leadership in the 21st century essay

• How Leadership Develops Leaders Words: 3628
• The Key Academic Themes of 21st Century Leadership Words: 2501
• Leadership: Forms and Theories Words: 2487
• Effective Leadership Skills in Practice Words: 2709
• Psychology of Leadership Theories Words: 3025
• Leadership vs. Management: Distinctive Features Words: 4128
• The Leadership Experience and Personal Approach Words: 2859
• Leadership Styles: Then and Now Words: 1728
• Balance of Leadership Development Words: 1150
• The Concepts of Leadership and Management Words: 3908
• Leadership and Management Differences Words: 570
• Leadership and Management Importance in Organisations Words: 4020
• Organizational Leadership and Personal Qualities Words: 4011
• Organisations: Leadership and Management Role Words: 3856
• Leadership and Professional Development Words: 1365
• The Nature of Leadership Words: 1179
• Leadership Principles: Leading People and Organizations Words: 1467
• Confusion of Leadership With Management Words: 2116
• Transformational Leadership and Management Words: 3861
• Leadership and Management: Discrimination in the Workplace Words: 1317
• The Role of Leader and Leadership in the Organization Words: 824
• Leadership in Different Spheres of Life Words: 564
• Leadership Skills Development: Strategic Plan Words: 1123
• The Most Critical Leadership Competencies Words: 1092
• Leadership Styles Analysis and Comparison Words: 940

Leadership in the 21st Century

Introduction, key competencies for 21st century leaders, modern and classical leadership capabilities, causes of changes to leadership competencies, critical analysis of the academic research.

Bibliography

Leadership is one of the primary skills that every entrepreneur and manager is obliged to develop for an appropriate organisation of one’s business and other processes that might be related to teamwork. Leaders also must have professional skills in scheduling, time management, allocation of resources, and delegating responsibilities among their auxiliaries. Various traditions and standards of high-quality management have been significantly changing within the last thirty to forty years. Such a rapid development in the given sphere is caused by technological progress, various helpful devices, and machines that replace people and their workforce.

Therefore, leadership in the twenty-first century does not have much in common with the same occupation several decades ago. Many people who were involved in leadership for an extended period had particular difficulties with adaptation to modern standards. This topic is essential in the contemporary community as almost every person strives to become the best at one’s profession. To reach this goal, it is necessary to develop and learn leaders’ core competencies, behaviours, capabilities, and legal or moral rights. The following paper is intended to review and discuss the literature that focuses on the topic of leadership in the twenty-first century with the help of credible and academic sources, which will give an ability to conduct the most accurate analysis to evaluate the subject mentioned above.

Leadership plays a significant role in every company that exists in the twenty-first century. Therefore, it is essential for employees to comprehend the core competencies for modern leaders (Noumair et al., 2013, p.36). It would be proper to mention that managers of any firm are responsible for all the work performed by their team members and auxiliaries. Hence, the first necessary quality for contemporary leaders is the sense of responsibility for other people and their labour (Noumair et al., 2013, p.36). The following list enumerates all the necessary competencies that should be learned and engaged by modern leaders:

• Self-confidence. A person who occupies the position of a team leader must remain an example to one’s colleagues. Northouse (2016) claims that it is important to evaluate personal abilities accurately to demonstrate specific skills required by a certain industry to teach other employees properly.
• Charisma. This quality is highly appreciated and valued by people who surround their leaders on a daily basis (Goleman et al., 2016). An original approach to one’s work tasks and specific style of accomplishing regular missions altogether determine the level of person’s professionalism and creativity. Daft (2014) stresses that it is essential to remain independent of other people’s thoughts in various activities as such a philosophy might not give a worker ability to develop his or her personal comprehension of a particular job.
• Appearance. As modern people live in the age of knowledge, innovative technologies, and fashion, they should maintain an attractive appearance and follow all the primary hygiene rules on a daily basis. According to Antonakis and Day (2017), this minor effort makes other colleagues want to communicate with their leader. Also, clothing plays a significant role in various negotiations with partners or superiors as a person’s outfit gives other people a general understanding of their companion’s nature and lifestyle.
• Allocating resources. Usually, leaders are not limited to such resources as workforce, money, and time (Renz and Herman, 2016). However, a professional manager is able to use these things wisely and receive as much benefit as possible from a developed strategy. According to Komives and Wagner (2017), some people do not have enough experience to allocate resources available to them. As a result, they might fail to complete their tasks due to the absence of resources management skills.

Although the points mentioned above do not include all the key competencies that should be adopted by leaders in the twenty-first century, these are the basic requirements that must be considered and constantly practised by every leader (Shapiro and Stefkovich, 2016). Otherwise, the development of other professional skills and capabilities is unlikely to be successful. As it is possible to see, personal traits and habits are the most important elements in contemporary leadership (Klenke et al., 2016). Therefore, managers who are responsible for their working teams should have appropriate characters and other individual qualities that might help them in their professional activities.

It would be proper to mention that the great man theory of leadership that was widely used in the governments of different countries several centuries ago implies only one gender’s competence to perform appropriate leadership activities and practises. According to the classical themes of leadership, only males were wise and intelligent enough to be responsible for different groups of workers (Cashman, 2017). Unfortunately, some companies preferred to hire only men as leaders. Galloway et al. (2015) claim that the significant part of the world’s population did not trust women and thought that they were not able to make proper decisions. Although this theory’s ideas are disregarded in the modern world, the owners of some businesses do not let women occupy high positions in their companies.

Many businessmen, who experienced both classical and modern leadership models, noticed significant changes in their activities and responsibilities. For instance, Alex Ferguson (former manager of Manchester United FC) has experience of building a professional soccer team from the lowest starting position possible (Elberse, 2014). He inspired every player of his team to become stronger and better every day. Therefore, sir Ferguson’s leadership activity was based on high moral rules and individual values of every team member. Inspiration is another key competency of modern leaders.

It is necessary to mention that some CEOs (chief executive officers) that occupy this position in their companies for the first time, always try to focus on performing different leadership tasks properly (Webb et al., 2016). However, it is more important to implement certain actions that would be beneficial in particular situations. Leaders should aim at the appropriateness of their strategies, instead of their righteousness.

In general, leadership is a number of skills that are aimed at the productive organisation of a team or a working process. It manifests itself across different industries by implementing the same rules and strategies to different kinds of professional activities. The common thread of leadership found across industries implies personal values of managers and their contribution to work.

