Introduction

This article delves into the psychology of likeability, reviewing strategies to enhance engagement and foster better relationships. Drawing upon the latest research in social psychology, it explores how subconscious factors influence perceptions, the nuances of engaging in small talk, and the essence of a captivating presence. Discover how likeability can transform your personal and professional life.

The Psychology of Likeability

Understanding the essence of likeability can significantly alter our interactions both personally and professionally. Psychology unveils subconscious triggers that influence our perception of others. By grasping these mechanisms, we can refine our approachability and establish stronger bonds.

Subconscious Triggers

Our brains evaluate individuals based on subtle cues, such as body language and tone of voice. Maintaining eye contact, mirroring body movements, and displaying a warm, genuine smile are traits that foster trust and comfort. These actions shape our perceptions and increase likeability.

Mastering Small Talk

Engaging in seamless small talk is crucial for building rapport. Effective small talk hinges on active listening, asking open-ended questions, finding common ground, and using positive body language. These strategies foster trust and create meaningful connections.

The Power of Storytelling

Storytelling, a timeless art, has the remarkable ability to engage and persuade. By crafting compelling narratives, you can engage with your audience’s emotions, fostering a profound connection. Improve your storytelling by drawing from personal anecdotes, incorporating vivid imagery, and featuring relatable characters. This approach can transform a straightforward message into an indelible experience.

The capacity to develop and refine charisma and magnetic presence is a skill that evolves with practice. By integrating the subtleties of body language with the art of storytelling, you can unveil a level of charm and influence that will resonate with those around you.

Likeability in the Professional Realm

In the competitive arena of career advancement, the quality of professional likeability emerges as a crucial asset. It significantly enhances your ability to forge robust workplace relationships and cultivates a favourable professional image. This, in turn, paves the way for new opportunities and hastens your career progression. By refining your professional likeability, you can effortlessly manoeuvre through the corporate environment, thereby achieving your professional objectives with enhanced confidence.

Initiating the cultivation of professional likeability necessitates an understanding of its underlying psychological dynamics. It is the warmth, authenticity, and a sincere interest in others that naturally attract people. By sharpening your listening skills, maintaining a positive outlook, and offering sincere compliments, you can establish a compelling presence among your colleagues and superiors.

Another pivotal element of professional likeability is the mastery of small talk. Engaging in effortless, meaningful dialogue across diverse topics facilitates rapport building and leaves a memorable impact. Staying abreast of current events, industry trends, and shared interests equips you with conversation starters, enabling you to forge deeper connections with your peers.

Furthermore, cultivating charisma and a magnetic presence is vital for professional likeability. Attention to your non-verbal cues, the art of storytelling, and exuding confidence can create an aura of likeability that distinguishes you from others.

Embracing the essence of professional likeability empowers you to navigate the workplace with heightened confidence, establish profound connections, and position yourself for sustained career success. Remember, the capacity to forge genuine connections is a skill of immense value, propelling you towards the pinnacle of your professional ambitions.

When Likeability in Leadership Backfires

While likeability is often seen as a key trait for effective leadership, it is unwise to select leaders solely on this basis, especially if it means neglecting other crucial predictors of leadership effectiveness, such as expertise, intelligence, and integrity. Here are three reasons why likeability in leadership can backfire:

• Likability May Mask Dark Side Traits: Perceptions of likeability can sometimes hide toxic traits. Individuals with narcissistic or psychopathic tendencies can appear charming and socially skilled, which might lead to their being mistakenly perceived as likeable.

• Mindless Conformity: Likeable leaders might encourage conformity rather than innovation. True leadership often requires challenging the status quo, which may not always align with being likeable.

• Results Over Popularity: Leaders overly focused on being liked may avoid making tough decisions. Effective leadership requires balancing likeability with the ability to make difficult choices and drive results.

Conclusion

Likeability is a powerful force that can transform personal and professional interactions. By understanding and leveraging the psychology of likeability, mastering small talk, and developing a charismatic presence, individuals can significantly enhance their influence and success.

Embracing likeability involves consistent practice and application in daily interactions. It is a skill that can be developed and refined over time, leading to more fulfilling relationships and greater professional achievements.

FAQ

What are the subconscious triggers that make people like me? Subconscious triggers include mirroring body language, maintaining eye contact, and expressing warmth through facial expressions and tone of voice. These actions significantly shape how others perceive you.

How can I improve my small talk skills? Key strategies include active listening, posing open-ended questions, sharing pertinent personal stories, and maintaining a positive, engaged attitude during conversations.

What are the secrets to projecting a charismatic presence? Projecting a charismatic presence involves mastering both verbal and non-verbal communication, such as confident posture, expressive hand gestures, and engaging storytelling.

How can I leverage likeability to enhance my professional success? Enhancing professional likeability involves active listening, offering sincere praise, fostering a positive work environment, and engaging in meaningful small talk.

What are the key benefits of developing greater likeability? Benefits include cultivating deeper relationships, expanding social and professional opportunities, and increasing influence and impact on those around you.

By mastering the art of likeability, individuals can unlock their full potential, becoming more respected, admired, and successful in their personal and professional lives.

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Introduction

In 2005, David Foster Wallace, the celebrated author renowned for his lofty, intellectual style and profound, often humorously contempful explorations of the human experience (not to mention his trademark bandana), delivered a now-iconic commencement speech to the graduating class at Kenyon College. His speech was titled “This is Water” [1]. That title, seemingly banal, delivers a profound, even life-changing message (if the YouTube comments are to be believed, at least).

Wallace urges graduates to cultivate a deliberate awareness of the seemingly obvious, the everyday realities that often slip by unnoticed. He does so through a short and simple anecdote.

There are these two young fish…

Foster Wallace tells the story of two young fish swimming merrily along. On their journey, they encounter an older fish swimming in the opposite direction. The older fish nods and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” The two young fish swim on for a bit before one turns to the other and asks, “What the hell is water?”

“The point of the fish story,” Foster Wallace explains, “is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about. Stated as an English sentence, of course, this is just a banal platitude, but the fact is that in the day to day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have a life or death importance, or so I wish to suggest to you on this dry and lovely morning.” [2]

Modern water

The anecdote of the fish in water poignantly illustrates our tendency to take the fundamental aspects of our existence for granted. We live immersed in the water of our daily routines, oblivious to its very existence until someone points it out. The “water” in our lives could be anything –– the ability to have a meaningful conversation, the beauty of a sunrise, the simple act of breathing, all these cosmically miraculous aspects of the human experience that we steadfastly fail to recognise.

Foster Wallace goes into great detail in the speech laying out just how difficult it is to spot the water around us. And that was in 2005. In the subsequent years, the water, if at all possible, has grown more transparent and undetectable still. We live amongst an attention-sapping multimedia environment explicitly designed to absorb us. Smartphones and social media make it not just impossible to notice our settings but to acknowledge that we’re swimming at all. Our attention, the aspect of ourselves Foster Wallace goes to great lengths to say we should prize, protect and treasure, is a currency traded amongst Silicon Valley power brokers. Our attention is bought and sold behind our backs, often for all too cheap. And that is just one of the battles currently facing us.

We are also battling the cult of false positivity, staring blankly at a curated reality social media drip feeds us, feasting on slideshows and highlight reels of other lives we deem better than our own. We are repeatedly thrust into the twin states of feeling inadequate while simultaneously burning with a need to curate our own false reality online too. We must play along with the great lie or else allow our lives to appear lesser, mundane, forgettable. Pretty soon everything is distorted.

We are battling the fear of missing out, confronted with an endless need to stay connected, to check back in online for fear that we will be alienated and out of step with those around us if we fail to. It’s hard to be fully present in the moment when all the while you’re in it, you wish you were in another one.

We are battling our brains, most specifically the default mode network. This is our brain’s natural mode of operation that kicks in when we’re not actively engaged in a task. This mode often leads to ruminating on the past or worrying about the future, further pulling us away from the present moment.

In the context of such a society, Foster Wallace’s message about cherishing the ordinary becomes even more relevant. These factors combined create a constant undercurrent of distraction, making cultivating sustained awareness feel nigh on impossible. But it is doable. It just requires effort.

The benefits of making that effort are numerous.

The benefits of awareness

A recent study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that those who completed a mindfulness awareness program experienced less insomnia, fatigue, and depression after six weeks than those who received sleep education [3]. A study that was presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2022 reported that after participating in an eight-week mindfulness behaviour program, adults who had elevated blood pressure at the beginning of the program had significantly lower blood pressure and reduced sedentary time at their six-month follow-up. [4]

In the UK, it is estimated that as many as 30% of GPs refer patients to mindfulness training [5]. That’s because the benefits are well-documented and because in theory it’s simple (though as anyone who has tried focusing on the breath will tell you, it’s difficult to believe how quickly the mind drifts away).

By becoming more aware of our own thoughts and feelings, we can develop a deeper understanding of those around us. When we pay attention to the everyday details, we can cultivate a genuine appreciation for the beauty and wonder of the world. Being present allows us to make more conscious choices, rather than acting on autopilot, and can reduce the amount of time we waste ruminating on the past and worrying about the future.

As Foster Wallace puts it, “Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience” [6]. The simple act of acknowledging the “water” of our lives can lead to a more meaningful and fulfilling existence.

Cultivating Awareness

Being aware of one’s surroundings does not just happen. It is a conscious act, and a challenging one. As Foster Wallace puts it, “People who can adjust their natural default setting this way are often described as being “well-adjusted”, which I suggest to you is not an accidental term” [7]. So how does one become well-adjusted? How does one find a way to spot the water around them in a world designed to distract us?

As previously noted, one option is mindfulness. The availability of mindfulness apps makes it easy to get started. Incorporating just ten minutes a day into your daily routine can change your perspective in monumental ways.

Another option is gratitude exercises. Taking time each day to reflect on things you’re grateful for can shift your focus to the positive aspects of your life. It’s a useful countermeasure against negative thinking.

If your distraction is not just internal but external –– ie you are overly occupied by your phone and digital spaces –– it could be worth attempting a digital break. You don’t have to go cold turkey. You could start small by saying “I’m not going to use my phone for half an hour before bed.” Then extend that period out or add further half-hour breaks to your day, during lunch or after work for example. A useful tip is to put your phone in another room during any detox to remove the temptation. Out of sight really is out of mind.

Try focusing on your senses. This is a step that will be recommended to you in mindfulness practices but you can do any place, any time, by yourself. Simply make the choice to notice what surrounds you –– sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. This simple act can anchor you in the present moment.

Make a conscious effort to engage in activities that require focus. Activities like reading, spending time in nature, or creating art can demand your full attention, fostering a state of mindfulness or even flow state. It’s time better spent than scrolling.

Observe your thoughts rather than judging them. This too is a pillar of mindfulness practice but something you can do alone. Every thought you’ve ever had has passed away, the one you’re currently lost in will too. Try to notice your thoughts as a passive bystander rather than lending them overdue creed, and do the same with people too. When interacting with others, try to observe them without judgement. It can lead to deeper connections and a better understanding of the people around you.

That’s a lot of examples but, as noted, most of them can be practised even for just a few moments throughout the day –– it’s just about breaking the spell of thought and noticing what’s around you. Still, it’s recommended you start small. Don’t try to overhaul your life overnight. Begin with easy, manageable changes, like taking a few mindful breaths throughout the day.

None of these strategies are a one-time fix, rather a lifelong practice. By incorporating any or all of them into your daily routine, you can cultivate a greater sense of awareness and begin to truly appreciate the “water” of your existence. At the risk of sounding guru-adjacent, it can help set you free from the prison of your mind. As Foster Wallace says, “The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day.” [8]

This is water

David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” speech serves as a powerful reminder to appreciate the seemingly mundane aspects of life. In a world overflowing with distractions, cultivating awareness requires conscious effort. It is difficult. But the rewards are substantial.

By adopting the practices outlined above, we can embark on a lifelong journey of self-discovery, increased appreciation, and a deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us. The “water” of our lives is always there, waiting to be acknowledged. It’s up to us to become the “older fish” who can see it, savour it, and appreciate the profound beauty in the ordinary.

More on Mindfulness

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Stress Management and Leadership Through Mindfulness

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Mindfulness, Meditation and Compassion in the Workplace and in Life with Scott Shute – Podcast

Sources

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbGM4mqEVw

[2] https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/

[3] https://www.news-medical.net/health/The-Science-of-Mindfulness.aspx#:~:text=In%20particular%2C%20a%20recent%20study,those%20who%20received%20sleep%20education.

[4] https://newsroom.heart.org/news/mindfulness-shows-promise-as-an-effective-intervention-to-lower-blood-pressure

[5] https://www.news-medical.net/health/The-Science-of-Mindfulness.aspx#:~:text=In%20particular%2C%20a%20recent%20study,those%20who%20received%20sleep%20education.

