In Conversation With Lucy Shaw
As the Programme Director of the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme at Saïd Business School, Lucy Shaw stands at the forefront of shaping tomorrow's leaders. Our founder Clara Gaggero Westaway has been fortunate enough to teach the design thinking element of the programme since 2015.
With a career spanning cultural entrepreneurship and academic leadership, Lucy offers a fresh perspective on what it takes to lead in today's dynamic environment.
We sat down with Lucy to hear her insights on the transformative power of design thinking in leadership and explore how the Oxford programme is equipping leaders to navigate the challenges of our time with creativity, empathy, and vision.
In this conversation, we explore Lucy's vision for leadership in the 21st century, the transformative power of creativity in decision-making, and how the Oxford programme is equipping leaders to turn challenges into opportunities.
How has the concept of strategic leadership evolved over the years?
The concept of strategic leadership has evolved significantly, transforming from a primarily military and political concept to a crucial aspect of business management and leadership. Strategic management as an academic discipline originated in the 1950s and 1960s, but it has its roots back in the classical world. Before the 1960’s the term "strategy" was used mainly in the context of war and politics, and was not associated with growing or running organisations.
The change came in the 1960s after the Ford Foundation in the USA recommended that business schools should look to bring together thinking and knowledge across different business fields, emphasising critical thinking skills. The 1980s saw strategic management firmly established as a field of study, which corresponds. Interestingly, the history of business education in Oxford maps directly onto this timeline with the foundation of the Oxford Centre for Management Studies in 1965, which developed into a School of Management at Green Templeton College in the 1980s, which in turn emerged as the Saïd Business School in the 1990s.
And today, strategic leadership is seen as a distinct field of study, research and understanding that connects strategic management and leadership. But the concept has moved from earlier ideas of command and control through to an emphasis on adaptability, innovation, and the ability to face uncertainty and complexity, as exemplified by the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme which I am Programme Director for.
What role does design play in modern leadership?
Strategic leaders are now expected to balance immediate goals with a clear vision for the future, drive innovation, and build a culture that supports growth but despite its recognised importance, a 2015 PwC study found that only 8% of senior executives could be classified as strategic leaders which just highlights the ongoing challenge and opportunity for organisations to develop strategic leadership capabilities.
This is where design thinking has emerged as a powerful tool for leaders to drive innovation and create value. Its human-centred approach emphasises empathy, creativity, and iterative problem-solving – the key skills and capabilities recognised as essential for great leadership. By adopting design thinking principles, leaders can focus on user needs, consciously foster collaboration, embrace experimentation and become comfortable with being more adaptive in their approaches – much needed for navigating uncertainty and complexity more effectively.
With a career spanning cultural entrepreneurship and academic leadership, Lucy offers a fresh perspective on what it takes to lead in today's dynamic environment.
We sat down with Lucy to hear her insights on the transformative power of design thinking in leadership and explore how the Oxford programme is equipping leaders to navigate the challenges of our time with creativity, empathy, and vision.
In this conversation, we explore Lucy's vision for leadership in the 21st century, the transformative power of creativity in decision-making, and how the Oxford programme is equipping leaders to turn challenges into opportunities.
The concept of strategic leadership has evolved significantly, transforming from a primarily military and political concept to a crucial aspect of business management and leadership. Strategic management as an academic discipline originated in the 1950s and 1960s, but it has its roots back in the classical world. Before the 1960’s the term "strategy" was used mainly in the context of war and politics, and was not associated with growing or running organisations.
The change came in the 1960s after the Ford Foundation in the USA recommended that business schools should look to bring together thinking and knowledge across different business fields, emphasising critical thinking skills. The 1980s saw strategic management firmly established as a field of study, which corresponds. Interestingly, the history of business education in Oxford maps directly onto this timeline with the foundation of the Oxford Centre for Management Studies in 1965, which developed into a School of Management at Green Templeton College in the 1980s, which in turn emerged as the Saïd Business School in the 1990s.
And today, strategic leadership is seen as a distinct field of study, research and understanding that connects strategic management and leadership. But the concept has moved from earlier ideas of command and control through to an emphasis on adaptability, innovation, and the ability to face uncertainty and complexity, as exemplified by the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme which I am Programme Director for.
Strategic leaders are now expected to balance immediate goals with a clear vision for the future, drive innovation, and build a culture that supports growth but despite its recognised importance, a 2015 PwC study found that only 8% of senior executives could be classified as strategic leaders which just highlights the ongoing challenge and opportunity for organisations to develop strategic leadership capabilities.
This is where design thinking has emerged as a powerful tool for leaders to drive innovation and create value. Its human-centred approach emphasises empathy, creativity, and iterative problem-solving – the key skills and capabilities recognised as essential for great leadership. By adopting design thinking principles, leaders can focus on user needs, consciously foster collaboration, embrace experimentation and become comfortable with being more adaptive in their approaches – much needed for navigating uncertainty and complexity more effectively.
Leaders who embrace design thinking differ significantly from traditional leaders in their approach to problem-solving, decision-making, and organisational culture. Design thinking leaders adopt a human-centred approach, focusing on user needs and experiences, while viewing positively experimentation and viewing failure as important learning opportunities. They encourage collaborative input, use prototyping to validate ideas, and make decisions based on user feedback, which fosters trust through an inclusive and more open approach. These leaders build organisational or team cultures of innovation, creativity, and continuous learning, promoting cross-functional collaboration and empowering employees to take risks. All much needed to navigate today's complex business environment.
