April Rinne is a World Economic
Forum Young Global Leader
and ranked one of the “50
Leading Female Futurists” in the
world by Forbes. As a change
navigator: she helps individuals
and organizations rethink and
reshape their relationship with
change, uncertainty, and a world
in flux. She’s a trusted advisor,
speaker, investor, adventurer (100+
countries), insatiable handstander,
and author of Flux: 8 Superpowers
for Thriving in Constant Change (Berrett
Koehler, on-sale August 24,
2021).
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The New Script For Leadership In Flux
Moreover, the new script makes
it clear that many people are
leaders, not just those making
their way towards the top of the
ladder. Leadership in a world in
flux can come from any direction:
it is not confined to the top. It
harnesses the principles of “new
power” of networks, ecosystems,
and collective wisdom. The
strongest node in a network is
no longer the biggest, fanciest,
oldest, or most credentialed one.
It’s the most connected one. Flux
leaders seek to lead with others,
not lead by themselves. And
they know that leadership has
more than one gear -- there are
times to move fast and times to
move slowly.
Many humans have a primal fear
of slowing down. There’s the
perceived fear of social stigma,
disbelief, and condescension
from others if we get off the
fast track. There’s the potential
loss of our value to society, for if
we aren’t always on, then what
are we?
Research has shown, time
and time again, that whenever
possible it’s best not to hurry. In
other words, the longer you can
wait, the better. This is not procrastination;
this is about your
ability to observe, assess, feel,
process, take action . . . and
pause, in order to get the best
outcome possible.
Running slower is naturally
aligned with the concept
(and book) Thinking Fast and
Slow, popularized by Princeton
professor and Nobel Prize–winner
Daniel Kahneman. Kahneman
reveals how we listen too much
to people who think fast and
shallow and too little to people
who think slow and deep. All too
often, we frantically get through
the day without reserving time to
think, learn, and unlearn—yet this
is exactly what we need to do in
order to think more clearly.
When we’re running fast,
we automatically fall into
fast-thinking mode: we react
quickly and opt for what’s familiar
or intuitively comfortable. But
as Kahneman shows us, being
fast on your feet may make
you sound smart, but it doesn’t
make you wise. Opting for what’s
familiar means you miss what’s
new, and it does a very poor job
preparing you for flux!
Your ability to think slower is
directly related to how fast
(or slow) you respond, with
strikingly similar results. As Frank
Partnoy, author of Wait: The Art
and Science of Delay, says, “The
amount of time we take to reflect
on decisions defines who we
are . . . A wise decision requires
reflection, and reflection requires
a pause.”
In today’s fast-paced world, the
ability to delay judgment is all
the more at risk. Running slower
helps you think slower and delay
judgment, both of which empower
you to manage your time—rather
than time managing you—and
bring your best self to life.
Leadership Fast and Slow
Think about your typical decision
making style. Do you tend to
decide fast or to contemplate?
● If you move quickly, do you
consider your potential
blind spots?
● If you move slowly, do you
have a filter for when the
time is right?
● Think about your leadership
style. Do you expect your
colleagues and partners to
adopt your pace? Why or
why not?
● Reflect on a situation in
which a decision took
longer than expected. What
did you observe, process,
Adapted from FLUX: 8 Superpowers
for Thriving in Constant
Change (on-sale August 24,
Berrett-Koehler)
Leadership Excellence presented by HR.com AUGUST 2021 41 Submit Your Articles
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