Leadership and management are improvisational practices that take place in groups in a particular context at a particular time.
Witness Zelensky in Ukraine.
Many have expressed surprise at his performance because he does not have the traits of the hero-leader stereotype that has mythologized our understanding of leadership.
Leading is the practice or process of inspiring others to help achieve group goals (or common purpose).
Leadership is performed in the present – what you do as a leader is a response to the circumstances that you face at the time. It is not a pre-programmed activity. It is an improvisational response to the problem or context you face at a specific time.
And to motivate the group a leader must be “seen as one of us”. A leader without followers is just a person taking a stroll in the park. Followers must identify a leader as a fellow member of their group.
As an improvisational practice, leading requires a good understanding of many processes such as motivation, people and group behavior, communication, and strategy and tactics. It is a complex role, and a social achievement. It is the poster child of the mantra that there is no one right way. Having the “traits of a leader” is not enough – you must understand how is happens in practice.
Now, back to Zelensky
The comic turned president has truly become a leader for his people (the group) to protect the Ukraine (the purpose) in wartime (context and time). He is doing things he has never done before, and probably never thought about doing. His leadership is an improvisational practice.
Have you prepared sufficiently that you can improvise? Do you understand the process?
I acknowledge the contribution of two books to my thinking – Haslam et.al. (2020) The New Psychology of Leadership. Identity, influence, and power. (Routledge) and Fowler (2022) Complexity: A key idea for business and society (Routledge)