21st Century Leadership

The 21^st Century is less than a decade old, but it has proven to be as different from the 20^th Century as the Renaissance was from the Dark Ages. In almost all aspects that can be measured, things are moving faster, organizations are more diverse, information is more available, and we are more interconnected than we could have imagined just ten years ago. It is no leap of the imagination then, that we need a very different type of leader during the coming years than the leaders of the past. My first series of blog entries will be an exploration of the need for a different kind of leader in the 21st Century. To start, let me frame my view of the problem...

The Challenges of the 21^st Century

Ray Kurzweil is an inventor, entrepreneur and futurist. In an interview with Chris Meyer, he observed: “We're entering an age of acceleration. The models underlying society at every level, which are largely based on a linear model of change, are going to have to be redefined. Because of the explosive power of exponential growth, the 21st century will be equivalent to 20,000 years of progress at today's rate of progress; organizations have to be able to redefine themselves at a faster and faster pace.[1]” This exponential growth in the rate of change will be a challenge to every leader during the 21^st Century.

A second challenge that requires leaders to act differently is the sheer volume of information that one has to process in this internet age. We’ve moved from a model where information was generally controlled by a few and disseminated to many to a world where everyone is both a consumer and a publisher of information. The tools of the internet allow just about anyone to contribute to wikis, blog about a topic or “broadcast yourself” with very little effort. The fact that there are now so many publishers in the world is causing an explosion of information. In the corporate world, everything is being captured and measured. The volume of data is immense, and most corporations are doing a dismal job of distilling the data into the meaningful information that leaders need to make the most effective decisions. Leaders are “drinking from the information fire hose” trying to keep up with the latest and greatest information.

Leaders in the 20^th Century generally had teams that were made up of people that were much like they were. Certainly, in the first half of the twentieth century, the corporate work force in the US was predominantly white and male. Segregation and prejudice were very effective at ensuring that there were clear boundaries between workers of different colors. Of course today, we have overcome most of the racial and sexist barriers that kept diverse people out of the workforce. One can argue that discrimination and barriers still exist, but legal protections ensure that people of diverse cultures are well represented in the workplace. Furthermore, our modern transportation and communications systems have enabled significant mixing of cultures through immigration as well. “As the 21st century begins, the ethnic and racial composition of the U.S. workforce continues to diversify at a rapid pace. Much of that change reflects an expansion in the share of foreign-born workers, from about 1 in 17 in 1960 to 1 in 8 workers today.[2]” Our modern economy has also provided the tools for the creation of global teams. These global teams are inherently made up of people from different countries and cultures. Furthermore, there is also a new kind of diversity in corporate environments today. That is the diversity of lifestyle. This includes the incorporation of people with different religious views and sexual orientations.

Finally, the 21^st Century will be challenging for leaders because of globalization. In this context, globalization is different from diversity. Globalization means that competition can occur from anywhere. In his book “The World is Flat,” Milton Friedman describes how small organizations, using the power of modern tools and the internet have successfully competed with and displaced traditional brick and mortar companies in many industries within a very short time. Globalization means that work can be disaggregated and the parts sent around the world to wherever the resources with the right skills at the right cost are located. In other words, globalization leads to global teams, global competition and global worries for just about any leader.

Coming up soon - Essential Tasks of Leadership

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[1] Meyer, Chris. “Understanding the Accelerating Rate of Change.” KurzweilAI.net. 1 May 2003. 10 Oct 2008. http://www.kurzweilai.net/articles/art0563.html?printable=1

[2] Abraham T. Mosisa. “The Role of Foreign Born Workers in the US Economy.” Monthly Labor Review Online. May 2002, Vol. 125 No. 5. 16 Oct 2008. http://stats.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2002/05/art1exc.htm