What is a 21st Century Leader?

A 21st Century leader is adapting.  Given the accelerating pace of our environment, only one thing is certain and that is change.  Strategies, goals, visions and teams must change to meet the changing marketplace, customer base and human resources.  The leader must be able to change their style and manner of leading based on the people on the team, the current task and the environment where the team works.  Styles must also be adapted to address the culture of the people the leader is influencing.  With global teams and stakeholders, one must be able to influence a Japanese investor, a European technical expert and an American financial analyst.  

To do this, knowledge of culture and flexibility in approach will be key.  Finally, a 21^st Century leader must adapt his role on the team based on a number of factors.  Flexible teams are necessary to address fast moving, free flowing problems and environments.  It will be difficult, if not impossible, for a single leader to be the best leader in all times and situations during an endeavor.  This means that the leader must cede the leader role at times to another who is uniquely equipped to handle a particular phase  or set of tasks necessary to move the organization forward.  This cannot be “abdication” of the responsibilities of leadership, but more of a recognition of the new realities of leadership, made successful by approaching leadership as a “team sport,” rather than an individual event.

A 21st Century leader is always learning.  Once again, the pace of change drives the need to constantly update skills, knowledge and abilities.  If one is to be as adaptable as is needed in this environment, then the need to challenge the old methods, even those learned recently, with new methods is necessary.  The resources that are available to learn are now so vast and widely available that the leader who does not leverage them will quickly become obsolete.  Global competition and resource availability ensures that there is always a qualified candidate ready to step up to the challenge.  The leader must pay as much attention to their technical skills as their leadership skills.  Leaders’ credibility is in part based on their technical skills.  In his article “Leadership in a Combat Zone,” US Army Lieutenant General Gus Pagonis makes the case for the leader to be technically competent as a prerequisite for success.

A 21st Century leader is discerning.  The amount of data and information available to the organization regarding any possible goal or activity is exploding.  This information is being pushed, pulled and exposed to all members of the team in a constant river that must be dealt with.  The challenge that this presents is two-fold.  First, there is critical information flowing in the river of data.  Sometimes the critical piece of information will be easy to see, like a large log floating in the main channel of the river.  But, more often than not, the critical data will be a fish, swimming against the stream, 3 feet below the surface.  Depending on the location of the observer, it may be visible; or it may need to be caught in order to bring it in for consumption.  The second challenge is that the river of information is being directed towards and consumed by all parts of the organization.  Each stakeholder and team member will be reviewing the data stream and pulling out nuggets of information they believe are important.  This then becomes a new stream of information being relayed to the leader.  Sometimes the data will in fact be important, other times it will be meaningless.  Sometimes the data will be factual and accurate, other times it will be bent and distorted.  This means that a 21^st Century leader must be able to sort through too much information from too many sources, and be able to distill the essence of its meaning and the appropriate actions that must be taken based on the information. 

A 21st Century leader is relating.  They must be able to build relationships with and among the people in their organizations.  There are no longer any teams that are mere assemblies of individual workers accomplishing disparate tasks.  People within organizations are co-dependent, collaborating and cooperating parts of a greater whole.  The leader must be able to create relationships with the individuals of the team so that they can understand the background, motivations and aspirations of that person.  The leader must be able to relate information to the person in a context that it can be consumed, and this requires knowledge of the individual.  Additionally, the leader must be able to facilitate relationships among the people in the organization.  These relationships, being critical to the success of the organization, become key to the leaders’ success as well.  A dynamic leader will be fostering interaction between the members of his team, coaching individuals on how to build relationships and with whom those relationships should be built.   A new skill that 21^st Century leaders will be required to master is the ability to build relationships with people whom they have never met face-to-face.  Global organizations and lighting fast communications enable teams to be created across thousands of miles and multiple time zones.  A leader will be confronted with resources that are assigned to the organization that are remote from the leader.  This does not mean, however, that there is no need for a close relationship.  Therefore, the leader must foster that relationship across the miles and across the time divide.