Page 10 - index

CREATIVITY

existing barriers to move the organization forward. When it (2009) Adaptive Leadership, leaders today would be hard pressed
comes to making operational and structural decisions, seasoned to fnd any contemporary leadership theory that is an intelligent
leaders know the importance of embracing the belief that slower response to the disruptions, frictions, and confict at work
is better than faster and incremental adjustments are better than in many organizations. Tis may suggest that we have many
more aggressive actions that may cause harm to their institutions educated and experienced leaders who know how to respond to
and to themselves. Yet it is this prudential approach to leadership “where we’ve been” but may be clueless when it comes to “leading
and action that can also lead to problems. to where we’re going.” Furthermore, with a new generational
When leaders take that slower and incremental approach in cohort on its way, what Alexandra Levit of Te New York
today’s VUCA environment, they can quickly become a liability Times recently called “Generation Z,” (2015), there will be new
to the organization. When the overriding concern for stability pressures and expectations placed upon organizational leaders
is a manifestation of a leader’s fear, anxiety, and a lack of self- to navigate change, leverage disruption, build relationships, and
efcacy in his or her ability make sound decisions, the leader accelerate global connectivity which, for this generation, is and
ceases to be efective (Friedman, 2007). Tis leader can become, will be the new normal.
by default, a protector of the status quo, inappropriately applying A New Model for Leadership:
empathy, excessive uses of power and control, and limiting The Disruptive World of High-Tech Startups
collaboration and empowerment. Tis can result in a loss of
credibility, trust, and quickly build the perception that the leader So where can leaders look for models of leadership where the
possesses a lack of competence and good judgment (Freidman, primary drivers are not about self-preservation or institutional
2007). Taken to an extreme, these leaders may see any internal control but rather about anticipating and responding to the
or external factor that leads to disruption as something to avoid, disruption generated from constant change locally, nationally,
suppress, or control. Furthermore, these leaders run the risk and globally? How can leaders capture and sustain relevance
of failing to evolve professionally and personally in ways that through innovation, creativity, and actualizing and aligning
can stife critical innovation, creativity, and the development strengths while at the same time increasing the value of the
of entrepreneurial thinking necessary to successfully and organization to stakeholders? What sector of the industry ofers
confdently navigate 21 century disruptions. new practices that can assist institutional and organizational
st
leaders to view, understand, and embrace creativity, risk-taking,
A Perfect Storm Producing Clueless Leaders? and organizational change in new ways? We can look directly
As a leadership and management instructor, course texts into the High-Tech Startup community as a legitimate “ground
typically address leadership relying on theories that were zero” for innovative and responsive models of leadership.
developed during the 20 century and were developed in Innovation, nimbleness, and agility are direct linkages to
th
response to emerging organizational needs, political and survival and competitiveness in the successful Startup. Tese
economic trends, as well as the needs and goals of generational organizational cultures reject many of the traditional practices
cohorts. With the exception of Heifetz, Linsky, and Grashow’s of leadership that focus on control and the mitigation of change

8 LEADERSHIP Vol. 21.1 Spring/Summer 2015

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