BLUF
Having the courage to speak up and being prepared to learn from others can form the basis of effective leadership and might be the best way to bring about cultural change.Summary
Emerging from the post-pandemic world is an opportunity for most people to reassess what’s most important to them. Author Carol S. Pearson believes it’s also an opportunity for us to ‘call up the leader within’ to improve the culture of organisations and even entire societies. She says too many people—particularly within organisations—censure themselves to better fit in with their workplace culture. However, Ms Pearson believes censoring oneself can impede progress. Leadership, she says, begins with being prepared to be the one who talks about the elephant in the room. The key, she says, is in persuading people to empathise:
‘If leaders are to unify conflicting groups, they need a story that is effective in helping both sides recognise where they agree and why they need one another’.
