Leadership, Futures and Ethics

Leadership has traditionally been defined as command and control on the one hand and in heroic language of conquest and victory on the other.

Based on research at Mt Eliza Centre for Executive Education Melbourne Business School , I argue that leadership is actually about inner happiness and organizational effectiveness. Essentially this means finding a work-life balance. Without this balance, leaders and organizations become toxic, they are unable to reflect on who they are, and more importantly, in a futures context, where they are going.

Traditional notions of leadership actively seek people who foster imbalance and then exaggerate this imbalance in and through the organization.  As a result amorality grows and what is encouraged is the growth of an undisciplined form of self-interest, in which winning is all that counts.

The result is a deeply imbalanced world with a future of business-as-usual. However, through deep reflection at inner and outer levels, leadership can play an important role in changing the future, and today.

Bio: Robert has worked at CEO/Managing Director level with UK, European and Australian publicly listed high technology organisations for over 20 years prior to co-creating the Futureware Corporation,