[6] https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/

[7] https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/

[8] https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/

Introduction

A new boss taking over can be difficult. Change often is. For employees, the promise of fresh perspectives and strategic shifts can be exciting. But the uncertainty surrounding changing dynamics and expectations can also be unsettling, for seasoned staff and recent hires alike. For those who liked their old boss, the new one is a daunting prospect. And even those that didn’t face an element of “the devil you know.” At such a juncture, all employees will be sat around the office contemplating what a change of leadership means for their futures.

Successfully navigating a leadership transition requires a proactive approach to ensure continued productivity and career satisfaction. How do you build a relationship with a new leader? How do you help ensure a smooth transition? In the worst case scenario, how do you spot a leader who isn’t going to serve you and what can you do to counter that?

Understanding the new leader

It’s natural for employees to want to know as much as possible about their new leader as quickly as possible. This is the person whose expectations they will now need to be meeting; they’ll want to know what those expectations are. Equally, given there is such a wide variety of leadership styles, they may wish to adjust their temperament or approach accordingly.

In the modern world, employees can often get a decent sense of their new boss’s approach and values in advance of their arrival through their online presence. Most people have a LinkedIn profile through which their new employees can evaluate their posts to get a sense of their leadership style, past successes and communication preferences. Even just a look at their employment history can provide a sense of their trajectory and offer hints as to their approach.

Equally, employees may be able to track down their boss’s personal social media accounts by way of Instagram, X (Twitter) or Facebook. Wise leaders will make these accounts as difficult to track down as possible. And wise employees may not want to risk exposing themselves as having perused their new boss’s personal account in advance of their arrival.

Following the new leader’s commencement comes the bedding in period, which depending on the leader and company in question can be a matter of weeks or months (one would hope not years). This period can be awkward and overly formal, with employees tip-toeing around the new boss and vice versa, everyone trying to figure the other out, fearful of earning themselves a spot in the bad books. Conversely, they can be overly contested, with a new leader looking to establish a foothold through shows of strength, maybe even ruthlessness. Meanwhile their more fiery underlings will either push back directly or raise dissent amongst their cohorts at every opportunity.

Neither of these approaches is ideal, though the first is obviously preferable. It’s only natural that things begin tentatively. Employees should try to make use of that early period to establish an amiable rapport with their new boss and to work out what kind of leader they are. Gather information, observe closely, and ask questions during initial meetings and interactions. How do they communicate? Are they direct and concise or more collaborative and open-ended? Do they favour quick decisions or encourage team input? Actively listen to their vision for the company and their priorities. Don’t hesitate to schedule a one-on-one meeting to clarify expectations or gain a better understanding of their vision for the department or company as a whole.

Building a positive working relationship

To state the obvious, you want to impress your new boss. And you want to do so at the earliest opportunity you can.

“Recognize that people do draw some impressions about you pretty quickly,” says Karen Dillon, coauthor of Competing Against Luck and the HBR Guide to Office Politics [1]. But how do you make sure those first impressions are positive?

Michael Watkins, chair of Genesis Advisors and author of The First 90 Days, advises you put yourself in your new boss’s shoes. “Keep asking yourself, ‘How can I help them get up to speed faster?’” [2]

Writing in Harvard Business Review, Carolyn O’Hara offers some practical advice as to how to build a strong rapport from day one [3]. She suggests (1) looking for common ground (2) being empathetic to your new boss’s situation (3) not laying it on too thick (or thin) (4) helping them achieve early wins, and (5) coming armed with solutions, rather than problems.

Equally, experts recommend discerning your new boss’s communication style early. “The sooner you get a sense of how they prefer to be communicated with, the better,” says Watkins [4]. Do they prefer email, calls, texts, or in-person discussions? Do they like to weigh all of the pros and cons before making a decision, or do they want to hear what you’d suggest? Knowing this information will help you avoid misunderstandings that could complicate your work or put you in a difficult situation.

Dillon says the best way to discern this information is simply to outright ask. “Even if they don’t have a great answer because they’re still figuring it out,” she says, “they know that you’re open to it and that you’re approaching them with the attitude, ‘I want to be effective for you.’” [5]

Onboarding a new manager

If you’re a long-serving member of your company, or if your new boss has previously worked in other fields and is less familiar with their new territory, they may be reliant on you to get them up to speed as to how the company functions. This onboarding process is pivotal. If you help your new boss hit the ground running, they’ll be indebted for you going forward. If you make life tricky, the opposite is likely to be the case.

According to research from Egon Zehnder, there are three main reasons why new leaders derail: 1) They fail to understand how the organisation works; 2) They don’t fit with the organisational culture; and 3) They struggle to forge alliances with peers [6]. A helpful, ambitious employee can see to it that their new leader doesn’t fall into any of those trappings.

In Harvard Business Review, Rose Hollister and Michael D. Watkins write that their research shows that those challenges were not dissimilar whether said new boss was an external hire or had received an internal promotion. Leaders they surveyed “said internal promotions were 70% as difficult as coming in from the outside.” [7]

Hollister and Watkins diagnose three fundamental types of learning when starting a new role: technical, cultural, and political [8].

They say that technical learning is about understanding what it takes to succeed in the job. In other words, getting up to speed with the specifics of the organisation’s roles, goals, capabilities, KPIs, and performance, as well as any key products, technologies, systems or customers. Cultural learning is about understanding the key behavioural norms that govern company norms, if there is a certain in-house style or process, for example. Political learning is about identifying the key stakeholders and internal relationships or hierarchies, and clarifying the decision-making processes.

When to be worried

While adjusting to a new leader requires flexibility and patience, certain situations may warrant concern. It could be that your new leader starts showing signs of misalignment with the company culture, or quite simply that they’re not a good leader or person. The impact of that will obviously be felt around the office and could negatively affect your career. So, what kind of signs should you be looking out for?

An obvious indicator that your new boss is not the right fit is if they display unethical behaviour. Some of that may be obvious and easily dealt with –– someone who openly partakes in harrassment, bullying or discrimination should be swiftly dealt with in the modern world. But equally look out for other more nebulous traits such as favouritism, a punitive streak, unpredictable moods or microaggressions.

If you notice these traits but sense they are down to a misunderstanding, it could be worth raising your concerns with the individual in question. If the signs are more pernicious, it may be time to report your concerns to human resources. If they fail to act, start looking elsewhere; anyone who works for a long period of time under a bad boss in a toxic environment tends to bear the scars. It’s not worth it.

Navigating new leadership

The arrival of a new leader presents a unique opportunity for both the individual and the organisation. While initial uncertainty is natural, a proactive approach can transform this transition into a springboard for growth and success. By understanding your new leader’s style, building a positive working relationship, and consistently demonstrating your value, you can position yourself for continued success within the changing landscape.

Remember, your career growth is ultimately your responsibility. If the new leadership creates an environment that hinders your professional development or well-being, don’t be afraid to explore new opportunities that better align with your career goals. The skills you develop during this transition, such as effective communication, adaptability, and a willingness to learn, will serve you well throughout your career.

More on Change Management

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Pioneering Change : A Case Study of Jeff Bezos Transformational Leadership at Amazon

Sources

[1] https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-to-build-a-strong-relationship-with-a-new-boss

[2] https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-to-build-a-strong-relationship-with-a-new-boss

[3] https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-to-build-a-strong-relationship-with-a-new-boss

[4] https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-to-build-a-strong-relationship-with-a-new-boss

[5] https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-to-build-a-strong-relationship-with-a-new-boss

[6] https://www.egonzehnder.com/what-we-do/leadership-advisory/insights/12th-international-executive-panel-leaders-in-transition

[7] https://hbr.org/2023/02/how-to-onboard-your-new-boss

[8] https://hbr.org/2023/02/how-to-onboard-your-new-boss

Introduction

It’s a painful moment. You’ve gone from the sun and shore, waves crashing against the sand while you sip on a fruity cocktail, to the harshly lit office, two screens in front of you, a litany of meetings in the diary and a seemingly bottomless email intray. It’s the return to work from holiday, and for a lot of people it’s hell.

Re-entry shock, holiday hangover, call it what you will. For a lot of us it’s hard to not be overwhelmed by the stark transition, harder still to actually hit the ground running. These return periods often result in a drop in productivity, a slump in mood, and a sense of disconnection.

But there are ways to avoid the negative spiral a return to work can bring. With a well-planned  post-holiday transition, you can turn this potentially stressful time into an opportunity for rejuvenation and renewed focus. By implementing strategic measures, both employees and businesses can benefit from a smoother, more productive return to work.

The need for holiday

Sometimes during this draining return period we think, “why did I even take that holiday at all?” We convince ourselves it wasn’t worth the stress and that it would have been better to keep stubbornly plodding along without a break than face such a contrasting yin and yang.

As an example, senior advisor and executive coach Darin Rowell, EdD, quotes his client “Leslie” in Harvard Business Review. “Coming back from vacation almost makes [it] seem not worth it. For me, it’s like psychologically accelerating from a cruising pace of 30 mph to a speed of 80 so I can get through my inbox, catch up on all the meetings I missed, and reconnect with my neglected clients. And that’s on top of the guilt I’ve been feeling about overburdening my team while they’ve been covering for me.” [1]

Leslie’s thinking is common, but misplaced. Holidays are worth the pain of returning, even if you’re overwhelmed. Rest is vital, not optional. Refusal to commit to proper R&R can have profoundly negative consequences.

As Rowell writes, “research shows that those who don’t take the opportunity to rest, recharge, and recover are at higher risk of exhaustion, low motivation, poor performance, and burnout, while those who engage in regular periods of work recovery enjoy better sleep, higher job satisfaction, more engagement, and higher job performance.” [2]

Meanwhile, studies have shown that women tend to be less likely to use all of their allotted holiday days as compared with men. [3]

“In general, women tend to experience more guilt and are less confident than men, so that may hold women back from feeling like they can ask for and have permission to take time off,” says Fiona Murden, founder of Aroka, an organisational psychology consultancy, and author of Defining You. [4]

Given that studies show that workers who use their vacation days may be more productive and creative, as well as more likely to get a raise and receive higher performance reviews, it’s vital that all workers take proper time off [5]. But especially important women feel free to, or else we risk expanding an already too large gender divide.

Why do we slump?

It’s all too easy upon our return to lay the blame for our disconnection at our own feet –– we didn’t plan well enough, we didn’t check our emails or properly delegate, we had too much fun away from the office and are now reaping what we sewed. This melodramatic self-flagellation serves no one, and is fundamentally misplaced.

It’s only natural for the return to work life to be difficult. Holidays disrupt our biological rhythms and cognitive functions. Jet lag from travel, irregular sleep patterns, and changes in daily routines can all affect our ability to reintegrate into work. For instance, altered sleep cycles can impact our circadian rhythms, leading to fatigue and decreased cognitive function. Additionally, the pleasure of holiday activities boosts dopamine levels, creating a stark contrast when returning to routine tasks.

Additionally, our brains quite literally exaggerate the realities of day-to-day life, making the return to the mundane seem disproportionately more anxiety-inducing and depressing than it actually is. Indeed, according to Dr. Melissa Weinberg, a research consultant and psychologist specialising in well-being and performance psychology, this exaggeration of the brain that exacerbates our post-holiday blues is actually a sign of healthy psychological functioning.

“It’s just one of a series of illusions our brain fools us into believing, in the same way we think bad things are more likely to happen to others than they are to us. Somewhat ironically, the capacity to fool ourselves every single day is an indication of good mental and psychological functioning,” sh explains in The New Daily. [6]

“So, whether we did enjoy our holiday, and whether we’d rather be on vacation than back at work, our brain is wired to make us believe that we did, or that we would. In doing so, we pay the emotional cost for a well-enjoyed break, and we experience a comedown toward our baseline of well-being,” she explains.

That’s not to mention the emotional toll of time off. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 64% of people report being affected by holiday depression, and it’s most often triggered by financial, emotional, and physical stress of the season. [7]

The stress of holiday spending, combined with the abrupt end of relaxation and leisure, can lead to post-holiday blues. Adjusting back to work routines can feel daunting, and the emotional high of the holiday season may make the return to daily responsibilities seem even more monotonous –– you’re seeing the nine to five you were accustomed to with fresh eyes. It takes some time to fall back into the routine.

Negative impact

Needless to say, the post-holiday slump impacts the business as well as the returning employee. Decreased productivity can lead to missed deadlines and a backlog of work, while disengaged employees are more likely to consider leaving their jobs, increasing turnover rates. This period can also disrupt team dynamics and project timelines, affecting overall business performance. As such, it’s important we have plans in place to ensure our reintegration to working life is as smooth as possible.

Strategies for a smooth transition: Delegate

The first step to a smooth reintegration comes well before you’ve even set off. Once those rest days are in the diary, you want to inform those around you of the timings of your absence and ensure you’ve got the right people in place to cover your assignments. How you approach that will vary depending on your seniority. A manager will need to ensure someone is there in their stead to oversee operations. For a more junior member of the team, it’s best to have your manager do the delegating for you rather than take it on your own back; they know the strengths of the team better than you do.

A lot of the stress of returning post-holiday is the mountain of work that awaits you. Having a prepared and trusted set of delegates on top of the detail alleviates that pressure. Either they’ll have covered all your work, or will have been sufficiently across the detail that they can brief you on what you’ve missed so you’re not scrambling through your inbox searching for anything urgent.

Strategies for a smooth transition: Don’t overdo it

When we first return to work, it’s tempting to want to make up for lost time. That often means we end up overdoing it during our first week or even day. It’s understandable to want to cover all that lost ground right away. As Rowell writes, “the urge to overwork stems from a well-meaning effort to relieve team members of the extra work they were covering for you, or a desire to demonstrate that even though you were away, your commitment remains high and you’re still valuable to the organisation.” [8]

But overworking “can leave you boomeranging from one extreme to the other, which increases stress and actually undermines your efforts to catch up” [9]. Rowell recommends taking at least a day to recover after your holiday before you start working again so you can mentally and physically prepare for the change in environment.

Strategies for a smooth transition: Allow yourself a catch-up day

Once back in the office, Murden recommends using that first day back as a buffer day in which you don’t schedule any calls or meetings. “Unless it’s an emergency,” she says, “use this day to get organised.” [10]

David Henzel, a member of Forbes’ Young Entrepreneur Council, agrees. He says day one should be solely for catching up and reimbursing yourself in the worklife, with zero meetings. His aim is to be at “inbox zero” aka having zero pending messages by the end of the day. He says “taking this time to catch up on the first day back results in the mental clarity to properly plan out the remainder of the week and provides the momentum to be at your peak performance as soon as possible.” [11]

Strategies for a smooth transition: Exercise healthy boundaries

Another member of the Forbes’ Young Entrepreneur Council, Carry Metkowski, advises making use of one particularly helpful word once you’re back: No. There will be meetings you don’t need to attend, tasks that can wait. Don’t take on more than you can chew. Show some judgement and put the more menial elements of your workload on the backburner.

“While saying “no” can sometimes create a little discord at the moment,” she says, “the extra emotional reserves you’ll have to take care of more important things will be well worth it.” [12]

Strategies for a smooth transition: Reestablish a routine

A lot of the discord that comes in the wake of a holiday stems from the fact that your long-established routine has been disrupted. The key to reintegrating swiftly is to find it again. That means waking up at the usual time, undertaking any external activities you usually partake in, such as exercising or meditating pre- or post-work, and generally committing to your familiar habits.

This disciplined and consistent approach is crucial to regaining focus and efficiency,” says Izabela Lundberg of the Legacy Leaders Institute, “helping you tackle work challenges with renewed energy, passion and success.” [13]

Rest isn’t optional

Perhaps Rowell’s most essential advice is that, should you find yourself in a working environment that discourages time away, or that rewards employees for excessive hours and self-sacrifice while punishing those who take their legally-mandated holiday, you leave.

“This kind of unhealthy work environment will leave you ripe for exhaustion and burnout,” he writes. “If you can’t leave right away, start creating an exit strategy” [14]. You deserve time off. Any company that fails to acknowledge that or correctly honour it isn’t worth your time.

Returning refreshed

While the initial return to work after a holiday can feel jarring, it doesn’t have to be a period of dread. By viewing this time as an opportunity for rejuvenation and renewed focus, both employees and businesses can benefit.

Rest isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. Businesses that prioritise employee well-being by encouraging proper time off and fostering a supportive work environment ultimately reap the rewards of a more engaged and productive workforce.

However, the responsibility doesn’t solely lie with employers. Employees must also be proactive in creating a smooth transition. This includes planning ahead, delegating tasks, and prioritising well-being during the first week back. Remember, it’s okay to say “no” to additional workload and to focus on reestablishing a healthy routine.

By following these strategies, we can transform the post-holiday period from a dreaded slump into a time for renewed energy and a successful return to work.

More on Rest

The Burnout Epidemic

How Much Should You be Working?

Stress Management and Leadership Through Mindfulness

Sources

[1] https://hbr.org/2023/09/stop-overworking-after-vacation#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20those%20who,engagement%2C%20and%20higher%20job%20performance.

[2] https://hbr.org/2023/09/stop-overworking-after-vacation#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20those%20who,engagement%2C%20and%20higher%20job%20performance.

[3] https://www.fastcompany.com/90199683/theres-a-gender-gap-in-vacation-time-too?

[4] https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelleyzalis/2018/07/24/vacation-is-good-for-you-and-your-company/

[5] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/feeling-it/201708/three-science-based-reasons-vacations-boost-productivity

[6] https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/wellbeing/2017/01/15/post-holiday-blues

[7] https://www.healthcentral.com/condition/depression/post-holiday-depression

[8] https://hbr.org/2023/09/stop-overworking-after-vacation#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20those%20who,engagement%2C%20and%20higher%20job%20performance.

[9] https://hbr.org/2023/09/stop-overworking-after-vacation#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20those%20who,engagement%2C%20and%20higher%20job%20performance.

[10] https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelleyzalis/2018/07/24/vacation-is-good-for-you-and-your-company/

[11] https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2022/09/09/back-from-a-long-vacation-nine-tips-for-getting-back-into-your-work-routine/

[12] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2024/01/05/how-to-beat-the-holiday-hangover-at-work-in-january/

[13] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2024/01/05/how-to-beat-the-holiday-hangover-at-work-in-january/

[14] https://hbr.org/2023/09/stop-overworking-after-vacation#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20those%20who,engagement%2C%20and%20higher%20job%20performance.

Introduction

There’s an endless stream of talk around the subject of work-life balance. Employees want to enjoy their work while not giving themselves over to it entirely, leaving space both mentally and in the actual diary for personal activities.

But what about those struggling with the opposite? Those whose personal lives have become difficult through bereavement or caregiving responsibilities, and for whom just getting through the workday is an achievement. How can we find a balance between working effectively during times of turbulence while also accepting our fragility and finding a way out the other side?

Hopefully this article can in some small way help with that. We will lay out some of the challenges facing caregivers and grieving employees before offering advice for how to handle these difficulties in the workplace.

Working while caregiving

Nearly 75% of employees have caregiving responsibilities outside of work [1]. It is increasingly common and increasingly costly. Estimates say that for 73% of employees, the amount of hours per week given to caregiving tends to be somewhere between twenty and thirty [2]. It is essentially a second job, and one that takes a toll.

“Being a caregiver can lead to both mental and physical fatigue. This can look like anxiety, depression, physical exhaustion, headaches, stomach aches and other physical ailments, social isolation, languishing, loss of interest in hobbies or activities someone once loved, weakened immune system, and can even manifest in self-numbing behaviours,” according to Gina Moffa, LCSW, a grief and trauma therapist, and author of Moving On Doesn’t Mean Letting Go: A Modern Guide to Navigating Loss. [3]

That is reflected in the numbers. Ibec recently published research on the impact of caregiving on staff, based on the answers of 1,200 people aged 25-65. Of those who were carers (roughly half), it found that 63% reported caring responsibilities having a negative impact on their mental health, with 57% saying they brought additional financial pressures. 31% said caring impacted on their ability to do their jobs and 38% believed it had affected their careers. [4]

According to RCIC, nearly one third of caregivers who provide support for a family member voluntarily decided to leave their job due to emotional exhaustion [5]. In research conducted by Family Carers Ireland, “Skilled workers were found opting for under employment, reducing working hours, forgoing career opportunities, while others changed roles to gain employment locally or left their job entirely for more flexibility or to better manage their responsibilities.” [6]

Part of the problem is the work culture around caregiving. Looking at the numbers above, provided by a range of sources across different continents, it’s obvious that a huge number of employees are caregivers. And yet, how often do we hear about these duties in the workplace? Rarely. It is taboo. Mainly because in the achievement mindset culture that has developed around work, employees worry that to bring up their external duties –– much less to acknowledge that those duties impact their work life –– would make them seem less committed or less capable than their non-caregiving counterparts.

“Admitting you have a nearly full-time caregiving responsibilities — and you don’t know when those duties will subside — is career suicide,” Katherine Tasheff told Forbes [7]. Her husband had fallen off a ladder and suffered a traumatic brain injury two days after moving into their new home in upstate New York. She continued to commute two hours to New York City for her job even though she worried he shouldn’t be alone in the house. Eventually, like many others, she left her job and found remote work.

Whether Ms Tasheff’s comment is correct can be debated. But there’s no denying that the prevailing feeling amongst workers is that they are in a dog-eat-dog environment and even so much as acknowledging the challenges of the reality they’re living with could count against them. As such, they bottle it up. That emotional repression is no doubt a contributory factor to the mental health statistics noted earlier.

The gender gap

Perhaps unsurprisingly, but still disappointingly, a gender gap persists in those with caring responsibility. The Irish Times reports that 7.7 million women across Europe are effectively excluded from the workforce by caring responsibilities. In Ireland about 80% of those receiving the various carers’ benefit payments are women. [8]

An EBN State of Caregiving report from 2023 suggests the number of male caregivers is rising –– standing at 38% according to their research [9]. But that still shows the discrepancy and impact on women being forced to bear the brunt of such draining and career-impacting responsibilities.

Working while grieving

According to the Independent, Irish companies generally offer 3-5 days of paid bereavement leave, dependent on the employee’s relationship to the person passing. Meanwhile, the Irish Hospice Foundation revealed in a survey that 20% of people said they did not get the support they needed during their most recent bereavement. [10]

Anyone who has experienced loss will be all too aware that 3-5 days is no recovery period. It can take years, a lifetime even, to come to terms with the greatest losses. It is ongoing, and draining. Indeed, the death of a loved one has been recognized as the most significant life stressor that we face as humans. [11]

As Rebecca Soffer, bestselling author of The Modern Loss Handbook: An Interactive Guide to Moving Through Grief and Building Your Resilience, notes, “There’s no way around it: You will bring your grief to work with you, and some days, it’ll be easier to focus and be productive than others (and that’s completely normal).” [12]

A phenomenon that can serve as a middle ground between caregiving and grieving is that of anticipatory grief. As defined by Sabina Nawaz, a global CEO coach and leadership keynote speaker, who advises C-level executives in Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, non-profits, and academic organisations, writing in Harvard Business Review, anticipatory grief is “a distinct type of grief different than the grief we experience after a loss. [It] involves coming to terms with the impending event, learning how to incorporate it into our reality, and planning our good-byes.” [13]

Ms Nawaz acknowledges the brevity of grieving periods ascribed to those in mourning and notes that “there is even less institutional support for anticipatory grief.” [14]

As such, she proposes some solutions for ensuring your work life does not suffer while facing anticipatory grief. Her advice is equally useful for anyone in mourning.

How to ensure your work does not suffer amidst personal difficulties

1. Prepare your colleagues

As Ms Nawaz advises, “Many people won’t know how to respond when you announce the anticipated death of a loved one. Be explicit about what you’d prefer in your interactions to garner the support you need.”

She advises that you share the situation and how you want it handled with one person you trust and allow them to pass it on. This is preferable to having to announce the news over and over. Some people are open and would rather their colleagues feel comfortable talking to them about it. Others would rather things were kept strictly professional to help keep their mind off it. There is no right way; it’s a personal choice.

2. Create a plan B

Creating a backup plan for work is helpful. You don’t necessarily know when a bad day will come and you’re in no state to work. In advance of that, have a plan in place. Ask trusted colleagues if they’d be okay to step in for you when such an event happens or advise your boss so that they can distribute the load as they see fit.

3. Use a second set of eyes

Chances are you won’t be performing at your best during this difficult time. As such, it is a good idea to have a colleague double check your work to ensure it’s at your expected level. Don’t worry about being a burden –– most people will be glad to have a tangible way to support you. It also ensures your performance doesn’t drop off. It’s easy to let our pride get in the way and to want to appear unimpacted by what has gone on personally. But we are all human. There’s nothing shameful about asking for help.

4. Identify permanent no’s

Ms Nawaz writes about the newfound clarity she had around certain activities. Meetings that she wasn’t needed for but attended all the same and pesky distribution lists suddenly went from things she tolerated to things she realised she didn’t need to. “As you say “no” in the short term,” she writes, “take this clarifying opportunity to say no permanently to low-impact activities that have become unquestioned habits.”

Helping employees/colleagues

The above advice is all for those who are dealing with caregiving duties or grief. But what if the shoe is on the other foot and you are the employer or colleague with an employee or co-worker dealing with personal troubles? Try to be compassionate and think how you would like to be treated. How you act in such moments won’t just impact them in the moment but forever. Get it right, it will be remembered and paid back. Get it wrong, and don’t expect that employee to hang around. It is the hard times that define you as a leader and a friend.

