Friday 16th January 2009, 14:31Green Shoots? Leadership?It’s nice to be able to catch the news anywhere in the world, any time of day. The downside to a 24/7 news cycle is that we get locked into some pretty daft discussions. I was struck by the hammering Baroness Vadera got for daring to talk about green shoots of recovery. This was then picked up and turned into a story around whether business people can make effective politicians or not.
I see green shoots of recovery. I’m not being insensitive to the many thousands of businesses and client I work with at A4e who are still reeling from the impact of the economic downturn and recession on their lives. I’m driven to do what I can in my work life to tackle those difficulties. Part of my leadership role however is to balance out these messages. So when I talk to people, I talk openly about the difficulties but also where I see the opportunities, growth and positive actions.
It is not contradictory for these issues to coexist. There is more difficulty ahead but I have worked through a couple of recessions in my career and been around when there weren’t any green shoots at all. The entrepreneur in me sees challenges and opportunities. The leader in me says I need to be pragmatic, realistic but driven and positive.
And I tell you what, I want politicians in this country who show leadership and drive progress - leadership which acknowledges the challenges we face and provides a direction of travel for progress – we need it in business, in politics, in communities, in public sector and in the third sector. It’s not out of touch to identify areas of ‘recovery or opportunity’ now – if there weren’t any, then we’d all have even more to worry about.
Let’s not give up our optimism and spirit to make a positive difference, even when we have to deal with so much difficulty and hardship, otherwise the world will be a grim old place to be.
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