Insights

All the talk of a new year and new goals for leaders has got me thinking. Are great leaders born or made? Are natural born leaders, merely a myth? Can great leaders be cultivated? Is great leadership a learned behaviour or context specific?
 
And how long can a great leader remain so? Reputation can take years to build but only a moment to lose. Power and greatness can be fleeting. It’s an interesting paradox; it’s only when you are no longer there that you learn what people say about you and how much your leadership legacy matters.
 
Today we view leaders as successful if they are pioneering, purposeful and people-focused. Yet c-Suite and executive leaders need a vast range of skills to deliver the required results and ensure a lasting legacy that counts, while navigating through risk and uncertainty. 

Has the nature of leadership changed?

With an estimated 50,000 books on leadership listed on Amazon alone, improving leadership is big business. But has leadership really changed so exponentially to warrant over 50,000 books? Can great leaders magically materialise from reading self-improvement books? 

Writing about leadership in the ‘stakeholder era’, Harvard Business Review suggests that the role of senior leaders has changed in three fundamental ways.
 
Firstly, it’s not just about maximising shareholder value but also about making a positive difference in the world. Secondly, maximising performance not by choosing between stakeholders but instead by embracing, mobilising and serving all stakeholders towards a noble purpose. Thirdly, the top-down model of the powerful hero-leader driven by power, fame, glory or money is no longer relevant and, instead, a leadership approach that puts purpose and people at the heart of the business will develop a flourishing and purposeful human organisation. 

What makes a natural born leader? 

Are relationship skills and empathy innate or learned? I believe it is a combination of both. For me, leadership is all about people and relationships. An empathetic and compassionate leader who genuinely cares for their peers and their people will deliver better outcomes. 

“Caring about people is important.
You can’t be a good leader unless you generally like people.”

Richard Branson, Founder and Chair Virgin Group

Of course, there are exceptions. Steve Jobs was not reputed to be a warm and caring leader. A genius undoubtedly, yet seemingly little in the way of nurturing or human leadership.
 
When I think about inspirational and impactful business leaders, there is another common trait. It’s their drive and determination, the “fire in the belly” and that heartfelt passion. Those aren’t learned traits; they are drivers fuelling the determination and resilience to keep going and realise both personal and professional ambitions.
 
Visionary thinking is another inherent trait that you either have or lack. Looking beyond the possible and imagining the unimaginable cannot be taught. The best leaders have a unique ability to connect the dots, to see synergies and correlations between disparate information, perspectives and events enabling them to see over the horizon, make decisions and pursue the best direction.
 
The age of the stereotypical heroic and authoritarian leader – the ‘psychopath in a suit’ - has largely gone. Today’s most successful and compassionate leaders demonstrate the right balance of both competence and vulnerability, enabling them to connect with their people and lead effectively.

The changing leadership landscape

In my view, it’s not necessarily about whether great leaders are born great or made great or have greatness thrust upon them, it’s about the context and the operating environment. A good leader operating in severe market conditions may not survive, a lesser leader in positive market conditions may thrive. So is it the nature of leadership that’s changing, or the context? 
 
The workplace looks different in a post-Covid world. Hybrid working remains and is now an expectation. Intergenerationally, the talent pipeline has diminished, more women than men dropped out of the workforce. Reports state that younger workers don’t want to have people and middle management responsibilities, they want the freedom of being individual contributors.
 
And the impact of the pandemic on human connection and social capital still reverberates. Add to this the geopolitical landscape of war in Europe and the Middle East, the shifting balance of democracy, globalisation, the pace of technological advancements and the emergence of generations “born digital”. This requires a different type of leadership.  

Contextual leadership

Do natural born leaders have the agility and growth mindset to lead effectively and evolve during continual change? Nitin Nohria, former Dean of Harvard Business School, believes that it is “contextual intelligence” that matters most and that effective leadership is shaped by six factors; global events, government intervention, labour relations, demographics, social mores and the technology landscape.
 
Leaders that recognise these shifts and leverage the opportunities they present have contextual intelligence that enables them to respond to the changing zeitgeist. A great example is Tim Cook leading Apple to focus not on new products but on services that create a desirable and profitable iOS. He also appeals in an age when employees and consumers expect leaders to lead on societal concerns by being a visible advocate for LGBTQ issues.
 
Leaders today clearly require agility, adaptability and flexibility to lead effectively through continual change and disruption. Mental toughness, curiosity and innovation also matter.

“Leadership has not changed but the context has.
It is the speed of change that is different.
Change is accelerating exponentially.”

Doug Strycharczyk and John Perry

Doug Strycharczyk, CEO of AQR International and author of Who Cares Wins, believes that mental toughness is key for leaders to navigate the sheer rate of change. Mental toughness is a mindset or attitude, it’s about being resilient and positive in the face of stress, pressure, challenge and opportunity. Whether you’re more mentally tough or mentally sensitive, your approach to life and work matters and is closely linked to mental wellbeing.
 
Having “compassionate intelligence” enables a leader to support the mental wellbeing of their people. I would add that “cultural intelligence” also matters; the ability to recognise shifts and trends in people behaviours, societal trends and public opinion and authentically leverage opportunities for engagement and connection.  
 
Equally, having a broader perspective and anticipating how different stakeholders may react to events is a key leadership trait. Linked to this are skills in crisis management, social media and digital transformation to ensure leaders mitigate potential business and reputational risks.
 
Allison Kirkby, chief executive of BT Group, is a proven leader with a strong track record of transforming businesses. She understands the changing context and has embarked on an ambitious strategic plan at BT to reduce costs, migrate customers to next-generation networks, simplify the offer and enhance digital and AI platforms.
 
