Leadership is changing

Business remains surprisingly poor at producing effective leaders, observes HR Magazine, quoting research from Hay Group that just 18 per cent of UK leaders are able to create a high-performance environment and from The Conference Board, saying that only 40 per cent of leaders and 25 per cent of HR professionals globally view their organisation’s leadership as high quality.

Picture: Stephanie Hofschlaeger / pixelio

Cliff Oswick, professor in organisational behaviour theory at Cass Business School comments: “The days of the ‘rock star’ CEO are behind us,” he says. “We don’t need leaders who demonstrate ‘strong leadership’. We need people who are inclusive, reflective and facilitate the ideas of others.”

Technology is at the forefront of driving this change in the perception of effective leadership. “Previously, leaders had to make decisions because you couldn’t send a memo and wait two weeks for it to come back,” explains Oswick. “Now, real-time collaborative decision-making is possible. Technology facilitates networks over hierarchies and enables more democratic forms of CEO activity.”

Also attitudes are changing. Today's executives are leading people from a much wider age range, and for that a different type of leader is needed. Bernd Vogel, associate professor of leadership and organisational behaviour at Henley Business School and director of the Henley Centre for Engaging Leadership, adds that while it’s too simplistic to chalk everything up to age, expectations are shifting. “Generation Y is much more willing to express their need for co-creation. Twenty years ago, people had the same motivation, but thought they needed to learn their trade before they were allowed to speak up. That’s not happening any more.” Society has changed, says Oswick: “people want to be engaged, not led. They want autonomy, more of a stake and to feel part of a community.”

It would be impossible for one leader, however exceptional, to embody all the traits required for success in a volatile world. Instead, experts argue, leadership needs to be distributed. For Vogel, “collective leadership” has been “a real game changer” over the past few years. “We’ve moved away from the idea that leadership is about one individual,” he explains. “Leadership happens in relationships.”

What are the consequences? Will hierarchies really disappear? Oswick believes so: “Organisations of the future will be networks rather than hierarchies,” he predicts. “With webs of influence rather than formal positions.” Vogel argues: “we need a repertoire of leadership, with both new and more traditional forms”.

Barbara Bierach