What does great leadership really look like in 2022?

The aims and aspirations of today's company owners are as diverse as the firms themselves, especially in the current setting, when so many of us have been re-examining our relationship with work. Some of you began your company as a passion project and grew enamored as your efforts drew attention and funding. Others have successfully founded and sold many firms, while yet others are on the verge of landing the customer who will help you achieve your objectives, whatever they may be.

Despite this inherent variability, one of the most pressing topics that will undoubtedly preoccupy you is how you might improve your leadership skills. For those of you who aren't persuaded that you're actually that committed, this inquiry may take the form of 'how can I enhance productivity?', 'how can I minimize staff turnover?', or 'how can I recruit and retain better qualified and/or more experienced employees?' Another apparent question is, "How can I increase my income?"

Given that we know that strong leadership can have a big influence, it's worth thinking about how we define it presently, and if our default definitions may use some updating. In the United Kingdom, for example, discussions of 'great leadership' frequently include Winston Churchill, though those of us familiar with events as early as February 1915 may be less effusive in our praise than Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who described Churchill as "extraordinary, over-the-top, camp, with his own special trademark clothes – and a thoroughgoing genius..." He has blasted and satirized his own party from his emergence as a young Tory MP... There were far too many Conservatives who saw him as a sleazy opportunist.' For anyone who are interested in learning more, Philip Hensher's rather prescient post from 2014 is well worth reading. However, leaving aside the British perspective, one may expect that today's worldwide leadership community has recognized that conducting our organizations like twentieth-century military operations is at best incorrect.

The all-conquering and virtuous hero is another tale that is regularly invoked in the areas of debate around 'great leadership.' Why, in 2022, are we still fixated on the notion that a leader must be a (typically male) somebody who is born with better 'leadership' attributes? This is a topical and critical subject for all nations and many organizations throughout the world, as we see that the leaders we choose (and, unfortunately, don't choose) don't always make the greatest judgments.

Many of us may be inconvenienced or worse by the consequences of poor leadership and management in our daily lives. Furthermore, as Oxford University scholar Kevin Dutton points out, CEOs are not all good. Dutton argues more widely in his book 'The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success,' that "They [psychopaths] are frequently charming, confident, charismatic, and create good first impressions." They maintain their composure under duress. They are also brutal, without remorse, and without regard for shame or humiliation. As a result, they're well-suited to a variety of rewarding careers.' The fact that this makes them well-suited to a variety of profitable occupations is problematic in and of itself, but it also shows that common knowledge isn't always correct.

So, what is the answer? There are a number of critical concepts that underpin Kate Cooper Limited's approach to 'excellent leadership,' and these are organized into our 3Rs framework: 'Reality,' 'Relating,' and 'Results.' Throughout the epidemic, several organizations have suffered. Business targets stated with a glimmer of hope in early 2020 have almost certainly been abandoned in favor of a new focus on agility, which in some cases entails a whole new product or service portfolio. Even if these drastic adjustments were not required, rises in the cost of living have a worldwide influence. The purpose of this point is not to intimidate business leaders, but to encourage us to honestly assess our current 'Reality,' where we want to go, and, most importantly, how we can bring our teams with us to deliver; and, as Robert Half shows here, unrealistic targets do not appear to have the energizing and motivating effect that many managers believe.

The major motive for putting 'Relating' as a critical principle inside the 3Rs Map is, of course, your team. Whether you are in charge of thousands, hundreds, or tens of thousands of employees, how people feel about you is critical, especially in terms of whether or not they feel appreciated. 'As leaders, we cannot influence how an employee feels at work,' writes O.C.Tanner. We can't expect employees to be engaged, satisfied, or motivated at work. We can't expect any employee to feel respected. Nonetheless, we can supply all of [the] things people say they want from a leader, a firm, and a culture in order to feel appreciated at work, according to studies. And that final statement should make every leader sit up and take attention, because if your employees feel you don't value them at work, they'll ultimately find someone who does—someone who actually values their energy, effort, and outcomes.'

The goal of focusing first on 'Reality,' then on 'Relationships,' is not to minimize the value of 'Results,' far from it. The objective of these is to help business leaders to accept where they are and to effectively motivate and manage people who work for them in order to achieve our company goals in the present and future. 'Results important,' says Nick Scott, CFO of Kate Cooper Limited. 'Measuring outcomes helps us to recognize and celebrate achievement, as well as correct inadequacies.' Finally, "results" are seldom as straightforward as "success" or "failure," but rather a chance to develop and evolve, which is exactly what we want from ourselves, our workers, and, as a result, our companies.

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