I have attended countless workshops on leadership. Years ago the "experts" would for the most part be talking about leadership at the top.
In my executive coaching programs with executives today, a great deal of the conversations revolve around the need for leaders to be inspiring and flexible. Leaders need to be developed at all levels of the organization.
What competencies do you see being necessary for leadership in your organization in the future?
Leadership in the Future
Writing about leadership in the future, Harlan Cleveland goes so far as to say that leadership will be so shared that there will be Nobody in Charge (John Wiley & Sons, 2002). He reasons that now, and even more so in the future:
1. Systems are so complex that no one can truly be in charge of anything significant.
2. The more people are involved in a decision, the better the chance it will be implemented.
3. Looser organizational forms are superior to controlled forms.
4. Planning must be fluid and subject to change.
5. Information must be shared rather than hoarded.
Cleveland suggests four extraordinary traits of the leader of the future:
1. Physical energy: Being able to work long hours and do a lot of homework. Today’s leader cannot afford to be insulated from new, challenging or different ideas.
2. Consensus management: Decision makers must consult or even bargain with the people who will carry out their orders. In reality, many interest groups are involved in any given real-work issue, and often the decisions need to be negotiated. Being able to lead distinct groups toward a consensus is a critical leadership skill.
3. Exhilaration of choice: A large array of choices will exhilarate, not depress an effective executive, who should be able to accept complex social management with relish.
4. Joy of motion: Good executives steer more than they drive. The momentum is already there and the executive’s job is to guide it with a sensitive touch.
The leader of the future will need an integrative mind. Leaders must be comfortable working under high levels of uncertainty and near-chaos. He or she must be able to accept a leadership role without hierarchical authority. This leader will be able to take various elements of a changing world and blend them together to make sense for others. By offering this vision, the leader will be able to get people working together on a common objective. That is what being a leader is about. (Cleveland, Harlan, Nobody in Charge, John Wiley & Sons, 2002).
What do you see as the most important priority/qualities for effective leadership in the future?
Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the BarOn EQi and CPI 260 can help you become a more inspiring and visionary leader. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.
In my executive coaching programs with executives today, a great deal of the conversations revolve around the need for leaders to be inspiring and flexible. Leaders need to be developed at all levels of the organization.
What competencies do you see being necessary for leadership in your organization in the future?
Leadership in the Future
Writing about leadership in the future, Harlan Cleveland goes so far as to say that leadership will be so shared that there will be Nobody in Charge (John Wiley & Sons, 2002). He reasons that now, and even more so in the future:
1. Systems are so complex that no one can truly be in charge of anything significant.
2. The more people are involved in a decision, the better the chance it will be implemented.
3. Looser organizational forms are superior to controlled forms.
4. Planning must be fluid and subject to change.
5. Information must be shared rather than hoarded.
Cleveland suggests four extraordinary traits of the leader of the future:
1. Physical energy: Being able to work long hours and do a lot of homework. Today’s leader cannot afford to be insulated from new, challenging or different ideas.
2. Consensus management: Decision makers must consult or even bargain with the people who will carry out their orders. In reality, many interest groups are involved in any given real-work issue, and often the decisions need to be negotiated. Being able to lead distinct groups toward a consensus is a critical leadership skill.
3. Exhilaration of choice: A large array of choices will exhilarate, not depress an effective executive, who should be able to accept complex social management with relish.
4. Joy of motion: Good executives steer more than they drive. The momentum is already there and the executive’s job is to guide it with a sensitive touch.
The leader of the future will need an integrative mind. Leaders must be comfortable working under high levels of uncertainty and near-chaos. He or she must be able to accept a leadership role without hierarchical authority. This leader will be able to take various elements of a changing world and blend them together to make sense for others. By offering this vision, the leader will be able to get people working together on a common objective. That is what being a leader is about. (Cleveland, Harlan, Nobody in Charge, John Wiley & Sons, 2002).
What do you see as the most important priority/qualities for effective leadership in the future?
Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the BarOn EQi and CPI 260 can help you become a more inspiring and visionary leader. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.
I think we all will need a trained integrative mind in future and, accordingly, should now change our approach to education and training to achieve this.
Posted by: Graham Douglas | May 27, 2008 at 04:07 PM
I think we will all need a trained integrative mind in future and, accordingly, should now fundamentally change our approach to education and training to achieve this.
Posted by: Graham Douglas | May 27, 2008 at 04:11 PM