The leadership revolution

This article was originally published in the newspaper “La Estrella” and is part of a biweekly column from the ICF Panama Chapter to disseminate what Professional Coaching is. It seeks to inform, create more awareness and differentiate professional coaching, in which the Coach is governed by ethical principles and is continually improving his or her skills.

See the original article in this link.

The way we think about leadership must change. We think there is a “leadership crisis”, but in reality we do not know what the leadership of the future should be like.  The global study “Tomorrow’s Leadership and the necessary revolution in the development of today’s Leadership” sought to explore this question and summarize some findings.

This study published by Henley Business School, United Kingdom, led by Professor Peter Hawkins, researcher, author and developer of a systemic team coaching methodology, reflects on four key questions:

1. How will the leadership needed in the organisations of tomorrow be different versus the leadership of today?
2. What needs to be developed for the leadership of tomorrow?
3. How appropriate is today’s best practice for developing tomorrow’s leadership?
4. What else needs to be done?

Some of the main challenges that leaders consider will impact them in the next 20 years are:

1. A relentless and accelerated transformation of organisations
2. A technological and digital evolution
3. Change in business models, disintermediation and “uberization”
4. Fewer collaborators in organisations and increasing stakeholder complexity
5. Globalization
6. Climate change and
7. The need to learn and adapt faster.

These challenges are interconnected, each driving and being driven by the others.

In a context of incessant transformation, change is no longer just an event, but a constant worldwide, impacting organisations at an accelerated pace, affecting not only the individual but also the organisation itself. The global trends identified are: changing demographics, change in the workforce and ways of working, political instability, economic unpredictability, market volatility, globalization, climate change and migration.

The impact of digitalization, robotics and outsourcing contribute to “hollowing out” the organisation. Tomorrow’s leaders will have fewer people to manage and a growing, diverse and complex number of groups and organisations with which they will need to partner to succeed. Leadership changes from vertical to horizontal, leading not only the organisation, but also creating partnerships and synergies with different interest groups to be successful. Developing alliances and working through networks is an essential leadership competency.

Thinking and being alert globally, understanding global trends and adapting agilely to the unexpected is another leadership competency. The learning capacity of leaders and organisations must consider the speed at which the environment is changing to prevent extinction.

The study identifies the following changes in leadership as necessary:

1. From ‘leading my people’ to ‘orchestrating business ecosystems’
2. From “heroic individual leaders” to “collective and collaborative leadership”
3. Leadership driven by purpose and value creation for all stakeholders.
4. From serial and fragmented innovation to working simultaneously in three time frames (today, tomorrow and the future).
5. Embracing multiple individual diversity and also systemic diversity
6. The leader must be a developer of others.
7. Leadership must be able to maintain a high level of motivation in diverse generations of collaborators.
8. The ethical maturity necessary to live in a transparent world.
9. The importance of creating successful alliances and networks

The study highlights the need to evolve towards greater leadership maturity and ethical maturity, the importance of creating value for all stakeholders, developing greater awareness of the organisation’s diversity, and the importance of collective and collaborative leadership.

This change can be facilitated through systemic coaching, which brings the perspectives of different stakeholders to teams, supporting them to work connected with purpose and a vision of success, promoting the development of trust to increase the quality of engagement, the development of relationships, alliances and connections, and the co-creation of solutions that promote organisational learning.
Fatima Ribeiro

The author is ACC (ICF Associated Certified Coach), Coach in professional development, leadership and teams processes and member of the Board of Directors of ICF Panama.