Time political leadership pursued purpose not power
Effective leadership is critical to the success of any organisation. Much like companies, countries also require competent leadership, and just by looking at the current global economic situation, we can see the type of leadership style each chief of state has in the way they make decisions.
Whether their decisions are good or bad, nonetheless, they have long-lasting implications for their countries, sometimes for decades after they have left office. Organisations face similar issues which can result in the failure of their business.
Toxic work environments are caused by a lack of mature, responsible leadership, which can lead to confusion, disgruntlement and ultimately the collapse of a company that took years to build. However, the right kind of leadership can transform a business and take it to new heights.
The same could be said for politics. The world is like a workplace in disarray, and its leaders are failing humanity. If global leaders took a few pages from corporate management standards, they could build leadership for their countries that results in stability, countering and preventing disruption and unrest.
The war in Ukraine is the most compelling geopolitical shift since the end of the Cold War in 1991. Volatility has increased since the global financial crisis of 20082009, with the shift from a unipolar to a multipolar world – from one pervasive global superpower to several great powers.
Recent events have entrenched a multipolar world, also signalling the end of a period of globalisation that has spanned the past three decades. While international commerce will continue, changes in the global business arena will shift operations, as well as approaches in the years to come. The convergence of geopolitics and global business has become pervasive and definitive.
One would expect that the culture surrounding the way global organisations are run would permeate into the political narrative. However, the two are almost completely disconnected. How and why is it possible that corporate leadership philosophy has evolved over the decades, while political leadership has not?
By empowering people and working toward something bigger – a purpose that will change people’s lives – business leaders have learnt that is the most effective and enduring way to inspire productivity. Global leaders, however, have failed to learn this lesson. Instead, they exhibit a stagnant, pervasive mindset when there is always room to learn something new to become better leaders.
Management skills training equips business leaders to connect their people to purpose in a way that drives meaningful growth through engagement. Skills that are desperately lacking in politics.
If global leaders learnt how to pursue purpose instead of power, it would be possible for them to build trust with their constituents.
The political world would do well to draw its lessons from the corporate world on leadership. Politicians should upskill on a continuous basis, to ensure they are adequately equipped to face the change and uncertainty that lies ahead as humanity attempts to deal with the consequences of recent geopolitical events.