Guest blog: Richard Bolden, Professor of Leadership and Management and Director of the Bristol Leadership and Change Centre
What a difference a few days make… Perhaps it’s the sunny
Spring days after a long, wet winter; the dog walks spent chatting with
teenagers who would normally be off at school; the unexpected free space in my
diary with no expectation that I should be in the office; or because so much of
what we take for granted has changed so suddenly.
At the time of writing we are in the fourth day of the
lockdown called by the UK government to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
It’s been a tense few weeks as the wave of infections grew ever closer – no
longer focussed within a far and distant sounding part of China but causing
havoc across Italy, France, Spain, the UK and now it seems, pretty much every
part of the world. A quarter of the global population – a staggering 2 billion
people – are currently in some form of lockdown, confined to their homes in
order to slow the spread of the virus and, in so doing, allow time for governments
and health services to prepare for the spike in patient numbers and the
inevitable rising death toll.
Almost overnight UWE, Bristol – like universities, schools
and colleges around the world – closed its doors and shifted from face-to-face
to online delivery. Staff and students have responded with huge adaptability – revising
delivery and assessment processes that would have taken months, if not years, through
traditional channels. The speed and the scale of changes for organisations in
every sector and location are unprecedented. Manufacturers have switched their operations
to enable the production of essential items such as ventilators, face masks, hand
sanitiser and paracetamol that are now in such high and urgent demand. Governments
have drawn up detailed plans to support individuals and organisations at risk
of redundancy/bankruptcy – casting aside the usual economic concerns to focus
on social priorities such as protecting the vulnerable, supporting those in financial
difficulty and strengthening core public services (particularly health and
social care). And communities have rallied together in ways not seen since WWII
– providing support and reassurance for the elderly and isolated, sacrificing
personal liberties for collective benefit and finding new ways to connect, communicate
and collaborate.
In the words of the Chinese curse we are indeed living in
interesting times (1) – both fraught with risk and opportunity. The turbulence of
the last few years has revealed deep divisions within society, as illustrated
particularly clearly in the Brexit vote within the UK and Trump presidency in
the US. The rise of populism has been associated with scepticism and distrust
of experts and evidence, with social media providing the perfect echo chamber
for amplifying the polarity of perspectives and questioning the nature of
‘truth’. Differing ideologies and beliefs have been positioned in opposition to
one another – them and us, winners and losers, do or die – rather than as an inevitable
and desirable characteristic of a diverse and inclusive society, which enables
creativity, adaptability and resilience in times of complexity, uncertainty and
change.
One of the remarkable consequences of the Coronavirus
pandemic has been how quickly it has reset the dial on many of these issues –
fostering calls for compassion, solidarity and collective action. At times like
this it is our similarities rather than our differences that define us. This is
as true for those in positions of power and privilege as those who are
marginalised and/or find themselves living in precarity. We are all susceptible to the virus, all have
people we care about who are likely to become very ill or perhaps even die should
they catch it, and will all be affected by the economic and social impacts of
the outbreak – not just for the months that it lasts but for years to come. The
capacity of individuals, families, organisations, communities and nations to
weather the storm is not equal, however, with those with least access to financial,
emotional and other resources most likely to bear the brunt of the suffering.
An unexpected outcome of Covid-19 is the impact on the
environment. The reduction in pollution levels around the world during just the
relatively short time in which travel, manufacturing and other environmentally
damaging activities have been reduced demonstrates both how directly human
activity impacts on the environment and the remarkable ability of the environment,
and the animals and plants within it, to recover if given the opportunity. For
those who have been calling for a step-change for policy, practice and
behaviour towards a more sustainable way of life there is no more compelling
evidence of the extent to which this is possible and the environmental benefits
it would produce.
For those of us interested in leadership research, education and practice there are many important lessons to take from the current situation. I’m sure everyone will have their own take on events but as a starter for ten here are a few of my own takeaways so far.
- Shared purpose – after winning a significant majority in the general election of December 2019 Boris Johnson and his government focussed on building a sense of urgency and commitment to ‘getting Brexit done’ that largely entrenched rather than unified opinions around this issue. With Covid-19 the focus has completely shifted to a shared purpose that unites rather than divides individuals and communities. It took a little while to get to this point but, for now at least, the nation is far more unified around a common purpose than it has been for many years.
