Modesty in Modern Leadership: Interview with Michel Van Impe

We spoke to Michael Van Impe, Advisor at Ososim, about why leaders must adopt a modest approach to solve today’s complex problems. Michael has held leadership roles at Russell Reynolds Associates, PwC, Korn Ferry, and the Center for Creative Leadership, and has over 25 years of experience in leadership development and organisational transformation.

“Thirty years ago, leaders could tell their teams what to do, simply because they were the higher grade. However, the concept of hierarchy in leadership has largely disappeared. The current generations of Millennials and Gen Z simply don’t accept it. Ways of working have changed dramatically, and leaders have had to adapt.

Social structures have shifted, and while COVID accelerated the adoption of remote and hybrid working, it has also left leaders struggling to find the right balance in a rapidly changing landscape. Full-time, office hours from 9 to 5 were once an accepted norm, but that is no longer the case. People want more control over their working hours and patterns to make it work for them, not their employer. Teams used to work in a linear fashion, but more and more teams are choosing to work in sprints, focusing high energy in short bursts to innovate and execute.”

Today’s problems are so complex that there isn’t just one solution.

Leaders need to earn the respect of their teams and invite them to collaborate on finding solutions. They need to communicate more, both in terms of quantity and quality, and be modest enough to get their teams on side. Every solution has consequences, and teams must collaborate to find the solution with the lowest impact. Decision making is being reframed from finding the right or best solution to the least worst.

Society will challenge you – social media will expose you.

As a society, we no longer accept things the way we used to. Workplaces have made significant strides in critical areas, such as sexism, racism, and inclusion, although there is still a long way to go. Regulatory frameworks have undergone significant changes, and leaders must be increasingly aware of their impact, not just on their teams or industry, but on the broader world around them and their entire supply chain, in both the short and long term. Leaders are more vulnerable than ever, as they are held publicly accountable for their actions.

To succeed, leaders need to have vision – to set course and direction.

Interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence are critical. Leaders must use empathy to understand individuals, groups and society. They must be able to read situations and understand the consequences of their decisions for people, teams, and the world around us.

A great team is aligned on what they want to do and what they need to do.

Each individual needs to understand the unique role of their team and their role within it, to identify what they and the team need to achieve and how they will accomplish it. Diversity can be very powerful in teams, as long as the team is clear on their goal and united in the steps to achieving it.

Does a great team need to be together in an office? So much has already been written about hybrid working, remote and virtual working. For me, there’s no single answer – it has to be contextual and task-driven. If there’s work that can be done by an individual in their own home, requiring only their focus, then that’s fine. You can also do tasks together online. However, some tasks are better accomplished when teams come together physically. I firmly believe that new teams benefit from being physically together, to understand each other’s styles, and can then work more effectively remotely. To navigate the hybrid working era, leaders need to consider the most effective way for a task to be completed – together, virtually, physically, or in stages and then communicate that to the team. Like many others, I value the flexibility of working from home. But there is definitely something to be said for having people together in a room. A magical thing that happens when people come together, which is hard to simulate in a virtual context.

Many leaders accomplish great things, but we are all human beings and make mistakes.

Over the years, I have worked with many good leaders, but I am cautious about how we identify ‘great’ leaders. No one is perfect. People like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk are fantastic visionaries, but are difficult to work for. The risk is that we admire people too much, but they are only human. In the book I co-authored, “Inside the Leader’s Mind” (2017), I talk about the thin line between success and failure: “The media are quick to praise leaders and they are even quicker to tarnish and demonize these same leaders once they fall out of grace. Successful leaders are attributed with all kinds of great qualities. But too often it is exactly these qualities that make them fail.”

My many years in leadership have been an incredible ride. However, I have learnt that life goes very quickly, things happen, human beings are not gods, and we need to take care of ourselves and others. It is tempting to constantly focus on what’s next, but time is precious. Leaders carry a great weight on their shoulders, even if sometimes they don’t realise it. Slow down and enjoy the journey. As Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”

Michael recently joined Ososim as an Advisor. He works with CEOs and executive teams to strengthen leadership, navigate change, and improve team effectiveness.

With a background in economics and organisational psychology, Michael combines business insight with a deep understanding of leadership dynamics. He holds degrees from KU Leuven and Columbia University and is a certified Executive Coach. He is also a guest lecturer at KU Leuven FEB and co-author of Inside the Leader’s Mind (2017).

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