What does human evolution teach us about how we should lead teams in the 21st century? This talk takes a journey covering the last 2.5 million years (from a hunter-gather lifestyle to the creation of agriculture, to the industrial revolution) in order to understand the influences which still affect us today. It asks questions such as “Why are 30% of Fortune 500 CEOs so tall?” and “Can you tell a person’s job just by looking at their face?”. It also delves into the different strategies which chimpanzees use to become the alpha male and considers whether any of them would be useful in the human world. After this talk people will understand: • what we can learn from chimpanzee alpha males • the unexpected influences which human evolution has on our choice of leaders • why evolutionary influences cause problems in today’s work place • the importance of followers rather than leaders • how to give followers what they want Presentation given at NDC Oslo 2016.

1. Agile
Leadership
Louise Elliott
@IvanaTerrorBull
#NDCOslo 2016

8. 7
50

9. 7
50
150
7

10. 7
150
7
7
7
7
Symantec in the Pacific

11. 2,500,000 Years

12. Semi nomadic hunter gathers
leadership fluid

13. Semi nomadic hunter gathers
leadership fluid

14. 2,500,000 Years
Last 13,000 Years
(~0.5%)

15. 13,000 Years

16. Time of Surplus and Growth

17. Time of Surplus and Growth

18. Time of Surplus and Growth

19. Time of Surplus and Growth

20. Time of Surplus and Growth

21. Time of Surplus and Growth

22. Last 250 Years
(~2%)
13,000 Years

23. 250 Years

24. (Antonakis & Dalgas, 2009)

25. (Olivola et al., 2014)

27. Workplace Leadership

28. Workplace Leadership

29. “Leadership is lifting a
person’s vision to higher
sights, the raising of a
person’s performance
to a higher standard,
the building of a
personality beyond its
normal limitations.”
Peter F. Drucker

31. Effective Line Manager…
•Treats employees with respect
•Clearly communicates goals and assignments
•Is open and honest
•Helps remove impediments
•Positively manages poor performance

32. Effective High Level Manager…
•Respects and values the employees
•Inspires employees to give their best
•Makes rational decisions for the long term
•Communicates a clear and compelling vision
•Is flexible in their approach to new situations

33. “Soldiers should
fear their officers
more than the
enemy.”
Frederick the Great

34. “At home as
abroad, I reign
only through the
fear I inspire.”
Napoleon

35. “It is more
dangerous for a
soldier to desert
the Red Army
than to serve in
combat.”
Stalin

36. “Rank doesn’t
confer privilege
or give power. It
imposes
responsibility.”
Peter F. Drucker

40. “The leaders who work most effectively it seems to
me, never... think ‘I’. They think ‘we’; they think ‘team’.
... They accept responsibility and don’t
sidestep it, but ‘we’ gets the credit.
This is what creates trust”
Peter F. Drucker

41. @IvanaTerrorBull
Louise Elliott
linkedin.com/in/louiseelliott