Leadership in a changing world

Transcription

1 Leadership in a changing wrld The changing wrld Future leaders Styles f management A crisis in trust Bardrm scepticism Business as leaders The wrld is changing. Many ways f making mney tday wn t be prfitable tmrrw. Basic services and resurces that the natural wrld nw prvides cheaply will becme mre and mre expensive. Business rganisatins are facing change at a fast rate, with technlgy speeding this alng. Future changes may include a need t adapt t the availability f resurces, as thse that are presently taken fr granted start t deplete. With the change cmes unpredictability and uncertainty. Understanding the systems that these changes are part f will give rganisatins an upper hand in influencing the change, succeeding at the change, and finding pprtunities within this. A number f businesses are realising this, and wrking t adapt their business strategies t ride this change. Accrding t Frum fr the Future i, a prfund strategic shift n sustainability is ccurring, with leading businesses such as BT, Marks and Spencer and Unilever changing their apprach t sustainability frm ne f lking at hw sustainability shuld be included in the business, t building the business strategy based n sustainability issues ii. Fr these business leaders, sustainability and the issues surrunding it really are carving the business agenda. It is in business s self-interest t take a leadership rle in reducing pverty, imprving human wellbeing, and prtecting the envirnment. Ding s will help secure stable and safe scieties, preserve pen and free markets, ensure access t critical resurces, prvide new prduct and business pprtunities, avid abrupt scial and envirnmental changes, and, fr the mst astute and agile, carve ut cmpetitive advantage. Millenium Ecsystem Assessment, 2005, pp 5 Hwever, even thse cmpanies that are develping the business strategy arund sustainability are nt aware f what is ahead. The changes are largely unknwn, and the challenges and pprtunities that these changes will bring are yet t be discvered. N cmpany in the wrld is currently prepared fr the changes ahead whatever happens next, business-asusual is nt an ptin. Business success in the years ahead will depend n sund business strategy that nt nly builds a gd business peratin, but benefits sciety and the planet at the same time. Frum fr the Future, 2008, pp 31 1 Kirsti Nrris 2009

2 Future leaders Never has leadership been mre challenging as it is nw. Bth public and private sectr rganisatins are seeking t restructure and transfrm themselves t seize the pprtunities f a glbally, cnnected wrld where peple, driven by values and equipped with knwledge, will cllabrate and innvate. Leadership will play a pivtal rle in making this happen. As rganisatins mve ut f the ld systems and int the new, evlving systems f the unknwn, leadership is breaking int new grunds. New ways f wrking require new ways f leadership, as leaders wrk t hld ld systems tgether as new nes are created, and then transfer between the tw. T be best able t deal with the changes, future leaders will need t: be adaptable be effective at leading in uncertainty be prepared fr the unexpected have technical and prfessinal knwledge be able t manage theirs (and thers) anxieties and emtins be willing t wrk in new ways (ften utside f their cmfrt zne ) be able t inspire and empwer peple have self-knwledge f wn strengths and weaknesses have integrity There is sme way t g befre the present leaders fit these requirements. There are large disparities frm what leaders need t be, and what they are nw. Three key prblem areas are: style f management a crisis in trust bardrm scepticism Style f management There are many styles f leadership. T give a view f the spectrum, the three classic styles are: laissez-faire (r free reign) autcratic (r authritarian) participative (r demcratic) Laissez-faire leadership is fairly hands-ff, with minimal directin and cntact frm the manager. This wrks well if the leader is wrking with a gd team f well-trained and mtivated individuals. Autcratic leadership is at the ther end f the scale, where leaders make decisins withut cnsultatin. Autcratic leaders are relied n fr directin. Althugh this can mean that mtivatin 2 Kirsti Nrris 2009

3 and invlvement are lw, this style f leadership can suit rganisatin where decisins need t be made quickly and decisively. Participative leadership seeks t find a middle grund thrugh the leaders making decisins with thers in the rganisatin. This is nt a sign f weakness in the leader, but mre a recgnitin that the leader des nt have all the knwledge, and s better decisins can be made as a team. Whilst it is ften said that gd leaders wuld use all three styles f leadership accrding t the situatin, in reality, ne style tends t dminate. Traditinal styles f management based n hierarchies f cmmand and cntrl and influencing based slely n the pwer f psitin, whilst still definitely alive and kicking, are fast becming utdated. In the new era, leaders will need t wrk in a flatter structure, acrss an rganisatin, t inspire and mtivate a shared visin. Many f the present day leaders are still in the hierarchical mindset, s new skills and behaviurs will need t be develped in the leaders f the future. A crisis in trust Executives themselves acknwledge there is a gap in the leadership behaviurs needed fr the future and current leadership practices in their rganisatins. Future leaders will need t vercme the crisis in trust that present leaders are facing. Trust in business and gvernment is at a lw, but this trust is essential fr the transfrmatin f rganisatins. Withut trust, emplyees will nt engage with leaders. Engagement is essential fr any change prgramme t be successful. Edelman s 2009 trust barmeter shws that less than 40% f infrmed peple aged trust business t d what is right in Nrth America, the UK, France and Germany. Research indicates that glbally, cnfidence in leaders has been steadily declining in the last eight years iii. This is an enrmus issue, as the pace f develpment, and need fr respnsibility increases. The future needs leaders that can be trusted, and that peple trust. Bardrm scepticism Opprtunity Nw 2009, pp 5 In July 2009 the Chartered Management Institute Chief executives need t shw published a reprt Lean and Green: leadership fr the leadership by demnstrating lw-carbn future iv with sme startling findings. The key cmmitment and cmmunicating a messages t cme ut f the reprt were that managers clear sense f directin. d actually recgnise the imprtance f cutting carbn emissins, but t few are taking actin. This is a significant realisatin, and reveals that there are barriers t mving twards a lw-carbn ecnmy that need t be remved. The next finding in the reprt is that althugh a large number f managers understand the imprtance f envirnmental impacts t the business, there is resistance at the senir management level. The reprts states that bardrm scepticism risks squandering widespread management enthusiasm v, and recgnises that it is the yunger, and junir managers that have the greatest levels f interest in change in this area. There Wehrmeyer et al, 2009, pp 6 3 Kirsti Nrris 2009

