Welcome: We need a “high-leadership” economy

Ann Francke OBE Chief executive, CMI

All the talk in UK government circles right now is about moving to a “high-wage, high-productivity economy”. The shortages of fuel and labour are, we’re told, bumps in the road as we move towards that.

I believe we need a “high-leadership economy”. I’ve always known that good management and leadership help people perform better and feel more satisfied in their work, supercharge organisations, and elevate the economy. These past 18 months have only strengthened that. It’s effective management and leadership that will unlock the potential benefits of the post-pandemic era.

As we build up to CMI’s 75th anniversary in 2022, we must communicate a simple message to the government, business and the wider public: that good management and leadership underpin everything. So I encourage all CMI members to get involved with our 75th-anniversary research work. Thank you in advance for your input.

Old-school managers will keep us in the old world. But managers and leaders who are comfortable with complexity, who can lead distributed teams, who are inclusive and hyper-digital will help us to “Build back better”. McKinsey’s brilliant director of research and economics, Tera Allas, illustrated the power of the boss in a CMI Better Managers Briefing recently: “90 per cent of people say the way they feel at home depends on the way they feel at work,” she said.

Management and leadership don’t just help people in a job; they help you on the way up, too. CMI has just released a report called “Work-Ready Graduates: Building employability skills for a hybrid world”, highlighting the 11 key skills that, according to employers, equip graduates to progress in the workplace. Unfortunately, only a quarter of graduates believe that they possess them. CMI is calling on the government and universities to embed employability skills and career support that will, in turn, boost economic growth.

Leadership in a hybrid world

We mustn’t sugar-coat any of this. Management and leadership is hard, even more so in a “hybrid” world where people are distributed, working remotely and on multiple, flexible schedules. It will require different qualities to the old world. This edition of CMI’s magazine focuses on leading in a hybrid world.

My take

I know myself how tough it is to lead in a hybrid world. Having absorbed this edition and in my conversations with leaders, these seem to be some of the emerging management challenges:

1. Your people – especially new starters – are missing out on the benefits of impromptu workplace interactions. Over time, they won’t develop the “peripheral vision” that the best team members bring to the job.

2. People are under-managed and, over time, run the risk of developing potentially toxic habits.

3. At the other end of the spectrum, people are sometimes micro-managed and don’t feel trusted to do a good job.

4. Establishing and maintaining high levels of trust without false metrics emerging – for example, how quickly someone replies to an email – is an important but difficult task.

5. Reimagine the office/workplace so that it represents an “experience” and offers the possibility for the kind of creativity that isn’t available elsewhere.

6. Make sure your organisation is, and remains, inclusive. I feel very strongly about this one. There’s a real danger of new biases and in-crowds developing in a hybrid model, and managers must be aware of these.

7. There’s the risk of mild anarchy as people impose their own working schedules and preferences over and above the needs of the organisation. This is where a powerful shared sense of purpose comes in. Having clear and ethical ground rules are also important.

8. Sheer management capability is, as ever, key. Do your existing managers really have the empathy, social sensitivity and emotional intelligence that define the good modern manager?

Make the small moments count

There’s one approach that can address each of these challenges, and that’s the power of “small moments” (a phrase coined by McKinsey). As a leader, every interaction matters, whether you’re talking to a new starter about their career ambitions or to a Cabinet minister about what should be on their agenda for the year ahead. Small moments can have big impacts. It only takes a few seconds of good management to switch a project from promising to spectacular. Good management and leadership really can make the difference.