Going back to the Ibec research, only 57% of respondents believed their employer demonstrated flexibility when it came to accommodating caring responsibilities. Only 29% were aware of a company policy regarding the issue. Worse still, just 21% said they had been given paid leave to help them at any point [15]. It is the boss’s duty to ensure their employees are aware of such policies and doing all they can to help them make use of them in times of strife.

If your only thought is business-oriented, research from an MIT study shows that employees who trust their employers are 260% more motivated to work [16]. Trust is not a given, it is earned. This is the time to earn it.

The juggling act

This article has explored the challenges faced by employees juggling caregiving responsibilities or navigating the throes of grief. It’s clear that the current “work-life balance” narrative often fails to acknowledge the realities of these situations.

For employees, the key takeaway is the importance of open communication. Prepare your colleagues for your situation, create backup plans for difficult days, and don’t be afraid to ask for help –– a second set of eyes on a project or a temporary shift in workload can make a world of difference.

The responsibility doesn’t solely lie with employees. Employers have a crucial role to play in fostering a supportive work environment. Implement clear and accessible policies for bereavement leave and caregiving accommodations. Promote a culture of empathy and understanding. Remember, research shows that employees who feel supported are more motivated and productive. By creating a safety net for employees during difficult times, businesses not only do the right thing, they invest in their most valuable asset: their people.

Ultimately, the goal isn’t simply to survive personal hardships while working. It’s about building a workplace ecosystem that allows employees to weather storms without sacrificing their well-being or their careers. By fostering open communication, offering practical support, and prioritising empathy, both employees and employers can emerge stronger on the other side.

More on Delegation

Why You Should Delegate – And How To Do It Effectively

Combatting Decision Fatigue

Sources

[1] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/denisebrodey/2024/04/25/73-of-employees-have-a-secret-second-job-its-caregiving/

[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jesscording/2023/11/17/how-to-support-caregivers-balancing-work-and-caregiving-duties/

[4] https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/03/05/more-than-60-of-workers-with-caring-responsibilities-report-impact-on-mental-health/

[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/denisebrodey/2024/04/25/73-of-employees-have-a-secret-second-job-its-caregiving/

[6] https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/family-carers-ireland/

[7] https://www.forbes.com/sites/denisebrodey/2024/04/25/73-of-employees-have-a-secret-second-job-its-caregiving/

[8] https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/03/05/more-than-60-of-workers-with-caring-responsibilities-report-impact-on-mental-health/

[9] https://www.forbes.com/sites/denisebrodey/2024/04/25/73-of-employees-have-a-secret-second-job-its-caregiving/

[10] https://www.cpl.com/blog/2019/04/employer-bereavement-leave-guide#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Independent%2C%20Irish,relationship%20to%20the%20person%20passing.

[11] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6059863/

[12] https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelmontanez/2024/03/28/how-to-manage-grief-at-work-when-youve-experienced-a-loss/

[13] https://hbr.org/2019/08/how-to-cope-with-anticipatory-grief-at-work

[14] https://hbr.org/2019/08/how-to-cope-with-anticipatory-grief-at-work

[15] https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/03/05/more-than-60-of-workers-with-caring-responsibilities-report-impact-on-mental-health/

[16] https://www.forbes.com/sites/denisebrodey/2024/04/25/73-of-employees-have-a-secret-second-job-its-caregiving/

Introduction

The transformation of Twitter (X) under Elon Musk’s leadership, following the foundational era of Jack Dorsey, signifies a notable turning point in the company’s trajectory. Musk’s unique blend of transactional efficiency and transformational vision departs from Dorsey’s approach (Hays & Kay, 2022; ET Tech, 2022), with far-reaching implications for Twitter’s strategic direction and workforce.

This article will investigate further the impact of these distinct leadership styles on the employees at Twitter. It critically examines the balance Musk strikes between the clarity of transactional leadership and the motivation of transformational leadership.

Drawing upon the foundational theories of Burns (1978) and Bass (1985) and augmented by empirical insights from Hoogh et al. (2015), Tahir (2015), and Shang (2023), this discussion will explore the nuances of Musk’s leadership in terms of employee morale, organisational culture adaptation, and the concept of leadership ambidexterity in the evolving digital landscape.

Impact on Employee Well-being

Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter instigated significant changes, affecting employee well-being (Rafferty & Jimmieson, 2017). Musk’s leadership style, blending directive methods with visionary elements, has had dual impacts on staff. His directive approach, focusing on immediate results and structural changes (Bass, 1985; Rafferty & Griffin, 2006), has potentially heightened employee stress levels. Conversely, Musk’s vision aims to inspire and unite the workforce towards common goals (Tahir, 2015), which might alleviate some of this stress.

The rapid organisational shifts, including extensive layoffs, have likely caused uncertainty and concerns about job security (Ahmad & Biyani, 2023). However, the energising aspect of Musk’s vision offers a counterbalance.

Additionally, the recent appointment of Linda Yaccarino as CEO introduces new dynamics to Twitter’s leadership structure. This leadership transition, critical for morale and stability, necessitates precise management and alignment with the company’s evolving goals. It presents an opportunity for Twitter to reinforce its organisational culture and address employee apprehensions, thereby contributing to improved overall well-being during this transformational phase.

Resistance and Acceptance of Change 

In Musk’s leadership at Twitter, marked by swift changes and rigorous performance metrics, resistance among employees is a likely outcome. This resistance, often resulting in lower productivity and job satisfaction, as Halkos (2012) noted, arises from the challenges of rapid change in a dynamic setting.

However, Musk’s transformational leadership traits, which Tahir (2015) highlights for their motivational impact, present an opportunity to mitigate this resistance. Musk could create a more accepting and engaged workforce by blending transactional efficiency with transformational inspiration (Bass, 1990; Bass & Avolio, 1990)  

A key strategy for Musk would be to communicate performance goals while conveying Twitter’s future vision. Clear expectations and an inspiring vision can increase employee buy-in, easing the transition process and fostering a more adaptable workforce.

Leadership Styles and Organisational Culture

During Elon Musk’s tenure at Twitter, his leadership has interwoven transactional and transformational styles, significantly impacting the organisation’s culture. Transactional leadership, focused on efficiency and immediate outcomes (Bass, 1985), has cultivated a goal-oriented environment but could potentially hinder innovation and morale. In contrast, transformational leadership, aiming to inspire and develop employees (Burns, 1978; Tahir, 2015), encourages a culture of creativity and strategic foresight.

Musk faces the challenge of balancing these contrasting styles. Merging transactional leadership’s assertive, results-driven nature with transformational leadership’s empowering, visionary aspects could achieve a harmonious cultural balance. This approach aligns Twitter’s immediate needs with an innovative, growth-supportive environment crucial for long-term success. This balanced leadership style aligns with the adaptability highlighted in previous discussions, reflecting the dynamic needs of modern corporate environments.

Critical strategies for change management at Twitter might include:

• Enhanced Communication: Vital for successful change. Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) emphasised that clear, transparent communication is essential for reducing uncertainties.
• Inclusive Decision-Making: Encouraging employee participation in decision-making, in line with transformational leadership principles (Bass, 1985), fosters ownership and commitment.
• Support for Employee Development: Addressing change-related stress (Rafferty & Griffin, 2006) through training, development programs, and wellness initiatives.
• Resilient Organisational Culture: Developing an adaptable, innovative culture that balances transactional efficiency with transformational inspiration.

These strategies will prepare Twitter for continuous and future changes by blending practical experience with theoretical insights, ensuring effective change management in a dynamic digital environment.

Recommendations

To manage Twitter’s transformation under Musk effectively, several key strategic recommendations are critical:

• Enhanced Communication and Transparency: In line with Weick and Sutcliffe’s (2015) model, clear communication regarding changes and future direction is essential for reducing uncertainties and aligning employees with Twitter’s new path.
• Inclusive Decision-Making and Development: As advised by Nielsen et al. (2017), promoting employee involvement in decision-making will enhance engagement and reduce resistance to change. This approach cultivates a sense of ownership and commitment to Twitter’s objectives.
• Leadership Training: Development programs integrating transformational and transactional leadership styles are vital. Such training prepares leaders to effectively manage change, fostering an innovative and high-performing organisational culture.
• Well-being and Support Systems: Acknowledging the stress associated with change, as Rafferty and Griffin (2006) noted, implementing comprehensive well-being programs is crucial. These should include counselling, stress management workshops, and other support systems to assist employees in adapting to the changes at Twitter.

By adopting these strategies, Twitter could streamline its transformation, enhancing resilience and adaptability within its culture. This balanced approach weaves together empirical evidence and theoretical principles to support innovation while prioritising employee welfare. Top of FormBottom of Form

Conclusion

In conclusion, through the lens of transformational and transactional theories, this analysis of Elon Musk’s leadership at Twitter reveals significant impacts on employee well-being and their adaptation to change. The intersection of Musk’s dynamic leadership approach, encompassing both transactional efficiency and transformational vision, underscores a complex interplay in the organisational change process.

Critically, the article highlights the importance of strategic communication, participative decision-making, and leadership adaptability in mitigating the challenges posed by such a transition. These strategies, rooted in empirical research and theory, are vital in fostering a supportive and resilient organisational culture.

Twitter’s success hinges on harmonising leadership styles to maintain innovation and ensure employee satisfaction. Understanding the human aspect is vital for navigating change and shaping the company’s future in the digital landscape.

Sources

Ahmad, S., & Biyani, S. (2023).  Impact of Merger and Acquisition on the Companies Involved: A Case Study of Musk-Twitter Acquisition. IJFMR-International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research, 5(1).

Baskarada, S., Watson, J. C., & Cromarty, J. (2017). Balancing transactional and transformational leadership. International Journal of Organisational Analysis, 25(3), 506-515.  

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press.

Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass and Stogdill’s handbook of leadership. Theory, Research & Managerial Applications.

Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1990). Developing transformational leadership: 1992 and beyond. Journal of European industrial training, 14(5).

Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.

ET Tech. (2022). Jack Dorsey, PayPal Mafia said to be behind Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover: WSJ report. The Economic Times. Retrieved December 28, 2023, from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/jack-dorsey-paypal-mafia-said-to-be-behind-elon-musks-twitter-takeover-wsj-report/articleshow/91199359.cms

Halkos, G. E. (2012). Importance and influence of organisational changes on companies and their employees.

Hays, K., & Kay, G. (2022, November 4). Elon Musk takes away ‘days of rest’ at Twitter in another major shift from Jack Dorsey’s leadership style. Business Insider India. Retrieved December 28, 2023, from https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/elon-musk-takes-away-days-of-rest-at-twitter-in-another-major-shift-from-jack-dorseys-leadership-style/articleshow/95286708.cms

Hoogh, A. H. B., De, Greer, L. L., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2015). Diabolical dictators or capable commanders? An investigation of the differential effects of autocratic leadership on team performance. Leadership Quarterly, 26, 687-701.

Nielsen, K., Nielsen, M. B., Ogbonnaya, C., Känsälä, M., Saari, E., & Isaksson, K. (2017). Workplace resources to improve both employee well-being and performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Work & Stress, 31(2), 101-120.

Rafferty, A. E., & Griffin, M. A. (2006). Perceptions of organisational change: A stress and coping perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(5), 1154-1162.

Rafferty, A.E., & Jimmieson, N.L. (2017). Subjective Perceptions of Organisational Change and Employee Resistance to Change: Direct and Mediated Relationships with Employee Well‐Being. Labor: Personnel Economics eJournal.

Shang, J. (2023). Transformational Leadership Influences Employee Performance: A Review and Directions for Future Research. Highlights in Business, Economics and Management.

Stewart, J. (2006). Transformational Leadership: An Evolving Concept Examined through the Works of Burns, Bass, Avolio, and Leithwood. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy.

Tahir, H. (2015). Leadership style and organisational performance: A comparative study between transformational and transactional leadership styles.

Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2015). Managing the unexpected: Sustained performance in a complex world. Jossey-Bass.

Introduction

Luke Skywalker can help your business. Indiana Jones, too. Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, Ellie Woods, you name it. Why? Not because all of them were the lead characters in financially successful film franchises, but because they all went through the hero’s journey.

And not just them. Pretty much every lead character in every story ever told has gone through it too, from ancient myths and religious teachings to modern day movies, books and comics. The structure of effective storytelling has not changed in all that time, even if the form has advanced endlessly.

And yet too few businesses make use of the storytelling approach that has engaged our species for millenia, ditching it in favour of bland corporate speak and unengaging attempts to seem perfect. As Forbes Asia columnist Rich Karlgaard writes, most businesses instead “take perfectly good raw material about their customers and turn it into Barbie doll stories, fake and plastic” [1]. But if wielded well, the hero’s journey can be a hugely valuable tool for businesses as well as creative projects. Before we explain how, let’s first delve into what it is.

The hero with a thousand faces

Joseph Campbell was a renowned writer, scholar and mythologist. His seminal work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces [2], was released in 1949. In it, Campbell unveiled a powerful storytelling framework known as the hero’s journey. This concept proposes a universal narrative structure found in myths, legends, books and movies.