To reflect this changing context, Dave Ulrich, Professor at University of Michigan and author of so many books on business and HR, has updated his work on the Leadership Code to Leadership Code 4.0. Whilst the five domains (strategist, executor, talent manager, human capital developer and investing in your personal proficiency) have remained timeless, the specific behaviours driving effectiveness in each of these have evolved, demonstrating how outstanding leaders pivot and change in line with the changing business context.

Changing the expectations on leaders

In my practice, coaching leaders in many different organisations and industry sectors, I’m seeing a shift in the context and also the requirements and expectations of leaders.
 
No one leader can ever hope to have all the skills required to navigate the complexity and change required. The role of a cohesive Executive team is even more vital as leaders drive forward the whole ecosystem of leadership across the workforce, stakeholders, external strategic partners, the supply chain, customers and the wider community.
 
A clear leadership differentiator is created when leaders operate across the organisation and beyond, leading and influencing senior colleagues from Exec and Non-Exec teams, from Governance to Risk & Audit.  Shareholders and stakeholders require leaders that are insightful, influential and politically savvy.
 
Having a rich and varied network to call upon fast, is key. Along with one specific skill above others; social skills. Social skills encompass self-awareness, ability to listen and communicate, ability to work with different types of people and emotional intelligence.
 
McKinsey advocates five fundamental shifts in mindsets for leaders to achieve sustainable, inclusive growth. These are: beyond profit to impact; beyond expectations to wholeness; beyond command to collaboration; beyond control to evolution; and beyond competition to co-creation.
 
Taken together, these five shifts redefine leadership for the new era.
 
The leadership gender gap

Today’s talent pipeline sees 52:48 men to women entering the workforce and yet, according to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace Research 2024, for c-suite positions this diminishes to 71:29 men to women.
 
Still today, so many leadership role models cited are men. Yet there are many great women leaders paving the way and some great organisations supporting this, including The Female Lead, created by data entrepreneur, Edwina Dunn MBE, to empower women to overcome inequalities in society and business.
 
Over the past decade, McKinsey report that women have made important gains at every level of the corporate pipeline (especially in senior leadership). Women now hold 42% of board seats at the UK’s biggest listed companies,
 
Yet progress is surprisingly fragile, with women’s outlook and day-to-day experiences not being much different, or even worse, than they were nearly a decade ago. 
 
We know that businesses with women on their leadership teams are more likely to experience above average profitability, yet in the UK just 10 of the FTSE 100 CEO’s are women. That’s hard to rationalise, don’t you think?

Leadership wellbeing

Today’s climate can take its toll mentally and physically. Leaders today need to strike a balance between workplace and wellbeing and knowing when to redress the balance.
 
The wellbeing of our leaders and people is key. We only have to look to Dame Amanda Blanc, Group CEO of Aviva, who not only influenced some of the biggest changes in corporate Britain in recent years, she also took a very firm stance against sexism and misconduct that put her at the forefront of a cultural shift. 

“In the long run, EQ trumps IQ.
Without being a source of energy for others,
very little can be accomplished.”

Satya Nadella, Chair and CEO of Microsoft

Whilst Nadella is clear in his view that it is a leader’s job to generate energy, you can’t do that if you’re mentally and physically exhausted. Today’s successful leaders prioritise themselves – invest in their self-proficiency, their social capital, their development and continuous learning to re-energise, keep skills fresh and adapt as the leadership context changes.
 
I advise my clients to go where the joy is; nurturing their energy and the energy in others. It’s about being human. Human-centric leadership is increasingly critical in a tech driven world. 

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.” 

Maya Angelou, Poet and Civil Rights Activist

For 21st Century leaders, there are so many nuances and contexts to consider that contribute to today’s high pressure, high pace, high stakes environments for leaders. Maybe the expectations placed on leaders need to shift? Are we perhaps pushing people towards something that is becoming nigh on impossible? And damaging great leaders in the process?

Nurturing leadership

Collaboration, curating teams, humility, resilience and learning from your failures and those of others, are all essential leadership traits that can be learned.
 
As is the ability to bring clarity by simplifying the complex – taking the internal and external complexity and providing a clear and simple message to enable shared understanding and define the best course of action. 
 
Competency is a leadership given, yet legitimacy is vital. Legitimacy fuels trust, and trust in turn fuels engagement. Legitimacy can be earned and learned through demonstrating clear direction, fairness, integrity, authenticity, commitment, by being grounded and instilling a clear sense of purpose.
 
And as a coach working with both natural and developing leaders, I have seen the incredible value of both coaches and mentors. Having expert confidantes on your side is a game-changer to help nurture your skills and ability to navigate the context.
 
For me, leadership is a choice. It’s not a choice you take lightly.  Today’s business leaders face ever increasing levels of turbulence, trauma and technology.  I see it as my role to equip leaders to navigate both the nuance and the complexity by boosting them, inspiring them and challenging them to greater success.

Context is key

The pace, expectations and tenure of leaders have undoubtedly changed. But the need for leaders to lead their people effectively, manage challenges and leave a solid legacy hasn't.
 
For me, leadership hasn’t changed but the context and complexity has – and changes in context require changes in leadership approach. Natural leadership ability is key, as is life-long learning and cultivating the skills required to lead effectively in today’s challenging climate.

Great leaders are both born and made.

It’s about nurturing natural ability, being current, contextual and seizing the opportunities that transform you, your stakeholders and your leadership.