Guiding the Tide : The Call for Agency in 21st Century Business Leaders

In a world increasingly driven by artificial intelligence, leadership needs to move beyond the “agile” approach that dominated organizational leadership practices at the end of the 20th century. What is required now for successful leaders is a skillful juxtaposition of proactivity and humility, which we call “guiding the tide.” Successful leaders of today must demonstrate personal agency in order to guide the tide of events around them rather than have the tide of events sweep them along. The “tide,” like a river within an ocean akin to a gulf stream, is a unique, ever-changing stream of business systems, technology, consumers, and competitors. This book uses storytelling, examples, and clear, everyday language to blend leading-edge psychological research and leadership practices with the authors’ own work in coaching, assessing, and developing leaders for three decades around the world. The book takes the reader on a journey through three major learnings: First, the authors describe the nature of the tide and the demands on leaders to move beyond a reactionary, agile approach toward the forward-leaning, active stance of personal agency. Second, they describe three critical practices to successfully lead with agency and guide the tide: Honest Engagement – the practice of dealing with others from a place of openness, honesty, and a willingness to be vulnerable. Addressing Reality – the practice of seeing the world as it is rather than as we wish it to be, the ability to separate fact from fiction and data from desire. Adaptive Impact – the practice of driving the organization, team, and oneself forward in a way that creates results-beyond- results, that is, delivering goals while building followership, sustainability and “Humanocity” – the integration of human creativity and judgment with the efficiency of digital automation. Third, they offer leaders a practical path to achieving the personal agency to successfully guide their organization through the tide that shapes their world.