Next Generation Leadership Principles for a Rapidly Changing World Part I

Leadership in times of Change: Business won’t return to normal – and a new mode of leadership is required

America is faced with losing its leading role in the business world. Organizations in emerging markets, such as India and China, are taking over business deals that used to be slam-dunk wins for US companies. If American organizations continue to compete “their way”, using the old leadership paradigm of Dominance and Subservience, they are likely to fail.

To stay competitive in the global markets, American businesses need to embrace new leadership principles, which engage employees, customers and shareholders on a deeper level; principles that literally make it irresistible for customers and employees to become involved with a business.  Companies like SAS Software or The Body Shop, which have successfully embraced these new leadership principles, long realized that inspiring employees to reach peak performance is significantly more effective than pushing and controlling them.

If we really want to make a difference in today’s business world, we need a new generation of leaders, who empower their employees with authenticity and integrity, instead of manipulating them with dominance and fear. Unfortunately, though, a glance at business school curricula only tells us how to become a good manager. But where do we learn to become a good leader?

Management Versus Leadership

There’s a grave difference between management and leadership, which can be outlined with a simple case study: Imagine a team of forest workers blazing a new trail in the thicket of the jungle. A manager that is positioned on the ground, instructing, coordinating and organizing the forest workers, can do a terrific job – but the team can cut in a completely wrong direction. It needs a good leader that is positioned above the trees to assure that the team is moving in the desired direction.

This analogy helps us understand the necessary leadership qualities for creating a team that does not only perform well, but which is also highly engaged:

Obviously, the leader needs to have a clear vision and direction where the team or the business is heading. Furthermore, he needs to be able to inspire the team to support this vision and direction.  Most importantly, though, he must earn the trust of the team. If he fails to do so, he will only be able to lead from a dominating, manipulating and fear-based position, much like we see in most of today’s corporations or military settings.

While trust becomes an integral component for Next Generation Leaders, it isn’t something we can implement like a business process. The only way for a leader to build trust is to continuously act with authenticity, courage and in service to his team members. Once the leader truly cares about his team, he will find the team caring for the well-being of the company.

The described Next Generation Leadership qualities – trust, direction, inspiration, authenticity or service – require a paradigm shift: rather than describing What-To-Do, this leadership model is based on Who-We-Are.  Next Generation Leadership is not about working harder, doing more, or being better. These leadership qualities cannot be learned from a text book, nor can they be checked at the door of our business when we go home for the night. They touch all areas of our lives: our relationships, health, and our interaction with friends, family or the janitors cleaning our offices.

Becoming a Next Generation Leader

The path to cultivating Next Generation Leadership qualities is a one lane road that leads straight to the Oracle of Delphi: Know Thyself! No shortcut, nothing more, and nothing less. To lead with authenticity and clarity, Next Generation Leaders must become intimately familiar with their strengths and their weaknesses. They need to become conscious and accountable for the situations in their work and life, where they act from fear, anger, frustration and confusion. Once they manage to do so, they will be able to create a “Connected Business” – a sense of connection and intimacy (into-me-see) in their organization, which is the nurturing ground for emotional engagement of their team members.

If a leader does not become accountable for his emotional reactions, the team will sense the dishonesty and withdraw its trust. For a Next Generation Leader, time spent on developing his inner strength and personality is not wasted, but a value-bearing investment of his energy and time. Only once the Next Generation Leader becomes grounded in his authentic personality – including his shortcomings and weaknesses – will he be able to accomplish what he is here to do: to lead his team to success.

Peter Matthies is a Venture Capitalist and Founder of the Conscious Business Institute.
peter@consciousbusinessinstitute.com

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