Fearless Leadership in a World of Disruption and Transformation

Leaders face increasingly tough challenges in a world that’s experiencing massive uncertainty. Today, whether it’s geopolitics, technology disruptions from AI’s increasing role in our lives, or climate change, a number of trends are converging that make the job of leadership more critical than ever — at the very time when it’s more complicated to lead.

I recently spoke on my podcast with Ramesh Srinivasan, a senior partner for McKinsey & Company. During our conversation, Ramesh shared some important advice for leaders in a world of disruption and transformation to help guide us through these unprecedented waters. Here’s a summary of some of the insights and strategies we discussed:

Leadership Isn’t For Everyone

When we think of leadership, Ramesh pointed out that it’s not about authority, position, or telling others what to do. “It’s really about generating commitment, co-creating solutions to then sustainably deliver outcomes in the world,” he told me, and I couldn’t agree more. Leadership is the ability to influence, guide, mobilize, and inspire others to achieve a collective purpose, vision, or set of goals that the group wants to accomplish.

Becoming a leader is a choice, and Ramesh emphasized that leadership isn’t for everybody. Some can choose to be individual contributors and gain their sense of meaning and purpose from that. But those who choose to work with a group of people and take accountability for the collective actions of the group have entered the realm of leadership.

Respond, Don’t React

As the pressure cooker has continued to heat up for corporate and institutional leaders over the last few years, I’ve seen many instances of executives emotionally reacting to situations rather than thoughtfully responding. The difference is that when we mindfully respond, we pause and think about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, how we could do it differently, or whether we should do anything at all. Rather than just reacting out of fear, presumed pressure, and self-doubt, when we respond, we accept how things are happening.

There couldn’t be a better time for leaders to understand this distinction and be intentional about it, opening up the hood on our own processes and looking in. Instead of reacting, today’s leaders should take care to be thoughtful and intentional in how they respond, so they can have a greater impact within their teams and organizations.

Create Balcony Moments

Ramesh advised that one way leaders could get better at responding rather than reacting is through recognizing when they need to be in the arena and be “on the dance floor,” so to speak, and when they should create the space to step back “onto the balcony” for self-reflection on their own purpose, which they can then use to co-create solutions with their team. These balcony moments don’t need to entail going off the grid for a month-long retreat, but could be as simple as taking a day to recover, reflect, and ask yourself, “What’s the most important thing I could be doing today?”

This is where I think leaders can really show up: when they take the opportunity to reflect on “What just happened here?” Leaders need to develop the discipline to step back and think about their own impact, but also create discipline within their teams and organizations to explore getting comfortable with creating balcony moments.

Combine Vulnerability and Courage

Giving yourself balcony moments takes vulnerability and courage on the part of a leader—it involves admitting that you’re not the smartest one in the room, and that you’re open to reassessing how you’ve been doing things. As Ramesh put it: “As you think about larger and larger teams and institutions operating in a diverse set of geographies with many different complexities, I, as a leader, just by definition, cannot know all the answers to all the problems that my teams need to solve.” It comes down to balancing getting results with the human side of leadership, creating an environment where people feel psychologically safe so that they can co-create solutions and come up with the best answers.

Ramesh shared that one way to do this is through “micro-practices.” In a new book he coauthored called The Journey of Leadership, he features an example of a leader named Rita who combines both vulnerability and courage by setting a vision and a clear objective for things she’s trying to do. In meetings, Rita is careful not to be the first person to say, “This is the answer,” because she knows that has a high chance of shutting off debate and creativity. She does this in a way that enables all her team members and leaders to be effective.

Engage in “Fearless Learning”

As I’ve coached people over the years, I’ve noticed that some assume they may not be getting the opportunities they really need, and it’s easy to give up. But one thing I’ve seen many successful leaders have in common is that they never throw in the towel. They persevere, championing their belief in themselves. They stay in their organization and stretch out of their comfort zones, getting in front of the right people who can help their careers. I’ve found that path is generally the right mindset for leaders who want to stay in the game.

Ramesh and I have both seen great examples of “fearless learners” like these—CEOs who are willing to surround themselves with a community of truth tellers. Effective leaders constantly ask for feedback as one of their micro-practices. When senior leaders ask for feedback, there’s a high chance that others will start asking for feedback too, which increases the learning quotient of the whole organization. When senior leaders are open to and accept and embrace even difficult feedback, it starts to create a culture where it’s okay to give honest feedback—even to the CEO.

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Rebecca is a contributing editor for Harvard Business Review and has been showcased on CNBC, TED Talks, Fox News (New York), NPR, Washington Business, and ABC. Rebecca Shambaugh is President of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, Founder of Women in Leadership and Learning, and author of the best-selling books It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor. Rebecca is also the host of her podcast, Leaders Rise.