What kind of leader does the UK need now?

As the UK faces further uncertainty, we need to rethink political leadership. What attributes does the next prime minister need?

Theresa May has officially handed in her notice and candidates are lining up for the role of Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister. May famously promised ‘“strong and stable leadership” but ultimately expressed deep regret that she had not been able to deliver Brexit.

May will probably be remembered for her resilience and stoicism, continuing to push through her Brexit deal with dogged determination. However, her failure to inspire others with her Brexit vision resulted in low levels of support. Her efforts at collaboration across parliament came too little, too late.  Rather, she relied on a small group of advisors to negotiate a detailed deal with the EU which the majority of parliamentary colleagues – and UK voters – simply didn’t buy into.

While Brexit remains the biggest issue in this leadership election, it is part of a general climate of uncertainty. Recent political upheaval demonstrates that we need to rethink the kind of leadership the UK needs.

Of the candidates who have put themselves forward so far, Boris Johnson is the current favourite. However, his success is by no means guaranteed. With so many candidates to choose from, what are the leadership attributes that the new prime minister most needs to demonstrate?

Vision

In these uncertain times, the prime minister needs to provide clarity of vision and direction for the UK going forward as a nation, with a sense of purpose in the world about our contribution and the type of society we want to be.

Values

With trust in political leaders at an all-time low, the UK needs an authentic leader who will tell the truth and hold others to account for honesty, respect all people as equal before the law, and uphold the universal declaration of human rights.

Empowerment

Rather than adopting a command-and-control stance, the UK needs an empowering leader to build confidence in others to make decisions and support people to assume responsibility as leaders in their communities. To drive the UK forward, an empowering approach can also support our endemic entrepreneurship and drive innovation.

Collaboration

The UK needs a collaborative leader to unite diverse groups of people across society, especially given the deep schisms following the Brexit vote. We need someone who can rebuild shared ways of working across communities, encouraging people to focus on mutual benefit rather than difference. In the face of multiple geopolitical challenges, the UK also needs a prime minister who can work with other nations to help build a more peaceful and sustainable world.

Agility

The new prime minister needs to be agile, keen to listen, to learn (if only May had learned from her initial mistake of not engaging with parliament), and to recognise the value of others’ views. The UK needs a leader who is driven by a desire to serve rather than by an ego - humble, adaptable, and in tune with the needs of others.

What politics can learn from business

In the fast-moving world of modern business, many of the most successful leaders have worked hard to develop the attributes above. Although the world of politics is experiencing seismic change, the style of political leadership in the UK is still firmly rooted in old-fashioned combat rather than modern collaboration. A new prime minister presents us with a new opportunity. Is it an opportunity any of the candidates can seize?

Can Sainsbury’s and Asda merge to become a larger yet more agile business?

The news that Sainsbury's plans to merge with Asda, which has been confirmed today, has come as quite a shock. It is a striking example of two major retailers taking a very bold move to address the ongoing challenges of an intensely competitive industry.

If the merger goes ahead, the combined group will be led by Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe, who has said that this is a “transformational opportunity to create a new force in UK retail, which will be more competitive and give customers more of what they want now and in the future.”  

This statement addresses the major challenges of competition and customer focus. Coupe has also recognised the need to create a business that is “more dynamic, more adaptable, more resilient” - better able to respond to its ever-changing, fast-moving marketplace.

Combining two well-established retailers will be a challenge.  Coupe and the new leadership team will need to manage the paradox of agile leadership: creating a new, connected organisation while at the same time disrupting that new organisation sufficiently to reinvent it in a way that can compete on a sustainable basis with competitors. What does this require? A major shift towards agile ways of working, with greater emphasis on simplicity, shorter planning cycles, ruthless prioritisation focused on what customers want, and embracing digital opportunities.

Couple has also said that the two supermarkets are "the best possible fit" and there is a widespread view from industry analysts that the two have complementary strengths on which they could collaborate. So, for example Sainsbury’s is stronger in e-commerce and convenience stores, Asda is more competitive on pricing and has a stronger clothing offer in George. 

