Rory Sutherland (author, columnist, vice chairman of Ogilvy UK).

Change: ambiguity.

A thought for leaders: Vivian Greene (daughter of Graham Greene) famously wrote, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain”. Leadership today needs more rain dancers. Agile leaders, that embrace ambiguity. Yes, maybe employees are tired of change. Good leaders though, know the storm isn’t passing soon, and inspire their people to dance in the rain with them.

Culture: human touch.

As pandemic talk fades, and the WFH debate grows, some employers are pushing people to get back into the office. Lots of reasons, not least of which is the cost of idle office space. But more worryingly, is news that productivity is falling at the fastest rate in four decades. Royal Bank of Canada CEO explained that “the absence of working together in many ways has led to productivity and innovation challenges”. Culture is also an issue, because culture is feeling a part of something, which starts with connection and human touch. A study of basketball players found that ‘that in group competition, physical touch would predict increases in both individual and group performance’. Touching each other helped create or reinforce a sense of connection, leading to better results.

A thought for leaders: While Elon Musk takes the childish “get off your work-from-home bullsh*t” line, others like Shopify, are now mostly remote and in many cities the process of repurposing office space has begun. The future is foggy. Leaders however, must recognise their responsibility in keeping people physically connected. Because despite what we might believe, human touch matters more than we think.

Communication: balance.

A thought for leaders: Better communication, means better productivity. Is your organization communication efficient and effective? Do you have the right capabilities, skills and tech to manage it properly? And if technology has become a plague, can you harness it for good? As Stewart Brand from MIT Media Lab said “Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road”. So are you the steamroller, or the road?

Leadership Principle 12: Stay Golden – Look after #1

Thirsty for more? Dig a little deeper into this principle here.

You can follow Flow Group on Linkedin here.

P.S. Our featured artist this month is Toronto-born photographer Patty Maher. Narrative remains central to her process, her photos she says “are snapshots in the middle of a story”. We are left to work out the beginning and end. Her subjects are purposefully ambiguous and she conjures places where literature, fairy tales and surrealist paintings coalesce.