Why Selfless Leadership just may come of age as we approach radical uncertainty

Combining the Innate and the Acquired

I want to provide a simple but important point for understanding collective leadership as a form of selfless leadership. Behind every collective are a range of individuals. We all think and act differently. We all have our values, and often, these values will compete for priority among groups of all sizes. Groups themselves clash. Collective leadership takes work.

 Yesterday, I spoke about the radical uncertainties we will likely face in 2025. Still, I was also optimistic about the opportunities to promote collective leadership as a form of selfless service.  I started my journey of discovery almost twenty years ago by emphasising that we need to understand ourselves before understanding others. We are individuals with selfish motivations. This view was my ‘ah ha’ moment in 2006 when I read Richard Dawkins’s 30th Anniversary edition of “The Selfless Gene’. I began to explore whether the selfish gene – innate to our sense of survival – got in the way of collective leadership. The idea of the Selfless Leader then emerged. The idea influenced my research for the next ten years, resulting in the publication of my book, The Selfless Leader (Brookes, 2016). Before delving into the journey of exploring collective leadership (the style for selfless leaders), I briefly introduce the essential concept of self-will.

 In my earlier newsletters this year, I talked about the heuristics of leadership, which I view as mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that leaders use to make decisions, solve problems, and manage their teams effectively, especially in complex or uncertain environments.  I agree with the view that “Going with our gut usually makes for a better outcome than if we go on intellect alone” Perry (2018). However, I aligned this with Kahneman's approach to ‘thinking fast (intuition) and slow (intellect).  As with all things, we need to strike the right balance.

 The global leadership question for 2025 is seemingly simple: “To what extent can we rely on our global leaders to achieve the right balance between intuition and intellect, whether by virtue of their own innate abilities or those with whom they trust to make the critical decisions through those appointed to advise and action the leaders will.

 A further question is whether this sense of self-will makes us different from animals. Biological intuition was a vital element of a detailed research framework that studied the mechanics behind the coordinated movement of mobile animal groups (collective motion). The research tells us that it is becoming increasingly clear that many nomadic animal groups (those that migrate) are composed of heterogeneous individuals with differential levels and types of influence over group behaviours. The ability to infer this differential influence, or leadership, is critical to understanding group functioning in these collective animal systems. (Garland et al., 2018: 28).

Most of us will have marvelled at the spectacular sight of birds in flight.  First, that of the wonder of Starlings as they cascade across the sky in seeming orchestral and mathematical brilliance, and Canadian geese flying in a ‘V’ formation.  

For Starlings, expertly described by my friend and colleague Greg Young recently, the flight pattern is because they follow just two simple rules which account for their survival: stay close to each other and move out of the way of predators (warning others to follow).  The formation of Geese is more rational and is also one of the most popular metaphorical examples of collective leadership.

 We understand that Starling's simple rules are no different from those we follow in our organisational systems.  However, we can ask why geese fly in this formation and what lessons are for collective leadership.

 Shared and distributed leadership come to mind:

•  First, the Geese share the role of being the leader. The lead goose falls back when they need to rest, and the next in line takes over.
• Each goose flies at a height marginally above those in front. This action reduces wind resistance and distributes the challenges evenly.
• The formation improves safety and communication. The spacing and proximity assist group members to ‘watch each other’s back’ and communicate more effectively.

 The research on the collective behaviour of mobile animal groups is essential for understanding human leadership as a systems-based phenomenon. I will consider system-led leadership in future posts this year as an enabler or an inhibitor in our response to radical uncertainty.  But, for now, tomorrow, I will use anatomical analogies of leadership to illustrate the main components and characteristics of collective leadership underpinned by a selfless soul whilst being driven by the soles on the bottom of our feet!

 As reported by Phillip Perry, intuition has been a popular topic among psychological researchers in recent years. The research shows that much nonconscious emotional information from the body (or brain) influences decision-making. We will rationalise the emotional aspects whilst ignoring many biases that also lead us to conclusions.  This is why we should consider that Selfless Leadership is made for the times we approach.

 REFERENCES

 Garland, J., Berdahl, A. M., Sun, J. & Bollt, E. M. (2018) Anatomy of leadership in collective behaviour. Chaos, 28(7).

Perry, P. (2018) Scientists are zeroing in on where intuition comes from, biologically. Surprising Science, January 2018