'Collaborate with ‘the enemy'

Many leaders are plagued by an inability, or lack of courage, to embrace the other. Consider as an experiment that, to fill a position on an executive team, two candidates, both with impressive résumés, remain on the shortlist. There is a final meeting to make the decision.
I simplify. Candidate one is a delight of familiarity: you share a similar education, the same hobbies, even wear the same shoes—two peas in a pod. Your impression is that it would be easy to move forward with this person. Candidate two, however, starts off with criticism based on a previous interview you did. She or he disagrees with your views, has a strong belief that the future will look quite different, and immediately sparks debate and friction. Just the thought of him or her in the office makes your hair stand on end.
Who can honestly say that candidate two would be the natural choice? This is understandable. Yet those who do not invite the other or other voices surround themselves with like-minded individuals, which weakens the checks and balances in the team. Worse still, might only when it is too late realize that circumstances are changing and that a new and different approach is needed to effectively serve the environment and society. An approach which does not necessarily fit within current models and rules. It would be unwise to think this adjustment only lies in the future, while engaging with that other, and really listening to him or her, is arduous and time-consuming now. Also, truths are tested, which is uncomfortable.
The other of course also represents the others, the arena we call society, a community yearning for broad-based prosperity and well-being. True leaders do not limit their attention to the obvious stakeholders such as consumers, employees, and shareholders, but also invite to participate those who are often still perceived as the enemy or a hindrance: governments, unions, NGOs, and, of course, competitors. Looking the other/the enemy in the eye and realizing that they, too, are citizens, people, parents who share similar concerns about the world, the climate, and the growing gap between rich and poor builds the crucial trust needed to develop new momentum, agreements, and calculations.
A true leader is concerned about the needs of the future, understands that his or her truth will, in time, fall short and invites the other to stand alongside them, every day anew.

Jeroen Smit is an investigative journalist and author. This column is an updated version of his presentation at the ‘Discomfort in the Boardroom’ sessions, where directors and supervisory directors, academics and educators co-create their way toward a ‘humane’ governance practice. Discomfort in the Boardroom has been succeeded by the ‘Enhanced Governance’ project and takes place at Nyenrode Business University.