LEADERSHIP ASSIGNMENT

8

The Evolution of Leadership

L eadership styles have evolved over time, with a prominent

shift from the autocratic and directive leadership of the

twentieth century to a more participative and democratic

style of the new generation. In a global study involving 389 leaders

from 28 countries, The Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL) found

that 83% of the leaders surveyed believe that the definition of

effective leadership has changed in the past five years.

These changes to leadership styles can be attributed to a combination

of issues including a shift in people’s attitudes as well as advances

in technology. There is an imperative for leaders of organisations,

including HR Managers, to plan ahead and adapt to the movement

of these evolving trends to ensure the best outcomes for their

organisations.

The move has shifted from Authoritarian leaders who believed

in top-down management, strict rules and exact orders, to a

progression into white collar careers with more individualised

thinking and individual ownership over tasks. It was here that

participative leadership styles settled in, and this style is now one of

the most common leadership styles in contemporary society.

Changes in leadership styles can be seen across Asia-Pacific too

as a Harvard Business School Professor explains that, “As Asian

companies seek access to world capital markets, they will move

toward professional managers who will employ leadership styles

more akin to those now used in the United States”.

The participative style of leadership management is where the

group is central to the decision making process, and not the leader

alone. The work environment is more flexible and managers feel

at ease in regards to drawing on the knowledge of experienced

followers. Today’s leaders speak in terms of “open” dialogue and

“collaboration,” and indeed if you ask the great leaders of today

they will invariably point to their close collaborators and mentors as

being part of the leadership.

Traits of Successful Leaders of Today The shift from authoritative to participative styles

An appointment to a management role does not automatically equip

an individual with successful leadership skills. In many situations

people follow management because they have to, however the

ideal scenario would be where people follow leaders because they

want to. Ergo, an obvious trend has arisen whereby managers

are seeking to develop leadership skills. This, combined with the

acceptance of the participative leadership style is also resulting

in workgroups developing into “teams” with an emphasis being

placed on team leadership as being the top of the evolutionary

cycle.

Within teams, it is important to ensure that there is a genuine

desire for each team member’s input into the outcome; the caveat

is that the leader must believe that the group members have

definite value to add. This does not mean that every idea from every

individual should be implemented, but paying lip service will not be

an adequate response for the contemporary employee who can

usually tell if there is a genuine desire to achieve buy-in.

In general, people do not like to have ideas or solutions imposed on

them but if they have been part of designing the end game, they

are more likely to have buy-in and an inclination to support and take

action on decisions made by the leader.

In a study conducted by CCL-Asia, among the variety of events

mentioned by respondents, the role of bosses and superiors

was the most significant in making a lasting impact on their

development. This was the most widely cited event, with 53% of

all respondents citing a boss or superior as a source of learning

about leadership.

The ability to manage expectations & priorities

One of the more contemporary and desirable traits of effective

leaders is their ability to manage expectations. That includes

managing the expectations of investors, shareholders, employees,

suppliers, the community and other stakeholders; trying to deliver

too much too soon often results in nothing being delivered

particularly well.

In his book, “From Good to Great,” Jim Collins, a highly regarded

author on leadership writes, “We've all been told that leaders make

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things happen—and that's true: But it is also true that good-to-great

leaders distinguish themselves by their unyielding discipline to stop

doing anything and everything that doesn't fit tightly within their

one big initiative.”

Effective leaders, of the past and present, carefully articulate what

the end goal is and have a robust plan to get them there. Leaders

understand that they are working with scarce resources – people

and capital. Their imperative is to prioritise initiatives based on the

impact and the ease of implementation and then allocate their

resources appropriately.

“Under promise and over-deliver”, is an oft-quoted mantra. It may

seem exceedingly obvious but it is infrequently put into practice.

Some leaders want to appear as able to do everything, but

sometimes strategy is choosing what not to do.

The Future of Leadership CCL has found that the number one ranked skill in terms of

importance for employees is leading people. 73% of respondents

stated that leading people is important for success now, but an

even greater percentage of 89% stated that it will be the most

important factor for success in the future.

Due to vast technological advancements, an increasing trend in

leadership styles called ‘Self-Leadership’ is now being seen more

and more often. The pioneers of this leadership style mainly connect

over the Internet, rather than through face-to-face interactions, and

fully exploit technology to forge an innovative and creative path.

They have the drive to disperse physically and geographically

as they do not need to be managed and only ask for help when

absolutely necessary. Statistics revealed by The Herman Group

predict an increase by 40% of home-based work by the year 2020.

Using primarily networking and negotiation skills, these types of

leaders focus on the bigger picture and coordinate directions taken

by independent workers. In this new leadership setting, the less-

technologically able leaders may feel challenged.

Learning and development resources remain indispensable to draw

in different styles of leadership and outline various approaches to

the new trend. Resources covering leadership topics include Online

Learning Portals with live-scenario based training films on a broad

spectrum of business challenges.

Tips for Leaders to Plan Ahead:

Invest in leadership development programs for staff in management positions to ü

adapt to emerging leadership trends.

Motivate employees to keep learning and developing their skills so they can ü

continue to contribute to new ideas and innovations.

Focus on recruiting self-motivated individuals who have the potential to grow as ü

leaders.

Observe trends in developing leadership skills so that your organisation can position ü

itself favourably for future success.

Plan an organisational culture that fosters creativity, collaboration and innovation. ü