Interview with Margaret Wheatley, co-founder and President Emerita of The Berkana Institute
Margaret (Meg) is one of the world's leading commentators on leadership and is co-founder and President Emerita of The Berkana Institute, a global charitable foundation founded in 1992, dedicated to serving life-affirming leaders. She is holding a masterclass on Finding our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time in December at Roffey Park.
Your masterclass examines ‘Leadership in Uncertain Times’ – why does the concept of leadership interest you?
Leadership in its various forms has been my field of enquiry for over 30 years. My earlier work looked at the science of chaos and how to harness chaos for creativity, which led to examining how chaotic conditions could shape leadership for the better. This in turn encouraged me to explore in more detail leadership and how it is shaped by the environment.
Why do you think uncertainty has become a characteristic of modern leadership?
There are rising levels of uncertainty everywhere we look in the world. Terrorist attacks and environmental disasters have made the world seem less safe. Such events affect us profoundly and we have no control over them. In this climate, we have found organisations taking back power and reverting to a ‘command and control’ approach to leadership – which only serves to exacerbate problems.
Why is the ‘command and control’ approach making a comeback?
Uncertainty and fear are the key drivers.The best leadership fosters intelligence and independence and relies on people at the front line to use their judgment to make decisions. However, many organisations end up going in the wrong direction, rescinding grass roots responsibility and thereby increasing worker disengagement. People at the front line begin to 'just turn up', becoming dependent and disengaged. And they lose the capacity to respond intelligently to the next surprise or crisis.
How can people counter this trend?
Put simply: forget about the top level. Senior leaders are overwhelmed by competing demands and bureaucracy.. Instead of waiting for permission from on high, I encourage people from teams or departments to just go for it and take grass roots responsibility as 'quiet revolutionaries' remembering that large scale change starts with small local action.
Who do you think exemplifies great leadership today?
In terms of people,Vaclav Havel and Nelson Mandela are both people who have great belief in the capacity and ability of the individual.There are examples of good leaders in commercial organisations but even they face great pressure from external forces such as shareholders and the market.This usually prevents them from exercising true leadership skills.
Who benefits from your guidance?
People from all kinds of organisations: the dynamics are the same anywhere. I try to reach out to the cynical and disempowered and help them find the motivation to change direction and find something they care enough about to take action.
What single piece of advice would you give to prospective leaders?
Question your motivation as to why you want to be a leader. Good leaders want to bring out others' potential and bad leaders are generally in it for their own advancement. People see it as means to acquire wealth and power. Recent corporate scandals demonstrate the great damage that can be inflicted by poor leadership where greed is the primary motivator.