These times are testing leaders from the schoolhouse to the White House, from city halls to corporate suites.
Let’s face it, we did not understand how much social networks would be used to undermine the twin pillars of any free society — truth and trust. So if we approach generative A.I. just as heedlessly — if we again go along with Mark Zuckerberg’s reckless mantra at the dawn of social networks, “move fast and break things” — oh, baby, we are going to break things faster, harder and deeper than anyone can imagine.
Let’s face it, we did not understand how much social networks would be used to undermine the twin pillars of any free society — truth and trust. So if we approach generative A.I. just as heedlessly — if we again go along with Mark Zuckerberg’s reckless mantra at the dawn of social networks, “move fast and break things” — oh, baby, we are going to break things faster, harder and deeper than anyone can imagine
When our trust in each other erodes, fewer people think they have responsibilities to the other and we lose societal immunity.
Powerful technological, political, social, and economic forces are reshaping the world faster than we are able to reliably adapt. More than ever, we rise or fall together.
Why does it feel like so few leaders are capable of inspiring their people to meet the challenges of our day? There are many explanations for this global leadership deficit, but I’d focus on two: one generational, one technological.
How the best leaders help companies build deeper connection in a work-from-home world.
Human systems can’t function without formal authority, whether it’s the President of the US, a CEO or a school principal, but what makes organizations really work is when leaders occupying those formal positions have moral authority too. While formal authority can be seized, won, or bestowed; moral authority must be earned by who you are and how you lead.
The big things Trump got wrong were twofold. The first was how to lead in a pandemic. The quality of our leadership in general is always a serious business, but in a pandemic, it becomes a matter of life or death. Leaders at every level — teachers, scientists, principals, presidents, school superintendents, hospital directors, C.E.O.s, mayors, governors, media, parents — are all being looked to for direction today more than ever because so many people feel disoriented and unmoored.
The coronavirus pandemic has created a moral crisis, in which we face profound dilemmas and painful tradeoffs—even the ultimate tradeoff between saving lives and returning to normalcy. Only one kind of leadership can successfully respond to a moral crisis: moral leadership. It’s especially in times of crisis that people naturally look to authority for truthful answers, wise guidance, courageous action, and hope.
While much has been written about the future of work—particularly how skill requirements will evolve as AI grows—less attention has been given to leadership, and specifically the model for leadership in the age of intelligent technologies.
I’ve been reflecting on the technological advancements that have reshaped business, society and our world which now are commonplace but were barely if at all in our imaginations 25 years ago.
The global economy has been paralyzed by a widespread lack of certainty -- about the value of assets, the trustworthiness of borrowers and the outlook for the economy as a whole. I call this the Certainty Gap.
On October 15, 1981, professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson realized a vision for an unbroken wave of human energy, which would give his team a sustained competitive advantage. In a playoff game between the Oakland As and the New York Yankees, he inspired more than 40,000 fans to join together, rise out of their chairs in unison, throw their arms up in the air and lend their voices to one, thunderous and perpetual cheer.
When employees go public with objections to the perceived moral shortcomings of their companies, most executives react with a sigh of relief — glad it wasn’t their company. In the past year, employees at organizations ranging from Google and Amazon to Deloitte and McKinsey have protested the handling of sexual harassment allegations and petitioned management to stop working with customers that they consider unethical, immoral, or damaging to society.
"Who are America’s moral leaders?" USA Today asked in a recent headline. At a time when businesses are increasingly thrust to the forefront of complex issues such as racial bias, gender equity and privacy rights, an overwhelming majority of employees feel adrift. They do not believe their organizations are run by moral leaders.
Today, as the winners eloquently illustrate in their essays, the need for ethical thinking and action is more urgent than ever. In our hyper-connected, interdependent world, we can now feel the hope, dreams, frustrations, and anger of millions of others instantly. News of injustice and mistreatment spreads in an instant; the moral distance between us is disappearing. But the same technologies that connect us are also being used to undermine truth and trust. Never before have these twin pillars of society been under such widespread and continual assault.
Last week, the inaugural class of The HOW Institute For Society’s NXT-GEN Fellowship for Moral Leadership reached a meaningful milestone. The Fellows, extraordinary individuals with uncommon humanity and boundless talent, are the first cohort to complete the Fellowship. I’d like to take a moment to reflect on and celebrate their achievement.
In today’s society, leaders often grapple with the unintended consequences of technology platforms and struggle to ensure they fulfill their original purpose.
Sometimes the best gifts in life come to us in unusual ways. So it was with my dear friend Mats Lederhausen's recent birthday. Aptly named a "former wunderkind" by Reuters.com, Mats was turning fifty, and as a celebratory gesture of this milestone, he and his wife Jessica decided to host a party. Not just any party, mind you, as this one served to expand the worldview of all who attended - most of all my own.
It's always a good time to ask what kind of leadership we need because the world is constantly changing. But the world is not only changing. It's being dramatically reshaped, making us ask the question not just with more urgency but through a different lens.
It has been one year since the passing of Shimon Peres. Visionary, soldier, statesman, founder of the State of Israel, prime minister, president, Nobel laureate: no title, description or accolade can fully capture the immensity of his contribution — not only to Israel but to all who aspire to a better, more peaceful, more just world.
The animating spirit of business has always been an ambition to do big things—to build something valuable, to solve a difficult problem, to provide a useful service, to explore the frontiers of human possibility.
The animating spirit of business has always been an ambition to do big things—to build something valuable, to solve a difficult problem, to provide a useful service, to explore the frontiers of human possibility.