Authority is dead
“What type of leader are you?”. We all know the correct answer should include such words as ‘collaboration’ and ‘creative’. Words like ‘dictatorial’ and ‘authoritarian’ are best avoided.
But back in reality the authoritarian leader is still very much alive and well – just ask Mr. Trump. The former leader of the free world, it could be argued, led with fear.
Authoritarian leaders flourish on fear. But Financiers should see through this. Financiers by definition are a collective voice on perception. Trump’s business racked up losses of over one billion dollars in the 1980’s – he didn’t change his approach and last year his business saw a 40% loss in revenue, albeit during a pandemic. It’s not clear how many Financiers are willing to back him today. If some business practices have not changed, business structures certainly have. Some companies even become the change. Tech companies have led the way in the move to collective and egalitarian structures. They flattened hierarchies to enable collaborative work. This enabled cost-savings and efficiencies. Such companies as Google (Alphabet), Facebook, Apple don’t have traditional, hierarchical structures. But they are three of the most valuable companies in the world. The finance world rewards them for their approach.
The hows and the whys of this should have been discussed countless times. Yet, the answer is simple; Trust. Companies that run in non-hierarchical and egalitarian style structures trust their employees to make decisions. They give employees power. They accept mistakes will be made, errors will occur, but lessons will be learnt. Most accept the idea that you learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. It is why the most innovative companies in the world employ this non-authoritarian and collaborative approach.
There is a fresh revolution of collaborative counter culture brewing against perceived authoritative leadership. The world’s most successful collaborate more than ever before.
Whilst top-down authority may become obsolete, leaders are not. The leader who shouts from the sidelines, dictating their demands, is becoming an historical anachronism, much like Trump. The future is the leader who elevates their employees, their team and their company, allowing growth from a first-hand perspective. That leader is not the person with the most experience, the most qualified or the oldest team member. They’re the ones with the emotional intelligence to understand how to get the most out of people by working collaboratively to achieve goals.
A great leader once said “be the change you want to see”. Lead by example not by diktat.