Campbell’s contention can be applied to any story you know and is hard to refute once you know what you’re looking for. These days it is not just a theory that scholars like Campbell apply to stories after-the-fact, but rather a tool storytellers use to ensure their work follows a fulfilling structure. Go into any screenwriting, novel writing or storytelling class around the world and it is Campbell’s teachings that will be fed to you.

The traditional hero’s journey can be broken down into three distinct stages:

• Departure: This initial stage introduces the hero living in their ordinary world, facing a sense of stagnation or dissatisfaction. A call to adventure disrupts this normalcy, presenting a challenge or opportunity that compels the hero to step outside their comfort zone. They might encounter a mentor who offers guidance and support, preparing them for the journey ahead. An obvious example would be Luke Skywalker meeting Obi Wan Kenobi and learning for the first time about the force.

• Initiation: Having accepted the call, the hero ventures into the unknown territory. They face a series of tests, allies, and enemies, encountering obstacles that force them to adapt and grow. This stage is characterised by trials and tribulations, where the hero confronts their inner doubts and weaknesses.

• Return: Having overcome the challenges, the hero undergoes a transformation. They possess newfound knowledge, skills, or a treasure (symbolic of their growth). This stage involves the reward, a tangible benefit earned through overcoming adversity. Finally, the hero returns to their ordinary world, forever changed by their experience. They are now equipped to share the bounty with their community, using their newfound wisdom to improve their world.

The hero’s journey is a profound storytelling tool that companies can use as the foundation for any campaign. By following this proven storytelling structure, businesses can offer their target audience compelling stories that resonate. Position the customer as the hero, embarking on a transformative journey with your product or service as the trusty guide.

Implementing the hero’s journey to your campaign

Here’s how companies can leverage the hero’s journey to craft winning marketing strategies:

Identify your customer as the hero

The first step is to understand your target audience’s aspirations and struggles. What are their ordinary worlds? What are the calls to adventure that disrupt their daily lives? Are they yearning for financial freedom, a healthier lifestyle, or improved productivity? By identifying these desires and challenges, companies can position themselves as the mentors who guide customers on their journeys.

Highlight the “Call to Adventure” and pain points

Marketing campaigns should paint a vivid picture of the hero’s (your customer’s) ordinary world and the problems they face. This creates a sense of recognition, allowing customers to connect with the narrative on an emotional level. For instance, a fitness brand might showcase a struggling individual yearning for a healthier lifestyle. By highlighting the pain points associated with an unhealthy lifestyle, the brand sets the stage for their product as the solution.

Showcase your product/service as the trusty guide

Once the call to adventure is established, companies can showcase their product or service as the mentor figure in the hero’s journey. Use compelling visuals and narratives to demonstrate how your offering equips customers to overcome the obstacles they face. A productivity app might showcase features that help users manage their time effectively, conquer their to-do list, and achieve their goals.

Emphasise trials and transformations

The hero’s journey isn’t a walk in the park. Marketing campaigns should portray the trials and tribulations the customer might encounter. This could involve showcasing real-life customers overcoming challenges with the help of your product or service. Testimonials and case studies can be powerful tools for emphasising the transformative power of your offering.The key here is to demonstrate how your product/service empowers customers to navigate the obstacles and emerge victorious.

Celebrate the reward and share the bounty

The culmination of the hero’s journey is the reward. Marketing efforts should emphasise the positive outcomes achieved through using your product or service. Showcasing happy and successful customers who have benefited from your offering strengthens the connection between your brand and the hero’s narrative. Highlight not just the product itself, but the improved life the customer achieves through using it.

The hero’s journey in action

Still not convinced? Try thinking about the major brands that make use of this framework in every story they tell. Nike positions athletes as heroes overcoming physical limitations and achieving peak performance with their innovative footwear and apparel. Apple portrays users as creative individuals empowered by their devices to bring their ideas to life. Headspace positions itself as the guide on a journey towards a calmer and more mindful state of being. And that’s to name just a few.

By harnessing the power of the hero’s journey, companies can craft marketing campaigns that are more than just advertisements. They become engaging narratives that customers can connect with on a personal level. This emotional connection fosters brand loyalty and encourages customers to see your product or service as an essential part of their transformative journeys.

The science behind the hero’s journey

In Harvard Business Review, Paul J. Zak, founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and a professor of economics, psychology, and management at Claremont Graduate University, writes about his research into the power of storytelling, namely around the release of the neurochemical oxytocin. In his words, oxytocin “is produced when we are trusted or shown a kindness, and it motivates cooperation with others. It does this by enhancing the sense of empathy, our ability to experience others’ emotions.” [3]

He and his lab wondered whether they could “hack” the oxytocin system to motivate people to engage in cooperative behaviours through the power of narrative. In subsequent studies, they showed that “in order to motivate a desire to help others, a story must first sustain attention – a scarce resource in the brain – by developing tension during the narrative. If the story is able to create that tension then it is likely that attentive viewers/listeners will come to share the emotions of the characters in it, and after it ends, likely to continue mimicking the feelings and behaviours of those characters.”

This aligns with what Rich Karlgaard noted earlier about “barbie” campaigns. Companies are too keen to make themselves out to be perfect –– to say customers needed X in their lives and so we emerged and gave it to them. It was that simple, no drama, no tension. As such, the message doesn’t land. Showing vulnerability is a strength not a weakness, a feature not a bug.

As Zak says of his research: “My experiments show that character-driven stories with emotional content result in a better understanding of the key points a speaker wishes to make and enable better recall of these points weeks later. In terms of making an impact, this blows the standard PowerPoint presentation to bits. I advise business people to begin every presentation with a compelling, human-scale story. Why should customers or a person on the street care about the project you are proposing? How does it change the world or improve lives? How will people feel when it is complete? These are the components that make information persuasive and memorable.”

Every organisation has its own story, its founding myth. Companies need to lean into that to market themselves to consumers. Don’t be pretty and shiny; be real, relatable and solving a problem.

The hero’s journey

The hero’s journey isn’t just a marketing gimmick –– it’s a storytelling framework rooted in human psychology. By tapping into our innate desire for adventure, transformation, and connection, businesses can craft narratives that resonate deeply. Remember, your customers are the heroes, and your product or service the trusty guide.

Embrace the science behind storytelling. Craft narratives that capture attention, ignite empathy, and celebrate the transformative power of your offering. Don’t shy away from vulnerability –– showcase the challenges your customers face and how you empower them to overcome them.

Ultimately, the hero’s journey is a call to action. It’s a call to businesses to ditch the stale tactics and embrace the power of storytelling. It’s a call to customers to embark on their own journeys, with your company as their trusted companion. By answering this call, businesses can forge deeper connections, build brand loyalty, and ultimately, achieve their own success stories.

Sources

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/richkarlgaard/2013/10/30/story-power-the-heros-journey/

[2] APA. Campbell, J. (2012). The hero with a thousand faces (3rd ed.). New World Library

[3] https://hbr.org/2014/10/why-your-brain-loves-good-storytelling

Introduction

Supply chains are vulnerable. They exist at the mercy of global circumstances, which are proving increasingly unstable. 

The clear and obvious recent example comes from the Middle East, where Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have been launching attacks on commercial vessels crossing the Red Sea on their way to the Suez Canal. The Houthis say the attacks were made as a show of support for the Palestinians in Gaza undergoing an Israeli bombing campaign in the wake of the October 7th attacks. The Houthi attacks have been met with subsequent retaliatory air strikes from the US and UK governments.

As a result of the increased tensions and lack of security, a number of major companies made the decision to divert their shipping routes, opting to take a significantly longer passage by way of South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. The diversion adds around ten days to journey time, pushing up fuel costs, crew wages, and causing delays.

Given as much as 15% of global trade uses the Suez Canal as a shortcut that connects the eastern world to the west, the effect of such a change is mammoth [1]. Egypt has said its revenue from the Suez Canal plunged by almost half in January, with the number of ships travelling through the key trade route down by more than a third [2].

Regrettably, this is just the most recent example of geopolitical turmoil undercutting the stability of global supply chains.

Buses

You wait half an hour for a bus and then two show up at once. So the saying goes, anyway. Well, for global supply chains, the saying can be amended to: you wait decades for debilitating geopolitical events (or farcical bad luck) to put established supply chains in jeopardy and then four come along at once. It’s not catchy, but it is accurate.

In under four years supply chains have been derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the vaudevillian performance art of the Ever Given fiasco, in which a ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking the route off for six days, and now the overspilling ramifications of the conflict in the Middle East. Each event in isolation proved how fractious existing structures are. Combined, they expose the need for a plan B – if not a C, D, E and F – when it comes to navigating global supply chains going forward.

“We have never felt a sequence of events that have been quite so disruptive than over the last four or five years,” says Neal Johnston, a supply chain specialist with consultancy firm EY. “And I think that the geopolitics of the oceans is definitely a factor for the near term” [3].

Impact

Companies from Marks & Spencer and Asos to Tesla and Suzuki were affected by the fallout from the Houthi attacks, and that’s just to name a tiny percentage. The delays to shipping affect the companies themselves, who must face the aforementioned added costs, but their customers will feel the impact as well.

“There have been very significant hikes, in the realm of up to 300 per cent on the cost of a container from Asia into both the Med or northern Europe,” says Johnston [4]. And while some good margin businesses will be able to take that hike on themselves, others will be passing it right along to the customer.

“If the conflict in the Middle East is not resolved in the short term, then we could start to see gaps on the shelves and prices rising within three months,” says Damian O’Reilly, a lecturer in retail management at Technological University (TU) Dublin [5].

Inflation, too, is affected by the change of route. The European Central Bank was hoping to start cutting interest rates this year but it’s no longer clear whether that will be possible. Already being felt in the pockets of citizens, the longer high inflation lasts, the worse off everyone will be.

Oxford Economics noted that while, “a sustained closure of the Red Sea wouldn’t prevent inflation from falling, it would slow the speed at which it returns to normal” [6].

Specifically, Oxford Economics said higher freight costs could add 0.6 percentage points to inflation in a year’s time (the hypothetical higher cost of freights used for the prediction was based on an estimation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)).

The ECB was expecting euro zone inflation to fall from 5.4% in 2023 to 2.7% this year [7]. The impact of that proposed 0.6% shift would be felt significantly.

Ireland

In Ireland, some businesses reported delayed or missed delivery windows after the reaction to the Houthi attacks while others made the decision to postpone their shipments for a period. The global consultancy Aon reports that Irish business leaders now consider the threat to supply chains to be a bigger risk to business this year than a potential recession [8]. Only cyber attacks and interruptions to business rank higher amongst potential issues.

Aon also reports that two-thirds (67%) of Irish organisations have suffered losses as a result of supply chain or distribution failure and 75% have been financially hit by commodity price risk or scarcity of materials [9].

“We move a lot of material in containers out of Dublin Port,” says David Tobin of Panda Wise, a large recycling facility in Dublin, who had to deal with huge stocks of aluminium, cardboard and plastic that were left stranded on the dock, unable to be collected, as a result of shipping delays.

“The paper and cardboard could go to a paper mill in Finland, the aluminium might go to Norway or Sweden for smelting, but it’s all about moving containers, so issues like the Suez Canal or the Red Sea creates a blockage” [10].

It can be easy to ignore when it’s just words in a headline, but these events affect the day to day running of Irish businesses; Panda Wise is just one of many.

Optimism

In August of 2022, the Woodland Group, a British global logistics group, found that stability was finally returning to Irish supply chains after the pandemic [11]. This exemplifies just how short lived stability has become in recent years – just as a recovery looks possible, another blow is dealt. It’s hardly surprising that businesses are seeking change.

Part of the reasoning behind the optimism in the Woodland Group’s report came from the fact that a number of Irish businesses had started “nearshoring” their supply lines away from east Asia to closer markets like Turkey. They were doing as a reaction to previous disruptions.

Nearshoring is the term given to relocating supplier bases to countries that are closer to the market the supplies serve. It is designed to minimise journey time and leave businesses less exposed to scenarios such as those we are now witnessing in the Red Sea.

It’s just one of the ways in which companies are trying to unshackle themselves from the long-established supply chain structures that left them exposed to such events. Companies are also using inventory regionalisation strategies, in other words building “buffer stocks” closer to home in case there is a delay in shipping. They are also broadening their supply base – getting some new baskets for all their eggs, rather than relying on just the one.

Based on survey responses from March 2022 from companies based in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK, 55% said they had engaged in near- or reshoring in the previous 24 months [12]. Similar numbers were reported in the US.

While this shows that businesses are learning their lesson from the past few years, it takes time to establish a new mode of working. Johnson likens the process to turning an oil tanker.

Change

“People are more aware of one off risks now,” says Ibec chief economist Ger Brady. “We went through 20 or 30 years without any major risks materialising. A lot of people stopped thinking about them. The risks were always there but we got to forget about them for a few decades. Companies are looking at how to structure supply chains in future” [13].

