In the 21st century, rapid change and uncertainty have become a norm. However, excessive exposure to something could result in someone becoming desensitized or “comfortably numb” to whatever the issue is (English, 2022). Some organisations have the erroneous perception that constantly “managing by crisis” will keep people engaged. Nevertheless, if leaders frequently declare crises, their effectiveness will quickly fade, and their lasting effects will diminish (Dehnugara & Breeze, 2019). Therefore, we will notice that employees are growing emotional, culturally, or comfortably numb.
How does Numbness Impact on Leadership in Short-term and Long-term?
In China, the gruelling “996” work schedule has become common in tech organisations (Chan, 2019). The competitive society's high levels of stress and burnout could lead people to lose interest in their work and experience emotional numbness. This disengagement among employees encourages superficial obedience to a leader’s orders. For instance, they show compliance and obedience to their leader on the surface just like a ‘Yes-man’, but show neither passion nor commitment brought to their jobs (Tenny, 2022). Thus, it potentially reduces employees’ productivity and disrupts a leadership’s effectiveness. In the long run, it will erode an organisation's culture and create a toxic working environment.
Furthermore, the fast growth of technology may numb employees and push them into change fatigue. Change fatigue is a passive behaviour where people show no signs of resistance to change but instead suffer via personal emotions as they feel disempowered and disillusioned (Assink, 2019). In the face of change fatigue, communication breakdowns are common. Leaders may struggle to effectively convey the reasons behind change, leading to misunderstandings and consequently change failure. Hence, it will be challenging for a leader to foster a culture of innovation. Even worse, the failure of leaders to embrace innovation and being static over a long period can lead to an organisation’s stagnation and loss of competitive edge (Dowsett, 2023).
Moreover, when a business reaches a certain point in its growth trajectory without failing, it brings stagnation and comfort numbness that creates a deceiving safety zone in the minds of leaders and employees. According to Tenny (2022), leaders with comfort numbness tend to lack the urgency for continuous innovation. In the short-term, this can result in missed opportunities for growth and waning profit. As demonstrated by Nokia, a former mobile giant that faded from the public's attention due to its leadership failure. Nokia was demonstrating comfort numbness and overconfidence to its existing advantages until it neglected their competitors’ competitiveness and market needs (Wang, 2022). Eventually, Nokia witnessed their market position decline.
Applying Visionary Leadership
Visionary leadership is the communication of an imagined future with the objective of persuading others to contribute to its realisation (Daan & Daan, 2014). According to Lurie and Tegelberg (2019), to envision the future is a novel responsibility for 21st century leaders.
‘The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision’. – Helen Keller
Visionary leaders help build a strong sense of purpose and direction that resonates with the entire organisation. Vision serves to construct a long-term strategy for where the organisation is going and intends to align everyone around the organisation’s direction. In summary, we have identified three key traits of a successful visionary leadership:
1. Inspiring
Visionary leaders are good at inspiring their followers by utilizing their charisma. They convey emotional expressiveness and positive emotions to employees and make them become more enthusiastic and committed to their jobs. According to Brunelle and L’ Ecuyer (2018), visionary leaders listen actively to their followers and encourage them to express their aspirations to find out how the employees’ interests and the vision align. Hence, visionary leaders foster a sense of collective ownership by being receptive to the aspirations of their employees. Rather than just following orders, employees will apply their critical thinking skills to make major contributions to achieve the shared objective.
2. Innovative
3. Forward-thinking
‘The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it’. – Michelangelo
Self-Reflection
Lastly, individuals in the 21st century often require flexibility and agility. The question is, when we are constantly receptive, would we become a yes-man and accept whatever is necessary to keep things running smoothly?
Personally, I have been fortunate enough to work with people that value my opinion. Hence, whenever we are working on assignments, I am constantly eager to let my team know what my thoughts are. I am also never afraid to ask questions but more importantly, I am not afraid to challenge the status quo. Despite that, I have come to a realisation that I still find myself lacking in terms of trying to innovate and think forward. Therefore, this opportunity to research visionary leadership has reminded me that my journey as a leader requires my continuous learning and continuous attempt to think forward.
References
Archwell, D., & Mason, J. (2021). Evaluating corporate leadership in the United States: A review of Elon Musk leadership. African Journal of Emerging Issues, 3(2), 1–10. https://ajoeijournals.org/sys/index.php/ajoei/article/view/170/205
Assink, Y. (2019). The influence of a change story on employees. https://essay.utwente.nl/79919/1/Assink_MA_BMS.pdf
Brunelle, E., & L’Écuyer, J.-P. (2018). Looking for direction, inspiration, hope and faith: The search for a visionary leader. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 9(9). https://doi.org/10.30845/ijbss.v9n9p3
Chan, C. (2019, May 31). Commentary: What’s behind burnout? Confusing long hours and face time for work performance. CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/behind-burnout-long-hours-face-time-work-performance-fatigue-882196
Daan, K. van, & Daan, S. (2014). Visionary leadership. In The Oxford Handbook of Leadership and Organizations (pp. 241–259). Oxford Library of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199755615.001.0001
Daft, R. L. (2023). The leadership experience (8th ed., p. 244). Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.
Dehnugara, K., & Breeze, C. G. (2019, May 16). Comfortably numb: The peril of a plateau. Business Graduates Association. https://businessgraduatesassociation.com/comfortably-numb-the-peril-of-a-plateau/#:~:text=Does%20the%20above%20quote%20from
Dowsett, B. (2023, February 10). How a lack of innovation can damage your business. Myriad Associates. https://www.myriadassociates.ie/news/2023/how-a-lack-of-innovation-can-damage-your-business/#:~:text=Businesses%20that%20don
Englis, B. (2022, April 30). “Comfortably Numb.” NewEdge Wealth. https://www.newedgewealth.com/comfortably-numb/
Lurie, M., & Tegelberg, L. (2019, September 23). The new roles of leaders in 21st century organizations. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-organization-blog/the-new-roles-of-leaders-in-21st-century-organizations
Mascareno, J., Rietzschel, E., & Wisse, B. (2019). Envisioning innovation: Does visionary leadership engender team innovative performance through goal alignment? Creativity and Innovation Management, 29. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12341
Tenny, M. (2022). What a disengaged employee looks like. Business Leadership Today. https://businessleadershiptoday.com/what-does-a-disengaged-employee-look-like/
Wang, S. (2022). Explanations to the failure of Nokia phone. Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, 648, 1866–1870. https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.220307.307
Disclaimer: This blog is created to fulfill the academic coursework requirements of the subject MGT3073 Leadership conducted at Sunway University, Malaysia, and is for educational purposes only. It is not meant for commercial or consulting purposes, and is not for sharing and distribution.
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