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The Silent Rebellion
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The Silent Rebellion

Becoming a Modern Leader

Chris Lewis and Inez Robinson-Odom
Kogan Page, 2024
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8

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Professional development experts Chris Lewis and Inez Robinson-Odom describe how the COVID-19 pandemic changed business and society. In their analysis, COVID deepened existing societal divisions, altered how people work and interact, and exposed fault lines in the global economy. The pandemic revealed that the world’s leaders – including business leaders – were ill-equipped to face new realities. The authors call for holistic leadership that can move the world beyond the pandemic by incorporating empathy, creativity, humility, cooperation, and humor.

Summary

The post-pandemic world requires new leadership.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed profound weaknesses in modern civilization. It exacerbated existing inequalities between the rich and poor and among racial and ethnic groups. The lockdown’s isolation endangered people’s psychological health. Many became increasingly dependent on social media, which enabled the spread of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and phenomena such as the anti-vaccine push. Societies around the world lost confidence in leaders who appeared consistently unprepared and out of touch.

Healing these divisions requires a new kind of leadership. Business leaders might take inspiration from community organization leaders who demonstrate the importance of serving their constituents’ needs.

The COVID pandemic proved to be the pivot point of the 21st century.

In recent years, the constant acceleration of change has left society struggling to understand and adapt. Enormous shocks, such as the September 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2008 financial crisis, were turning points in modern history. But no event has proven as transformative as the COVID pandemic.

COVID changed everyone’s lives...

About the Authors

Chris Lewis is CEO and Inez Robinson-Odom is vice president of professional development at the Team Lewis consultancy. Lewis is also the co-author of The Leadership Lab: Understanding Leadership in the 21st Century.

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