And the future looks different.

“There has been a great focus on tracking and trackability,” says Dr Eoin Plant-O’Toole, associate professor in logistics and supply chain management at Edinburgh Napier University. “Information flow is key for effective supply chain decision-making and having that information flow integrated into internal systems” [14].

To better manage that flow, Pepsi has turned to digitalisation and AI. “We use artificial intelligence-enabled ocean shipment tracking to give our teams real-time visibility of shipments and predicted arrival times for both inbound raw materials and outbound finished goods to protect supply, enhance service and mitigate both cost and risk,” says Pankaj Agarwal, supply chain vice-president, PepsiCo Ireland [15].

“This means our teams now have earlier, better information on shipment arrivals. It’s a huge step forward from having to estimate what vessels were north or south of Suez during the blockage two years ago when we needed to quickly assess supply impact.”

Meanwhile, with climate change an ever-growing concern, it’s not just geopolitical factors that must be considered but environmental ones too. Dr Heletjé van Staden, assistant professor of management in the supply chain management area at UCD College of Business, says that a potential solution that pairs environmental responsibility with tracking, inventory and manufacturing decisions is synchro modality [16].

Synchro modality is an emerging transportation policy that uses smart algorithms and the physical internet to dynamically make transport mode decisions to ship inventory between source and destination.

“Mathematical models and data analyses have shown that such policies can reduce emissions, costs and improve reliability,” van Staden says. Though difficulties emerge when one considers  the implementation. “They require collaboration between shippers and transport providers to work, also meaning changing working culture and obtaining buy-in from end users.”

In other words, another oil tanker needs to pull a one-eighty.

The fragility of global supply chains

Recent attacks by Houthi militants on commercial vessels in the Red Sea expose the fragility of existing global supply chains. On the back of the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the bizarre circumstances of the Ever Given incident, all in the space of a few years, it’s clear that long-established routes and processes can no longer be relied on. Complacency set in through years of relative smooth sailing, and now it’s coming back to bite.

As well as the obvious setbacks of delays and potential price spikes from any businesses not willing to swallow the rising costs themselves, the impact will likely be felt in inflation. Given the serious damage inflation is already reaping, no one wants the problem inflamed any further.

Between nearshoring, inventory regionalisation strategies, a broadening of suppliers, and more technological advances like smart tracking with AI and synchro modality, businesses are changing the way they approach their supply chains. Lessons have been learnt, but implementing change takes a long time.

The oil tanker is turning. Here’s hoping it can do so fully before another bus arrives.

Sources

[1] https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/02/10/how-conflict-in-the-middle-east-is-squeezing-global-supply-chains-and-affecting-consumers/
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68200488
[3] https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/02/10/how-conflict-in-the-middle-east-is-squeezing-global-supply-chains-and-affecting-consumers/
[4]
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/02/10/how-conflict-in-the-middle-east-is-squeezing-global-supply-chains-and-affecting-consumers/
[5] https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/02/10/how-conflict-in-the-middle-east-is-squeezing-global-supply-chains-and-affecting-consumers/
[6] https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/02/10/how-conflict-in-the-middle-east-is-squeezing-global-supply-chains-and-affecting-consumers/
[7] https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/02/10/how-conflict-in-the-middle-east-is-squeezing-global-supply-chains-and-affecting-consumers/
[8] https://www.independent.ie/business/supply-chain-break-down-risk-races-up-2024s-threat-list-for-irish-firms/a900247213.html
[9] https://www.independent.ie/business/supply-chain-break-down-risk-races-up-2024s-threat-list-for-irish-firms/a900247213.html
[10] https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/02/10/how-conflict-in-the-middle-east-is-squeezing-global-supply-chains-and-affecting-consumers/
[11] https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2022/08/29/global-supply-chains-to-ireland-remain-stable-despite-ongoing-challenges/
[12] https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-41313856.html
[13] https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/2023/05/18/risk-and-resilience-key-to-future-supply-chain-strategies/
[14] https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/2023/05/18/supply-chain-and-demand/
[15] https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/2023/05/18/supply-chain-and-demand/
[16] https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/2023/05/18/supply-chain-and-demand/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/4/how-have-red-sea-attacks-by-yemens-houthi-fighters-affected-companies
Van Hooft, Paul, et al. “Vulnerabilities of Supply Chains and Transport Routes.” Worlds of Access or Absence: Supply Security and Maritime Security in an Era of Intense Geopolitical Competition, Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, 2023, pp. 51–60. JSTOR.

Introduction

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

So goes the Richard Dreyfuss-voiced ad for Apple’s 1997 ‘Think Different’ campaign. It was a landmark moment in the fortune of the tech company, which was on the brink of going bust. As such, it was also a landmark moment in the fortune of the world we know today, which has come to be defined by the products Apple went on to make in the wake of its renewed success.

The text above is read over a montage of black and white footage of iconic historical figures, each of whom changed the world by thinking outside of the box: Albert Einstein, John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi and more. Rob Siltanen, then Creative Director and Managing Partner at TBWA/Chiat/Day, the agency behind the campaign, who wrote the initial drafts of the ad, has said he always believed the campaign concept was to express something of the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “To be great is to be misunderstood.” [1]

This article will extol the benefits of thinking differently.

What happens if you don’t?

Perhaps looking at the above names is daunting. You might think, ‘Well, yes, they thought differently but I don’t have to because I’m not trying to change the world.’ But as much as thinking differently correlates with success, an inability to think differently correlates with failure.

The go-to example for anyone of a certain generation is Blockbuster. As Mark Nevins, author of What Happens Now? Reinvent Yourself as a Leader Before Your Business Outruns You, writes in Forbes, “The company’s last few CEOs just dithered around as movie-watching preferences evolved, and they simply couldn’t understand the seismic shift underway by market disruptors like Netflix. Blockbuster…had the resources to [shift to streaming]. They just didn’t have the vision or the will; indeed, they deliberately turned away and in the end were the architects of their own demise.” [2]

Guy Kawasaki, the ‘Apple evangelist’ who oversaw the marketing of the original mackintosh back in the eighties (and upcoming guest on The 1% Podcast) also gives the example of Kodak [3]. Kodak engineer Steven Sasson invented the first digital camera in 1975. Up until that point, all photos had to be printed by specialists. Sasson saw the gap in the market; there was a more convenient way to do this. And yet, how many of you reading this use a Kodak digital camera today? Yeah…

Kodak decided, despite having spotted the gap in the market and filling it, that as they were a chemicals company and that was what they would remain. They didn’t pivot even having sensed the prevailing winds. If you don’t think differently and instead choose to remain steadfast in ways of old, you will be left behind. As the iconic French writer Marcel Proust put it, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Shifting sands

Steve Denning, author of Reinventing Capitalism in the Digital Age, writes in Forbes of a broader shift that took place in management thinking at the turn of the century. Not just in methods and processes, but in terminology. “The particular terminology varied from firm to firm. Apple talked of a different ‘culture’. Microsoft talked of ‘mindset’, ‘empathy’ and ‘values.’ Amazon talked about ‘a different kind of leadership’, and ‘working backwards from the customer.’ Other firms talked of ‘mental models’ and ‘narratives.’” [4]

The approach these firms took was balked at by long-established legacy brands. Denning splits the thinking along the lines of the brain: left-hemisphere, right-hemisphere. The left-hemisphere is logical, calculating and efficient. The right-hemisphere is creative, empathetic, free-wheeling. This (explicit) Bo Burnham song aptly sums up the differences.

To Denning, 20th century businesses relied on left-hemisphere thinking. It was about efficiency and money-making. “They tended to dismiss the needs and idiosyncrasies of customers as unimportant or even irrelevant. They often believed that if they efficiently produced solid products customers would buy them.” [5]

Meanwhile, the modernisers had shifted to a right-hemisphere model, based more on empathy, less on lateral thinking. “These firms recognized that they could use the brain’s right-hemisphere to understand and delight customers as a necessary prior step to making money…Steve Jobs did not use a complex team approach to develop the idea of the iPod. Instead he had the right-hemisphere idea of “putting a thousand songs in the customer’s pocket.”” [6]

To the 20th century tycoons’ shock, it was the businesses that adopted this new approach that were making the most money and accelerating at a rate of knots. The companies they’d diagnosed as unscientific and illogical were winning the rat race. They still are. That’s because, as Denning surmises, “When the right hemisphere of the brain is driving things, the change process is radically simplified and expedited.” [7]

Thinking differently

Analysing the interview series The Decisions That Made Me a Leader, BBC journalist Evan Davis surmises that successful leaders don’t worry about being different. He noted three intriguing attributes between the interviewees that he felt helped them to lead well. [8]

First was a rebellious streak. Whether it was at school, university or during an early working experience, many great business leaders found they had problems with authority figures. Their disapproval with such figures ranged from former Dragons Den star Duncan Bannatyne being court-martialed and dishonourably discharged from the navy for fighting an officer to Depop founder Simon Beckerman describing himself as “unemployable” due to disobedience problems. If you think differently, falling in line can be difficult.

The second trait was what Davis described as a “kind of impatience hard-wired into their personalities…there is always an itch. They never stand still.” [9]

That impatience, Davis notes, often serves them well in terms of getting to the top, although often also results in leaving their own business once they get there. “When a business matures, it often needs a management that can do the painstaking work of delivering sustainable growth…at that point, impatience is exactly the wrong attribute” [10]. Once a business settles, it becomes a little more suit and tie, the job becomes keeping the ship steady. Those who think differently want to innovate and shake things up again. Apple has done a remarkable job of maintaining an ongoing sense of innovation, but few others can say the same.

The third and final entrepreneurial attribute Davis notes is “a willingness to actually do things, rather than merely think about them. Or overthink them” [11]. While normal, more rational people might look at a situation and see the potential negatives that come with it and dawdle, wondering whether the venture is worth it, real entrepreneurs are already out there giving it a go.

As Davis ponders, “I’ve met a lot of entrepreneurs, and I sometimes wonder if they are deluded in their optimism. Many massively overrate their chances of success, and they often can’t even imagine the many things that may go wrong with the next idea they are toying with. They have too vivid a picture of what can go right” [12]. This, of course, can set them up for massive failure. But it’s something they’re not even considering. To those of us of a more indecisive disposition, this may be the difference in thinking that truly sets such people apart.

It’s not business, it’s strictly personal

Y Combinator, a business that funds early stage startups, recently announced they would take on businesses that didn’t even have an idea [13]. That’s because they understand that having an idea is the easy part, actualising it is hard.

It all comes to people. Kawasaki calls the process of taking an idea to the implementation stage going “beyond eureka”, and says it’s necessary [14]. It ties in, too, with Davis’ assessment of the type of people who succeed: those who get things done. Very often on the aforementioned Dragons Den, which Davis presents, contestants are given investments less for the product they’re pitching than the way they carry themselves. “I’m investing in you,” is a recurring assertion from the dragons.

It goes back to the Apple ad, too. It was only individuals featured in the adverts. John Lennon, not The Beatles. Mohammad Ali, not a successful sports team. People like mavericks. And by definition it’s hard to think differently as a group. How many people thinking differently together would it take for them all to be thinking in conformity? It’s not to say that one should go out of their way to rub people up the wrong way or go against the grain for the mere sake of it. But, if you are the type to find yourself often at odds with the prevailing thinking of the day, perhaps you should go it alone, or try to find a way to put your differences to use rather than wielding them against colleagues.

The benefits of thinking differently

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.

If that’s you, lean into your eccentricity –– there is greater value in it than in another empty vessel. If it’s not you, why not seek out the areas in which you are a little left of field? No one of us is the same. Perhaps you’ll find a niche trait there from which you can build. To be more like some of the great figures that made the game-changing Apple ad those 27 years ago, scratch that itch, don’t overthink it. You may fail, but you’ll learn something along the way. As the writer Henry Miller put it, “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

Give it a go. Think different.

More on Innovation

Innovation: Gains, Risks, and the Grey In Between

The Power of Team Clusters: A People-Centric Approach to Innovation

Synergy Over Solo: Navigating the Collaborative Future of Business

Sources

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2011/12/14/the-real-story-behind-apples-think-different-campaign/

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/hillennevins/2024/03/30/the-toothbrush-and-the-cave-how-to-innovate-and-think-differently/

[3] Kawasaki, G. Nuismer, M. Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference. Wiley & Sons. 2024.

[4] https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2024/05/12/how-the-fastest-growing-firms–think-differently-from-average-firms/

[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2024/05/12/how-the-fastest-growing-firms–think-differently-from-average-firms/

[6] https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2024/05/12/how-the-fastest-growing-firms–think-differently-from-average-firms/

[7] https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2024/05/12/how-the-fastest-growing-firms–think-differently-from-average-firms/

[8] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3gg58j2yd0o

[9] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3gg58j2yd0o

[10] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3gg58j2yd0o

[11] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3gg58j2yd0o

[12] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3gg58j2yd0o

[13] https://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2012/05/14/how-to-think-differently-and-why/

[14] Kawasaki, G. Nuismer, M. Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference. Wiley & Sons. 2024.

