IMI: Leadership styles may evolve, but truly great leaders inspire

Despite the shift from command-and-control to a coaching style of leadership, what it means to be a leader remains consistent

The best leaders inspire, empower and influence, but how they do this differs.

In a pre-digital world, secrets were more easily kept; in fact, they were the norm — a far cry from today’s world of aggressive transparency and social media and the ubiquitous recording iPhone.

And yet, secrets still exist. Because real secrets are not what CEOs keep from shareholders, secrets are important truths about the world that others don’t yet realise. Just as every Instagram post masks a secret truth, businesses are built on secrets — again, not shady backroom dealings or the fudging of accounts, but secret truths utilised for commercial gain and competitive differentiation, and the continuing search to uncover more truths. That’s how cultures of innovation, experimentation and risk-taking arise.