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The challenges of national leadership

No-one ever said that becoming a national leader was easy, but a new report released this week highlights precisely why people find it so challenging.

Navigating the new waters of national leadership is a study by international leadership development organisation Common Purpose into the difficulties of making the leap to a national leadership role. One of the major findings detailed in the study was that many senior leaders often fear that they are not up to the task.

The report revealed that the central challenge of moving to a national leadership role is that, after successfully rising up the ranks of an organisation, industry or regional power structure, a leader finds that there is a whole new mountain to climb.

According to James Ramsbotham, Chief Executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC): “The more senior the level at which you operate, the more complex the personal agendas and the more they get in the way. If you do not try to unravel them you will not be able to combat them and you will not achieve your objectives. You will be obstructed for apparently illogical reasons.”

The consequences of making a mistake at a national leadership level can have serious repercussions for the career of the leader, their organisation, industry or even the country. This is likely to be on the mind of any leader making the transition to national leadership and the implications of a mistake one factor that is guiding their decisions and actions.

Tim Melville Ross, Chairman of DTZ, who contributed to the study, offered this advice: “Be very clear about what it is your organisation, department, is trying to achieve. Surround yourself with the best people you can find to help you achieve that, and then communicate ceaselessly with everybody, both internally and externally, who might be able to influence the outcome.”

For more about Common Purpose go to www.commonpurpose.org.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .