Exceptional times demand exceptional Leadership.
And make no mistake about it, these are unprecedented times.
Our world is more joined up and interdependent than it has ever been before. Information spreads at digital speed and no economy is immune or unaffected by the force, velocity or impact that decisions can have.

In the past a good Management team and a strong brand were good enough to "get by"; in the new world these strengths alone will solve little.

Let's be explicit. By management we mean strategy, process, procedure, task, execution, KPIs etc. Everybody practices management now and it is readily available to all. Each and every aspect of management has become commoditised and all your competitors have similar access and are subsequently playing by similar rules.

They are no longer a differentiator and they no longer cover the cracks of a failing business.
Many of the great British corporate institutions still cannot escape the pull of the past and even now in a time of crisis they look for answers back in their history and from previous experience.
It is what a management ethos will naturally lead you to do; forever looking at lessons learnt from years before and studying what the 'best practice' from their industry is, gleaned from a string of previous successes and failures.

But that makes the gross assumption that what is being experienced now has been experienced before. And it hasn't.

What's your favoured approach? Leadership or management?
And if there is always one question that forever comes up when it comes to leadership, it is whether leaders are born or made.

We are not certain that it is either. In our strong view, leaders are found, most often in a time of crisis when circumstance forces it.

Think World War 2 and Churchill, the fight for Indian independence and Gandhi or ending apartheid with Mandela.

It is of little surprise that in the United States' greatest contemporary hour of need, Barack Obama has emerged from nowhere.

"Old" Europe's current malaise is due in no small part to it continuously worshipping at the altar of management for many years, consequently creating cautious and risk-adverse corporate cultures.

It has bred an approach of slowly "making sure" and not wanting to lose.

In contrast, the role of leadership is to be positive, optimistic and uplifting; balancing EQ (emotional quotient or intelligence) with IQ. If management is what you do then leadership is how you feel when you're doing it.

What has become apparent is that it is imperative not to waste a good crisis because THIS is the time to re-invent your culture and unleash the leadership within organisations.

Let's be clear. When all around are polishing their management books and tweaking processes to try and make sure that mistakes aren't going to happen again, the best of the best are inspiring their people into giving that extra 15% discretionary effort and asking the magic words, "What do you think?".

The answers to the problems for most businesses lie within the organisation itself and yet time and again their people are rarely consulted and rarely listened to.If they did the game could change forever.

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