PEAK POWER LIST

AS THE CULT OF CHARISMA WANES, THE SPOTLIGHT SWINGS TO LOW-KEY LEADERSHIP.

- RACHEL GENEVIEVE

THE POWER OF QUIET

Once upon a time, when it seemed brash CEOs could do no wrong, confident, vocal personas were the gold standard for leadership.

But recent times have been less kind to this breed. “Frequently, the most egotistical person is chosen as the leader of an organisation,” is the biting citation a 2022 paper in Scientific Reports proffers of findings that the higher an executive’s charisma and presentation ratings, the greater their psychopathic traits.

Prolific personalities Trump and Musk are two names most associated with loud leadership. So imagine their antithesis: Quiet power, where head honchos bend buried in the doing of the work.

“The wielding of quiet power entails getting support and respect from others behind the scenes, through actions rather than words”, says Andy Yap, academic director of INSEAD’s Centre for Organisational Research.

HUSH NOW

Gran’s favourite adage has taken on new significance in an attention-saturated world where loudness is losing its lustre.

“The best leaders are introverts who possess a quiet power,” declares a Harvard course launched as recently as last year, promising to unlock tranquil captaincy in the corporate world.

Meanwhile, research on Singapore leaders finds humility indivisible from approval. Modest leaders aspire not to be important or praiseworthy, conclude the paper’s authors, citing survey responses that found leaders humble if they championed collective good. This is not particularly surprising, they say, “given that Singapore is a highly collectivist society”.