Transformative Leaders
Part of the series “Good leadership is good design” 6/6
In the last six weeks, I have explored how design principles can aid in reflecting on good leadership. My argument is that leadership can be treated as an ‘object of design’ and, as such, can and should be designed to fulfil our communities’ and ecosystems’ needs. This post is the last one of the series, focusing on the 5th principle: transformative.
This last post is, therefore, about the future. It is about the ability to provide a clear vision for a better state of things, to take action swiftly, and to tell a compelling story that can take people on a journey. It’s about offering a transformative tension that showcases possibilities, alternative scenarios, a path forward, something for people to believe in, and clarity on the actions they can take to get there.
Throughout my career, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to some exceptional leaders working in various industries and types of organisations, who excelled at offering that transformative tension. Some were clients, others were partners, and some simply stakeholders in projects I was involved in. I started reflecting on what these people had in common in the way they went about being transformative and collated this list:
- Clear vision
- Engaging storytelling
- Resilient community
- Speed of action
Before delving into the details of how these three elements unfold in practice, I’d like to share a story of one of the last transformative leaders I have been exposed to — Lauren Currie, the founder of Upfront, among other things. Lauren found herself on multiple occasions speaking at conferences where she was the only woman speaker, with the remaining speakers usually being white men. She started experiencing this as a problem and decided to do something about it. She went on a quest to understand why there were so few women speaking at these events and discovered that a lack of confidence was a significant factor affecting women and non-binary individuals. Her mission became fixing confidence, and she started a community and revolution that has since influenced hundreds of thousands of women. Lauren’s clear vision was focused on fixing confidence, not women (it’s so simple and relevant that I remember it by heart). She engaged people with her story and created a community to enable action at speed and scale. She is a transformative leader.
Now, let’s unpack the three elements of transformative leadership:
1. Clear vision: A clear vision should answer the question, “To what end?” What does the better state of things look like? In today’s ever-evolving context, defining it as a “new state of things” rather than an “end state” is more appropriate. The ability to describe the better state you want people to pursue, using simple words and visuals, is fundamental to lay the foundations of a transformative force that can generate followers and buy-in. How to go about it?
- Use simple words that everyone can understand.
- Articulate it in a short sentence.
- Make it memorable so people can recall it easily.
- Ensure it is relatable, addressing real needs and resonating with people’s aspirations.
2. Engaging storytelling: Taking people on a journey requires well-crafted stories that can have a profound impact on their imagination. Not everyone is a natural storyteller, but storytelling is a skill that virtually anyone can master. Here are a few thoughts on what makes a good story:
- A good story has a beginning, a development, and an end.
- It needs a quest or mission that the audience can empathise with.
- It has a villain, something or someone hindering the quest.
- It includes a ‘eureka moment,’ an idea or intuition that resolves the issue and defeats the villain.
- It concludes with a call to action, inspiring the audience to take part and help.
3. Resilient community: Transformative leaders are never alone. Transformation is a team sport that requires a community of committed people. The role of the leader is to offer a vision and a path forward, but fundamentally it is to trust the community to take the ideas forward. Some challenges are beyond the scope of one person, making the community’s role essential for scaling the impact.
- Trust in and empower the community by putting others ahead of yourself.
- Abandon ego and be in service of others.
- Understand the community you serve by asking questions and listening to understand.
- Surround yourself with diverse people and seek their feedback.
- Take feedback seriously and use it for continuous improvement.
- Engage in self-reflection to understand your actions and their root causes.
4. Speed of action: This section addresses the question, “When?” The answer from a transformative leader should be, “What about now?” (I have borrowed this one from Frances Frei and Anne Morriss). People respond to speed, and when change is needed, inaction can be the worst outcome. However, speed of action should not mean rushing without careful consideration. Here are some tips for approaching action with speed and thoughtfulness:
- Have a clear plan of action.
- Ensure everyone understands their role in the plan.
- Provide updates on progress to show that things are happening.
- Show interim results for feedback and reflection.
- Reflect on failures and celebrate successes.
If you’re interested in exploring the topic further, several books delve into the concept of transformative leadership, and I recommend the following:
- “Unleashed” by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss
- “Regenation” by Christian Sarkar, Philip Kotler, Enrico Foglia
- “Reinventing Organizations” by Frederic Laloux
- “Changemakers” by Maria Giudice and Christopher Ireland
Now, I’d love to hear from you. Do you have an example of transformative leaders you’d like to share? Just reply to this post. I read every response.
I have migrated this blog to Substack, follow me here: designmavericks.substack.com
