{
  "id": 7816846,
  "title": "Too Many Leaders, Too Little Purpose | Opinion",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/too-many-leaders-too-little-purpose-opinion",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-16T15:27:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/too-many-leaders-too-little-purpose-opinion-12448791"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the leadership realm, there's been an emphasis on influence rather than purpose. With a plethora of executives and founders, influence seems abundant, yet the question remains: for what purpose? Despite the abundance of influence, a significant portion of employees lack engagement, which results in a global productivity loss of $10 trillion. Manager engagement has also decreased, raising concerns about the effectiveness of leadership. Numbers and external goals are crucial for organizations, but they should not overshadow internal purpose. AI's rapid advancement has made human leadership more crucial than ever. While AI can automate tasks and provide instant solutions, it cannot replace human judgment, decision-making, and ethical considerations. Purposeful leadership involves aligning internal purpose with external goals. A strong sense of purpose at work increases the likelihood of employee engagement by five times. Purpose has tangible consequences, such as clarity, responsibility, and action. Clear leadership helps identify the impact of decisions on employees, families, customers, and communities. Strong leaders actively engage with their teams, fostering open communication, addressing concerns, and recognizing the importance of information flow within the organization. The ripple effect of a leader's emotional state can impact the entire workplace. Leaders should reflect on whether their emotions are their own or projected onto others. A leadership culture driven by ego, metrics, and distance fosters managed individuals, while a purpose-driven culture creates trusted, confident, and connected individuals who feel empowered to make decisions and take risks. The question of leadership should shift from \"How successful can I become?\" to \"As a leader, how can I create natural success through self-motivated people?\" Executives and board members should consider both the goal and the purpose behind it, examining the potential consequences of their decisions on others. True leadership begins with the willingness to measure success not only by the organization's achievements but also by the growth and capabilities of the people being led.",
  "summary": "You have to know what you are trying to change before you can expect anyone else to move with you.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}