Leadership at Human Speed: The Case for Going Analog

⏰ If you only read one thing read this: Leadership theory evolves in response to crisis. Today, technological acceleration and political fragmentation create crises of ethics and morality that existing models cannot fully address. Analog Leadership offers not just another style, but a necessary framework for re-grounding leaders at human speed in an era defined by digital overwhelm.

Photo credit: Matthew Kurkjian

✏️ The Emerging Need For Analog Leaders

Today, two forces are reshaping leadership in ways we can’t ignore: technological acceleration and political fragmentation. Bennett and Lemoine (2014) call this “VUCA 2.0”—volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity amplified by the speed of digital systems. Artificial intelligence and algorithms now move faster than human decision cycles, creating ethical blind spots in real time (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2017). At the same time, political polarization makes leadership harder, as leaders are asked to provide moral clarity in environments where even the idea of truth is contested.

This is where John Maeda’s definition of a digital/analog leader becomes useful. Maeda (2009) describes digital leaders as those who value speed, scale, and efficiency—qualities that technology excels at. Analog leaders, on the other hand, value qualities that are slower, more human, and harder to measure: trust, relationships, and ethical clarity. His framing reminds us that while digital skills are important, they cannot replace the uniquely human work of leadership.

Building on this distinction, Gilli, Lettner, and Güttel (2023) put the question to the test in a global study. They asked executives, researchers, and practitioners whether the future of leadership would depend more on mastering new digital skills or doubling down on what they call “analog virtues.” The results were striking. As organizations became more digital, their reliance on human-centered leadership actually increased. Skills like creativity, intuition, flexibility, moral judgment, and relational intelligence proved indispensable. Algorithms could process faster, but they couldn’t mediate conflict. Platforms could scale information, but they couldn’t scale human trust.

In short, the faster the digital environment, the more analog the leadership needs to be. And that echoes what many of us already sense intuitively: in times of radical technological change, leadership strategies based on our shared humanity stand out more than ever.

⚓ Anchor It in Action
Pick one leadership decision you’re facing this week and approach it in a deliberately analog way. Gather your team in person, sketch the problem on a whiteboard instead of a slide deck, or hold a walking meeting instead of a Zoom call. Pay attention to what shifts.

📚 References & Suggested Reading

• Maeda, J. (2009). Being a digital/analog leader. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2009/09/being-a-digitalanalog-leader

• Gilli, K., Lettner, N., & Güttel, W. H. (2023). The future of leadership: New digital skills or old analog virtues? Journal of Business Strategy. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367620023_The_future_of_leadership_new_digital_skills_or_old_analog_virtues

• Bennis, W. G., & Thomas, R. J. (2002). Geeks and geezers: How era, values, and defining moments shape leaders. Harvard Business School Press.

• Bennett, N., & Lemoine, J. (2014). What a difference a word makes: Understanding threats to performance in a VUCA world. Business Horizons, 57(3), 311–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2014.01.001

• Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2017). Machine, platform, crowd: Harnessing our digital future. W.W. Norton & Company.