A few days back, I heard Dr Vishwambhar Choudhari, a renowned environmental activist and a biologist, speak at a seminar. He mentioned current view among biologists that the evolution of human brain on the physical plane seems to have reached an end, but the movement now seems to be toward connectivity among human brains, something like a collective brain. It struck me that since the challenges of contemporary society and organizations are big, complex and new, it is not possible for one person to be able to view, comprehend and conceptualize a whole set of responses to these challenges. Yet, we continue to look for solutions in the realm of Leadership and by that term, we always have in mind a single Leader who is inspirational, transformational, effective and successful. Now that's a tall order and doesn't appear realistic to expect of a single individual, howsoever great (if great be the right word).
Then I came across another study by Rasmussen and Li, reported in the Institutional Investor, that investigated the MBA Myth and the Cult of the CEO. They found that elite education and track record of success of the CEO did not seem to influence corporate performance significantly. Theauthors after an exhaustive study of data on companies and CEO's expressed this view:
"Journalists, investors, and boards are placing excessive emphasis on CEO pedigrees and track records. In a world that is feedback-rich, stochastic, and “fat tailed,” the simple narrative of the “great man” does not appear to have much quantitative merit — rather, it seems like yet another cognitive bias in the vein of those discovered by Daniel Kahneman."
Thenagain I heard my well-informed friends, who have worked in top and senior positions in industry, ask me at the end of a predictable discussion on current politics:
"yes , we agree the current government headed by Mr M has not delivered. But where is the alternative?"
The question presupposes that one man as a Leader with all the qualities that you desire in him is going to solve the problems facing the country. If you look at the current state of evolution of human society and human brain, this expectation of a singular leader who will deliver is quite outdated. The dynamism and the complexity of life have grown much beyond our conception. So we need to supplement our concept of Leadership by that ofLeadership team .
A leader must be able to marshal multifaceted talent, manage the team and inspire execution at the broad base ground level. Obviously, such a leader must be an outstanding human being in terms of wisdom, strength and sensitivity. His team ought to comprise people ofcalibre and character, and they must learn to work together, which translated in practice, means they must know how to manage differences productively.
We have had Dr Man Mohan Singh as a Leader who possessed wisdom and sensitivity. His strength as a leader was compromised by several factors. His team had multiple talents, but he was not able to rein in his ministers and could not inspire execution at the broad base in line with the vision.
Then we saw Mr Narendra Modi in the last five years working long hours. That spoke of his stamina and strength. But his team could not be described as having the intellectual and political bandwidth that a country like India needs. From Gujaratto India is not a matter of scaling up, it is a quantum jump in complexity. Mr Modi's difficulties have arisen primarily from lack of bandwidth of talent and from a non-playing team under a captain trying to bat, bowl, keep wickets and field all at the same time.
So today when we are faced with a choice, we have to carefully look at all the contending candidates as Leaders and their respective Leadership teams, in order to answer the question," where is the alternative?"
Then I came across another study by Rasmussen and Li, reported in the Institutional Investor, that investigated the MBA Myth and the Cult of the CEO. They found that elite education and track record of success of the CEO did not seem to influence corporate performance significantly. The
"Journalists, investors, and boards are placing excessive emphasis on CEO pedigrees and track records. In a world that is feedback-rich, stochastic, and “fat tailed,” the simple narrative of the “great man” does not appear to have much quantitative merit — rather, it seems like yet another cognitive bias in the vein of those discovered by Daniel Kahneman."
Then
"
The question presupposes that one man as a Leader with all the qualities that you desire in him is going to solve the problems facing the country. If you look at the current state of evolution of human society and human brain, this expectation of a singular leader who will deliver is quite outdated. The dynamism and the complexity of life have grown much beyond our conception. So we need to supplement our concept of Leadership by that of
A leader must be able to marshal multifaceted talent, manage the team and inspire execution at the broad base ground level. Obviously, such a leader must be an outstanding human being in terms of wisdom, strength and sensitivity. His team ought to comprise people of
We have had Dr Man Mohan Singh as a Leader who possessed wisdom and sensitivity. His strength as a leader was compromised by several factors. His team had multiple talents, but he was not able to rein in his ministers and could not inspire execution at the broad base in line with the vision.
Then we saw Mr Narendra Modi in the last five years working long hours. That spoke of his stamina and strength. But his team could not be described as having the intellectual and political bandwidth that a country like India needs. From Gujarat
So today when we are faced with a choice, we have to carefully look at all the contending candidates as Leaders and their respective Leadership teams, in order to answer the question," where is the alternative?"
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