The missing link in leadership

Jane Austen opens Pride and Prejudice by claiming it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. Another truth that seems to be universally acknowledged is that leadership development will always be a top priority for organisations.

Each year, Video Arts conducts a survey in which L&D practitioners are asked about the training they provide, how it is delivered and their plans for the future. The results provide an annual snapshot of the UK learning industry. This year we surveyed over 400 learning and development professionals online and it probably won't surprise you to hear that leadership development came out as the top priority for organisational learning in the next 12 months. 61 per cent of respondents identified it as something they intend to provide. For the record, the other key priorities for learning, revealed by the survey, were people management, coaching, teamwork, customer service, time management and change management.

The perennial interest in leadership development can be explained by the positive - or negative - impact that leadership can have on an organisation. Good leaders can inspire others, give direction, drive change, handle ambiguity, create trust and make things happen - all of which can enhance employee engagement and dramatically improve the bottom line results.

The skills required by good leaders are sometimes contradictory. For example giving direction and empowering others. Perhaps this is why there is such a constant search for new angles to leadership. Everyone is looking for the missing link, something that will give them that little bit extra.

I was recently fortunate to speak at - and attend as a guest - the Flow Leadership Conference in Budapest. The event was organised by our partner in Hungary and marked a celebration of the Flow Group' s 10th anniversary. The programme was designed to explore what kind of challenges organisations and their leaders had faced in the past 10 years and their most important challenges in the future.

The Flow Group has strong connections to the Hungarian positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of the best selling book Flow. Csikszentmihalyi has contributed pioneering work to our understanding of happiness, creativity, human fulfilment and the notion of 'flow' - a state of heightened focus and immersion in activities such as art, play and in the context of our group, work.

In his view, creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. "When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life," he claims. His notion of 'flow' centres on the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake. However, for the corporate audience attending the conference, the central topic of conversation was leadership and how leaders of tomorrow could help their organisations and their people be - and work - 'in flow' more often.

My favourite contribution was the idea that, as business people, we should aim to lead like great music conductors. Conductor Itay Talgam is one of the leading figures in the Israeli music scene. His Maestro programmes are founded on the belief that, in the orchestra as in the workplace, music has the power to create community and reinforce shared values.

Talgam began developing his exciting programmes when he noticed how the elements essential in achieving excellent orchestral performances could be transformed into powerful metaphors for leadership styles in the corporate world. Just as in the business world, it was easy to spot the demanding dictatorial style of leadership, from a charismatic style. Both may get results but it is the latter that makes it seem like a pleasure to be part of the unit. In one case at the Scala some years back, we heard how a domineering conductor was praised for his skill but asked to find himself an alternative role in a letter signed by the entire orchestra - can you imagine that happening in the corporate world!

As the search goes on for the missing link in leadership, one thing is clear: as long as organisations exist, there will be an ongoing debate about how best to train those who lead them.