Outstanding leadership - a glimmer of hope or a flash in the pan?
Friday, 15 January 2010
Gemma Pearson
Category: Leadership
Given the leadership disasters we have witnessed in recent years – price fixing, competition rigging, expenses fiddling, not to mention global financial meltdown - it would be easy to assume that something is fundamentally rotten at the heart of leadership; that it has been proven to be unfit for our times.
Happily, our research provides a glimmer of hope. It demonstrates that leaders who embrace the
principles of outstanding leadership outperform their peers and do so in a way that is thoughtful, compassionate and responsible. Having worked intensively on this research for the last two years, my faith is somewhat restored by the considered thoughts and acts of leaders I have interviewed.
The question remains, however, can outstanding leadership become the norm in UK organisations? Can we help task driven, results oriented leaders to shift their philosophical mindset to put people first and lead for a sustainable future? Or will it always be just the select few who capture hearts and minds and exceed expectation?
