The world is changing rapidly as a result of continuous improvement in technology and increased globalization. Organizations have been forced to change in tandem to remain relevant. This has consequently necessitated evolution in leadership styles in order for these organizations to remain relevant and competitive. Various qualities of successful leadership such as demonstrating integrity, communicating vision, competence, cognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence cannot be overtaken by events. However, it is important for future leaders to possess a number of emerging traits .
Future leaders will be technology savvy. Organizations are continually adopting technology, not only to speed up communication with suppliers, customers, employees and other stakeholder, but also to cut costs and improve administrative efficiency. To remain competitive, organization will need to have leaders who are conversant with technology. The roles of these leaders will include; being role models in embracing technology, making viable investments in emerging technologies and developing technically competent staff .
Future leaders will be global thinkers. As economies continue to be strongly connected and interrelated globally, leaders will need to understand cultural, economic, political and legal ramifications. They will have to view themselves as global citizens with an extended field of values and vision. Projected increase in integration in global technology and global sales means that future leaders need to understand management of global production and marketing to achieve competitive advantage in a global frontier.
Future leaders will embrace sharing leadership. Successful future leaders will be those who appreciate the fact that a collective system will always be wiser compared to a sole leader. Future organizations will have more knowledge workers; these are individuals who have a more in-depth understanding of their area of expertise than their leaders. Therefore, old models of leadership will not work. Leaders will have to embrace systemic leadership where the system is governed by collective intelligence. Future leaders will also need to have the ability to lead and appreciate diverse cultures. Organizations are increasingly working on an expanded global environment. Future leaders will therefore need to have the ability to inspire and lead people with different values and perspectives, and from different religions and cultures. They will not only need to understand legal and economic differences but also small issues such as personal greetings and the meaning of different gifts. Future leaders will hence need to be team players as well as appreciate the cultural diversity of individuals in the team .
I have learned the traits that future leaders need to develop to be successful. Future leaders will need to learn technical skills and continually update their knowledge to keep up advancement in technology in order to manage technical workers, make decisions concerning technical issues and lead the organization in embracing technology. In order to be a competent leader in the future, I will therefore learn about new hardware and software technologies. Secondly, they need to appreciate cultural diversity and the variables that give rise to these diversities in their leadership style. I will consequently increase my interaction with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Thirdly, systemic leadership will be the backbone of future leaders since they will be leading organizations dominated by knowledge workers. Future leaders will be lead by collective intelligence of the people they lead. I will therefore learn to integrate other people’s input in my decision. Lastly, global thinking will be an important requirement for leaders of the future. Technological advancement and increased economic integrations have resulted in globalization. Future leaders will therefore need to adopt global thinking and styles of leadership. I will increase my understanding of global trends in order to be a global thinker .
Works Cited
Buchen, Irving H. The future workforce: the 21st-century transformation of leaders, managers, and employees. illustrated. Chicago: R&L Education, 2005.
Goldsmith, Marshall. The Global Leader of the Future : New Competencies for a New Era. 2005. 21 July 2011
Hesselbein, Frances and Marshall Goldsmith. The Leader of the Future 2: Visions, Strategies, and Practices for the New Era. illustrated. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2011.
