Leadership Competencies the Accelerating Pace

¶ … Leadership competencies

The accelerating pace of change in globalization, communications, disruptive technologies, capital flows and alliances have created fundamental shifts in business operations and in leading a group (Hughes, 2004).

Where many popular leadership models may provide formulae to help solve some business problems, these are insufficient to deal with the pace and polyvalent character of constant, rapid change. Managing change -- its impact on organizational structure, group culture, and personal management styles -- is one of the most fundamental and enduring aspects of leadership (Buhler, 2000).

Ironically while the relative value of the once-celebrated individual leader as superman or woman is being questioned, great leadership has never been more urgent or more difficult.

Since the late 1980s there has been a steady stream of papers hypothesising, proposing and reflecting upon the knowledge, skills and abilities required by the managers and leaders of the twenty-first century (Kakabadse and Mukhi, 1986; McKenna, 1991; McKern, 1996; Greenberg, 1998; Domeyer, 1999; Shapiro, 1999; Buhler, 2000; Elizer, 2000; Kaydo, 2000). Now, in the early years of the twenty-first century answers are still being sought. What knowledge, skills and abilities are needed now, and in the future? What is the best way to develop the managers/leaders of the future?

As businesses approached and entered the new millennium considerable attention was given to identifying the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies that the manager/leader of the twenty-first century would require (Greenberg, 1998; Shapiro, 1999; Kaydo, 2000; Dimitrijevic and Engel, 2002; Kacena, 2002). The result was a collection of both tangible, measurable skills (eg. knowledge of theories, concepts, financial procedure, etc.), and intangible, 'soft-skills' that are hard to quantify (eg. commitment, flexibility, adaptability, and vision). All of which suggest that the managers of the future will need to be both managers and leaders (Edwards, 2005).

In a very challenging world surrounding the leaders they encounter different challenges that would make them competitive in any way they can. Globalisation has been taking place ever since different communities sought to exchange goods, ideas, technology, capital, information, arts and people -- whether in the form of slaves or sages. The driving forces for globalization have varied over time and place (Buhler, 2002).

Big businesses have enthusiastically embraced globalization, seeking out and profiting from new opportunities -- wherever their brands, capabilities and technology have taken them. Yet a consensus is emerging that globalization has reached a turning point (Hughes, 2004).

However, the feeling that globalization has benefited the developed world is not entirely off the mark. The main reason is that these countries had the institutions, infrastructure and agents (enterprises) to take advantage of the opportunities that globalization offer. While globalization offers opportunities, ultimately a nation's ability to profit from these opportunities depends on the quality of its domestic governance and environment. No matter how much the world economy opens up, no matter how many opportunities arise, citizens of countries like Zimbabwe with politicians such as Robert Mugabe are never going to profit from globalization (Bonnet, 2006).

Globalization constantly opens up fresh perspectives and raises new challenges: different markets, types of business organization and industry sectors require different approaches and no single solution fits all situations. But globalization and economic integration offer the best way forward for long-term business prosperity and for improving the quality of life for individuals (Kacena, 2002).

b. The learning function must enable the business to stay current - and anticipate new developments - in all technologies of importance. It should also deploy the best available technologies to learning processes and programs. This includes developing an always-ready infrastructure enabling anytime, anywhere access to learning resources. While there will always be a need for face-to-face learning (e.g., in leadership development), most learning is no longer confined to a specific place and time or even predetermined content - all three will be determined by the learners, and the infrastructure will have to support them with robust e-learning portals (Dornbusch, 2004).

The process of globalization has changed the way in which people live in the communities. In the past migration often meant the severing of ties with the home country or the creation of separate cultural ghettos. Walk down the average inner London street and new businesses, new ways of living, come into view. Travel agents advertise cheaper and cheaper fares making long-haul journeys a more regular possibility. Telecommunication offices offer phone, fax and e-mail rates that undercut those of mainstream service providers. Today there are instant connections - no longer the waiting weeks for that letter from home; no longer the planning over months for that visit. These new businesses allow an immediacy of communication at prices and speeds that few thought possible in past decades. Some of these offices are fronted by religious bookshops offering publications on life style, healing and deliverance. Others offer training in it (in formation technology), legal or business skills. Some even offer combinations such as 'Christian business schools'. Many new Christian groups are at home in this new world of business and communication in a way that leaves their traditional peers light years behind (Castells, 1997).

Changes in technology and economics are altering the way people live and relate. A global culture made possible through the ease of communications and travel leads to greater interaction between people and places. The impact of globalization in the world city goes beyond the towers of concrete and glass to the lives of those who live in its shadow. The global dimension of the contemporary city sets new challenges as new technologies and communications create new patterns of social life. This is true not just for the business world and the affluent but also for the poor, particularly for minorities whose communities now stretch beyond limited geographical ghettos (Edwards, 2005).

