Greetings from the ideological trenches: why diversity is a wrong turn

Greetings from the ideological trenches: why diversity is a wrong turn

When I follow today’s debate about the energy transition, they become clearly visible again: the trenches! Led by politicians, debates are often shaped by ideology. Electric motor advocates demonise combustion engines, rail is supposed to put aviation out of business as the only transport mode with a future, and vice versa. Such black-and-white debates apparently belong to politics. This article is not an invitation into political debate, because idealism is a poor adviser when solving problems in complex systems.

What applies to politics certainly applies to business too. I am amazed by the ideological debates among executives and consultants: “traditional project management” is demonised, “waterfall” ridiculed, and agility praised as the new ideal. Management seems to have gone out of fashion, with visionary, inspiring leadership alone now presented as the solution to running organisations. Hierarchies are considered obsolete; the future supposedly belongs to self-organising teams without hierarchies. Old-fashioned “dashboard management” is rejected, and metrics dismissed as an illusion of control. Calls go out to abolish all metrics and dashboards and be guided solely by vision and inspiration. At the same time, older executives are broadly portrayed as outdated and driven out of leadership. The list could go on.

This platform, too, seems to be a breeding ground and multiplier for ideological debates, far removed from operational reality and often conducted in a bubble of privilege.

To me, it resembles a cry for help in an increasingly complex world, with a cure-all sought at the extremes. Meanwhile, people quickly order something from Amazon and the like, without considering the operational processes and sophisticated management—including dashboards and metrics—established behind the scenes to deliver the “same-day delivery” they expect.

Overlooked are the many less privileged people working in production plants, distribution centres and last-mile delivery, enabling the privileged to spread their ideological views about good and bad leadership on LinkedIn from offices or home offices in stylish period apartments.

The need for a pragmatic approach

As with the energy and mobility transitions, I strongly advocate a healthy and, above all, pragmatic mix. Anyone who lacks the basics of traditional project management will not deliver success in agile projects either. Nor will anyone who cannot distinguish when and where traditional project management is more effective and when and where an agile approach is better.

Anyone who does not regularly scrutinise the few key figures on their operational dashboard and manage their company properly will not generate the profit margins needed to invest with vision and inspiration in new ideas that might, at best, become innovations.

Blanket condemnation of older executives in companies shows disrespect.

Conclusion: shades of grey instead of black-and-white thinking

Instead of hiding in ideological trenches, we should seek pragmatic solutions and value and encourage a diversity of opinions and approaches. Prefer “and” to “either/or”, and shades of grey to black and white.

In our complex world, we should avoid clinging to extreme positions and find a balance between different approaches. Ultimately, a combination of leadership and management, agility and traditional project management, metrics and visions is what makes us successful.

Leave a comment: how do you see it?