Inflection:

A Roadmap for Leaders at a Crossroads

By Sharath Jeevanr

With continuing volatility and uncertainty across the globe, effective leadership is more crucial than ever. Today’s leaders find themselves navigating through unprecedented challenges, with the familiar pathways that once guided them no longer sufficient.  

After having to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis that followed, and the increasing power of generative technologies, many are questioning whether much of what they’ve been taught about leadership still applies. Inflection: A Roadmap for Leaders at a Crossroads, the new book by Sharath Jeevan OBE, provides them with much-needed answers on managing these inflection points. 

An acclaimed advisor, facilitator, and author, Sharath argues that preconceived models of leadership are out of date for the extraordinary times we’re living in. Instead, he delves into a different framing of leadership and explores the concept of ‘inflection moments’. 

These moments tend to be turning points not only in leadership but also in everyday life, when something profound changes within ourselves or in the external environment around us. These times create a special opportunity to lay the foundations for future success, redefine goals, and reflect on oneself. According to Sharath, the true indicator of effective leadership lies in identifying and capitalising on these pivotal moments to futureproof an organisation’s success. 

Using the watch analogy, the author explains his framework called DIAL consisting of four elements: daring a new direction (the hour hand), igniting potential within ourselves and others (the minute hand), aligning motivations of key stakeholders (the second hand), and learning to learn (the watch dial). Together, these provide leaders with the tools to navigate inflection moments and, by doing so, to ensure their success.