On the other hand, the impact of globalization on urban communities is multifaceted and interconnected across continents. The introduction of the Internet, or World Wide Web, offers a variety of dangers and opportunities (Pason, 2006). There are well-documented dangers of pornography and racism in cyberspace. There are the new communities and alliances that emerge, as minority groups are able to keep in touch at minimal cost. Research in East London. has discovered a vast area of cyberspace inhabited by Bangladesh teenagers communicating with family and new friends across the planet as well as in the next street. These youngsters have discovered a safety in cyberspace that they do not experience in their immediate reality where violence and racist abuse in their neighbourhood are common place. What type of spaces are we being called as churches to create in our cities, in cyberspace? (Gibson, 2001b)

Globalization in any way is not the only challenge then but also the rapid technological advancements encountered by every individual (Kacena, 2002).

But it should be clear to each and everyone about things and certainties. No one is suggesting that globalization is a certain, let alone the only, route to democracy. India, the world's biggest democracy, became a democracy and has remained a democracy while having pursued a quite autarchic economic policy for the first few decades following its independence. There are, however, reasons to believe that, having entered the global economy, the quality of India's democratic governance may significantly improve. The main reasons given by foreign and Indian -- especially NRI (non-resident-Indian)-investors for the low level of investment in India is the petty bureaucracy, corruption and the imperfect, unreliable, unaccountable and arbitrary nature of its institutions (McKern, 1996).

A comparable pattern is happening in other parts of the world. The most recent phase of globalization is considered to have begun with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the launch of the world-wide web, both occurring in 1989. An estimated 81 countries have undergone a process of democratization, with greater or lesser results (Dimitrijevic,2002).

In an article, it argues that any company pursuing a global strategy will achieve optimum success by investing in long-term, sustainable development and by pushing for high standards in its operations. As Anders Dahlvig of Ikea says: "Globalisation means stakeholders and responsibilities everywhere, which have to be managed."

Globalization offers short-term opportunities: economies of scale, efficiencies from larger markets, and cost savings from cheaper production or services. This has been happening to India and China specifically since they started their membership in General Agreement on Tariffs Trade (McKern, 1996).

But with the 'quick buck' comes greater vulnerability. As the business chain lengthens, the risk of failure from one weak link increases. Risks -- structural and reputational -- are compounded as business extends around the world (Greenberg, 1998).

The important question confronting globalizes is what ails this second group of critics. Article by NGOs, working with Human Rights Watch and SA 8000 (the pioneering social labeling agency) -- is that they believe that globalization harms the advancement of social agendas, that it lacks a human face. By extension, it increases child labour in poor countries, increases poverty, undermines democracy, worsens the plight of women, destroys the environment and reduces labour standards in rich countries (European Business Forum, 2004).

Many studies show that improved incomes mean poor people send more, not fewer, children to school, and there are good economic theories to explain that. In traded industries where there is fierce competition, it is not possible to pay men more than equally productive women -- every little disadvantage can be fatal to a company's survival. This means that gender equality emerges faster in these industries, as U.S. evidence shows. On virtually every criticism of globalization, one can find good, rather than bad, things to say. So globalization does have a human face. The really interesting question is therefore what can people do through institutional design and policies -- both domestic and international -- to improve it.

d. The accelerating pace of globalization, communications, and technological innovation; the changing patterns of cross-border capital flows; the fluid state of corporate mergers and partnerships; all these have created -- and will continue to create for the foreseeable future -- fundamental shifts in the ways in which business is conducted. Where many old-fashioned -- and still widely current -- leadership models may provide perspectives from which to solve specific business problems (particularly the challenge of change within the contemporary business world). The task of discerning external change and translating that discernment into strategies for internal corporate change -- in terms of evolving organizational structures, group culture, and styles of personal interaction -- stands as one of the most enduring challenges of leadership (Domeyer, 1999).

Three findings may be highlighted fro a research done by Dawn Edwards (2005). First, on the "focus" side: becoming a customer-led organization raises the debate from turf battles to teamwork; customers or markets are often useful guides precisely because they transcend the corporation's existing functional boundaries and allow teams to analyze opportunities and allocate resources objectively. Second, if the focus is correctly adjusted -- through strategic simplicity, relentless prioritization of the questions that matter most, and the alignment of the organization's resources to actual needs -- then the benefits are substantial. This internal cultural change will in turn drive innovation, improve transactional speed, and produce substantive results. Third, cultural change is fundamentally a collective, collegial exercise in which sensitivity to the particularities of context is all-important. No single approach will be effective in all circumstances.

