In this year’s Leadership Victoria Lecture, titled The Leader and the Gang, delivered by University of Melbourne Vice Chancellor Glyn Davis, the traits of leadership were again looked, but this time with a twist.  In his opening Prof Davis said the academic study of leadership has found no laws or formulas to follow in choosing or becoming a leader.  He also said “The term natural leader is a revealing one; a leader who simply emerges from the group without the need for any formal process of selection or appointment.”   
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What Prof. Davis was discussing was that leaders are often ‘chosen’ by the group they lead, in the context of the ‘situation’ they find themselves in.  Prof. Davis quoted from a book ‘The Gang: a study of 1313 Gangs in Chicago’ by Frederic T Thrasher, published in 1927, to bring his points to life and he indicated that it is almost impossible to predict what type of leader will emerge or succeed when situations change.
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This causes me to think about the type of leadership we will see as the global economic crisis takes hold and organisations strive to survive and deliver on stakeholder expectations.  Already we are seeing job losses and cut backs, with the usual ‘belt tightening’ hitting areas considered to be discretionary spend.  The question is: what is discretionary and what is vital?

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Often ‘people development’ areas are hit first and hardest, as recruitment, training and planning are set aside so profits can be maintained.  These actions are taken by leaders no longer ‘right for the times’ who revert back to old-style approaches.  While providing short-term breathing space, this will not set an organisation up to thrive when times change again.
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2009 promises significant challenge, and even greater opportunity.  Leaders and organisations that are adaptable and open in their thinking, and who understand that Creativity and Innovation are more vital than ever with prosper over the next few years.  It will be interesting to see who understands and builds on this, and who decides to cut people development from their budgets.
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For a transcript of Prof. Davis’ lecture go to www.leadershipvictoria.org and click on Resources then Speeches.
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I am a Fellow of Leadership Victoria, having participated in the first year (1990) of the Williamson Community Leadership Group, now going into its 20th year with well over 600 on our Alumni list.