The supermarket industry is notoriously cut-throat and has undergone great change in recent years as market leader Tesco has lost market share while discounters Aldi and Lidl have increased theirs. Industry disruption has become the norm, but in supermarket retailing that disruption has been coming from discounters or from Amazon’s recent foray into the grocery market. We are less used to disruption from large, long-established corporates.

If the merger goes ahead, can Sainsbury’s and Asda merge and become both bigger and more agile? It will be a monumental challenge, and will require a very strong leadership community in the new business, willing to embrace new ways of thinking, leading and working. The alternative is that the merger ends up being a defensive reaction to new market entrants with a different business model, which may delay but not stop their ongoing disruption of the sector.

Is poor management to blame for the UK’s productivity crisis?

There is a statistically significant link between the quality of management in UK business and lack of productivity. That was the view stated very clearly this week by Andy Haldane, chief economist of the Bank of England.  In a speech to the London School of Economics, Haldane said some management teams have a somewhat inflated view of their own abilities.

Low levels of productivity are a perennial issue for the UK, which lags behind other major economies. A recent government briefing paper, Productivity in the UK, cites lack of innovation as one of the reasons for this.

As Haldane suggests, many British businesses do need to improve their management skills. To have a positive impact on productivity, skills development needs a clear focus on building agility to support innovation.

If managers do indeed lack awareness of just how much they need to develop their skills, some confidential and anonymous 360 degree feedback, combined with some psychometric profiling, can help to identify what those needs are. Ideally, this will be supported by a shift towards a more honest feedback culture, where colleagues feel free to be open with each other in a supportive way.

Innovation is already a priority for many businesses, as demonstrated by a recent CIPD HR Outlook survey where it was highlighted by HR and other business leaders. Cirrus and Ipsos MORI’s 2016 Leadership Connections research found that 49% of C-suite leaders are concerned about increasing innovation in their organisation, and that they are also keen for HR to step up, work in partnership with the C-suite, and help drive it.

Innovation is critical if we are to come up with new ideas for products, services or market opportunities. In our ever-changing and unpredictable world, we cannot always see where new opportunities will come from. We need to be agile enough to apply innovative solutions to opportunities as soon as they appear.

When I was researching my book, Connected Leadership, it became clear that a hierarchical style of leadership can stifle both innovation and agility. Bureaucracy and command-and-control can slow the speed of response to new opportunities. In order to boost innovation and agility, we need a more ‘connected’ style of leadership – one that encourages collaboration and rapid decision making. By becoming more ‘connected’, organisations are better able to respond to complex market challenges and changing customer needs.

Connected leaders foster cultures of innovation. They are typically comfortable with uncertainty, receptive to new ideas and keen to share knowledge. They also devolve decision-making responsibility across teams. When teams use this increased discretion, and collaborate effectively across organisations, they can be a powerful source of both innovation and agility.

Innovation is rarely successful in isolation. It flourishes where there are both formal and informal meetings with a wide assortment of people both internally and externally who can exchange ideas and learning. This sharing of best practice is pivotal to success. Bringing people together into cross-functional teams to think about the same problem from different perspectives can lead to less predictable and more innovative solutions to problems. At Cirrus we call them ‘Connect All’ meetings, to address particular client issues with a cross-functional approach. It also helps to break down functional silo mentalities, preventing colleagues from looking inwards and protecting their turf rather than seeking breakthrough ideas. The irony I sometimes see, however, is that in the pursuit of productivity these meetings are often discouraged as they are seen by managers as distracting people from their immediate objectives.

In organisations where I see a strong innovation culture, the customer often looms large, with majority effort focused on anticipating and meeting what current and future customers need and want. This clarity of customer priority tens to drive breakthrough thinking in processes, products and services, with the determination to follow through to actual market release and commercial success. In these organisations, typically, people are highly capable and inquisitive, seeking constant improvements and never satisfied with ‘good enough’. Often this is supported by a culture which encourages experimentation without blame. In addition, these organisations are usually disciplined about execution in order to commercialise ideas brilliantly and to build quality into every part of the process.

As Haldane said in his speech, the UK’s Olympic athletes have shown that innovation can take the form of a series of marginal gains. An openness to new ideas and new technology and a willingness to experiment with an open mind have ultimately led to very real improvements. Over time, these improvements accumulate to deliver world-beating performance.

