Have you ever given a thought to what is required of a leader in this present age?
I have been pondering what needs to be done to lead the present generation forward in business, academia and governance.
Past leaders were adept in using military rule, entitlement and resource capture to become position holders. In the very near future, these leaders will give way and the current framework will become archaic.
I believe that like it was in times before ours, sheer power, economic status and charisma will make you a leader. But with the technological shift, these same attributes will need to be appropriated. And this will be particularly hard with the current policies inadvertently rigged for a select few to gain competitive advantage in harnessing resources like oil and steel. The very advantage that put people in the position of economic power thus making them key players in governance – I.e. Leadership.
What does economic leadership look like today?
There is a current need to be self reliant, to make more out of less and to conserve a depleting planet. The key to achieving more with less lies in the power of networks. We need to start trusting one another to allow each individual conquer more and enlarge territories.
Although sheer power is often physical, I would like us to focus on political power. This is the ability to control the emotion or actions of a person or group of people through words. In the past, lack of information or knowledge made people rely on leaders as a source of truth and direction. With the advent of google and the web at large, information is readily available on the super computers we call mobile phones.
So if information alone was power, EVERYONE would be a leader. Therefore, we know that brawn or information alone won’t lead to sheer or political power.
The ability to touch lives positively, to love, be loved and to create value through opportunities will be the true source of power.
The charismatic leader, the “Packaged” leader will be the one people listen to.
The method and process by which you display yourself to the world matters as much as the information you display. Essentially, your brand, or identity (The “Who”) will be the reason people listen to your message.
Leadership tomorrow will require each one of us to be street smart, to understand money and to create value.
The implication of this is that leaders tomorrow will touch lives, help people, create platforms and deliver unprecedented change because they understand sheer power, economics and they’re sufficiently charismatic.
No one ingredient can be left out.