Introduction
In today’s modern forms of leadership, families, organizations, and governments are working on attaining the set goals or targets for the set period. It is on this background that Leadership has mainly focused on the element of future planning and learning from experiences.
However, there has been little emphasis on present thinking where the leader is able to look at exactly what is going on as opposed to his or her expectations and how past challenges were faced (Simpson, French, 2006, p.246).
Present thinking puts the leader in a position where although there is temptation to handle a present challenge like a previous one, he or she allows the opportunity of a new thought or solution to guide him/her.
Present thinking works together with negative capability, which is a form of leadership requiring patience and the need to master frustration and uncertainty (Reason, 1994, p.67).
Simpson and French (2006) base their argument on present thinking and negative capability on psychoanalytic theory as put across by Wilfred Bios (p.246).
Importance and Implications of Present Thinking
Leaders today, more than ever before, are forced to constantly deal with emerging challenges that have caused them to rethink and re-engineer their approaches to business (Johnson, 2011, p.4).
They are dealing with the concept of adaptive changes where instead of leading their flock as shepherds, they are exposing to the ‘flock’ to challenges and involving them more in coming up with a solution.
One of the requirements of the leader to be able to deal with adaptive changes is ‘to sit on the balcony’ (Heifetz, 1997, p.16).
The same concept implied by present thinking is that, the leader is required to look at the present challenges from a much broader perspective. The leader is able to see the real situation on the ground and then come with corrective and innovative solutions.
The attainment of future targets depends on how the leader is able to analyze the actual data and present a situation. It is not wise to only consider past experiences and leave out present thinking when making future targets, which is a critical process in decision-making (Northouse, 2011, p.15).
Leaders who take time off their normal work are said to be more productive because the most important aspect of experience is not being involved in the action itself but getting the time and space to think of it.
Simpson and French (2006) present an analogy of a child and her mother showing that the mother from her analysis of the baby is able to think on behalf of the child (p.250).
This means that, the leader should have the capacity to think on behalf of the organization by analyzing the present situation and make recommendations on the direction taken.
Today’s world is marked by performance contracts, target and goals, all of which need to be achieved almost instantly.
However, the concept of present thinking in leadership presents a scenario of patience, listening, waiting, and non-interference form of leadership implying that, leaders are not afraid of being in a situation of not knowing and they are out to pursue the truth to make informed decisions.
Conclusion
The ability to lead by applying present thinking concepts presents a scenario of uncertainty, patience, and not knowing. Therefore, leaders are required to be humble enough to work on themselves, be present in their roles, and use their experience in understanding the state of their organization for better management.
References
Heifetz, R. (2001). The Work of Leadership. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 15-19.
Johnson, C. E. (2011). Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or Shadow. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership Theory and Practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Reason, P. (1994). Three Approaches to Participative Inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Simpson, P., & French, R. (2006). Negative Capability and the Capacity to Think in the Present Moment: Some Implications for Leadership Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.