Public leaders need empathy and humility not heroism - Livechat

In the wake of the party conference season there are renewed questions over whether any party has what it takes to address the big issues of growth, the cost of living and education standards. A new report , Anti Hero, from a group of organisations including the RSA and the Clore social leadership programme has found that our leaders do not have what it takes to meet today's big issues, such as numeracy and literacy in young people.

Matthew Taylor, CEO of the RSA, says: "We have systems of government and business where the skills to get to the top are not always the skills best suited to solving the big problems we face. This has to change".

Anti Hero found that the top five leadership characteristics that are overvalued are control, charisma, power, financial skills and expertise, while the five undervalued skills include collaboration, humility, listening, empathy and integrity.

The Anti Hero report comes hot on the heals of the Dame Mary Marsh review of social sector skills which found that there are big skills gaps in the UK's social sector. Marsh said: "We need more leaders with much greater self-awareness who are committed to their own development throughout their leadership journeys."

The report's author Richard Wilson says: "We now understand some of the root causes of the 2008 crash and the grid-lock over issues like climate change. Put simply we are breeding the wrong kind of leader for today's complex world. But there is hope. We have identified a small band of very different leaders - 'anti-heroes', who lead in a very different way and are having a remarkable, though often hidden impact".

Our livechat will debate:

How people can become better leaders and what they need to prioritise

Examples of leaders who stand out for doing things well

The signs of bad leadership, and the barriers to anti-heroic leadership

Is this a particularly British problem? What can we learn from leaders in other countries?

Check out the Anti Hero video for more information about the project.

To be considered for the expert panel contact: tamsin.rutter@theguardian.com

Expert panel

Richard Wilson is the director of Osca and author of the report, Anti Hero.

Lynne Sedgemore is the executive director of 157 Group, and a former CEO at CEL and government advisor on policy relating to the further education sector.

Roger Mendonca is the chief operating officer at the West Northamptonshire development corporation and associate programme director for the new Cavendish Executive Education Series at the Civil Service College. He is undertaking doctoral research at the Liverpool Business School into how an understanding of story character roles can help leaders in the public sector to more effectively deliver change.

Ines Wichert is a chartered psychologist and author of Where have all the senior women gone?

Sol Davidson is a developmental psychologist with 25 years experience coaching executives in post conventional or anti-heroic ways of leading.

Tom Andrews is CEO of People United, is a creative arts organisation which recently produced a research paper on the science behind kindness.

Petra Wilton is the director of strategy and external affairs for the Chartered Management Institute.

Professor Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe is professor of leadership at Bradford School of Management and emeritus professor at Leeds University. She is the founding director of Real World Group.

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