘Liquid Modernity’ is Bauman's term for the present condition of the world. According to Bauman, we now have to splice together an unending series of short-term projects and episodes that don't add up to the kind of sequence to which concepts like ‘career’ and ‘progress’ could be meaningfully applied. Such fragmented lives require us to be flexible and adaptable — to be constantly ready and willing to change tactics at short notice and to pursue opportunities according to their current availability. In liquid modernity the individual must act, plan actions and calculate the likely gains and losses of acting (or failing to act) under conditions of endemic uncertainty.
This reflects our own leadership research. Flexible leadership is key to success during turbulent times and through to recovery. Without flexibility, leaders will become the ‘rabbits in the headlights’ of the business world.
There are certain key leadership behaviours which enable the flexible and adaptable approach that Bauman talks about. These are:
Conceptual flexibility – the ability to identify multiple solutions to a particular challenge, to hold different options simultaneously in focus and evaluate pros and cons
Continuous improvement – the ability to set challenging yet realistic goals and targets to continually improve performance. Measuring and reviewing progress towards goals and taking action to ensure these are achieved
Empathy - finding out and encouraging others to express openly their real thoughts and feelings
Teamwork - creating and developing cohesive teams within your unit and across related departments, functions or sectors
Contact CHPD to find out how to accurately assess and develop strengths in these high performance behaviours.
Request copies of CHPD’s white papers on flexible leadership and turbulent times.
www.chpd.com
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