Before discussing the question of similarities among the capabilities of modern and classical leadership, it would be proper to outline several basic rules that should be followed by any person who remains in the head of a certain group of employees. The following list will enumerate all the qualities that should be considered by managers:

• Knowing and using personal advantages and disadvantages. Once a person knows his or her character’s good and bad sides, this individual is able to use one’s qualities appropriately (Ciulla, 2014). Sometimes, this ability is essential in such situations as important negotiations or accomplishing particular tasks.
• Discovering colleagues and partners. Every leader should understand people that he or she works with on a regular basis (Rock, 2013). When delegating missions and duties among colleagues, it is necessary to be aware of particular predispositions of these employees to implement efficient practises in the activities they are required to perform.
• Always remain a team. One of the fundamental leadership duties is an ability to maintain good relationships with every team member. According to Hackman and Johnson (2013), colleagues are obliged to help one another in tricky situations. Therefore, work in a team is much more appreciated than the demonstration of separate skills performed by every participant (Tannenbaum, 2013). Leaders are obliged to encourage their auxiliaries and colleagues to develop mutual understanding and contribute to the decision making process.
• Protecting one’s values and principles. As it is mentioned above, every leader must live and work according to his or her professional or personal values and principles. Parkay et al. (2014) state that this concentrates person’s attention on things that are important for one’s team members and individual benefits. Therefore, every decision should be built on these values.
• Creative approach to competitiveness. These two terms are interdependent as both of them force the development of each other (Western, 2013). For instance, creative leaders are more likely to deal with all the competition problems, whereas the success of other firms on the same market obligates managers to be creative.

Kron et al. (2016) claim that modern leadership competencies do not have many differences with classical rules that must be followed by professional managers. However, individuals who are responsible for particular groups of employees in the twenty-first century should know all the contemporary standards of their profession (Buck, 2014). As there are many technologies and management theories intended to help leaders in their everyday activities, they should always practise and undergo different qualification courses. Bennis (2015) says that maintaining such a lifestyle makes these people competitive and their work more efficient.

However, Jaques (2017) thinks that there are also a plethora of similarities among modern and classical leaders’ key competencies. For instance, managers always have to remain self-confident and follow their individual values in any activity they perform. Also, leaders must be competent in delegating tasks among their auxiliaries (Han, 2014). It would be proper to state that classical rules of the discussed profession should be referred to as to the fundamental qualities and requirements for people who strive to become effective managers. On the other hand, all the competencies popular in the twenty-first century must be perceived as the advanced level of one’s professional education (Haeger and Lingham, 2013). There is no doubt that contemporary rules are important. Nevertheless, they do not seem to be necessary at the beginning of leaders’ careers.

It is essential to stress that leaders in the twenty-first century also must have appropriate skills in project management as this is one of the most important spheres of knowledge that is useful in one’s everyday work (Oconnell, 2014). Nowadays, the values of leaders are different as they want to reach particular heights not for gaining higher profits but to demonstrate their organisational skills and remain competitive with the first companies figuring on particular markets. According to Bush (2013), modern leaders must always know all the aspects of different tasks performed by their team members and colleagues. Such an approach makes a manager aware of his or her colleagues’ performance, advantages, and disadvantages. Moreover, leaders in the twenty-first century should be experienced in all spheres of their profession to delegate the available resources and workforce properly (Ayub et al., 2014). Several decades ago, this factor of work organisation was disregarded. Therefore, employees could have their own financial benefits from lying to their leaders.

As it is mentioned above, there are many underlying causes of changes to leadership competencies. For instance, the strategies of leaders’ organisational behaviours have significantly changed to due to the standards of their work that were developed by many managers as a result of their long-term experience (Lee, 2014). Also, such events as planning and delegating responsibilities require original approaches from managers. Mccarthy (2017) argues that several decades ago, leaders were free to give any duties to their auxiliaries, regardless of the workers’ desires. Today, superiors must consider their colleagues’ interests. Such an approach is recommended as it is deemed to be more effective and productive to give people the tasks that they will be doing gladly (Bolman and Deal, 2017). Although this strategy seems to be beneficial, it deprives leaders of the freedom to have their own understanding of similar situations and take decisions accordingly.

It would be proper to stress that the range of leadership competencies has become narrower than it used to be in the previous century. Park and Seo (2016) claim that the most part of organisational work and various calculations are performed by computers today. Indeed, such innovations are very helpful and reduce the time required for filling different reports, tables, schedules, and so on (Dinh et al., 2014). Nevertheless, this is another underlying cause of changes to leadership competencies. Due to the better and faster ways of organisations, managers are obliged to contribute to other duties as well (Meuser et al., 2016). For instance, some companies require the leaders of their working teams to build individual plans of development for every employee. As a result, inexperienced workers have more chances to obtain the understanding of their primary responsibilities, rights, corporate rules, and so on (Ruwhiu and Elkin, 2016). As it is discussed in the previous section, the popularisation of useful computer programmes had a significant impact on different professional activities of managers. As they need less time to accomplish all the planning work, they must pay more attention to the quality of the work performed by their auxiliaries.

Leadership activities in the twenty-first century are influenced by modern technologies. Therefore, all the managers are obliged to change their strategies and behaviours at work. Unfortunately, there are many examples of poor leadership in the twenty-first century. For instance, the Shell Company working team in America made a mistake that influenced the leak of approximately two thousand barrels into Gulf of Mexico (Milman, 2016). This situation demonstrates the team leaders’ inability to organise the working process appropriately. Hambleton (2014) says that it is a managers’ responsibility to predict all the possible defects and make one’s auxiliaries address the emerged problem immediately. This case might be identified as the lack of authentic leadership.

Many leadership studies started to use the term of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) since the 1990’s. This abbreviation and strategy description originated from the army of the United States of America. Nowadays, this term is widely used in the circles of leaders to refer to different efficient organisational strategies in a wide range of spheres (Küpers and Pauleen, 2013). VUCA includes many topics that are essential to be studied by contemporary managers. For instance, people, who remain in the head of professional employee groups, must know that their auxiliaries’ failures that might have positive consequences if these workers use the acquired knowledge to prevent similar situations in the future (Antonakis and House, 2013). Such an approach might be considered an example of decent leadership.

A crisis management theory is one of the most important elements of the VUCA. “Executives who enable their organisations to recover from a crisis exhibit a complex set of competencies in each of the five phases of a crisis—signal detection, preparation and prevention, damage control and containment, business recovery, and reflection and learning” (Wooten and James, 2008, p. 352). Indeed, the given theory and its models can be successfully implemented in the twenty-first century. Moreover, it was used by leaders several decades ago as it remains a helpful approach to resolve various issues that lead to the organisational crisis. According to Kane and Patapan (2014), the disadvantages of the theory described above include the possible risks of slow reaction. By the time leaders address the issue of the organisational crisis in their firms, it is usually diffused and presents more difficulties to eliminate it properly (Porter-OGrady and Malloch, 2015). It is necessary to state that the most part of this model is based on learning and analysing different outcomes to prevent them in the future.

Sometimes, people do not understand the differences between such terms as management and leadership. Nevertheless, the primary responsibilities of managers include such activities as organising, planning, providing financial means, monitoring the working progress, and coordinating their employees (Algahtani, 2014, p. 74). Moreover, managers must provide appropriate resources to their auxiliaries that are necessary to complete the work appropriately. In general, management might be referred to as to the process that is used to reach particular goals (Caldwell and Hasan, 2016). On the other hand, modern leaders are supposed to focus on their team members’ motivation, performance, and behaviours (Algahtani, 2014, p. 75). Also, leaders are responsible for their colleagues’ inspiration that is usually gained with the help of methods that demonstrate one’s professional skills and achievements or successes in a certain sphere. Nevertheless, one person might be liable for both management and leadership in one’s organisation (Kotter, 2008, p. 89). It is essential to stress that the professions described above are dependent on each other. It is almost impossible to manage the working process without leadership qualities and vice versa.

As it is mentioned above, there are a plethora of factors that influenced multiple changes in the philosophy and central ideas of leadership in the twenty-first century. Managers are now supposed to practise and develop new skills and strategies to operate the work of their teams appropriately (Oconnell, 2014). Many scholars stress that the general understanding of leadership has always been changing due to people’s values and standards of mutual work set by the society. It would be proper to mention that the majority of leaders, who experienced the shift between both modern regime and that of the previous century, find it difficult to adapt to contemporary key competencies (Bennis, 2015). Leadership in the twenty-first century requires people to inspire their colleagues to increase their productivity and commitments to their professional responsibilities.

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Executive Summary

Introduction, types of challenges facing leaders in the 21st century, contemporary approaches to leadership, key findings.

Many authors on leadership cite that conventional leaders and leaderships of the past are inadequate in addressing the needs of the 21 st century. This is because, presently, the world is characterised by paradox, unpredictability and unprecedented events brought about by change.

Hence, most modern leaders faces tremendous demands, than ever before. Similarly, conventional leadership styles that were once embraced have become a liability to modern leaders. Thus, the 21 st century leaders need to unlearn conventional wisdom associated with conventional leadership and shift to a new paradigm of leading.

This report highlights the definition of leadership. In achieving this goal, the writer, through literature review, gives different definitions of leadership and leadership styles.

Further, the writer illustrates; market forces, people issues and leadership incompetency among others, as some of the challenges facing leadership in the 21 st century. Similarly, the writer singles out transformational and charistic leadership as the contemporary leadership styles practices by leaders in the 21 st century.

The conflict of talent acquisition, societal changes, globalisation and the ever shifting size of organisations are contributing to the realignment of leadership styles in the 21 st century. Consequently, the yearning for an ethical and sustainable organisation, ignited by business scandals, and the increasing realism that people should be steadfast in preserving global natural resources for future sustainability is also taking a toll on present leaders.

Thus, leaders are required to perform on ethical and moral standards aimed at preserving a balance between the eco-system and the societal needs to guarantee business success. Therefore, unlike in the past, the measure of leadership success in the 21 st century is increasingly being tied on aspects such as ethical and global responsibilities among others.

Cegarra-Navarro and Moya (2005) points out that for leaders to be competitive in the 21 st century, they need to wield influence, embrace a vision that inspires people and dispel their doubts, they need to possess abilities to enhance connections, and they need to redefine the way they address the tasks at hand. Hence, without influence, leaders are finding it difficult to assert power and control in their respective areas of command.

Consequently, leaders need to attain assent in addition to obedience, and embrace imitators and subordinates. Cegarra-Navarro and Moya (2005) illustrates that the 21 st leader is not satisfied by getting people to do the right thing his way, he/she also need them to perceive things his/her way too.

Cegarra-Navarro & Moya (2005) defines leadership as a course compelling social influence. This is where an individual can conscript the support of others in achieving or accomplishing a common task or activity. Though Cegarra-Navarro & Moya definition is valid, presently, the term is viewed as an occasional act, rather than a role.

The basic understanding of leadership has not lost its meaning, in fact many authors have come up with other definations of leadership based on their understanding Cegarra-Navarro & Moya, 2005). Bartram and Casimir (2007) illustrate that leadership revolves around a person who is in charge of a team or a group. Besides being a leader, leadership involves possessing power over others and wielding authority necessary for decision making.

In the 21 st century, the meaning of leadership has remained unchanged (Bartram and Casimir (2007). Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and management gurus have demonstrated many efforts in understanding leadership. They claim that, in these changing times, leadership is a source of answers for the success of an individual and organisations.

Bartram and Casimir claims that every individual has his/her own intuitive understanding of leadership, anchored on a mixture of learning and experience (2007, p.15), thus, it is difficult to capture a succinct definition of leadership. Consequently, the mode in which leadership is rendered and understood is influenced by an individual’s theoretical viewpoint.

We have individuals who perceive leadership as the value of established set of traits or as a characteristics influenced by ‘leaders’ (Bartram and Casimir (2007). On the other hand, other individuals claim that leadership is a social process that spring from a group or a team relationship (Baker&Gerlowski, 2007). These differing views, held by different people, have resulted divergent of thoughts about leadership.

Baker & Gerlowski (2007) highlights four challenges that make unanimity on reaching a common definition of leadership. He points out that the process’ challenge, that is, lack of consensus on whether leadership emanate from personal qualities of the leader, or whether the leader persuades fellowship in what he/he does Finch (2011).

Consequently Baker & Gerlowski (2007) demonstrates that the ‘position’ problem helps to define a leader, that is, is the leader in charge of the situation through influence or authority? Moreover, the philosophical problem associated with leadership makes it challenging to reach a consensus on the definition of leadership.

However, according to Magretta (2012) philosophy defines a leader in terms of causality, the intentional and the influence he/she has over the behavior of followers. Avolio and Gardner (2005) also cite that ‘purity’ is also a challenge contributing to lack of mutual consensus on the definition of leadership.

Purity defines leadership as embodied in groups or in an individual making it a purely human phenomenon ( Jones, 2012).

In addition to these divergent views, Magretta (2012) illustrates that some designations of leadership limit it to pure non-cohesive influence on shared objectives, thus, within such contexts, leaders such as Stalin and Hitler among others would be viewed as leaders, but as tyrants toiling for their own benefits and contingent on intimidation, violence and threats rather than embracing the refined practice of interpersonal influence connected to true leadership.

However, Avolio and Gardner (2005) claims that basing leadership on such distinction is problematic because the actions of almost all leaders could be viewed as more or less beneficial to some individuals and groups.

Northouse (2004) in a recent review of leadership theory cited that four major themes in the way in which leadership is perceived. He demonstrates that leadership is a process, entails influencing what happens in a group context, and encompasses goal achievement. Hence, he defines leadership as a “process where an individual influences a group of individuals to attain a common objective or a goal’ (Northouse, 2004, p. 3).

Similarly, Yukl (2002) provides a more collective concept of leadership. He illustrates that “most leadership definitions mirrors the theory that involves a social influence course, whereby deliberate influence is exercised by an individual or a group over other individuals or groups to configure the activities and relationship in an organization or in a group” (Yukl, 2002, p. 3).

In a nut shell, Yukl (2002) assert that leadership is a a unique phenomenon. It involves numerous but important social, organizational and personal processes. It largely depends on a process of influence where people are inspired to tailor their energies towards attaining group goals.

Hooper and Potter (2000) offer a different perspective of understanding leadership. He illustrates that in understanding leadership, people should look at it from the viewpoint of a person’s disposition to accept accountability and responsibility for him/her and a group of other individuals in a given facet of life.

He further demonstrates that leadership is character that is shown when an individual chooses to accept the duty by his/her own will and not when he/she is assigned with the equivalent by a superior power. Moreover, Hooper and Potter (2000) note that a leadership is sparked by motivation, inspiration and enthusiasm.

Thus, a leader should be able to infuse these skills passionately to others. This will allow them to take command in their own respective contexts, give out their best in accomplishing the goal and inspire them to support each other towards a collective accomplishment (Magretta, 2012).

Kachra (2012) cite various leadership challenges facing leaders of the 21 st century. Some of these challenges include; market forces, leadership competencies and people issues among others.

Market Forces

Market forces are driving change in many organisations at a macroeconomic level, thus; these forces are demanding more leadership acumen from leaders and the organization as a whole. For this purpose, market forces are viewed as a collective effect of the deeds and wants of those present in the market, either supplying or demanding a service or good.

Some of these market forces shaping present leaders include; globalisation, increase of multinational firms, mergers and takeovers. Also, Kachra (2012) cites that the world has witnessed significant diversities in the workplace. This has been as a result of globalisation and a stronger necessity for explicit technical skills.

Kachra (2012) notes that many large organizations have gained economies of scale as they allot overhead expenditures across production units. Thus, leadership has been put to test here. Managers needs effective skills on how to manage market forces. This includes having values and morals in understanding diversity, leading by example whereas commanding authority among others (Kachra, 2012).

Also, Nevins and Stumpf (2012) points out that the advance of technology has significantly reduced the costs of reaching geographically scattered markets. Kachra (2012), however, notes that the market forces to embrace globalisation and increase the size do not guarantee the survival of the organization.

Thus, sound leadership is a prerequisite. For example, Nevins and Stumpf (2012) cites that among the 500 firms in the Fortune magazine in 1970, about one third ceased to survive through the early 1980’s. Besides, Kachra (2012) also indicates that during the 1980’s among the 230 firms in the Fortune Magazine disappeared from the best Fortune 500 firms.

Hence, Kachra (2012) acknowledges that neither the reputation nor the size of the firm guarantees its continued survival or success but effective leadership is a necessacity.

Seddon and Onyett (2011) cite that compared to demand based market forces, the source of human capital is enduring ubiquitous and powerful change. The supply of human capital is diverse and individual employees need to command a high level of technical expertise in their area of specialization to be successful.

At an outright minimum, firms are accommodating diversity, hence, the manner the company manages its diversity grants it a competitive advantage in formulating new ideas and matching the differences that arise to work demands.

Concisely, organisations are struggling with increasing deregulation. Some contend with the older older work force, hence; they find it challenging to embrace change and re-invent them (Hooper & Potter, 2000). However, for most firms clear leadership that directs and encourage reinvention and embrace its strong history and foundations continues to be successful.

People Issues

People issues is also a major challenge affecting leadership in the 21 st century. Manager’s perceives that people’s issues involves relationships with others and the organisation. Traditionally, these concerns were amicably handled by the Human resources, and were seen basic aspects of the organisation.

However, Gayle et al (2011) indicate that in the 21 st century, people issues and concerns forms a major aspect of the firm. Presently, Gayle et al (2011) notes that more workforces in the industrial world hold conventional full-time jobs and at the dawn of each year, more people are either getting to self-employment, part time or finding temporal jobs.

Thus, this scenario illustrates a critical challenge in which the present and future manager will encounter. Besides, what is obscure to a manager is that the employee possess different expectations and demands on his/her organisation. More significant is that the employer-employee relationship looks more different than in the previous century.

With increasing globalisation and complexity, most organisations are demanding for abilities and skills from their leaders to increase competitive advantage and facilitate decision making. Hence, managers leaders need to have the ability to balance the needs of employee globally and customers’ needs. However, this balance wiis becoming a challenge to strike efficiently and profitably in the years to come.

Diversity is becoming a strategic differentiator rather than being a desired demographic profile. The managers of today are being brought up in productive diversity than in traditional taxonomies, where issues of ethnicity, race and other social dividers were simply undermined or ignored.

However, as the workforce is growing in diversity, leaders need to accept individual differences in the workplace and devise creativity which will increase productivity and appreciate the talented work workforce established by diversity.

Hooper and Potter (2000) note that organisations today are increasingly devising different methods of accomplishing tasks. They are placing more emphasis on the use of interdependent teams, as few people are knowledgeable. This is unlike in the past where an employee policy book or given forms of behavior was required.

Though this strategy sound to elicit chaos in the organisation, it offers a great opportunity for a manager who is flexible, adept and intelligent to seize it and assist the organisation to move forward (Hooper and Potter, 2000).

In the 21 st century, talented human capital seen as the prime component for business success. Businesses are accepting the change of power from proprietors and senior management to knowledge workers.

Moreover, specialists are becoming less worried with the conventional perception of career and more concerned in what is referred to self-fulfillment. In achieving aspects of self-fulfillment, organizations are advancing more revenues in attracting, forming and retaining competent professionals.

Leadership incompetencies

The advancing nature of business, practiced by global organisations has ignited a unique form of leadership competency. Presently, most organisations arrenot willing to be tied on the hard-nosed and top down structures or directions previously famous with the traditional leadership styles. They view that empathy and flexibility and retaining the best values of the business is the way forward in outwitting erratic impediments in the organisation’s leadership. Thus, Hybels (2009) demonstrate that this is the characteristics of the 21 st leaders. Seddon and Onyett (2011) note that because of this leadership challenge, leaders who take up leadership roles need to be technologically savvy and inspirational. Though thesem skills make them devoted to service, details, to be entrepreneurial focus and be inclusive than being autocratic they make them better leaders. Also, Nevins and Stumpf (2012) cite that the leaders of the 21 st century needs to handle the leadership challenge of being able to articulate value proposition, that is, maintaining value position in a vibrant market and revitalizing others to embrace it. They also need to invest in a business model that directs and guides employee decision making process at all levels of the organisation. Moreover, Seddon and Onyett (2011) states that leaders need to commit to a culture that stimulate learning and mentorship.

Transformational Leadership

Nevins and Stumpf (2012) points out that transformational leadership is a new form of leadership which has become more common in the 21 st century. Most organisations have embraced this form of leadership to encourage organisation growth and improve teamwork in the organisation.

According to Seddon and Onyett (2011) transformational leadership supports capacity growth and development and fosters a higher level of commitment amongst followers anchored on the organisation’s objectives. Egner (2009) illustrates that transformational leadership happens when a leader widens and raises the group’s needs when they understand the objective or the mission of the group.

According to Nevins and Stumpf (2012), a manager embracing this form of leadership motivates the group or employees to look beyond their personal self-interest for the purpose of the group. Transformational leaders raise individuals from their low positions of need to a higher level. Consequently, they support the group by motivating the followers to exceed their personal interests in view of attaining other collective purposes.

The 21 st century organisations are in need of such leaders because they engender trust, loyalty and respect among their followers. Egner (2009) points out that because transformational leaders are in constant touch with other people, he/she instills values and beliefs that are beneficial and can be imitated by the group as a whole.

The critical aspect of transformation leadership is that leaders and followers helps in raising each other’s morality, attainments and motivations to a degree that wouldn’t have happened if each was working on his/her own.

Williams and Sullivan (2011) points out four factors that makes up a transformational leader. He cites that a transformational leader has an idealized influence. This dimension is al about building trust and confidence and acting as a role model that his/her followers can emulate. Confidence that a leaders has establishes a foundation for embracing the organisation change.

Also, a transformational leader posses inspirational motivation. Gayle et al (2011) note that this is related to idealized influence, hence; he/she uses this skill to motivate the entire organisation. They help in creating a clear view of the future and grant his/her followers the opportunity to perceive the meaning in their tasks or activities. Moreover, they stimulate intellectual acumen. This involves arousing and shifting the follower’s awareness of challenges and their ability to solve those challenges.

Transformational leaders questions beliefs and norms and urge followers to be creative. They also empower followers to contribute towards decision making without fear. Lastly, Gayle et al (2011) note that transformational leaders value individualized consideration. This approach involves responding to a specific and unique need of the follower, which in turn is replicated in the organisation’s transformation process (Avolio and Gardner, 2005).

Charismatic Leadership

Charistmatic leadership entails a leader who amasses followers through a indent of charm and personality, rather than using any form of external authority and power. Thus, in the 21 st century, more managers organisation are embracing this style of leadership to build relationship with emloyees. According to. Finch (2011) charismatic leadership comprises of three major factors.

These factors are the social context which calls for such a leader, the leader and his/her attributes and the interaction between the leader and his followers. Nevins and Stumpf (2012) illustrates some of the traits that makes up a charistimatic leader. He cite that a charistmatic leader as a motive to attain power.

In this case, they often do not embrace conventional power, ask for official position or post but what motivates them is the social power. Finch (2011) cites that this trait allows their followers to accord them respect and perceive them as their savior. Moreover, they want to win their positions using their followers hearts. Once they win power, they remains popular for a longer time.

Also, Margarita (2012) note that charistimatic leaders are open to change. Whereas othey type of leaders try to uphold the status quo for fear of change, Gayle et al (2011) points out that charistimatic leaders are fully open to change. They represent the change and at a time, they like associating theselves with the change created, thus, it is interesting to note that they are more powerful in the contexts which necessistated the change.

In the 21 st century, most organisations are devising strategies strategies which can assist it to expand and increase productivity. Thus, to achieve these goals, they demand for leaders who possess transformational leadership skills. These leaders are seen to hold strong vision, charisma and strong moral behavior, hence, they are able to motivate others in achieving a common goal.

Despite the challenges facing the 21 st century leaders such as market forces, people issues and leadership competency, managers are using their abilities to handle these challenges and ensuring that organisations remains steadfast in achieving its goals. However, more needs to be done to enhance their leadership skills (Avolio and Gardner, 2005). This will include training, mentoring and coaching among others.

In the 21 st century, most organisations are embracing leadership styles that add value to the organization. Thus, transformational and charistimatic forms of leadership styles are common. These styles are being seen to motivate the workforce besides granting them the opportunity to be part of the organisation’s decision making stakeholders.

Nevins and Stumpf (2012) illustrates that these leadership styles grants freedom to employees or group, hence, less leader’s participation. The group can come up or develop their own goals and solve their own problems; hence, freedom without interference, which is a clear motivation for the group’s development (Hooper & Potter, 2000).

Leadership has evolved over the ages. Many people views that effective leadership instills motivation, inspires and help in effective decision making. However, leadership which is riddled with unacceptable practices can cause low productivity, build hostility and slow down organisation’s progress.

Organisations are expanding and building new alliances, thus, in the 21 st century, a leader is required to be a person who has the acumen for business and human relationship. The aspect of human aspect is critical because the 21 st century require leaders who can motivate, inspire and influence people. Hence proficiency in understanding human aspects is critical. Similarly,

The 21 st leader need to understand the synergistic power of leadership and professionalism.

Avolio, B. & Gardner, W. 2005, Authentic leadership development: getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 16, pp. 315 – 338.

Baker, S. & Gerlowski, D. 2007, Team effectiveness and leader-follower agreement: an empirical study. Journal of American Academy of Business, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 15 – 23.

Bartram, T. & Casimir, G. 2007, The relationship between leadership and follower in-role performance and satisfaction with the leader. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 4 – 19.

Cegarra-Navarro, J. & Moya, B. 2005, Business performance management and unlearning process. Knowledge and Process Management, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp.161 – 170.

Egner, T. 2009, Behavioral Leadership – The Managerial Grid , Grin Verlag, Berlin.

Finch, S. 2011, “LMMatters Leadership and Management seminar and showcase, London, UK, Strategic HR Review , Vol. 10 no, 6, pp. -76-89.

Gayle C., Avery, H., and Bergsteiner, H. 2011 “How BMW successfully practices sustainable leadership principles”, Strategy & Leadership , Vol. 39 no. 6, pp.11 – 18.

Hooper, A. & Potter, J. 2000, Intelligent Leadership: Creating a Passion for Change, . Random House, London.

Hybels, B. 2009, Courageous leadership , Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Jones, R. 2012, “The leadership journey”, International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Vol. 8 no. 2, pp.77 – 82.

Kachra, A. 2012, “Strategic leadership development: the new frontier for Indian firms”, Strategic Direction , Vol. 28 no. 2, pp. 67-78.

Magretta, J. 2012, “Michael Porter answers managers’ FAQs”, Strategy & Leadership , Vol. 40 no. 2, pp.11 – 15.

Nevins, M. D. and Stumpf, S. A. 2012, 21st Century Leadership: Redefining Management Education: Educating Managers in the Modern Era . Web.

Northouse, P. G. 2004, Leadership: Theory and Practice (3rd Edition) , Sage Publications Ltd, London.

Seddon, J. & Onyett, S. 2011, “‘Get out there and do some leadership through getting knowledge’”, International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Vol. 7 no. 1, pp.62 – 67.

Williams, P. & Sullivan, H. 2011, “Lessons in leadership for learning and knowledge management in multi-organisational settings”, International Journal of Leadership in Public Services , Vol. 7 no. 1, pp.6 – 20.

Yukl, G. A. 2002, Leadership in Organizations: Fifth Edition , Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice-Hall.

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Leadership In The 21st Century

The 21st century has been characterized by constant change and disruption. During this period the world has reached milestones never achieved before in history, which have greatly influenced the way people work and live. The dotcom boom, technological innovations (personal computing, entertainment), invention of the smartphone, emergence of digital as a platform and the advent of social media are some of the groundbreaking events that have taken place in a short span of time. They have significantly impacted how organisations work and how business are conducted globally.

An overarching consequence of these events has been the explosion and democratization of information. Combined with the accelerated pace of technology-driven globalisation, information has led to the creation of a flatter, seamless and fluid global economy.

We have also witnessed the rapid rise of emerging economies like China and India resulting in a shift in global economic power.

All of these changes have significantly impacted the role of leadership in modern organizations. Modern leaders now have the challenging task of guiding their organisations through a complex and continually shifting global economic landscape. The impact of these strategic forces are felt not only at a country level, but filtered down to industries, markets, segments and individual products and brands . Effective leadership in these modern times requires a proactive approach towards managing change and its impact on long-term organizational growth.

A good example of a company that was eliminated from the marketplace due to its leadership’s inability to effectively manage disruption and change was Kodak. Kodak was at one time the world’s biggest film company. However, its leadership team failed to fully embrace the revolutionary transition from film to digital as it was afraid that digital may cannibalize its film business, which was its core business. Kodak was eventually put out of business and had to exit the market in many of its product streams due to the dramatic drop in demand for film printing during and after the digital revolution. Blockbuster, Pets.com and Nokia are other examples whose demise were linked to their inability to understand the misalignment of their products with how the markets were evolving.

This article will provide insights into some of the challenges that leadership in the 21st century faces, and the qualities that leadership will need to possess in order to effectively tackle these challenges.

Challenges faced by 21st century leadership teams

Leadership is a trait in an individual that enables him or her to influence the behaviour of others to achieve a goal or to get them to do things they would not otherwise have the skills or motivation to do. As individuals our needs, motivations and definitions of satisfaction have gone through a significant change in recent times. The continuously evolving global business environment has impacted both our personal and professional lives profoundly. In such uncertain times, leadership matters even more. The challenges faced by leaders in the 21st century include:

Geopolitical volatility: Geopolitical factors can cause sudden but destructive damage to organizations. Unstable geopolitical environments can chase away capital investments and drain financial assets. High geopolitical volatility could also lead to stricter government regulations in local markets, which makes it more costly for organizations to conduct business in certain geographies. Geopolitical risks have increasingly become a significant challenge for leadership teams as most of the components remain outside their control (e.g. governments, regulations, environment, trade, labour markets etc.).

Technological disruptions: The 21st century has been characterised by technological disruption, with futurologists and trend experts saying, “disruption is a norm today”. Technological disruption has impacted organizations in all industries and sectors, starting from healthcare to manufacturing to computing. Data mining firms are building databases of human DNA to evolve the science of personal identification, 3D printers are being used to print building equipment, everyday products, entire houses and artificial human organs, and the combination of cloud computing and artificial intelligence has magnified the scope of data-driven decision making.

These are only a few examples of how technology has disrupted the norm in the 21st century. Linked to these technological disruptions is the emergence of entrepreneurship and startups. Startups are nimble, agile and have the ability to significantly disrupt business models through new ways of creating and selling products. All these changes have significant impact on the business and operating models of organizations and the way consumers need to be served in today’s and tomorrow’s markets.

Economic and political uncertainty: When organizations filter down geopolitical risks at an individual country level, they have to deal with economic and political uncertainty. Any organization (regardless of size) prefers to operate in stable economic and political environments. Country environments characterised by frequent labour strikes, social unrest and chaos can have severe detrimental impact on revenues, profits and investments.

In the 21st century, managing economic and political uncertainty has become a critical leadership challenge. As organizations increasingly look at expanding quicker and startups look at scaling up faster, economic and political uncertainty needs to be accounted for in any form of growth strategy.

Shifting demographics: There have been major demographic changes occurring on a global scale, which include changing family structures (increase of dual-income and single-parent families), ageing population (requiring more health and welfare services) and increase in labour diversity. These shift in demographic makeups mean that the demand for a company’s products and services is subjected to continuous fluctuations. It also means that there is a constant pressure on a company’s portfolio of products to remain relevant. For leadership teams, this is a challenge in terms of creating forecasts for growth or for mapping out a sustainable growth strategy.

Implications for next generation leaders

The above-mentioned challenges warrant next generation leadership to take a different approach in the 21st century when it comes to managing and growing their organizations. Here are some implications for boardrooms to consider while creating their leadership strategies in the 21st century:

Having a balanced short-term and long-term lens: Organizations are always under constant pressure to showcase short-term business wins over long-term strategies. The need to report quarterly earnings and profits to appease shareholders and financial analysts require organisations to adopt a short-term lens. But long-term strategies, which require commitment of organizational resources and deep thinking, are critical for success in today’s times. This constant tug-of-war between short-term and long-term objectives creates uncertainty and increases risk when it comes to capital expenditure and resource allocation decisions.

Leadership in the 21st century requires achieving a strategic balance between short-term and long-term business objectives. Achieving this balance is critical to counteract forces that have mid and long-term impact (e.g. geopolitical factors) and those with short-term ones (e.g. labour strike, civic unrest, competitor copycat behaviour etc.). Leaders in the 21st century will need to strike a balance between satisfying stakeholders’ expectations via short-term gains and long-term priorities that would grow and strengthen the company’s brand.

Resilience: Resilience is going to be a cornerstone of leadership success in boardrooms in the 21st century. The characteristic of today’s time requires resilience on all fronts. Rapidly changing consumer demand patterns, ever increasing pace of technology-induced disruption, increasing fragmentation of markets, rapid shift of economic growth potential, increasingly fluid labour markets and low cost of entry into any market are factors that require resilience to manage. On the top of it there are continuous distractions in the form of fads, trends, proliferation of digital platforms and selling channels.

To be able to deliver on both short-term and long-term organisational objectives, leadership teams need to be focused on core components of strategy and relentlessly deliver against them. This requires them to be resilient in the face of negative forces, which in all likelihood will be present in some form or the other.

Having a horizontal and vertical outlook: Horizontal leadership refers to rallying teams and generating motivation to support and achieve a common goal, whereas vertical leadership is the direct opposite – to command teams under one’s control in a top-down, military-style fashion. Effective leadership lies somewhere in between these two opposite leadership styles. In today’s world, leadership styles are defined by organisational structures, cultural diversity of work forces, global presence, command-and-control structures and the role-played by local entities. As the world becomes flatter and more connected, effective leadership styles now tend to gravitate towards giving more ownership and responsibilities to teams.

In a world of collaboration, communities and networks, leadership teams need to listen deeply, encourage sharing of information and viewpoints and foster an environment of trust. The vertical leadership style also has a role to play but in a different form – having the ability to take decisions in ambiguous environments, helping teams manage conflicts, acting as a guide in uncertain times or leading with conviction, courage and empathy.

Global perspectives and local insights: We now live in a world that is increasingly globalized but awakening to nationalistic pride. A top-level assessment of company operating models will reveal the fact that local country entities have a stronger role to play when it comes to global organizations. Startups with highly disruptive ideas also start at a country level before they scale up globally. Not only is this true for the workforce but also for consumers (who at the end of the day are two sides of the same coin).

Consequently, when it comes to leadership, it is imperative to balance global perspectives with local nuances. The impact of effective leadership can only be sustained when it influences at an individual level. It is now common practice for incoming CEOs to travel around the world and meet teams in all the local market entities. The former CEO of L’Oréal, Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, spent a significant proportion of his business time traveling the world and meeting with the L’Oréal organizations, consumers across cultures, and multiple stakeholders.

This is just one of the many elements of balancing a global perspective with local insights. As organizations become flatter and the role of local entities become stronger, it is important for boardrooms to appoint leaders who can influence and lead across multiple geographies and cultures. Having a visible face is not enough. The ability to connect with employees across the organization, both globally and locally, is going to be a defining factor of successful leadership in the 21st century.

Strong strategic compass: The 21st century requires leaders and executive teams to have a strong strategic compass. Great leaders need to have strong self-awareness, need to be passionate visionaries, should have great clarity of purpose and should have a clear sense of direction while leading their teams. Last but not the least, their personal vision should be in complete alignment with that of the organization’s. However, a leader’s operational strategy should remain fluid in today’s uncertain times. Although it is critical to progress towards achieving long-term organisational goals, a leader should be open to considering and adopting multiple paths towards these goals. Like a compass that always points towards the North, leaders should be relentless even in the face of extreme disruption and chaos.

Key success factors for 21st century leaders

The traditional viewpoint of corporate leaders being viewed as figureheads, chiefs and commanders is rapidly losing its importance. The traits commonly associated with these positions, charisma and vision, are still important in leadership positions, but they are in itself not enough. To be successful in today’s dynamic business landscape, leaders need to be able to shift between their multiple roles with ease. At one point they might need to act as commander-in-chief of their organisations, while at another point they might need to act as mentors to a high performance team or an individual. It is all about leadership versatility and being able to lead effectively across generations , cultures, mindsets and differing sets of motivations.

Some critical success factors for 21st century business leaders include:

Purpose: Having a purpose is important but it is critical to have an inspirational one. Leaders need to have a personal purpose (“what I want this organization to achieve”) but it should be aligned with that of the organizations’ (“what this organization stands for”). Both companies and its leadership teams should have a clear purpose that goes beyond annual revenue and profitability targets. An unwavering focus, a clear vision and true belief in the purpose means that leaders need to walk-the-walk, not just talk-the-talk. Leaders who do not practice what they preach are abandoned very quickly. The same happens to leaders who do not lead with clarity and focus. The 21st century requires all of these to be essential traits of leadership.

Resilience: As mentioned before as a key implication, resilience is also going to be a much sought after trait amongst leaders in today’s times. Resilient leaders see failures as temporary setbacks and opportunities to learn from. They also have a strong character and positive attitude during periods of turbulence. When faced with uncertainty, a resilient leader finds ways to constantly move forward and stay ahead of the curve. To demonstrate resilience, leaders need to communicate frequently and with intent, be bold while taking long-term strategic bets, and champion a constantly improving mindset in the organization.

Networks:  Many leaders underestimate the power of networks both inside and outside their organizations. Some benefits of tapping into and leveraging networks include:

• Getting to know key stakeholders in the organization better
• Identifying challenges that are inhibiting teamwork and innovation
• Effective cascade of critical communication to the most influential stakeholders
• Finding and recruiting top talent in the marketplace
• Identifying potential new suppliers, new technologies, consultants or other leaders in the same industry that could help accelerate business performance
• Creating, shaping and implementing effective career paths

Long-term lens: Leaders in the 21st century will need to focus more on long-term strategy than short-term tactics and also have the ability to think and plan ahead instead of getting bogged down by details. They will need to have a futuristic vision in order to lead the way towards strategic execution. One way that leaders can do this is to identify internal stakeholders, investors and shareholders that share similar long-term values, and then work relentlessly in partnership with them.

In 2016, S&P Dow Jones Indices launched its Long-Term Value Creation Global Index, which helps investors in bench-marking companies that have potential for long-term value creation. Another way to focus on the long-term is to clearly communicate the objectives; road map and implementation plan internally and externally.

Adaptability and Agility:  Great leaders are said to possess a heightened ability to think outside the box. Instead of continually reinventing the wheel, they learn to do new and unexpected things with the tools already at hand, while encouraging others to do the same. Leaders in the 21st century need to be able to continuously innovate and manage disruptions effectively. To do this, they need to remember that everyone has something to offer and cultivate a culture where every employee feels comfortable to suggest ideas and propose solutions. This will go a long way in creating an adaptive and agile organization that is well equipped to face disruption.

Culture orientation:  Last but definitely not the least, leaders should never take their people for granted. Employees across all levels of the organization need to be constantly invested in through skills training, coaching and welfare. Studies have shown that millennials are forming an increasingly larger pie of the workforce today (about one-third of the global workforce) and they want more flexibility and control over their lives and careers, while still be on track for career progression. Leaders need to understand these large-scale shifts in attitudes towards work and the workplace, but still remain driven by a set of consistent values to strengthen the brand equity and organizational culture . If leaders do not prioritize people, their organizations will suffer from constant churn, stymied progress and a dilution of the organization’s vision.

Conclusion: Leadership in the 21st century will be challenging but rewarding

The late professor Peter Drucker once said, “Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision”. Leadership in the 21st century will be a combination of multiple courageous decisions. Although it is more challenging, the impact of positive leadership will also be very high during these times. Some of the headwinds that global business is facing currently are the strongest ever in the history of the world economy (followed closely by the two Wars). To effectively navigate an organization through such headwinds, it needs leaders with courage, conviction, strong mental resolve, unwavering focus and a strong sense of purpose.

But we also need to keep in mind the fact that a leader cannot achieve anything alone. This is more relevant now than it was before. To achieve critical organizational objectives, a leader needs to have an open mind, should be open to collaboration, have the ability to align differing viewpoints and should have the charisma to lead teams with differing motivations and needs.

Although it seems that leadership in the 21st century is highly challenging, it can be highly rewarding when done right. Whether it is an individual or a leadership team, the characteristics of effective leadership are applicable to both. The individual human traits of leadership are the pillars of this effective leadership model. Organizations need to constantly identify leaders with such traits or they need to train their existing leadership teams to acquire these traits.

Are you imbibing your organizational leadership teams with these critical success factors? What challenges are you facing and how do you plan to overcome them?

Insights links

This article is part of the Martin Roll Leadership Series. Read the other related articles:

Part 1:  Are You A Leader? 10 Questions To Understand The Essence Of Leadership

Part 2:   Versatility Is The Key To Effective Leadership

Part 3:  Leading Effectively Across Generations

Part 4:  Ten Ways to Become A Great Mentor

Part 5:  Next Generation Leadership: How To Enhance Performance

About the author:   Martin Roll – Business & Brand Strategist

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Being a leader in the 21st century requires a shift in mindset. Here's how to get equipped to be a modern-day leader.

The 21st-century is characterized by constant disruption. Business markets are volatile. The end customer’s behavior is uncertain.

The way people buy and sell is facing a seismic shift.

On top of this, technological advancement has never been as exponential as it has in the 21st century. Selling techniques are democratized, consumers are empowered, and globalization innovates how business is conducted.

It’s up to you as a business leader to face these changes head-on. Yet with business environments becoming more complex, your leadership style requires a makeover.

We’re using the term 21st-century leadership to cover the leadership and management skills you require to succeed against this modern-day backdrop.

What is 21st-century leadership?

21st-century leadership is how managers and leaders adopt a modern mindset so that they’re equipped to deal with the unique challenges of the 21st century. This theory draws upon leadership behavior, skills, and qualities that can only be garnered and adopted through careful study and training.

These skills will allow leaders and managers to adopt a leadership style that is necessary when facing the leadership challenges of today. In effect, 21st-century leadership is different from anything that managers have faced before.

Even before the pandemic, Gartner Analyst Mark P McDonald noted that 21st-century leaders must be artists; they must have an ability to adapt rapidly in a world of work where a talent to ‘relate, create, and instigate change’ defines overall success.

Based on this observation, 21st-century leadership is therefore rooted in the ability to:

Relate: Leaders need to make a shift from production-based management to people-centric management, relating with teams to better drive performance.

Create: Leaders need to create new ways of working and introduce new processes that redefine standards and generate strategies that work today.

Instigate Change: Leaders need to be at the forefront of change, actively introducing and using new processes and motivating teams to accept change.

How do leaders apply these three areas?

Overall, it’s clear that these areas of 21st-century leadership are rooted in agility:

Improving the agility of leaders and managers.

Improving the agility of the team.

21st century leadership = agility

In the face of multiple emerging leadership and management challenges, agility is the cornerstone of 21st-century leadership. In short, being flexible, open to change, and reactive.

‘Agile’ is a concept borrowed from software engineering and design. Meaning, an agile approach allows leaders to adapt quickly to different work personality types and different situations.

And, perhaps most importantly, it allows them to adapt quickly. The need for organizations to embrace the agile methodology has been growing for many years. A PwC report from 2016 showed that more than half of all young leaders believed, even back then, that their priority should be developing an adaptable team.

But what agile and adaptable skills are needed by leaders to succeed not only in the 21st century but also in a world impacted by the pandemic?

21st-century management and leadership skills for agile teams

Here are the five most important skills for leadership today:

1.Connected leadership capability

Today’s leaders are faced with increasingly fluid workforces and an accelerating pace of change. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global economy, creating challenging environments and complexity for leaders.

Command-driven leadership is no longer effective. Instead, managers need to foster connections within their teams to drive collaboration and communication, pushing everyone towards a common goal.

Training Journal suggests that today’s leaders must:

Adopt an emotionally intelligent mindset in order to mobilize.

Focus and renew the collective energy of others while also nurturing a sense of meaning that exists beyond money.

In short, connected leaders communicate value. They inspire others to go the extra mile and bring greater meaning and purpose to the workforce. As Lepaya consultant Fotigui Camara puts it, “Leadership is all about engaging and motivating others.”

As a leader, your goal is to connect the dots. In other words,

Nurture inter-team collaboration

Foster innovation

Create resilience

This mindset of connection and positive business acumen will connect your team to your organizational goals in a way that feels organic and seamless.

Learn how to do this in Lepaya’s Engaging Leadership program.

2.Capacity building

McKinsey notes that capacity building is a critically important area that leaders need to address today. They place a firm focus on boosting three key aspects:

Overall talent

Think of yourself akin to a great leader like Jurgen Klopp – Liverpool’s football coach.

Does he shout commands at his players during a game? Or does he train them to make decisions for themselves on the pitch?

If a player misses a shot, does he get angry the ball didn’t go in? Or does he praise the pass and shot, making sure next time they score?

Leaders must, “praise the effort to motivate the result” (Fotigui Camara). It’s about being a coach rather than a commander, training your workforce with the tools they need to drive their own performance.

Capacity building in the 21-st century is a shift from more direct production-focused management strategies of the past. Instead, a great 21st-century leader will leverage their team’s skills to unleash the full potential and passion of each individual.

Empower your team and hone your leadership skills in Lepaya’s programme Leadership in a complex world.

3.Data analysis

As leaders shift from ‘hard’ management to a ‘soft’ leadership style, PwC believes that an ability to measure and track people’s metrics will prove to be one of the most important skills of 21st-century leadership.

Especially at a time when many businesses must achieve more with less, workforce performance is anticipated to become even more critical in a post-2020 world than ever before.

For managers leading the workforce of tomorrow, adopting a data-first architecture in the organization means having the skills to:

Collect data

Analyze data

Use customer data to optimize performance in real-time

In short, it’s about first adopting a data-first mindset, and then investing in the right training and skills to deploy this across your team.

But don’t forget that data is one thing, but keeping the customer at the forefront of all your decisions is another. On the other side of the data coin is always the customer, client, or overall consumer – their needs, desires, and motivations should supplant your data analysis.

Build your business out by keeping the customer in mind with Lepaya’s programme on building a customer-centric organization.

4.Effective from a distance

Remote working became the norm during the height of the pandemic. Even with many organizations returning to greater levels of normality, the trend for remote working is showing little sign of returning to where it was previously.

This means, as a leader, you need to be able to make an impact from a distance. You can no longer micromanage your dispersed teams – delegating is your absolute best friend here.

For example, all roads lead to Rome, don’t they? Rome may be your end goal. But while you can decide you want to go to Rome, let your team decide how to get there.

This is how you can create buy-in for your ultimate decision. Which can be a difficult mindset to adopt, especially for new leaders who know all roads lead to Rome and want to get there as efficiently as possible.

What you need is to change your behavior and:

Trust your team to work independently

Cultivate a culture of mutual respect

Be positive about your own success

Without the ability to build and nurture trust in remote teams, the promise that this method of working offers will fail to materialize.

Build a trusted remote team with Lepaya’s programme on Managing your remote sales team.

5.Self-development

Perhaps one of the most difficult leadership skills you need to master in the 21st century is the ability to shift your focus from your team to yourself.

A leader’s capability is often reflected in the performance of their team, so it’s natural to want to focus on the workforce.

However, self-development skills are becoming increasingly vital for managers whose teams expect them to lead by example.

In today’s climate, you need to prioritize your own development and put yourself first, before developing your team.

Develop your 21st-century leadership skills today

Many of today’s leaders don’t yet possess the skills we’ve outlined above. But it’s often not your fault. In fact, Deloitte found that, in many cases, it’s the organization itself that was proving to be the biggest obstacle to skill-building.

‘Our research shows that while organizations expect new leadership capabilities, they are still largely promoting traditional models and mindsets when they should be developing skills and measuring leadership in ways that help leaders effectively navigate greater ambiguity, take charge of rapid change, and engage with external and internal stakeholders.’

This shows a clear gap between what organizations need to be doing to support 21st-century leaders, and what’s actually happening.

To date, developing essential skills when moving into a new position has often been achieved through simple observation: From understanding the approach of the former leader, and mimicking that tried-and-tested style.

Today, however, the business landscape is shifting too rapidly, especially in light of the pandemic. What worked yesterday isn’t going to cut it today.

For all you 21st-century leaders, you need to adopt agility in your own approach to leadership and management, be active, and seek out opportunities that will enable you and your team to grow and develop.

We offer a scalable employee training solution. It lets you continuously upskill your people.

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About Lepaya

Lepaya is a provider of Power Skills training that combines online and offline learning. Founded by René Janssen and Peter Kuperus in 2018 with the perspective that the right training, at the right time, focused on the right skill, makes organizations more productive. Lepaya has trained thousands of employees.

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