In the present complex times, corporate world have adopted a term ‘VUCA’, which defines the conditions in which they function today. The term VUCA means - Vulnerable, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. In order to survive and thrive in these VUCA times, we not only require agile organizations but also require agile leaders.
Therefore, we need to understand - how are future leaders are going to look like and what kind of leadership skills they would require to be able to succeed.
12 essential leadership skills
Future leaders would essentially require 12 skill-sets. These skills were identified and formulated after conversing with several Fortune 500 CEOs, who are source of this information.
These skills are broadly classified into three segments:
• What leaders do?
• Who leaders are?
• How leaders interact?
Let’s understand these skills in detail:
What leaders do?
1. Telescope and a microscope- Leaders of tomorrow should be able to look through both. They should be able to look at a situation in depth (microscopic view) and also be able to look ahead in future (telescopic view). It is a challenging task, which is difficult.
2. Ready for ‘trend breaks’- Preparedness is the key here. Leaders should be able to able to recognize ‘trend-breaks’ and be ready for that. He should be able to anticipate when it is going to happen and act according.
3. Tri-sector athlete – Future leader should be able to act in private domain, government domain and social domain. He should be swift enough to work in all three domains.
4. Receptor and connector- Uptill now, people were taking decisions based on patterns of the past or the way they were guided. Now things have become more complex and the way we make decisions has changed completely as lot of factors affect our decision-making.
Who leaders are?
5. Strong sense of purpose – Leaders need to have strong sense of purpose. Their purpose should be very clear as it will help them to be successful.
6. Calm in the eye of the hurricane – Even in the most seemingly dire and desperate circumstances, a leader should be calm and stable.
7. Always on – A leader is always on toes. Not passive always active.
8. Marathon and a sprint –Like a marathon, it is going to be a long-haul and leaders will have to run fast like a sprint in order to lead and succeed. To achieve these both, future leaders need to learn how to manage and preserve their personal energy. Managing energy is even more important than managing time.
How leaders interact?
9. Network – For better and fruitful connect, leaders need to have big network.
10. Perception and judgment – Leaders should be able to rightly perceive and judge the surroundings, the environment and the people.
11. Unlocking drive – Leaders need to unlock drive in others. Motivating them to press ahead no matter what.
12. Influence without authority – The charisma of a leader should be inspiring. He should be able to influence others but without authority. If a leader exerts authority then it will lessen the impact .
For leaders to imbibe and develop these qualities – there must be a shift in root perspectives and mindsets. Along with this, self-mastery is must for a leader and managing personal energy is even more important.
This story has been built from the session delivered by Faridun Dotiwala , Master Expert , partner , Lead Human Capital Practice , Asia at McKinsey & Company at #L&DLeaugue Annual Conference 2016 on 20th October, 2016