Are You Ready to Face the Future? - A Leadership Thought

I have just had the privilege of attending at Advanced Leadership Program at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge (link). The experience was incredible and I cannot recall having ever learnt so much, and been challenged and stretched in my thinking in such an intense way. The course itself spanned 17 days, 130 hours of teaching, 40 speakers delivering 38 topics which included an expanse of topics. I have listed some of these topics to paint a picture of what some of the key areas that a contemporary leader needs to be aware of and considering;

• media management
• cyber safety
• risk management - major crisis and response
• social media strategy
• thinking about the unknown
• decision making and overcoming bias
• leading complex change
• the dangers of ‘hubris’
• ethics in business
• procedural Justice and fair process
• governance
• diversity and Inclusion in the workplace
• effective teams
• networking for leadership and business success
• business ecosystems
• conflict in the workplace and mediation training
• understanding business and organisation complexity
• the importance of ‘trust’. 

I am not sure where I start to summarise what I learnt but given that the course was on leadership, that’s a good place. If you are reading this – thank you. So if you are, I hope it’s helpful and interesting. There is so much stuff out there on this topic, too much really. I am not trying to be the next John Maxwell or any other leadership guru for that matter. I will attempt however, thanks to my learning and the inspiration I have received, to share my thoughts and apply them to my context of being a leader in a busy, challenging, intense and innovative school environment. I would value your comments or thumbs up, if you get to the end of my posts.
 
The role of a leader is complex and multifaceted. People and communities need leaders and perhaps one of the greatest needs a community or organisation needs from its leader(s) is to deal with the unforeseen.
 
Big change happens slowly and humans want safety. They need to feel safe and secure within their community of belonging.  Change is disruption. Change is expected, but we don't necessarily know what to expect. The future is always determined by the unexpected. As a leader, when you think about the future, you must consider how is it going to be different?
 
The quality of leadership is found in these things;

• your vision 
• where you position yourself
• the team you have around you who share your vision
• your ability to communicate and to share your excitement
• the confidence you convey in how you will manage and deal with what lies ahead; and
• how you communicate your faith and apply the Word of God to situation and the context of your community, as you encourage and empower others in their role and their own leadership.

 
At Cambridge one of the speakers said that you also need to have “a sense of your timing.” In other words, a leader needs to understand that s/he is positioned ‘right here’ and ‘right now’ with the conviction that God has placed you where you are, with the people you do life and work with, for a purpose. They need you to be confidently doing your very best, seeking to be your very best, strong in the knowledge that God is with you in this – even with the change that is relentlessly knocking on your office door.