In 2005, I wrote an article about the development of leadership within Welsh civic society and argued, that in developing the future of Wales, we needed leaders of real quality and calibre who could begin to make a real difference to our nation.Unfortunately, many of the arguments within that article remain as pertinent today as they did five years ago. In particular, there is the question of how Wales develops a new style of leadership across organisations that can transform the nation, especially given that the post-recession era will bring enormous challenges to a small country such as ours.
Having spent the last week in New York, it is clear that strong and innovative leadership is an integral part of the American way of life from the White House to the White Sox. Indeed, you only have to browse the bookshops of Manhattan and see the thousands of books written by management gurus, sporting stars and successful businesspeople to know that this issue is taken very seriously in the USA. Even President Obama, prior to his election, penned a bestseller setting out his leadership qualities to the nation.
Many would say that, outside the rugby pitch, such a culture of leadership is an alien concept within Wales. Certainly, there remains the perception that an ethos exists where many of those who have gained positions of authority within Welsh civic society maintain their status as leaders through the old fashioned methods promotion, perks, protection and patronage. Worst still, there are also those who use psychological currencies such as anger and threats to create a climate of fear that ‘encourages’ loyalty.
This “transactional” style, where strength is not a result of true leadership abilities but comes from the power transferred to those individuals, is not the most effective and desired style of leadership needed within a modern society. Such individuals are not powerful people in their own right but are only powerful because of their job or position, with this power acquired and maintained by a combination of fear and patronage rather than trust and respect.
As a result, they remain enforcers of the status quo within organisations rather than being agents for change. By establishing this style of management from the top of the organisation, they also create the next generation of transactional leaders as their attributes are copied by other senior people who are looking to replace the current leader.
This culture is the last thing Wales needs at a time when every nation will be looking to take advantage of a growing World economy.
In contrast to the comfort zone that we seem to have been stuck in for the last twenty years, the new Wales needs to be a place of rapid change both in terms of its economy and society.
To achieve this, we increasingly need leaders - in business, politics and civic life - with a vision that encourages and inspires others and releases the creativity within them to move Wales forward.
Unlike those who were running the ‘old’ Wales, these ‘transformational’ leaders will not use their power to maintain the status quo. Instead, they are innovative, enthusiastic, and empower others in order to create and maintain a new vision.
Such entrepreneurial leaders are of enormous value to organisations and society as a whole as they have the ability to anticipate events, envision the future, maintain flexibility, think strategically and work with others to initiate changes that will create a viable future for the organisation. They also care deeply about the people who work for them, refusing to impose their solutions or suppress potential, which results in organisations become more efficient, effective and able to fully fulfil their potential.
These individuals are the ‘holy grail’ of organisational change but are, sadly, very few and far between in Wales today. One can only hope that Welsh organisations have the courage to appoint these champions of change and innovation, thus ensuring that there is a shift away from the old transactional style that dominated Welsh life for so long to a more to transformational leadership approach.
If it does, then it may be the sign we need to show that we are finally beginning to enter a new culture across Wales where ability and vision, rather than patronage and fear, are the key to achieving success not only for individuals and organisations, but for society as a whole.
Comments
The current institutional hierarchy seems moulded in concrete and tightly bound by ropes of regulation and bureaucracy especially in the public sector. You won't see any leaders emerge from there in a hurry.
Since all our politicians are public sector trained it is therefore difficult to see any politician becoming a 'leader' in the sense that you envisage.
Since less than 30% of the economy is private sector and less than 5% Welsh owned then you are looking at a very very small pool in which to find these 'leaders'.
Also, when you take into account the fact that anyone with anything about them leaves Wales for richer pastures abroad then this talent pool shrinks to almost nothing.
This leaves then a thin dribble of experienced oldsters who are much too wary of taking on any kind of challenge of this sort (the risk/rewards ratio is not favourable).
You have always implied that 'entrepreneurial' attitudes/spirit will be a major attribute of the business leaders of the future. I disagree and challenge you to name a single business leader who is an 'entrepreneur' in the sense that is usually described. My understanding of a business leader is someone with excellent motivational skills and enthusiasm who can build and manage a team of non-entrepreneurs to deliver a product/service to market. You don't need to be any flavour of entrepreneur to do this.
I think all this attention to 'entrepreneurship' is a complete and smelly 'red herring'. We should be concentrating on developing the financial institutions/systems of Wales to make them better suited to business. Power follows money.
Of course, it is still an endlessly fascinating subject to explore and to ask questions about what characterises a 'great leader', what motivates them and how can they be spotted and nurtured.
I tend to believe the old saying that 'cometh the time, cometh the man/woman'. I hope it's soon because Wales needs it more than ever.