4 are business benefits t embracing sustainability as an rganisatin, and this needs t be nt nly recgnised by senir management, but lead by the senir management. The Chartered Management Institute has prduced a number f reprts, papers and guidance t encurage and assist managers t integrate sustainability int the business agenda. The Institute advises rganisatin t: ensure that senir management lead change by putting in structures t resurce lw-carbn prjects; allcating bard level respnsibility fr change; ensuring that all emplyees have an understanding f the envirnmental agenda; build in measurement capacity, s that the rganisatin has an understanding f its envirnmental impact, and can measures changes t this. Thrugh ding this, management can get an understanding f where carbn emissin reductins can be best achieved. create value frm envirnmental prjects thrugh cst-saving, gaining cmpetitive advantage, gaining new business, cnsider business pprtunities in lw-carbn innvatin f new prducts and services. Business as leaders As well as business leaders taking respnsibility within their wn rganisatins, these leaders need t ensure that their business is leading t. A Frum fr the Future s reprt, Acting nw fr a psitive 2018, suggests a number f actins that businesses shuld be taking nw t lead int a psitive future. The reprt suggests: lking fr pprtunities - new business pprtunities that nt nly have benefits nw, but als have psitive scial and envirnmental benefits; creating alliance with thers wrking with all stakehlders (including cmpetitrs) t find the mst sustainable utcmes, and finding ways f creating change; supprting the right kind f glbalisatin ne that benefits all parties; engaging with institutinal sharehlders n sustainability the sharehlders need t understand the issues t back the lnger-term visin; develping creative partnerships with ther cmpanies, the gvernment, etc t wrk tgether t find slutins t prblems. It is becming increasingly recgnised that mdern leaders need t be authentic in everything they d and be prficient at engaging with emplyees and thers. Taking the business that they lead with them in this is paramunt t thriving in the changing wrld that the future brings. Thse businesses that are embracing new ways f wrking, and explring pprtunities are nt nly building firm fundatins fr themselves, but will be ahead f the cmpetitin as and when gvernment start driving lw-carbn targets. 4 Kirsti Nrris 2009

5 Further reading Bent and Draper (2007) Leader Business Strategies: prfitable tday, sustainable tmrrw. Frum fr the Future. Octber Wehrmeyer, W., Leitner, A., Wdman, P., Kumar, V. and Wiltn, P (2009) Lean and Green: Leadership fr the lw-carbn future. Chartered Management Institute, July i Frum fr the Future: a leading sustainable develpment charity in the UK. ii Bent and Draper (2007) Leader Business Strategies: prfitable tday, sustainable tmrrw. Frum fr the Future. Octber iii Develpment Dimensins Internatinal (2009) Overcming the shrtfalls in develping leaders. Glbal Leadership frecast Executive Summary. iv Wehrmeyer, W., Leitner, A., Wdman, P., Kumar, V. and Wiltn, P (2009) Lean and Green: Leadership fr the lw-carbn future. Chartered Management Institute, July v Wehrmeyer, W., Leitner, A., Wdman, P., Kumar, V. and Wiltn, P (2009) Lean and Green: Leadership fr the lw-carbn future. Chartered Management Institute, July 2009, pp 6 QUOTE REF ON PAGE 1: Millennium Ecsystem Assessment. (2005). Ecsystems and Human Well-being: Opprtunities and Challenges fr Business and Industry. Washingtn, DC.: Wrld Resurces Institute. QUOTE REF ON PAGE 1: Frum fr the Future (2008) Acting nw fr a psitive 2018, preparing fr radical change: the next decade f business and sustainability. December 2008 QUOTE REF ON PAGE 3: Opprtunity Nw (2009) Frm website: accessed 31 December Kirsti Nrris 2009