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At Nous, we believe in the sustaining power of great organisational leadership. Over the past two years, we have launched the Nous Leadership Way (NLW), a leadership model and development program that articulates the core principles of effective leadership at Nous. Developing NLW has prompted Managing Principal and CEO Tim Orton to think more broadly about the challenges of great leadership, the attributes of great leaders, and how we think about these at Nous.
Most people with experience in a professional workplace have, at some point, come across a leadership model – often presented in a compelling diagram. The model typically comprises a series of traits, practices, behaviours, goals and capabilities that leaders should embody or aspire to.
The trouble with many leadership models (as with any simple framework designed to be action-guiding in a complex reality) is that they generally contain a bunch of unambiguously good concepts that no one would dispute the importance of. Case in point: consider that the 'RICE Values' – respect, integrity, communication and excellence – was the moral mantra of Enron!
Often, the challenge for leaders – especially in dynamic operational environments characteristic of the modern world of work – lies in navigating trade-offs, in choosing which leadership attributes and approaches to embody at different times. This challenge is particularly acute in purpose-driven businesses, like Nous, which exist both to make profit and serve the public interest.
How do you manage these difficult choices? While not perfect, a foundational philosophy – well-defined and explicitly articulated – can provide a moral and intellectual framework that helps leaders make difficult decisions with confidence.
An underpinning philosophy is also valuable because leadership is, by definition, an interpersonal phenomenon. The expectations we set for leaders and articulate in a leadership model should reflect how we can reasonably expect to be treated by others in the day-to-day trenches of professional life.
How do you decide which philosophy is right for your organisation?
Choosing the appropriate leadership philosophy for your organisation is obviously not a one-size-fits-all endeavour. It will depend on the nature of your business, its culture, its operating model and its customers (among many other factors).
I’ve worked with a number of government departments whose leadership needed to be underpinned by Stoicism, with its capacity to absorb the vicissitudes of economies, societies and their political masters. Perhaps Stoicism would also be most appropriate for mining and agricultural companies to endure their wild swings in markets. In contrast, health care businesses might be underpinned by a combination of Humanism with its respect for individual dignity and Utilitarianism to best manage scare resources in a system of endless demand.
What’s crucial is that this underpinning philosophy is made explicit – and stated simply – throughout the organisation. Without a clear and articulated foundation, leadership models risk becoming merely words on a page. By explicitly defining your leadership philosophy, you provide a moral and intellectual framework that can help leaders navigate complex decisions, align their actions with the overarching goals and values of the organisation, and explain their actions to their colleagues.
At Nous, we blend two philosophies
At Nous, our leadership philosophy is a blend of liberalism and communitarianism – perhaps an unusual mix. After all, liberalism prioritises individual freedoms and autonomy and seeks to create the space for individuals to thrive. By contrast, communitarianism emphasises the importance of community, shared values and the collective good. At first glance, they seem like oil and water.
But we understand leadership both as a set of ideas for individuals to embody and as an organising system for our business. Thus, our leadership model and development program sets out expectations that Nous has of individual leaders, but also of how they should work together as a collective. An emphasis on individuality seeks to promote responsibility of our leaders who we trust to act with autonomy and integrity. An emphasis on how our leaders work together recognises that we are also a professional community, aligned in our commitment to positive influence, dedicated to mutual support, and committed to working together to deliver great outcomes for our clients.
This dual ethos is reflected in the expectation that our leaders collaborate broadly across the business – with Nousers from different offices and at all levels of seniority – and that they do not ‘own’ resources (as is common in professional services firms). It is also reflected in our networked organisational form which gives Nousers the freedom to form connections around common interests in a range of ways with little organisational friction.
Giving our leaders enough space and agency to feel empowered while maintaining alignment around the goals of the collective is a constant balancing act for our business. Making this explicit in our leadership model and development program ensures that our leaders understand and bring their best to this balancing act.
Get in touch to discuss your leadership philosophy and how you can make it work for your organisation.
Connect with Tim Orton on LinkedIn.
This is the first article in Tim Orton's 'Exploring Great Leadership' series. It was originally posted on LinkedIn on 4 March 2025.
