There is no leadership without risk

Those in positions of leadership in the US fear they will say the wrong thing, or say what they believe to be the right thing in the wrong way.

- Darren Walker

There has never been a more difficult time to lead anything - whether a publicly traded corporation or a non-profit non-governmental organisation; whether a global university or a local, public school or classroom.

Indeed, many of the best would-be leaders I know are asking: "Why would I even want to be a leader?"

As I prepare to step down from the Ford Foundation, having served through the years on more than a dozen boards of directors across sectors and industries, I see a gathering crisis of leadership.

The consequences for our shared democratic values and institutions are clear and present. The cycle that causes America's leadership crisis ought to be, as well.

Hardly a day passes without a fellow leader lamenting - in sidebar, or green room, or private-lunch conversations - the myriad ways in which our culture actively discourages the courage that is essential to effective leadership.

Leadership is an action, not a title. And many of our leaders are paralysed by broken, perverse incentives that impair their abilities to fulfil institutional missions and mandates.

Paradoxically, many leaders feel that any reduction in their visibility brings with it a promise of reward.

Increasingly, I worry that well-intentioned boards of directors are selecting rising leaders for safety, appointing executives who have assiduously avoided controversy rather than those most adept at managing it. Then, they counsel towards caution, not conscience.