- Collective leadership – whilst there
is a tendency to equate ‘leadership’ with the traits and behaviours of
individual ‘leaders’ the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrates the need for individuals
and groups to work concurrently and collaboratively in order to achieve leadership
outcomes. In daily news briefings, Prime Minister Johnson and members of the
cabinet have stood alongside the Chief Medical Officer and other experts to
provide clarity and direction to an uncertain population. Whilst this is
perhaps the most visible ‘leadership’ at national level it is abundantly clear that
it is dependent on significant acts of leadership elsewhere as well as the
active ‘followership’ of those responding to calls for care and consideration.
- Systems change – the Coronavirus
pandemic is an inherently complex problem that requires expertise and effort
from multiple domains to make sense of the issues and to mobilise timely and
effective responses. The concept of ‘systems leadership’, increasingly advocated
within public services, highlights the need to influence and leverage engagement
across organisational, professional and other boundaries. Frequently this means
needing to lead without formal authority – to work with principles of
complexity and systems thinking to initiate new patterns of behaviour that spread
from one context to another. It also involves dismantling and rebuilding
systems, structures and processes – both physical and psychological – that constrain
rather than enable transformation and change.
- Sensemaking – in times of ambiguity
and uncertainty leadership has a key role to play in helping people to make
sense of the situation(s) in which they find themselves. The people who will be
recognised as ‘leaders’ are those who are able to frame the context in a way
that acknowledges the nature and severity of the issue(s), addresses the
concerns of their constituents and which provides a degree of clarity about the
actions/responses that are required. Within the US Andrew Cuomo, the Governor
of New York, has emerged as key national figure in mobilising the response to
Coronavirus – providing far greater clarity and direction than Trump and now
being mooted as the democratic candidate for the next US election despite not
even standing as a nominee.
- Place based leadership – whilst many national figures have struggled to grapple with the scale and implications of the issues posed by Covid-19 local leaders have often responded far quicker and been more effective at mobilising public, private, voluntary and community groups and organisations to collaborate and respond. Place-based leadership is responsive to the context that surrounds it – drawing together multiple perspectives and expertise to address issues of concern to citizens within a particular locale – and will be essential not only in dealing with the immediate effects of Covid-19 but in the long period of rebuilding and recovery that will follow the pandemic.
These are just a few initial reflections and there is far
more that could be said. Looking forward I have no doubt that the Spring of
2020 will be seen as a defining moment in our understanding of and engagement
with leadership, complexity and change. I only hope that we learn the lessons and
make use of them to create a stronger, healthier, kinder, safer world rather
than defaulting back to the divisive and destructive policies, practices and
behaviours that preceded the current crisis (2).
Richard
Bolden
Bristol Leadership and Change Centre
27 March 2020
Notes
(1) Whilst often presented as the English translation of a
traditional Chinese curse the phrase ‘may you live in interesting times’ has
rather more recent origins – see https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/may-you-live-in-interesting-times.html
(2) Please do share your own reflections and insights by
means of the comments box at the end of the post in order to continue the
discussion. Further reading and resources linked to the themes raised in this
article are given below.
Further reading
Bolden, R.
and O’Regan, N. (2016) Digital Disruption
and the Future of Leadership: An Interview With Rick Haythornthwaite, Chairman
of Centrica and MasterCard, Journal of Management Inquiry, 25(4),
438-446.
Bolden, R.
and O’Regan, N. (2018) Leadership
and Creativity in Public Services: An Interview With Lord Michael Bichard,
Chair of the National Audit Office, Journal of Management Inquiry, 27(1),
45-51.
Bolden, R.
and Witzel, M. (2017) Dis-united
Kingdom? Leadership at a crossroads. In S. Western and E.J. Garcia (Eds) Global
Leadership Perspectives: Insights and Analysis. London: Sage.
Bolden, R. et
al. (2011) Exploring
Leadership: Individual, organisational and societal perspectives.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bolden, R. et
al. (2017) Leadership
Paradoxes: Rethinking leadership for an uncertain world. London:
Routledge.
Bolden, R. et
al. (2019) Developing
systems leadership in public health: A scoping report. UWE, Bristol on
behalf of Public Health England.
Bolden, R. et
al. (2020) Mobilizing
Change in Public Services: Insights from a Systems Leadership Development
Intervention, International Journal of Public Administration, 43(1),
26-36.
Bolden. R. et
al., (2019) Inclusion:
The DNA of leadership and change. UWE, Bristol on behalf of the NHS
Leadership Academy.