Keys to Developing Leaders for the 21st Century

• In Event: Cross-Cultural Studies

Short Description

This cross-cultural study investigated the leadership development practices needed to cultivate future leaders with a global mindset. Findings from in-depth interviews with 65 European leadership experts and 25 from the U.S. support the development of cross-culturally appropriate leadership training programs, enriched with neuro-leadership approaches, to bridge the gap between required and observed leadership skills.

Detailed Abstract

Leadership development in today's VUCA world becomes an urgent and challenging issue. As a Deloitte (2015) survey has shown, the traditional pyramid shaped leadership development model is simply not producing leaders fast enough to keep up with the demands of business and the pace of change.

Many studies have attempted to identify the leadership skills and behaviors of the effective future leaders. Giles (2016), in a study of 195 leaders in 15 countries over 30 global organizations found that the most important leadership quality was strong ethics and safety, As she pointed out “From a neuroscience perspective, making sure that people feel safe on a deep level should be job #1 for leaders”. The other clusters of competences which were found to be important are self-organizing, efficient learning, nurturing growth, connecting and belonging.
A global research (Hay Group, 2011) revealed the need for a post-heroic leadership style. The leaders of the future will need to be adaptable, flexible, multilingual, and internationally mobile, to have deep integrity and strong conceptual and strategic thinking skills. But, most crucially, they must be highly collaborative since they will be leading increasingly diverse and independent teams over which they may not always have direct authority.

Rosen (2010) found that the 21st century leadership landscape requires two new leadership skills, namely the ability to create and communicate a strategic plan to employees in a way that everyone is aware of the organization’s priorities and the ability to inspire employees to perform at the highest level.

Neuroscience research (Ochsner, 2015) has shown that leadership training should start earlier and focus on four areas which are clear harbingers of leadership, personal skills, focus skills, social skills and learning skills based on the AGES model (Attention, Generation, Emotion and Spacing) (Davachi et al. 2010).

Especially in turbulent times, Cox et al., (2010) showed that the crucial leadership skills were innovation and creativity, impact and influence on others, working with partners, managing conflict and motivating others among others. As the authors stated, although most leadership and management skills are not new and, in fact, are similar in most economic circumstances, there is a difference in the emphasis placed on them in different times.

A similar research, conducted in five European countries, investigated the crucial leadership skills in times of crisis. The results revealed ten leadership skills that young leaders need to develop. These were organized in three categories, self-management skills (self-confidence, optimism, trustworthiness), business management skills (analytical decision making, strategic thinking and planning, creative problem solving) and people management skills (collaboration, interpersonal communication, network building, motivating others) (Iordanoglou et al. 2014).

The present study attempted to investigate the crucial leadership skills and the most effective leadership development practices in Europe and the US, in order to propose more up to date and appropriate leadership development methods to train future leaders for turbulent times.


Methods

Measures and sample

A qualitative research methodology was used, which involved in-depth, semi-structured interviews with leadership experts. The interview discussion guide was divided in three main areas:

1.Necessary leadership skills in turbulent times
2.Possible gaps between required and observed leadership skills in young professionals in the workplace
3.Leadership development methods – Case studies, best practices and storytelling
In addition, a quantitative questionnaire was constructed, which included forty-one leadership skills. Leadership experts had to rate these skills in terms of their importance for leadership development in turbulent times.

The sample consisted of European (N=65) and US leadership experts (N=25) namely, HR managers, leadership and neuro-leadership academics/researchers, company owners, senior managers and organizational development consultants.
Through the comparative analysis, the following questions were addressed:
 - Are there differences between the US and the European sample with regard to the important leadership skills for future leaders needed in turbulent times?
 - Is the economic crisis, which most of the studied European countries face, affecting the leadership skills needed in Europe as compared to the US?
 - Which leadership skills have the greatest discrepancy between required and observed behaviors in young professionals in Europe and in the US?


Results
The key findings revealed the essential leadership skills for future leaders in turbulent times. Specifically, similarities between US and European experts’ opinions were found in skills such as optimism and creative problem solving while some differences were also evident. Interestingly, an emphasis on self-management skills, such as integrity, optimism, adaptability, self-control, resilience and stress management along with the articulation of an energizing vision was found in the US experts, implying that, during times of crisis, the leader should possess and exhibit personal qualities. On the other hand, an emphasis on people management skills such as collaboration and teamwork, motivating others, interpersonal communication and building networks and connections was found in the European experts’ opinions, showing that, in turbulent times, a greater emphasis on relationships and collaboration seemed more appropriate by them.

In addition, a gap between required and observed leadership skills in the workplace was identified in almost all the crucial leadership skills, suggesting the need for a more effective collaboration between universities and industry in leadership development practices.
Furthermore, as the results from the qualitative stage of this study have shown, future leadership development should take into account the findings from neuroscience about the way human brain functions and learns. Starting with personal dream and vision, involving peer to peer coaching and coaching with compassion and establishing close and caring relationships in order for a person to feel secure and sustain efforts for change found to be of great importance.

The results of the present study can have theoretical and practical implications on the leadership development field. Specifically, the findings can enhance our understanding of the leadership skills needed for the 21st century leaders and help organizations and universities worldwide develop more up-to-date and cross-culturally appropriate leadership training programs, enriched with neuro-leadership findings, in order to bridge the gap between required and observed leadership skills in the workplace and train future leaders with global skills and mindset.

Participant

• Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University