In contrast, traditional leaders often prioritise efficiency and cost-savings, preferring quick convergence on solutions, relying more on top-down decision-making, and maintaining rigid hierarchies. They are more likely to be less tolerant of risk-taking and unconventional ideas, focusing on metrics and established procedures.
We foster innovation through a combination of experiential learning, academic rigor, and transformative teaching. Our approach challenges participants' assumptions and encourages creative thinking about leadership issues, aiming to shape effective senior leaders from across the globe, who can tackle complex challenges in their organisations. We don’t offer solutions and playbooks, instead, we offer new lenses for participants to look through, and help them find the questions they need to ask of themselves, their people and their organisations to create transformation and new ways of working. By bringing together senior executives from diverse sectors and countries, the programme creates a rich peer learning environment that offers new perspectives.
If a leader could make one change today to improve their innovation strategy, I would suggest empowering employees to have the opportunity to think about and pursue new ideas on a regular basis – to build it into their working week, and into team meetings and collaborations. For example, 3M's gives employees 15% of their time for "constructive daydreaming" – what a wonderful idea, for building creativity and the business and of course, loyalty. Leaders need to seriously think about how they can create safe spaces for sharing ideas, as well as providing the resources required for exploration and development. And of course, they need to recognise both successful innovations and valuable attempts. Real and long-term change requires an organisational culture that encourages risk-taking and learning from failure. Leaders should also be looking at how they can promote cross-functional collaboration, encouraging employees to work across departments and silos.
—
"I think sometimes there is a misconception that design thinking is only for startups or simple problems when, in truth, it can be effectively utilised by organisations of all sizes to address complex challenges and foster a culture of innovation."
Lucy Shaw
Programme Director of the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme at Saïd Business School
—
What are some common misconceptions about design thinking in leadership?
That design thinking is only applicable to technology or product innovation – this just isn’t the case, as we show on our programme thanks to Special Project’s brilliant session. You cleverly show how this approach can be applied to any challenge across various business functions, from sales and customer service to organisational processes.
Another misconception is that design thinking encourages failure. Whilst it does promote early, low-stakes experimentation, the ultimate goal is to reduce the risk of failure when implementing final solutions. The methodology is flexible and can be implemented anywhere, focusing on real-world customer interactions rather than isolated environments.
It’s also not just about aesthetics or brainstorming but offers a comprehensive problem-solving approach that considers user needs, practical application, and iterative improvement.
Finally, I think sometimes there is a misconception that design thinking is only for startups or simple problems when, in truth, it can be effectively utilised by organisations of all sizes to address complex challenges and foster a culture of innovation.
What future trends do you foresee in strategic leadership?
A key trend, which is happening right now, but which is likely to become more heightened in the future is the need for adaptive leadership approach – a concept for leadership not new in itself, but one ever more relevant with leaders needing to navigate rapidly changing environments and technological disruptions. Leaders will need to be more agile, embracing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence whilst also fostering innovation and creativity within their teams for example. Another crucial trend is of course the rise of remote and hybrid leadership skills. As flexible work arrangements become the norm, leaders will need to be confident at managing distributed teams, leveraging digital tools for collaboration, and maintaining strong organisational cultures across virtual spaces. There's also a growing focus on purpose-driven, empathetic leadership with leaders expected to align organisational goals with broader societal and environmental concerns – we see this growing in importance in the conversations our participants are having during the course of their week in Oxford with us.
Lucy Shaw
Programme Director of the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme at Saïd Business School
—
That design thinking is only applicable to technology or product innovation – this just isn’t the case, as we show on our programme thanks to Special Project’s brilliant session. You cleverly show how this approach can be applied to any challenge across various business functions, from sales and customer service to organisational processes.
Another misconception is that design thinking encourages failure. Whilst it does promote early, low-stakes experimentation, the ultimate goal is to reduce the risk of failure when implementing final solutions. The methodology is flexible and can be implemented anywhere, focusing on real-world customer interactions rather than isolated environments.
It’s also not just about aesthetics or brainstorming but offers a comprehensive problem-solving approach that considers user needs, practical application, and iterative improvement.
Finally, I think sometimes there is a misconception that design thinking is only for startups or simple problems when, in truth, it can be effectively utilised by organisations of all sizes to address complex challenges and foster a culture of innovation.
A key trend, which is happening right now, but which is likely to become more heightened in the future is the need for adaptive leadership approach – a concept for leadership not new in itself, but one ever more relevant with leaders needing to navigate rapidly changing environments and technological disruptions. Leaders will need to be more agile, embracing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence whilst also fostering innovation and creativity within their teams for example. Another crucial trend is of course the rise of remote and hybrid leadership skills. As flexible work arrangements become the norm, leaders will need to be confident at managing distributed teams, leveraging digital tools for collaboration, and maintaining strong organisational cultures across virtual spaces. There's also a growing focus on purpose-driven, empathetic leadership with leaders expected to align organisational goals with broader societal and environmental concerns – we see this growing in importance in the conversations our participants are having during the course of their week in Oxford with us.
More articles