Yet if success is a matter of shared responsibility, it would be naive to suggest that responsibility is shared equally. In instigating the process of re-assessment and managing the dynamic tension that results from initiating reforms -- determining the point where countervailing forces are counterpoised most beneficially and creatively -- there remains a role, albeit a heavily modified one, for "heroic" leadership. Personal courage is inevitably required to inaugurate (and maintain) any process of change management, not least because a decision to retain the status quo, or to resist calls to change course, often seems the easiest and least risky management decision. While change for change's sake can often be a spurious substitute for properly focused leadership, the avoidance of change can be equally culpable: the result of either timidity or complacency, and the very opposite of effective leadership. However, once a properly informed decision has been made as to the need for change -- usually a moment that requires individual leadership -- the paradox is that, when it comes to implementation, "leadership" is fundamentally a group exercise. Leaders are constantly asking the seemingly unreasonable by requesting that individual team members make a total personal commitment to a particular program of action in the context of a future that is predominantly uncertain (Kacena, 2002).

e. The needs of organizations feature strongly in workplace learning approaches, however, individual, subjective issues such as attitudes, commitment, motivation and self-image, have been included as these are particularly important for any successful learning. People will only adopt new ideas, knowledge or skills if they are interested in learning, or find some benefit for themselves in doing so. Understanding the relationship between inputs, outputs and outcomes will assist in harnessing the involvement of individuals in the learning process.

Clearly workplace learning can address many of the current and future needs of managers and leaders, and can take many forms -- both formal and informal. However, it is not something that can be done overnight; but a long-term commitment by both the organization and the individual. As organizations begin to see the benefits of workplace learning activities they will become increasingly committed to developing more focused programmes to meet their specific organizational needs, which will help to maintain the momentum (Kaydo, 2000).

A long-standing method of transferring knowledge and understanding within an organizational setting, that has stood the test of time, is mentoring. The perception of mentoring is as varied as the concept of the mentor. This is a reflection of both concept differences, and participant expectations. Spencer (1996:5) described mentoring as 'a relationship which gives people the opportunity to share their professional and personal skills and experiences, and to grow and develop in the process'.

Many organizations have recognized that much of the learning and development of employees does not take place within the boundaries of traditional learning situations. Wallis (1998:15) argued that there is a "need for the organizational information, methods and culture to be transferred to other members of the workplace," and this 'learning transfer' could best be addressed through the use of mentoring with its techniques of guided and assisted learning.

The benefits to be derived from mentoring are diverse and have both short- and long-term impacts on the employee and the organization. The value of a given outcome and its impact (direct/indirect; short/long-term) will vary, and will be dependent upon the organization's strategy (Carmin, 1988).

Changes in technology and economics are altering the way people live and relate. A global culture made possible through the ease of communications and travel leads to greater interaction between people and places. Global economic systems now transcend national boundaries and trading blocs - we expect ready access to use credit cards and banking facilities wherever people are present (Kacena, 2002).

The impact of globalization in the world city goes beyond the towers of concrete and glass to the lives of those who live in its shadow. The global dimension of the contemporary city sets new challenges as new technologies and communications create new patterns of social life. This is true not just for the business world and the affluent but also for the poor, particularly for minorities whose communities now stretch beyond limited geographical ghettos (Greenberg, 1998).

Goold and Campbell (1987) found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that ideal corporate management implicitly integrates leadership and management. They concluded that "virtually all executives want strong leadership from the center, coordinated strategies that build in a variety of view points, careful analysis of decisions, long-term thinking and flexibility. But they also want autonomy for unit managers, clear accountability, the freedom to respond entrepreneurially to opportunities, superior short-term results, and tight controls." The problem is that these two sets of desiderata contain mutually competing, if not mutually contradictory, demands on the leader-manager.

Thus, as business dynamics and contexts change, corporate leaders must adapt themselves fundamentally in order to maintain an effective integration of the leadership and management roles, and some form of equilibrium between the simultaneous expectations held of them: of strong central direction coexisting with unit-level autonomy; and of central long-term strategic thinking coexisting with a measure of tactical flexibility and freedom of action among subordinates.

Due to the constant change in an increasingly complex business environment learning in the workplace is a crucial part of any organizations planning and development strategies (Boswell, 1995 and Howell, 1995). Life-long learning, the continuous up dating of skills and qualifications, must become the norm, not the exception. Support for these ideas has been seen in a number of recent policies in Australia, designed to improve the skills of the workforce and decrease the growing skills gap; particularly the Mayer Report (1992) into the development of key competencies and competency-based training. If organizations are seriously "interested in developing the true capacity of its people" (Rylatt, 1994:15) they must be prepared to closely examine their existing policies, systems and activities to determine whether they are supporting or inhibiting workplace learning. Any industry/workplace wishing to introduce a new attitude to learning in the workplace will face an enormous challenge in convincing individuals, teams, and organizations of the importance of workplace learning for their future, and gaining their true commitment.

Mentoring has been widely recognized as a valuable method for staff development, transmission of corporate culture, and socialization (Matthews, 2005). A properly designed mentoring programme can be a useful, structured way to communicate, and transfer information related to the expectations of different management approaches to new and existing employees. Whilst it is only one method of facilitating learning in the workplace, it is designed to make use of guided learning to develop the knowledge and skills required for high performance in the workplace (Tovey, 1999:5), and can be geared to the specific requirements of any organization at any time. It focuses on helping an individual to assess their experiences, and strengths and weaknesses, and provides guidance and support to enable them to make the most of opportunities (Appelbaum, 2000). Mentoring has been used by many organizations to address a variety of issues and problems associated with equal employment opportunity, high turnover, commitment, job satisfaction, and employee diversity to name a few.