Leadership
What are the biggest challenges that the leaders of today and tomorrow have to face?
Leaders of today and tomorrow cannot rest on the assumption that a position authority will allow them to continue serving in a position of power. The truth is that the pool of potential leaders grows rapidly, and no person is irreplaceable. Effective leaders need to understand how to navigate the tricky waters of a hyperlinked, hyper-networked world. Increased democratization of organizations and organizational culture parallels the ever-increasing democratization of knowledge. As individuals have greater access to information that is potentially or actually empowering, leaders are redefining their roles and the meaning of power. Flattened organizational cultures are not the only major challenge facing the leaders of today and tomorrow. Increased diversity, of opinion as well as of personal background, is making organizational climates changeable and complex. We no longer have organizations run by...
Now, boardrooms are filled with people from various walks of life. Gender, race, and social class continue to be barriers to success but those barriers are shrinking. Soon the glass ceiling will shatter, and the upper echelons of business and politics will become more colorful if not more crowded.
The challenges facing the leaders of today and tomorrow are unique because the leaders of the past have been able to rest on the laurels of firmly established hegemonies. Those hegemonies, especially patriarchy, still exist. However, it is becoming harder and harder to get away with discrimination. The current challenge facing leaders is finding a balance between cultural sensitivity and universal ethics. While Western Europe and most developed nations value the input of women in organizations, not all cultures have escaped the tyranny of sexism. Doing business in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East is a matter of course for most large…
