The Challenge for New Leaders

Before a new era can come into being, there must be a ‘new story’. Playwright Arthur Miller noted that we know an era has ended when its basic illusions have been exhausted. The challenge for emerging leaders within any organization is to be the standard bearers for the ‘new story’. How to be this; how to do this, is no easy matter. Challenging entrenched stories with their well worn and at times, well loved scripts, calls for courage, clarity and integrity of intent.

I know this because I am working in a leadership development programme where emerging leaders are beginning to understand and own the responsibility that they have  – the responsibility to, ‘write the new story’. It is a daunting task and yet one that is unavoidable as they assume the mantel of leadership and take the organization into the future. Just one of the things that has to change is entrenched gender discrimination. It is not malicious or even intentional, is usually wrapped in humour and falls completely into the blind spot of those for whom it has become ingrained behaviour. But it is there, and those who feel the sharp end of its destructive impact, know it has to change.

Being a leader who understands that the story has to change requires vision and intelligence. Cultural change within an organization is the responsibility of leadership and bringing about change at this level often leaves leaders with feelings of inadequacy and can prove to be exhausting. The response is often to ‘leave it to the experts’, to outsource the responsibility or to devise a ‘programme’ that includes all but the leaders themselves. Such responses are doomed to failure. Re-scripting the story, bringing about cultural change is a leadership responsibility. It happens because the leaders themselves recognize the shortcomings of their own attitudes and behavior and set about changing themselves.  For leaders this is hardest work of all and yet, in a context of change, it is the essential work of leaders.

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