This is the (slightly unexpected) seventh of a series of short posts based on feedback to an earlier article about the changing face of leadership.
Here we look at a few of the ways in which people tried to directly answer the original question: in a world where change is ubiquitous, does our concept of leadership also need to change?
“The world has changed meteorically. Those who have not changed or positioned themselves well will go the way of the dinosaurs!”
There was a broad consensus that the ‘old way’ of doing leadership was not going to cut it going forward:
“Past leadership focused on immediate problems, traditional solutions, and managing pressures at some form of coalface – with an ideal of predicting/creating outcomes within a well-defined yet restricted scenario. Future leadership can have no such luxury as hard boundaries.”
“One key is to rule less like a tyrant and to encourage managers and employees to tap their own creativity, to think and act like owners. The best ideas are unlikely to come from the few at the top or outside consultants.”
“Now more than ever we need to listen to the younger generation of future leaders and act on their needs, vision and expectations for the future of work.”
“The reality is the old style of focusing purely on results and a lack of care for your people is being replaced by a long-term, purpose-driven vision.”
Encouragingly, there were also numerous voices calling for purpose and values to be central to modern leadership:
“When leaders build decisions on values then a greater future will emerge: real leadership – competent, complete, far-sighted – rather than the insecure leadership of the superficial and short-term.”
“When leaders correctly address higher order values for humanity then we have true leadership.”
If you’d like to add your voice to this and many other conversations, please join me in the LinkedIn Group ‘Leadership in a Changing World’.
Photo by Linus Nylund on Unsplash