How to redefine the role of leadership in business as well as how to achieve it

This informal CPD article on How to redefine the role of leadership in business as well as how to achieve it was provided by Adapt2Digital, an amazing group of experts and specialists from technology, data, coaching, change management, leadership and digital to help businesses transform.

In these unprecedented times, it is easy to forget that leaders also need support and development to navigate their organisation through digital transformation.

Post COVID-19, digital transformation has accelerated as much as 10 years in some countries and sectors…but this speaks more to technology, product, service or operating model shifts…less so to the tangible investments and methods to embrace future leadership, future culture and future workforce in a holistic way. For example, understanding what Office 365 can do is very different to identifying the new habits and behaviours possible through this technology to increase efficiency, productivity, fulfilment and satisfaction.

Support to help leaders become aware and develop the different mindsets and behaviours needed to transition from rigid corporate structures and one-way data flow paths to networked corporate structures with free-flowing data paths is no longer an option but an imperative.

Amongst our many projects of digital improvement and digital innovation all too often there lacks the single golden thread of actively aware and actively participating leadership.

What does future leadership look like?

The million-dollar question! Training and development has for decades focused on capability and skill. Especially for leaders, where the traditional mindset supports the fact that leaders make decisions and have the solution. In the complex, converging and fast changing world we live in, that’s not feasible anymore. There’s too much data for one person to make the best decision. There is more than one right answer often. The complexity of our ecosystems creates lag time when the users of our products and services demand real time experiences.

This is a macro challenge, a wicked challenge, a complex challenge. However, if we take leadership as a catalyst for change and an influential component through the entire lifecycle, we have a start point to a journey for a better future.
Future leadership, digital leadership, modern leadership – what we label it is less important than our agreed, collective understanding of what ‘it’ is and looks like.

For the past 8 years we have been working with leaders across the world in group session and in confidential coaching and mentoring environments. With data spanning over 14 countries and over 2,000 leaders across multiple sectors we’ve recognised 7 common principles and 7 key mindsets that, when present in a balanced and holistic way evidence leadership that can successfully shift cultures, where workforce happiness is higher and fulfilment and satisfaction across the entire audience value chain increases.

The 7 Principles and Mindsets of Leadership Today

Before sharing these 7 Principles and Mindsets, it’s important to recognise that not everything you will see is new, things like systems leadership, adaptive leadership and authentic leadership have been around for many years, what we are doing here is taking a holistic view of leadership at a complete human level and mixing what’s emerging with what’s as relevant today as it’s ever been.

How do we support leaders to make this shift?

More recently the value of coaching and mentoring has emerged as something valuable to a much wider audience than just the chosen few. These styles and techniques of engagement and developmental support play a crucial part in helping leaders make this shift. The reason for this? Mindset and behaviour are not easy to change. They require commitment, concentration, awareness and time. Mentors and coaches can help, with the techniques of mentoring and coaching.

The other main method we have recognised in our work that really helps is the use and application of habits. There is some great work out there from Charles Duhigg and James Clear. In our field, we have identified the habits and behaviours that accompany and support a shift towards as well as maintenance of the 7 Principles and Mindsets.

There is also another contributing factor that supports shift. As leaders, we are often time poor, we are juggling multiple priorities as well as keeping an eye on both the future and now in equal measure – well that’s the idea!

The ability to focus and achieve successful change at a mindset and behavioural level given these conditions and this environment requires something that doesn’t feel like a space invader – eating up the valuable time you have become enslaved to.

The answer lies in the concept known as ‘The Power of One’. ‘The Power of One’ manifests in many areas of our work and has been the key contributor to our ability to help individual leaders develop successful pathways as well as help digital transformation teams succeed where others fail.

Leaders are the people who should be leaning in and dedicating time now to a shift in mindset and behaviour, to a human centred approach to change and transformation.

We believe successful digital transformation is a people movement before it is a set of projects and programs. It is important for us as leaders to reconnect with our human side that’s unique to us with the soft skills of traditional leadership being the power skills of a Quantum leader.

A different kind of leader is already emerging

There will always be the odd leader who dares to think differently. In recent years we have started to see the Millennial CEO emerge as well as the entry of generation Z into the workforce. When you marry this with how our personal lives have changed there are a growing number of future and emerging leaders who truly believe there is a better and different way of operating and leading. These leaders who think differently may feel they are swimming against the tide of culture and the rest of the organisation. They may often find it difficult to be seen or heard – marginalised as mavericks perhaps, instead of the credible disruptor they deserve to be.

This is what we call the Quantum leader. The leader who already has a balanced leadership profile across all 7 Principles and Mindsets who is committed and motived to make the world a better place. These leaders benefit from some of the more emergent skills and competencies that are becoming noticed as part of leadership development. These leaders benefit from a different level of support that is more peer to peer and community focussed. If you feel you are a Quantum leader, our next blog will deep dive into this profile and share some guidance on how to develop, support and build your voice and visibility as a credible disruptor.

We hope this article was helpful. For more information from Adapt2Digital, please visit their CPD Member Directory page. Alternatively please visit the CPD Industry Hubs for more CPD articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements.