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OPINION
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Future-proof leaders An era of changing demographics demands that we rethink our leadership qualities and behaviours, writes Kylie Wright-Ford IN THE new world of work, which some refer to as the “fourth industrial revolution,” there are major disruptive forces due to the multi-generational nature of the labour market, globalization and new technology, making some roles and routines in the workplace obsolete. The ability to adapt to such an environment and constantly revisit leadership behaviours with a view to the future (not just the past) will determine the difference between companies that survive and those that thrive. Many leaders are in denial, while others are looking for answers in an age without a rule book. Future-proofing your leadership style will require developing a stellar ability to lead across generations and styles. Consider for a moment the demographic shifts we are about to experience. We will soon have four different generations in the workforce. This is certain to cause both conflict and opportunity. The conflict will come from the clashing of communication preferences and differences in motivations. The opportunity will come from being able to assemble teams across different geographies and time zones more seamlessly than ever, thanks to rapidly advancing technologies that make remote work possible, and from the ability to find people for specific tasks on demand, thanks to the large and growing freelance workforce. In conducting hundreds of interviews with executives and rising leaders to talk about what they see, hear, love and hate about the
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leaders they observe, executive coach Debra Benton and I have identified four behaviours that matter for leaders of the future: dynamic, playful, unblocking and uber-communicative. Dynamic leaders enable change in themselves and others. They produce motion instead of static. They are more than just spirited and magnetic, and much more than
Unblocking refers to a leader’s ability to free their people by, for example, providing them with the tools to succeed, offering support so their efforts flourish, encouraging risk-taking where appropriate and keeping tabs on progress along the way. They help remove the barriers to progress, including legacy thinking, risk aversion and tunnel vision based on group think. People of all ages – but especially the rising generations – want to be empowered, authorized and enabled to fix the inefficiencies their predecessors created. Finally, the uber-communicative approach is potentially the most essential trait needed for the future. Uber-communicative leaders know that good communication requires a leader to both deliver a message and establish common understanding of the message, and they use many different channels to do so. While this trait is essential, in our view, it still needs a lot of attention, especially from experienced leaders who are often over-
“The ability to constantly revisit leadership behaviours with a view to the future will determine the difference between companies that survive and those that thrive” charismatic. While an important aspect of leadership used to be about change management, the leader of the future is about enabling change in processes, culture, product development and more. Playful is perhaps the most controversial of the four behaviours because to some, it may imply frivolity. In the context of the new world of work, it means having fun and trying some new things. The days of a clear line between work and non-work disappeared with the advent of the mobile device; good leaders embrace the mash-up of work and life. Playful leaders are good-humoured and build a creative and positive environment. They are approachable and do much more than simply provide free food and ping-pong tables at work.
heard moaning about the way that rising generations don’t use correct grammar or overuse emojis. In the new world of work, with the constant distraction of our devices and more diverse constituents than ever, it’s not enough to send a message and expect that everyone receives it in the same way. Leaders of the future will meet their teams’ needs and preferences for communicating, whether it is by town hall, instant message, social media, email, carrier pigeon, conference call or text.
Kylie Wright-Ford is an operating executive, advisor and board member of growth companies. Her first book is The Leadership Mind Switch.
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27/02/2018 4:31:37 AM