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We have all been appalled by the violence of the war in Ukraine. Nobody believed that such a thing could happen in Europe. At the time of writing, the war is not over and the outcome is uncertain. This terrible game of war as it is now unfolding, also reveals so many fundamental lessons about life, but also about organisations of all kind. I would like to share some of them with you:

It is a good thing to hope for a better future, but to be prepared for the worst, even if the situation doesn‘t look like it at first. The world is as it is, there are positive and negative forces, there is success and failure, just to name a couple of polarities. Yes, both aspects have to be embraced, every decision has to include both aspects. Therefore, every company needs to be prepared for things not to go according to plan.

It’s worth fighting for what you believe in, for your values. Ukrainians, men and women, have shown so much determination to defend their country and everything they believe in. Often, in our comfortable world, we become too complacent and take things for granted. We hide with our opinions at work because we fear being sanctioned or don’t feel it necessary to bring our full selves. We also sometimes lack an intrinsic power to let out what is within us, preferring to go down the path of compromise rather than self-realisation.

Conformity is a danger. Societies and organisations urgently need counterforces to constantly challenge the system. Every society, every company needs opposition, needs a healthy competition of ideas. This must be stimulated and not punished. The longer an organization remains unchanged, the more it risks dying from within. Don’t let one man have too much power for too long.

Leaders who have too much power tend not to listen to others, not even willing to have different thinkers around them. As Adam Grant, a famous author, puts it on LinkedIn these days: ”Leaders who refuse to hear criticism choose not to learn. The higher you climb, the more people hesitate to challenge you. Silencing dissent is a step towards becoming a dictator“.

Incredible leaders can emerge from extreme situations. Zelenskyj was a comedian and nobody really took him seriously until the crises started to get momentum. Now he has become the embodiment of courageous leadership. Maybe also in your company leaders may emerge in challenging times, create a space for them. Let them rise, even if they may be better than you!

Dr. Michael Schroeder

michael.schroeder@linarson.com

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