Introduction

Sport and business may not seem like natural bedfellows, but just as the former has grown into a fully fledged corporate entity with time, so too has the sporting mindset seeped its way into boardrooms across the western world. The fact that people talk about ‘high performance’ or ‘marginal gains’ is testament to the increased merging of the two.

And it’s not surprising. After all, a lot of the building blocks that will take you far in one are equally applicable to the other. Determination, ambition, work ethic, innovation, the ability to bounce back…list them out like that and there’s no saying which of the two realms you’re referring to. As such, this article will feature some cherry-picked sporting stars and occasions and point to the lessons we in the business world can learn from them.

Mohammad Ali

Where else could we start but with the greatest? In the (extremely unlikely) event that any readers have not heard of Mohammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay), he was the first boxer to win the world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Century while the BBC named him Sports Personality of the Century. He is arguably the greatest boxer to ever live and certainly the most notorious. As such, we’ll take not one but two lessons from him.

Lesson #1: Sometimes you have to take the hits

In 1974, Ali came up against the unbeaten George Foreman –– to this day the hardest-hitting puncher the sport has ever produced. In what was marketed as ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’, the two fought in the sweltering heat of the Democratic Republic of Congo, lending weight to the autocratic regime of Joseph-Désiré Mobuto in what can be considered an early example of the sportwashing culture that permeates today’s society. Ali was 32. His body could no longer back up his once-defining mantra: float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. People worried for his safety. Foreman could hurt you beyond just defeat.

In a feat of brilliance, Ali did the one thing everyone hoped he wouldn’t: he let Foreman hit him. He hung on the ropes, pulling what we now call the ‘rope-a-dope’, and let the biggest hitter in boxing land blow after blow on his body, over and over again. All Ali guarded was his face while taking endless punishment to the torso. Hit after agonising hit. Pain like you couldn’t imagine. But Ali took it all. Until, eventually, the tactic worked, Foreman tired. In the eighth round, Ali sprung from the ropes and with a left and right to a visibly knackered Foreman’s face shocked the world to regain the Heavyweight title.

There are times in business and in life where things will be hard. They will be painful. So painful that throwing in the towel feels like the easiest option. But it’s not. Sometimes all you have to do through the tough times is hold on, tolerate the pain, knowing that it’s your only chance of making it out the other side victorious. The likelihood is you won’t have planned for that pain –– Ali didn’t; it was something he decided to do in the ring on the night; his coach was as surprised as anyone. But if you’re brave enough to choose to take it, and strong enough to tolerate it, then great things can be born of suffering.

Lesson #2: Principles matter

On June 20, 1967, Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston for refusing induction in the U.S. armed forces. His accompanying quote when the government attempted to draft him to the fledgling war effort in Vietnam instantly passed into legend: “Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong.”

It didn’t take long for Ali to be stripped of his titles and banned from fighting. He lost more than three years of his career protesting a war that history has come to condemn. “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?” he asked.

Ali was an icon for his career in the ring. But his refusal to renounce his principles, even amongst endless slander in the press and the loss of his livelihood, is an example to all. Principles matter. Character matters. It can be easy to go with the prevailing wind, but figures who have values that they’re willing to live and die by are rightly the most respected. It’s something businesses could do with remembering.

Bazball

Lesson #3: It’s about mentality

Bazball is the term given to the England cricket team’s style of play under head coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. It is defined by aggression and positivity. England teams under Bazball do not consider the draw. They play to win, even and especially when it means they risk losing.

A key aspect of Bazball revolves around relieving mental pressure –– rather than condemning players if they get out in a reckless way, they are praised all the same and given freedom to play as themselves. It is about instilling a mindset that as long as players are having fun and entertaining the crowd then they are doing their job. Get caught out on the boundary playing a big shot when you could have just blocked the ball? No worries, next time go even bigger.

It’s proved effective. In the 15-month span before McCullum’s appointment, England had played seventeen Tests, winning one, drawing five, and losing eleven. In the Stokes-McCullum era, they have played twenty-two Tests, winning fourteen, losing seven, and drawing one. England also score their runs significantly faster than any team in Test history.

Looking at those stats, one would think that some large overhaul of personnel must have taken place. But it has not. It is almost exactly the same players as before. The only difference is mentality. By prioritising positivity, aggression and freedom, and most of all by removing judgement and fear of failure, the self-same players are drastically outperforming old versions of themselves. Any business would do well to learn from this approach.

Pep Guardiola

Lesson #4 –– Have a vision, bring it to life

Pep Guardiola is one of the greatest football managers to ever live. Arguably the greatest. His Barcelona team of Messi and co. is widely considered the best to ever play the game. Meanwhile, his Manchester City team have won six out of the last seven Premier League titles and won the treble (Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League) in 2023. So, what can businesses learn from the Catalan?

Pep Guardiola is a control freak. That can be a negative in business, so it helps that he is also a genius. What marks him out, though, and makes him the most emulated manager of modern times, is that he has a vision of how he wants his teams to play and then does everything he can to bring that vision to life. Sometimes that means ruthlessly removing any cog –– no matter how effective has proven itself in the past –– that doesn’t meet his singular vision.

An obvious example would be the former England goalkeeper Joe Hart. When Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City, Hart was the keeper for his national team and had won back-to-back Premier League Golden Glove awards (the award for conceding the least goals in the league), having helped the team to two Premier League titles. That didn’t matter to Pep. He wanted a goalkeeper who was good with his feet and could be relied upon in possession. Hart was a mere shot-stopper. As such, he was ousted without ceremony or contrition. It was ruthless. But the subsequent success of City suggests it was the right call.

Guardiola plays a certain style of football that, like him, is based on control. His team dictates the flow of the game. It is not about individual brilliance, though of course that helps. Hart is just one example of a player ousted for not meeting his standards. Others have had to mould their game to his style in order to stay in favour. It’s a binary choice: play his way or don’t play. It sounds dictatorial but it is more team-oriented than that. Pep plays a system. If one player breaks out of that system to do his own thing, he leaves his teammates exposed. It is all carefully orchestrated so that all the distinct parts are working together to form a greater whole.

Herein lies the lesson. All companies have a structure. It’s important that all departments are working towards the same goal, that they are aligned and willing to do what’s best for the system to work rather than putting themselves or their department ahead of the team. Have a vision, stick to it. If you can see something doesn’t fit, remove it. It may be tough at the time, but it’s for the greater good.

Roger Federer

Lesson #5: Stay calm, make your opponent sweat

Roger Federer was the embodiment of grace. He moved balletically, floating across the court, and struck the ball with a rare poetic beauty. It was this inimitable style as much as his litany of Grand Slam titles that endeared him to the public, and brought tennis dizzying popular appeal.

The thing that amazed people most of all was his disposition. He didn’t shout, didn’t grimace, didn’t frown or moan; it seemed like he didn’t even sweat. He possessed a serenity that unsettled his opponents. On the occasions he was losing, which were rare in those early days, he seemed totally unphased by the score. Opponents hoping to rattle him ended up rattled themselves by their inability to breach his mental fortress. But it wasn’t always like that.

It’s no secret that a young Roger Federer was not simply less serene but an outright tantrum-merchant. One can see footage of his adolescent days online as he berates umpires and shatters rackets against the ground. No one thought this young hothead would go on to redefine the game he so loved.

Federer sought the help of a psychologist for his rage issues and one can only hope they were well compensated because they changed the trajectory of his career. A measured, unflappable disposition is easy to crave and hard to achieve. But entirely worthwhile if you can get it.

Any good leader will possess a level of calm and judgement. And just like you never realised quite how resilient Federer’s temperament was until he was losing, you can’t know the mental strength or fragility of your boss until things get tough. There are many things that make a good leader, but handling a bad day or difficult situation with grace and amenability is an important one. Both leaders and workers would do well to channel their inner Federer and not allow themselves to be phased by the situation around them. It doesn’t help you. It only helps those who wish you to lose. Don’t give them the satisfaction.

Lessons from sport

These are just five useful lessons but there are any number of other sports stars we could have included. For now though, if you want to succeed in business, make sure you’re willing to take some hits, have principles you’ll stick to, imbue yourself and those around you with a positive mentality, have a vision that you can help bring to life, and stay calm; if that young Swiss hothead could change his ways you can too.

Introduction

Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1995, Amazon has revolutionised the book market and significantly influenced the electronics and technology sectors. Bezos, recognised for his innovative leadership and named Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year (Gradinaru et al., 2020; Amazon, 2020), led Amazon through a substantial revenue surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite facing government scrutiny and workplace culture challenges, Bezos’s adaptive leadership style was pivotal (Gradinaru et al., 2020).

In 2021, Bezos transitioned from CEO to Executive Chair, marking a significant shift in Amazon’s leadership, with Andy Jassy taking over as CEO (Amazon, 2020). This article applies Transformational Leadership Theory, initially conceptualised by Burns and expanded by Bass, to explore Bezos’s leadership at Amazon. This analysis will consider the broader implications of his leadership in the tech and retail sectors (Burns, 1978; Bass, 1985; Botha et al., 2014; Gradinaru et al., 2020; Stewart, 2006).

Transformational Leadership Theory and Jeff Bezos

Inspirational Motivation: Jeff Bezos’s tenure at Amazon is a testament to Inspirational Motivation, one of the pillars of Transformational Leadership Theory. His ability to cast a strategic vision has transformed Amazon from an emerging online bookstore into a global leader in e-commerce and cloud computing and redefined retail and technology industries. Bezos’s launch of Amazon Prime and the development of Amazon Web Services (AWS) serve as benchmarks of his capacity for long-term vision and strategic agility, which have been instrumental in rallying employees and stakeholders around a shared, ambitious goal (Densten, 2002; Stone, 2013; Denning, 2018).

Intellectual Stimulation: Under Bezos’s leadership, Amazon became a centre of innovative activity, embodying the Intellectual Stimulation component of Transformational Leadership. Bezos cultivated an environment ripe for critical thinking and creative problem-solving, leading to pioneering ventures such as Kindle, Echo, and the expansion into AI through Alexa. Amazon’s expansion into space exploration with Blue Origin underscores Bezos’s commitment to exploring and investing in new frontiers of technology and space (Peng et al., 2016; Rivet, 2017).

Individualised Consideration: The principle of Individualised Consideration reflects a leader’s attention to fostering the development and growth of their followers. Through Bezos’s implementation of leadership principles and the ‘Day 1’ philosophy, he aimed to empower employees to act as owners, fostering a culture of innovation at Amazon. However, balancing the drive for innovation with the well-being of employees at Amazon’s fulfilment centres has been challenging, evidenced by reports of demanding working conditions that raise questions about the application of this leadership component in practice (Khalil & Sahibzadah, 2021; Bal & Lub, 2015).

Idealised Influence: Bezos’s adherence to high ethical standards and relentless focus on customer satisfaction has solidified his status as a role model, displaying Idealised Influence. However, despite the customer-centric nature of Amazon’s mission, the company has faced criticism regarding its treatment of employees, suggesting a discrepancy between the values professed and those practised within different echelons of the organisation (Grădinaru et al., 2020; Enciso et al., 2017).

Critical Application to Bezos’s Leadership: While Bezos’s strategies at Amazon indicate transformational leadership, the tension between the company’s aspirational objectives and the operational realities of its workforce indicates a complex application of Individualised Consideration and Idealised Influence. Notably, the dichotomy between Amazon’s innovation-driven culture and its warehouse operations points to the potential oversights in aligning transformational leadership principles with the day-to-day experiences of all employees (Briken & Taylor, 2018).

Impact Analysis: Amazon’s remarkable growth trajectory under Bezos, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, is a clear indicator of the effectiveness of his transformational leadership approach. Nevertheless, the company’s agility and resilience during this period were occasionally marred by publicised accounts of its workplace practices, suggesting a need for a more balanced application of transformational leadership principles that consider the workforce’s well-being.

Comparative Insights: Bezos’s approach, marked by a relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction and a vision for the future, sets him apart from the distributed leadership models prevalent in smaller organisations, where shared decision-making and collective autonomy are more common (Solanki, 2019; Ghez, 2019; Cope et al., 2011).

Broader implications and critical evaluation

Bezos’s transformative leadership has undeniably established a new paradigm in business, demonstrating how a leader’s vision can lead to unprecedented success. However, the complexity and scale of Amazon have revealed that such a leadership approach may have limitations, particularly in ensuring ethical labour practices across all levels of the organisation. As Amazon continues to grow, the balance between innovation and the ethical treatment of employees remains a pivotal area for leadership attention.

