Meaningful Leadership
(Kjell Nordström)

Introduction

Employees no longer snap to attention when ordered to do so. They don’t passively fall into line, and intimidation and threats do not work. The fact that the work force is no longer subservient doesn’t mean that leadership is redundant, however. On the contrary, the new world of work requires even more thoughtful and meaningful leadership.

Leaders must challenge people to depart from the patterns of the past and to create new ones. This new form of leadership is about stirring the pot instead of putting on the lid. The new leaders are creators of chaos as much as originators of order. It is the job of great leaders to support the organization in combining order and chaos.

Direction

Direction is not a matter of command and control, but of focusing—allowing and encouraging people to focus on what really matters. It is spiritual management rather than micromanagement. In a chaotic world, people cry out for individuals who can provide meaning to their private and professional lives.

All organizations need a shared idea of why they exist, who they are, and where they’re going. In modern businesses this is usually expressed through a vision. The problem is that most companies don’t have an operationally potent vision. Most so-called vision statements are generic wish lists whose length is matched only by their emptiness. Visions should be unique. They should differentiate.