Why Leaders Should Let Go

  Leadership   Organizational Culture   Teams  

Effective project management requires strong leadership skills. Traditional approaches insist on the differences between management and leadership. If management is considered to be all about control, status quo and value counting, leadership is thought to be all about inspiration, change, and innovation. However, the difference between management and leadership has reduced considerably due to two megatrends.

1. VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity)

Think of the COVID-19 pandemic disruption and the agile ways in which organizations had to respond to the changes in a timely manner. Even before the pandemic, the pace of change in technology and market innovation outstripped the stability of status quo seeking organizations. Management is frequently thought of as preserving status-quo while leadership is characterizing change. Show me a manager who didn’t have to flex or lead change in their team or organization during the pandemic; I will show you a failed manager. In the VUCA world, managers can be successful only when they also perform leadership functions.

2. Rise of Knowledge Economy

Creation, curation, and effective deployment of new knowledge have become critical components of modern-day organizations. This is not only restricted to private sector industries but also in public and nonprofit settings. The knowledge economy and knowledge …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.