Transforming Leaders
4 min read.
Transformational leadership coming into the next decade is more critical than ever. Creating leaders who can be inspiring and encourage participation from their teams will result in organisations that are fit to navigate the challenges we will face in the future.
With the disruption of 2020, many businesses are exploring how they can streamline ways of operating, including the removal of hierarchy. As layers of the past are smoothed, coupled with the complexity of the environment in which we operate rapidly escalating, leaders of the future in flatter structures, more than ever, will need to draw deeply on their leadership abilities.
Sifting through the noise to unearth the opportunity, build on strengths, and create clarity around a strong vision while rallying people behind this is imperative in these somewhat chaotic times. We have needed to be agile, adapt and frequently pivot through 2020, which was entirely valid. Leaders tomorrow must settle on the reality that the move forward position must combine the flexibility and innovation that 2020 has insisted we draw on into a future where leaders provide calm, focus and intention in an environment of continued uncertainty.
More than ever, highly controlling leadership styles and micromanagement fail to be effective in today’s climate. Whereas they may have served well in a traditional, tightly organised hierarchical structure, leadership tendencies such as holding knowledge as power, being the wisest person in the room and having highly centralised decision making, almost overnight, have become a liability.
Instead, leaders must navigate ambiguous situations, draw on collaborative inputs and broad networks, and adjust to complex circumstances. Leaders must build a deep self-awareness of their leadership approach. One of the most highly sought after skills in today’s leaders is social intelligence – the ability to read the environment and draw on their ability to connect with people using the appropriate methods of influence to inspire action and create intrinsic motivation, even around ambitious agendas.
Self-development as a leader and an ability to coach and develop others have never been a greater springboard for success. Providing opportunities for people to grow and remain optimistic, step into complex spaces with some confidence, engage in valuable conversations to identify innovative ways forward, and do this in a highly collaborative way is imperative for leaders in 2021 and beyond.