The world is changing – with or without you. Taking time to consider whether your leadership is part of the solution, or the status quo seems like an important question for us all to ask ourselves.
The visible changes in the world seem to call for even more resilience and flexibility of mind and approach.
As leaders, we like to believe we are change ready, open to moving in an agile way, resilient to whatever is coming our way.
Asking ourselves what world changes are happening that may be less visible or less well discussed at this point, is an important place to start if we really want to be part of the solution and not simply run faster to stand still.
For example, are you noticing the shifts in the new leadership styles being brought by women?
Today we heard that a woman, Dame Sarah Mullally, had been appointed to the role of Archbishop of Canterbury – for the first time. My immediate question was, is she a leader who balances masculine and feminine or is she a woman who has learnt to lead in an essentially masculine culture and therefore displays more masculine characteristics only.
In her first interviews since being appointed she said: “At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply – to people and to God’s gentle prompting – to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing.” Listening deeply, bringing people together, hope and healing. These are being part of the solution.
Did you know that the UK leads the ethical business movement with its B Corp community being the largest globally?
As a baseline of certification, B Corp businesses must change their Articles of Association to commit to placing purpose at the core:
‘Becoming a B Corp means embracing a responsibility that extends beyond the bottom line—it’s about fostering a collective impact that inspires and leads change across industries and communities.’
…and interestingly with this deeper purpose, B Corps are outperforming UK businesses as a whole.
For me this trend signals the fundamental value of ethical business. Ethics not in the sense of morals, though that too, but in the sense of structuring the business to really own the responsibility of going beyond the bottom line.
B Corps are proving that purpose and profit can work comfortably together and that when the going gets tough purpose isn’t sacrificed for profit. This is being part of the solution.
So, when you take a moment to consider whether your leadership, your business, your group is shifting the dial on the change needed in our world, it feels important to not just survive the changes but to step out, redefine what’s needed, and make it happen. This is being part of the solution.