Why Leadership Matters in Hard Times – Dr. Barbara Kellerman

This episode of “The Business Talk” with Dr. Barbara Kellerman offered a rich, systems-level view of leadership and followership, connecting her decades of scholarship to today’s turbulent political and organizational realities. Drawing on her work on bad leadership, the erosion of traditional authority, and the growing power and responsibility of followers, she argued that leadership must always be understood as a relationship among leaders, followers, and context rather than as the traits or actions of individuals at the top. Using examples ranging from Donald Trump’s second term and the ongoing Middle East war to global gender gaps and rising leader turnover, she showed how empowered but restless followers, amplified by technology and social media, have made leadership simultaneously more visible, better paid, and profoundly more difficult. The conversation closed with her call to “professionalize” leadership through rigorous education, domain-specific training, and lifelong development, and with a powerful reminder that followers cannot wait for bad leaders to reform themselves -followers must recognize their own agency, voice, and responsibility in shaping what leadership becomes next. This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. For more information, please visit www.globalmanagementconsultancy.com. Disclaimer: A. The background music incorporated in this video is the intellectual property of its respective developer and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Notwithstanding that it is a free-to-use version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy, and Deepak Bhatt do not own, and expressly do not claim, any rights, title, or interest in or to this music. B. Dr. Barbara Kellerman shared insightful perspectives from her acclaimed book, ‘Hard Times Leadership in America’, during her engaging conversation on the Business Talk podcast. The uploaded video contains copyrighted content, so changing any graphics, music, or on-screen appearance of the author or host is not allowed.