It may be too late to catch up, as Bob Johansen, author of The New Leadership Literacies states, but it is a great time to leapfrog. Looking beyond skills, Bob introduces us to the new literacies that are really a combination of practices and world perspectives.
We will not see predictability and volatility and uncertainty will prevail. So, how will leaders prepare for this? In the future, Bob maps out forecasting as a tool to look ahead and then back to prepare for changes that are coming. He also introduces low-risk gaming (great chapter on gaming) to hone our skills. Personal energy will need to be high and this matches up with the emphasis these days on health, well-being and mindfulness.
As a search consultant, our role has been to find the talent that our client has profiled for success. It can be a financial leader of HR VP. There are often long lists of requirements as we launch a search and it becomes the challenge to triangulate hard skills, strategic skills and character for a g
ood fit.
Clarity will be king in the future. I mean, if we are clear on who we are and what we value, and what our business is intended to deliver, this will serve as our guide in making decisions and evaluating talent. Those long list of requirements will transform into a "top five criteria and deliverables" for success in your organization. The hiring team will embrace that and use advisors or trusted talent evaluators in their company to keep the team headed in the agreed upon direction. Then, we will start to see the old job posting and description become an artifact of the past. The new mindset is select for potential and fit with both top fives addressed. What was certainty in writing those old artifacts will shift and be "clarity" on what it takes to succeed and show up authentically.
Future talent will be continual learners, embrace challenge and lead from the edge of complex networks. Bob says, hierarchies will come and go and "mutual benefit partnering" will take hold. If a new leader needs an expertise he or she is light on, there is encouragement to partner inside or out. Experimenting and learning will be a celebrated process for the best leaders.
It used to be that leaders needed to learn it all and know it all - that is gone in this future. Now, we will be measured on how to nurture and develop shared resources and ourselves from wonderfully diverse networks. Sound good? Our development will be as good as our network is. Our success will be based on how open our companies are about listening to and learning from our talent. Are you ready to leapfrog!
Comments