Learning to lead through uncertainty: Business needs cohesion to deal with Brexit

In recent years, much has been written about our VUCA world, characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. ‘Agility’ has become a buzzword as leaders learn to deal with unexpected situations as swiftly and successfully as possible.

Despite uncertainty becoming the norm in recent years, the UK’s vote to leave the European Union has presented many leaders with one of the most unexpected situations they have ever faced. Research conducted last month by Jelf Employee Benefits found that 63%of employers had not even considered the impact Brexit might have, and further research last week found that 83% had no formal plan in place to deal with it. Even amongst those who had planned for a ‘leave’ vote, many have been surprised by its impact.

The government has yet to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, Britain’s formal notice to leave the EU, which would give the UK two years to negotiate withdrawal. Uncertainty over how soon this might happen has led to a degree of nervousness among UK-based businesses. Nearly two thirds of Institute of Directors members think Brexit will be bad for business and director general Simon Walker suggested that leaders “will be busy working out how they are going to adapt and succeed after the referendum result.”

CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn said we need “rapid clarity on who is making the decisions” and suggested the UK needs to get “calm and decisive leadership in place as soon as possible.” More calls for calm came from business secretary Sajid Javid, who warned companies not to panic.

Messages from prominent European leaders have been mixed. While German chancellor Angela Merkel said she would not push for an immediate withdrawal, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has called for the UK and the EU to quell uncertainty over the implications of Britain’s vote by acting quickly and cohesively. Back home, Boris Johnson has asked Brexit voters to “build bridges” with Remain supporters who feel “loss and confusion”.

So, from confusion and uncertainty is emerging a desire for cohesion, connectedness – and clear leadership. What can business leaders do to engage and motivate employees with a future which, for many, is uncertain?   

I mentioned agility earlier. We often think of agility as important in responding to immediate, short-term challenges. However, it’s even more important to embed the long-term capability to identify and respond quickly to emerging threats and challenges in a world with high levels of complexity and uncertainty.

Even out of the EU, most organisations will continue to operate in the context of globalisation and international interdependency, either directly or through their customers.  More than ever, this highlights the need to be nimble.

Being nimble and agile is not compatible with a tightly-controlled command and control style of leadership. When faced with a difficult challenge, it’s tempting to take control back to a small group at the centre of the organisation. However, more sustainable success will come by developing a more ‘connected’, shared model of leadership across the business.  

The greater the complexity outside your business, the simpler it needs to be inside. The temptation is often to introduce a plethora of new systems and processes to deal with change. However, many successful organisations are choosing to simplify their ways of working as a way to increase agility and their ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Ruthless prioritisation is a good way to start this process of simplification.  It creates clarity for yourself and others on what to focus on and, perhaps more importantly, what not to focus on, in order to enable action in times of complexity and uncertainty. Set clear priorities for the business and for your leadership team, so that everyone can then focus on doing fewer things better.  As more clarity emerges over the weeks and months ahead, increased cohesion and connectedness can help us to reach a successful outcome.

A case study in agility

The power of openness, trust and team working

I’m coaching a senior cross-functional team in a Cirrus client organisation. Today we had a review meeting.  They are working towards a major deadline in a month’s time and are under considerable time pressure, especially as they all have demanding day jobs to do as well.  The team has been a case study in agility, as they were thrown together a couple of months ago to work on a key business project which needed a truly cross-functional approach. In the meeting they explored what had gone well and less well, and agreed some priorities for improving their performance over the last few weeks before the deadline. 

I have been very impressed with the way this team has pulled together, shared insight, helped each other in very practical ways and taken shared responsibly for the deliverables.  They have left their egos at the door, mostly, and when someone has brought theirs into the room they have quickly been encouraged to place it outside.  The pace at which they have made progress is down to three key ways of working: they have been open about strengths and weaknesses so that they could play to strengths rather than rely on functional roles alone; individuals have trusted the others to make good decisions when they have not been able to attend meetings; and they have worked in smaller teams to achieve particular objectives such as research, planning, analysis and design.  In this way they have enabled each other to deliver great contributions to the overall team effort without it becoming a major burden. 

As they motor towards their final report and presentation, they are motivated by progress and by the sense that they can achieve something really significant for the business.  It is an exciting team with which to be involved.