The next generation of leaders must be visionaries, fast learners and implementers, highly innovative, adaptable to change and volatility, ambiguity and have a greater intimate knowledge of the changing needs of customers, according to a leadership expert.
A leader of the future will be required to produce great results in all areas, according to the CEO of leadership consulting firm LIW, Pia Lee, who has observed that many organisations are struggling to develop these future leaders.
“As a leader you are responsible for creating conditions that enables others to be successful,” said Lee, who explained that companies should provide work environments which offer their employees ongoing opportunities that assist them in realising their full potential through realising business outcomes.
“As organisations are transforming they are trying to create their next curve of leadership” she said.
With baby boomers departing the workforce, many organisations are losing at least 20 to 50 per cent of their leaders over the next decade, and Lee said organisations needed to develop individuals to fill these leadership roles.
A leader needs to provide employees with more independence, while at the same time guiding employees to new roles with more responsibility.
“It is the example set by senior leaders which dictates what other people will do”
Employees want to feel they are being challenged and valued, according to Lee, who added that leaders need to provide them with the freedom to discover and learn within their job.
However, Lee said the requirements of leaders have also increased and their roles were more complex and challenging while requiring a greater range of job experience with more competencies.
Organisations should be asking themselves” “How can we prepare our next generation of leaders? How can you emancipate that capability across an organisation?”
Lee said leadership development needed to be simple, repeatable and focused, and she gave the example of work they had done with Cisco.
LIW helped develop a leadership program for Cisco which helped create an environment for employees to assist them in developing greater leadership capabilities and preparing them for leadership roles.
Collaboration with senior leaders was critical to the progress, as they role modelled what was expected of a potential leader, said Lee.
“In business, it is the example set by senior leaders which dictates what other people will do,” she said.
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