Thread

Leading without the hard levers

Leaders at the top of universities and public bodies have less power than outsiders assume. They get things done through influence, persuasion, relationships and nudging, not command. Daniel states this himself and many guests echo it. Other guests insist some calls still fall to the person in charge.

How it developed: It started as Daniel's own observation and was broadened by guests from government, health and policy. Later guests qualify it: influence does not remove the leader's duty to make the final hard call.

The thread's title and description are AI-written, drawn from the episodes below. The quotations are verbatim from the episode audio, each linked to the moment it was said.

What was said

“And the power that they do have, despite being at the top of their org charts, isn't so much about authority as it is about influence and persuasion.”
— Daniel Atlin, host · Welcome to Messy - Making Sense of Leadership · [02:08]
“You have to become the nudger-in-chief to be able to get all these different forces all together.”
— Daniel Atlin, guest · Getting Messy with Daniel Atlin · [04:57]
“My advice would be to lead with purpose and not position. I've said before that Complex organizations like universities, they're full of clever people. So that means leadership can't just be about authority or pulling rank,”
— Diana Beech, guest · Lead with purpose, not position | Dr Diana Beech · [29:38]
“The core leadership challenges in both the government and in the army were similar in the sense that people don't follow you because of your title. They will follow you because they trust you.”
— Sara Hurley, guest · Putting the Mouth Back into the Body Politic | Sara Hurley · [07:23]
“When I hear politicians say that people don't understand, I say, help them to understand. Bring them along with you.”
— Mary Anne Chambers, guest · Leadership is bringing people along... through empathy, integrity, and curiosity | Mary Anne Chambers · [37:53]
“You can't, you can't sort of chuck it over to a committee, you know.”
— Duncan Ivison, guest · Philosophy, AI and the Mess of Leading: the future of institutions in a rapidly changing world | Duncan Ivison · [39:12]

Episodes in this thread

All topics and episodes of Messy with Daniel Atlin