In evaluating Jeff Bezos’s leadership through the lens of Transformational Leadership Theory, it is evident that while there is a strong alignment with the theory’s principles, the application in the context of Amazon’s operational realities has its challenges. The insights from Bezos’s leadership journey at Amazon offer valuable lessons for future leaders, emphasising the importance of balancing visionary goals with a commitment to ethical and responsible management.   

Conclusion

Jeff Bezos’s leadership of Amazon showcases the transformative power of visionary leadership as outlined by Transformational Leadership Theory. His journey from creating a pioneering online bookstore to leading a tech empire exemplifies Inspirational Motivation and Intellectual Stimulation. However, the complexities of Individualised Consideration and Idealised Influence within Amazon’s expansive operations reveal the challenges of applying this theory in practice, particularly regarding employee well-being and workplace culture.

While Bezos’s approach has undoubtedly shaped Amazon’s success, it also highlights the necessity of balancing innovative ambitions with the responsibility of ethical leadership. The insights from Bezos’s leadership style offer valuable lessons for aspiring leaders, emphasising the need to adapt and evolve while remaining committed to ethical practices and employee empowerment.

In summary, Bezos’s legacy at Amazon aligns with the core tenets of Transformational Leadership Theory. However, it also underscores the importance of addressing the nuanced demands of leading a diverse and complex workforce. Future leaders can draw from this case study the importance of harmonising a clear vision with the conscientious treatment of employees to navigate the challenges of modern corporate leadership effectively. 

References

Amazon. (2020). How we operate. Available at: https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/uk-investment/our-principles-for-how-we-operate [Accessed 16 December 2023].

Bal, P. M., & Lub, X. D. (2015). Individualisation of work arrangements. In Current Issues in Work and Organisational Psychology. Psychology Press.

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press.

Botha, A., Kourie, D., & Snyman, R. (2014). Coping with continuous change in the business environment: knowledge management and knowledge management technology. Chandos Publishing.

Briken, K., & Taylor, P. (2018). Fulfilling the ‘British way’: Beyond constrained choice—Amazon workers’ lived experiences of workfare. Industrial Relations Journal, 49(5-6), 438-458. https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12230

Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.

Cope, J., Kempster, S., & Parry, K. (2011). Exploring distributed leadership in the small business context. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(3), 270-285. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00307.x

Denning, S. (2018). The role of the C-suite in agile transformation: the case of Amazon.                Strategy & Leadership, 46(6), 3-8. https://doi.org/10.1108/SL-05-2018-0037

Densten, I. L. (2002). Clarifying inspirational motivation and its relationship to extra effort. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 23(1), 40-44. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730210414595

Eisenbach, R.J., Watson, K., & Pillai, R. (1999). Transformational leadership in the context of organisational change. Journal of Organisational Change Management, 12, 80-89.

Enciso, S., Milikin, C., & O’Rourke, J. S. (2017). Corporate culture and ethics: from words to actions. Journal of Business Strategy, 38, 69-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-11-2016-0142

Ghez, J., & Ghez, J. (2019). Case study: Strategizing at Amazon when globalisation comes under pressure. In Architects of Change: Designing Strategies for a Turbulent Business Environment (pp. 111-125).

Grădinaru, C., Toma, S.-G., Catană, Ș., & Andrișan, G. (2020). A view on transformational leadership: The case of Jeff Bezos. Manager Journal, 31, 93-100.

Khalil, D. S., & Sahibzadah, S. (2021). Leaders’ individualised consideration and employees’ job satisfaction. Journal of Business & Tourism, 7, 1-10.

Peng, A. C., Lin, H. E., Schaubroeck, J., McDonough, E. F., Hu, B., & Zhang, A. (2016). CEO intellectual stimulation and employee work meaningfulness: The moderating role of organisational context. Group & Organization Management, 41(2), 203-231. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115617086

Rivet, D. J. (2017). Amazon’s superior innovation: A study of Amazon’s corporate structure,           CEO, and reasons behind why it has become the most innovative company in today’s market.

Solanki, K. (2019). To what extent does Amazon.com, Inc success be accredited to its organisational culture and Jeff Bezos’s leadership style? Archives of Business Research, 7(11), 21-40. https://doi.org/10.14738/abr.711.6969

Stewart, J. (2006). Transformational Leadership: An Evolving Concept Examined through the Works of Burns, Bass, Avolio, and Leithwood. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy.

Stone, B. E. (2013). The everything store: Jeff Bezos and the age of Amazon. Little, Brown and Company.

Introduction

The EU’s Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) is scheduled to come into effect across member states on October 18th, 2024. Businesses that fail to put the right measures in place by that date are at risk of facing serious regulatory problems, including the potential suspension of C-suite executives and fines of up to €10 million.

A worrying number of businesses in Ireland are either unaware of NIS2 or ill-prepared for its implementation. Companies wishing to comply with the directive need to be aware of the many updates they must make to their business before the rapidly approaching deadline. This article will explain what NIS2 is, who it affects, why it’s important, and what companies can do to prepare themselves for its enforcement.

What is NIS2?

The NIS2 Directive is the EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity. It’s focused on enhancing cybersecurity and boosting digital resilience across Europe. It could impact more than 180,000 organisations across member states including 4,000 in Ireland, from sole traders through to large-scale enterprises, in industries from finance to transportation to healthcare. [1]

In March, Microsoft Ireland’s national technology officer, Kieran McCorry, summarised NIS2’s key requirements in Tech Central, writing: “A key feature of NIS2 is the requirement to implement a benchmark of minimum cybersecurity measures including risk assessments, policies and procedures for cryptography, security procedures for employees with access to sensitive data, multi-factor authentication, and cyber security training.” [2]

He goes on, “The legislation also includes an emphasis on the need for cyber security in supply chains and prioritises the relationship between companies and direct suppliers. Additionally, NIS2 aims to harmonise cybersecurity requirements and enforcement across EU member states, while directing companies to create a plan for handling security incidents and managing business operations during and after a security incident.”

What that means in practice is that companies will be required to address risk management through the implementation of basic cyber hygiene procedures and cybersecurity training, regular software updates, access restrictions, encryption technologies, and monitoring of IT systems [3]. Risk management differs from company to company, depending on size and industry, but most companies will have to implement some version of those policies, if not more.

Affected companies will also have to register with national authorities. By recording and monitoring relevant companies, the EU is hoping to improve safety standards and cooperation in the event of safety incidents. Companies will be required to report significant security incidents to the authorities without delay, providing the nature of the incident, its impact, and the countermeasures taken. In some cases, information obligations to customers also exist. [4]

Companies classified as “particularly important companies” will have to provide evidence that they have implemented these required safety measures or face sanctions.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Neil Redmond, director of risk and regulation at PwC Ireland, explained how companies can figure out their classification status.

“Entities are classified as either ‘essential’ or ‘important’ based on their size, the sector they operate in and their importance to the public interest,” he says. “Large and Medium enterprises may be considered ‘essential entities’. These are organisations in sectors of high criticality with in excess of 250 employees and in excess €50m in annual revenue.” [5]

“Some of the ‘essential entities’ covered by NIS2 include those in sectors like energy, transport, health, banking and public administration while ‘important entities’ include waste management as a principle economic activity and postal services among others,” he adds.

What happens if you don’t act?

Ireland’s national competent authority for public sector bodies, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), will have the remit to impose more stringent penalties for non-compliance under NIS2. [6]

For those entities deemed “essential”, the maximum fine is €10 million or 2% of global annual revenue, whichever is higher. This is reduced slightly for “important” entities but remains significant at €7 million of 1.4% of global annual revenue.

NIS2 introduces a momentous shift in cybersecurity accountability. Security teams will no longer be held solely responsible for non-compliance. Instead, management and executives can be found personally liable if gross negligence is found following a cybersecurity incident. Chief executives may be suspended from their duties over a significant breach.

That’s not to mention the reputational damage companies can suffer if they are found to not be complying with the new regulations. It can result in a loss in investor and customer confidence, most especially if a C-suite figure ends up being suspended.

Why is it important?

According to Microsoft’s ‘Cybersecurity Trends in Ireland 2023’ report, more than 70% of leaders were either unaware or unprepared for compliance with NIS2. Of those who were aware of NIS2, 20% felt they were currently compliant with the legislation and 20% believed they were not compliant. While 60% of all respondents were unsure if they are or not. Positively, 31% of organisations were planning to invest in their strategy to achieve compliance with NIS2 and 29% had a roadmap in place to achieve this. [7]

The need for increased cybersecurity is pronounced. According to the same report, 46% of respondents had faced cyber incidents in the last three years, with 30% experiencing data breaches. Only 14% reported incidents to regulatory bodies, 44% performed risk assessments and 38% employed a multi-layered defence strategy. As already noted, these will all be requirements from October.

Ireland is no stranger to cybersecurity attacks. The HSE attack of 2021 lives long in the memory. It remains the largest known attack against a health service computer system in history. Fears linger over future attacks on a similar scale.

PwC’s recent Irish CEO survey revealed that 90% of Irish business leaders are concerned about their organisation’s exposure to cyber risks. Meanwhile, their Digital Trust survey revealed that 53% of Irish business leaders expect GenAI to lead to catastrophic cyber attacks in the year ahead [8]. The NIS2 directive is nothing if not timely.

What can companies do to prepare?

Writing in the Irish Times, Carol Murphy, an EY partner and head of technology risk, suggests companies start by assessing if and how NIS2 will impact them [9]. They should work out their designation then work to understand what additional demands the new directive is expecting them to implement.

She advises leaders that they “need to understand that this is not purely a cyber, technical, or regulatory issue to be solved – it is a mandatory enterprise imperative that will demand appropriate governance and resourcing from the highest levels.” Given higher-ups will be held accountable for failure, it especially behoves them to make sure the entire organisation is aware of what is expected of them.

PwC advises five key actions companies can take now to ensure they are in compliance when October rolls around. They are (1) Understand your business’s regulatory landscape (2) Assess your ability to comply (3) Proactively test incident response processes (4) Embed resilience testing (5) Develop an end-to-end threat and vulnerability management programme. [10]

We’ve addressed the first in Murphy’s suggestions. In terms of assessing ability to comply, PwC recommends adopting a cybersecurity controls framework. “Mapping specific controls in operation within your business to each NIS2 clause can help inform you of areas where the organisation cannot meet its NIS2 obligations at present.”

In order to proactively test incident response processes, they suggest using tabletop exercises and comprehensive crisis simulation activities. They also suggest, given the importance of reporting incidents to NIS2’s directive, that companies actively test their ability to communicate effectively internally and externally during and following an incident.

Regarding the embedding of resilience testing, they suggest regular testing with a risk-based approach to scope and frequency. “Organisations should define recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) for their critical systems to set the minimum expectations of the business for recovering its key digital services.”

In terms of developing an end-to-end threat and vulnerability management programme, they suggest exercises such as vulnerability scanning by manual penetration tests conducted by experienced cybersecurity professionals on key systems. They note that vulnerability testing should cover all areas relevant to cybersecurity, not just traditional IT systems. They suggest communicating the volume and criticality of open vulnerabilities within the business “to help instil cultural awareness and accountability for the organisation’s security.”

NIS2: What companies need to know

The new NIS2 directive will come into effect in October, with a number of Irish businesses still unprepared for its implementation. The directive will enhance cybersecurity and boost digital resilience across Europe. This is especially important given the growing prevalence of cyber attacks across the world, not to mention the extent to which such attacks could worsen as AI develops. Not preparing can result in major fines or even suspensions for executives.

To avoid such outcomes, businesses need to prepare now. That starts with finding out your designation, assessing your ability to comply, testing your incident response processes, embedding resilience testing, and developing threat and vulnerability management programmes. It’s down to leaders to make cybersecurity part of their company culture. Leaders that fail to do so will soon be held accountable.

More on Cybersecurity

Combatting Cybersecurity Risks

The Unsolvable Problem of AI Safety

AI and the Future of Work

Sources

[1] https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/04/29/carol-murphy-businesses-need-to-prepare-for-new-eu-cybersecurity-rules-or-risk-fines-and-executives-is-being-suspended/

[2] https://www.techcentral.ie/leaders-in-ireland-need-to-pay-attention-to-changing-eu-cybersecurity-legislation/

[3] https://www.cocus.com/en/nis2-security-requirements-for-companies/

[4] https://www.cocus.com/en/nis2-security-requirements-for-companies/

[5] https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/technology/arid-41372734.html

[6] https://www.pwc.ie/services/consulting/insights/understanding-nis2-directive.html

[7] https://www.techcentral.ie/leaders-in-ireland-need-to-pay-attention-to-changing-eu-cybersecurity-legislation/

[8] https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/technology/arid-41372734.html

[9] https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/04/29/carol-murphy-businesses-need-to-prepare-for-new-eu-cybersecurity-rules-or-risk-fines-and-executives-is-being-suspended/

[10] https://www.pwc.ie/services/consulting/insights/understanding-nis2-directive.html