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This post is not about what is leadership and how to become leader, it is about skills for new digital era leaders.
As I noted in my first post, this era is characterized by increased speed on change and business disruption, new skills need to be developed for leaders where young people must be better prepared.
Young leaders had been connected and take changes in easy mode since early days in their personal and professional career, something that, let´s name it mature leaders, did not have until they lived the transition to the digital era.
Firms are in a constant shape-shifting to keep the momentum, and this is where new leaders need to catch up, we need to look back from the future and try to imagine how, everything else apart from us, looks like and do whatever we need to do to be part of the future, everyone likes to see themselves there, but not many like change to get it.
Organizations change faster, turnover as well, and that´s great, we need to evolve with it, we are not still in the old times where hierarchies last forever, new hard and soft skills are needed according to the business purposes and organizational culture, so we need to reinvent ourselves in a continuous progress of becoming.
Mature leaders had been helpful for the transition, their vision and leadership had added value to the long-term thinking, and we all know great leaders which we admire and want to learn from them as much as possible, but this post is not intended to see how they did it, but it is to see what we need to do to be like them.
Leadership has many definitions and ways to get there, but how we see leadership in the future?
Should a person be with the team in the same room to be an authority? Maybe not.
Successful leaders are know to be in person, but it is not possible to be there all the time, trust and purpose is key for the team so new leaders might be in distance and keep the show running.
- Organizations used to be centralized, but it is now distributed, as is the people that forms the business.
We are all connected: people and business, so actions can be taken from anywhere, the tools and channels to lead a team are in place, this means leaders can combine foresight, insight and action, there is no reason to keep things stuck when the information is by hand to take action.
As news keep entrepreneurs or innovators on top of the fashion products or services, the thing is that they are provoking the future, not predicting it.
This world is Volatile (VUCA) and leaders must have a vision, it is easier to form from what is not defined yet than change something that is because it is as is, the world will thank people who embrace the future to make it easy for others, understanding what people want to have an easier life, keeping clarity and agility to what is intended to be build.
New era leaders need to:
- Generate order, but not too much, letting people do what they are intended to, releasing team from micromanagement and switch to objectives defined.
- Keep understanding, what is working and see it working in the future or turn it into something new to adopt it, not adapt it.
- Have a clear vision, from others in and out the organization and improve it.
- Take action, own the responsibility and being accountable for the decision.
This world will pay back the enthusiasm to challenge it.
Thank you.
Juan Soto