Like everyone else I have also had several leaders during the course of my career…I have also picked up several of my good management practices from some very dynamic and motivating leaders… However, management practices as we know today is only about 100 years old …
For the most part of those 100 years, leaders have been taught that
- Control
- Consistency,
- Closure
are the principles of great business leadership.
This has worked because products, markets, and customer sets have remained relatively similar over time and could be navigated actively by making good business plans and managing them through the PDCA method …
- Plan,
- Do,
- Check,
- and Act.
But these are no longer enough to succeed in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world where dynamics of the business are changing at a rapid pace…
For leaders to succeed in the future of work, they must
- Anticipate: Be able to anticipate the changing environment to stay ahead in the race
- Drive: Energize people by fostering a sense of purpose; manage the mental and physical energy of themselves and others; nurture a positive environment to keep people hopeful, optimistic, and intrinsically motivated.
- Accelerate: Manage the flow of knowledge to produce constant innovation and desired business outcomes;
- Partner: Connect and form partnerships across increasingly permeable, functional and organizational boundaries.
- Trust: Form a new relationship between the organization and the individual that centers on mutual growth.
- Be Agile,
- Embrace the new Digital and
- Adapt his/her leadership style. The nature of leadership is evolving. We are moving from authority to trust; from hierarchy to networking; from decision-making to inspiration; and from power to self-awareness. He/she needs to promote inclusive leadership.
- Think big picture and be able to get out of your comfort zone and think beyond conventional frameworks.
- Innovate. For a company to differentiate itself from the competition, its Leader must be able to innovate on all dimensions all the time.
- Embrace diversity. Different minds are better than more of the same. Leaders that are able to leverage the best talents, wherever they are, for different perspectives. This means not just diversity of genders and nationalities, but things like diversity of experiences, generations, and opinions.
- Communicate, communicate, and communicate. Have multiple modes and styles for better global communication, and ensure that they act with a global mindset.
- Be a brand – Personal Image Leaders are role models who set an example for the standards of professionalism within an organization. They should present themselves as a leader, which means wearing appropriate attire, following code of conduct guidelines, maintaining composure when confronted with difficult situations and representing the organization in the community with poise and self-assurance.
- Be known for their Integrity – which has always been a key component of leadership and will continue to do so.
- Open-Mindedness – An open-minded, curious leader can spur others to be inquisitive and innovative in their thinking. In my experience, leaders who are receptive to other viewpoints and show interest in what others have to say can inspire creativity, which, in turn, can help generate fresh ideas and approaches to doing business.
- Discerning Thinking – It’s natural to find meaning based on your perceptions, assumptions and interpretations, but try to distinguish and separate facts from opinions is what differentiates a leader.
- Creating a Sense of Community-. Leaders who can create an environment in which employees feel valued, respected and as if they are contributing in a meaningful way help to create a stronger sense of community.
Further, in today’s fast evolving , dynamic and connected world leadership is no longer restricted to the top leadership of a company but leadership is at all levels across the company where decisions have to be taken and its these decisions that can make or break the company.
So, in my opinion the faster companies evolve these leadership skills across all levels the more chances it has to grow and thrive in the coming years.
