Leadership

Let’s face it – the way we’ve been approaching leadership development is not working any more.  We’ve been churning out leaders from the same cookie-cutter mold for far too long, and it's just not cutting it in today's dynamic, complex world. This “business as usual” approach just isn’t going to cut it anymore, so we need to reDEFYne leadership as a whole.

As 2025 nears its close, many leaders and organizations aren’t just feeling fear—they’re feeling fear fatigue. It’s the quiet exhaustion that builds when: Uncertainty becomes constant Strategic decisions stack up Culture feels stretched Leaders are carrying more than they can name Fear fatigue doesn’t look dramatic. It looks familiar: hesitation, blurred focus, emotional flatness, and systems that react instead of respond.

The summer season welcomes more sunshine, more downtime, and the perfect opportunity to dive into a great book. Whether you’re recharging on vacation or taking advantage of a quiet moment between projects, this is your invitation to seek out inspiration to fuel your personal and professional development. 

The best leaders are always right, right? Wrong.  I know you know the type… they must have the last word in the conversation, they consistently assert rather than inquire, they “just know.” They “may not always be right, but they are never wrong.”

The challenges that face us today require a different form of leadership. One that is more adaptable to the changing environment and circumstances. When leaders engage in this form of leadership, they will find that they can achieve their results in less time and sustain the efforts for longer. This concept comes from the research of Ronald Heifetz on adaptive leadership.

As the days grow longer and the pace of summer offers a chance to recharge, it’s the perfect time to grab a book and invest in your personal and professional development. Searching for your next great read?  The Center for Operational Excellence has turned to our recent speakers, board members, and trusted friends to present this COE Summer Reading List to our community of OpEx practitioners and problem solvers. Thoughtfully curated, this collection spans the critical themes of leadership, strategy, and continuous improvement. 

As we consider today’s economic landscape, the need for lean leadership has never been more pronounced. In recent conversations with many of our member organizations, we’ve heard time and again of cost-cutting measures, far-reaching impacts of the pandemic, and ongoing hiring and restructuring challenges that have resulted in smaller workforces. Leaders are being challenged to do more with less.

As you prepare your organization’s at least partial return to the office, I urge you to take the time to reflect on what you’ve learned about the work. Treat the four months since the Covid-19 pandemic sent millions of workers in various occupations to shelter and work at home as an experiment. The slice of the workforce that was able to move their work to home—estimated to be somewhat more than a third of all workers—includes the group known as knowledge workers.

As we reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic, we start to wonder how certain countries and regions are able to manage the pandemic better than others. By better, I mean fewer cases and containing the spread within their countries for a sustained period. Through science, we now know that effective containment of COVID-19 relies on preventive measures of wearing facemasks, washing hands, adherence to strict social distancing, monitoring daily health and avoiding public gathering to contain the spread.