LEADERSHIP in today’s unpredictable world




The nature of leadership

What does it mean to be leader? Among the all ideas and writing about leadership, three aspects-people, influence and goal. Leadership occurs among people, involves the use of influence, and is used to attain goals. Influence means that the relationship among people is not passive. Moreover, influence is designed to achieve some end or goal. According to Daft (2012) leadership as defined here is the ability to influence people toward the attainment of goals.

Contemporary leadership

 Question for today’s leaders, how can leader lead in a world like this? The idea of leadership involves as the needs of Organizations change. In other words the environmental context in which leadership is practiced influence which approach might be most effective, as well as what kind of leaders are admired by society. The technology, labor condition, economic condition, and social and cultural mores of the times all play a role. A major attributes influence in leadership styles in recent years is turbulence and uncertainty of the environment. Ethical and economics difficulties, cooperate governance, globalization, change in technology, new ways of working, shifting employees expectations, and significant transaction have contribute to a how we think about and practice leadership (Daft, 2012).   



For the imaginable future, the world will not be a suitable or predictable place like it used to be. Think about the countries which were touted a few years ago as the future of growth for global business but are now stumbling – like Brazil or China which now offer something much more complicated than straightforward profitable expansion. The reasons are that volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) of the business world and good example is the COVID- 19 pandemic. Due to significant changing in “global competition,” once a phrase that meant the United States, Japan, and Europe, now refers to a genuinely global fight. Digital disruption is like a vortex in that it exerts a rotational force that draws everything that surrounds it into its center. There is no uniform or predictable path for industries in the digital vortex. 




Source: YouTube

To lead key factors like competitiveness, digitization, labor conditions and uncertainty of environment etc...In the business world, how leaders lead in a world like this? Here are some leadership qualities leaders must develop such as:
  • Think big picture. Get out of your comfort zone and think beyond conventional frameworks. This means anticipating changes in your competitive environment, including the possibility that you are now operating in a different industry than the one you expected; understanding the new market dynamics around competition; deciding on your new business model; leveraging the experience of different generations; and embracing curiosity and diversity.
  • Innovate broadly. Your company is serious about differentiating itself from the competition, then it must innovate on all dimensions all the time: think about new processes and a new business model.
  • Embrace diversity. Different minds are better than more of the same. This means not just diversity of genders and nationalities, but things like diversity of experiences, generations, and opinions.
  • Communicate. Have multiple modes and styles for better global communication, and ensure that you act with a global mindset. Steps along this path include speaking different languages but also developing sensitivity, empathy, and open-mindedness; behaving at all times with respect for others; and having both a willingness to experiment and a cosmopolitan sense of curiosity.
  • Adapt your leadership style. The nature of leadership is evolving. We are moving from authority to trust; from hierarchy to networking; from decision-making to inspiration; and from power to self-awareness. Learning how to manage your behaviors is central to developing leadership fit for our VUCA future.
Conclusion
Ideas about effective leadership change over time due to changing in global business competitions. Yet there as many variation among leaders as there are among other individuals, and many different style of leadership can be effective. Then is no particular leadership style to solve problems and find opportunities. To lead in world where you never know what is going to be around the corner, being at the top is no longer about ruling with an iron fist. Leaders are there to inspire, not to make every decision. They have to create the vision and provide the conditions needed for their team to perform and be ready for anything.



References


·        Daft. L.R, (2012).’New Era of Management’.10 edition. India: Cengage learning, P.436.  

·       Turpin. D, (2016). IMD, Top leadership qualities in today’s unpredictable world, [Online]
https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/top-leadership-qualities-in-todays-unpredictable-world/

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0R5Dd2QrAo







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