What the situation in Ukraine might tell us about the future of leadership
The eyes of the world are on Ukraine right now.
We’re watching a war unfolding in Europe. It’s frightening. And it all seems to be coming down to the actions of one power-hungry man in leadership who won’t back down.
We’ve seen a lot of praise on social media for the stoicism and strength of the Ukrainian people. There’s been an outpouring of admiration, too, for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is displaying such an astounding example of leadership under pressure.
But I’m not going to talk about Zelenskyy right now. I want to talk about Putin, and what the horrifying situation we’re witnessing has to tell us about everything that is wrong with ‘traditional’ leadership.
I hope you’ll forgive me for oversimplifying the complex geopolitics that have led to this conflict, but if you were looking for evidence of how outdated styles of leadership leave so little room for humanity, you’d struggle to find a clearer example.
The difference between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy could hardly be any more stark.
Where Putin is apparently driven by power and greed, Zelenskyy is driven by vision and values
Where Putin is sending under-prepared troops into battle, Zelenskyy is staying and standing with his people
Where Putin is protecting his ego, Zelenskyy is showing his vulnerability and openly asking for support
Putin ascribes to a style of leadership that is top-down, dictatorial, ego-centred, results-driven. It leaves no room for dissent, and most definitely no room for compassion. He doesn’t care what damage he causes as long as he reaches his objective. And that’s how we’ve ended up in a situation where Putin is essentially using his people as weapons to wage his own private war.
Of course, I wouldn’t dare lecture him. Putin has been in power in one way or another for 20-odd years, so what he’s doing has obviously been working for him up to now.
The problem is, apart from the small circle of politicians and oligarchs that surround him, it’s most definitely not working for anyone else.
We can see evidence of that in the number of people braving arrest to protest in the streets of Russia. It’s clear that he is feeling increasingly embattled and becoming increasingly isolated on the world stage.
Putin is the most extreme example, but he does highlight some of the very worst mistakes we often see in leadership.
Putin believes that leadership is still about telling others what to do, rather than uniting people around a shared vision. He believes that he alone has the answers. That defiance, dispute or difference of opinion represent a threat to his position, rather than an opportunity for improvement.
He is stuck in the past, playing out a form of leadership that is no longer fit for purpose, just because that’s how it’s always been.
Now, I’m not saying you or anyone you’ve worked with are anything like Vladimir Putin, but I bet there are things about him that ring a few bells. We’ve all witnessed poor leadership at some scale and seen the damage that can be caused to organisations that could otherwise be doing something great.
But leadership is changing. Despite (or, perhaps because of)the difficulties we’ve witnessed over recent years, attitudes are shifting away from autocracy and towards collaboration. Rigid structures are no longer welcome in a world that increasingly values compassion.
As much as we desperately fear for the future of Ukraine, this situation is telling us so much about the kind of leaders we all need to be to change the world for the better.
