Leaders Must Adapt for Success

The role of the leader is to establish the mission (purpose), vision (what they wish to become) and values (how they wish to behave). Once complete, the leader must communicate the mission, vision and values. 

Leaders should work together with employees throughout the organization to build a strategy and goals that fulfill living the mission and achieving the vision. The leader needs to create and nurture a culture that supports communication, relationship building, compassion and overall positive mood. Finally, the leader should act as a servant to his/her followers and provide them with the resources to perform their jobs in an effective manner.

Strategic Trends in Leadership

• Changing workforce demographics: This includes managing multiple generations and a global, diverse workforce. Leaders today must lead those who have a wide variety of cultural frameworks and personal desires. Managing a “one size fits all” workforce no longer is sustainable. It is important for leaders to demonstrate openness to other viewpoints and include diverse perspectives when making decisions and thinking through the impacts of such decisions.
• Employee Commitment: Workers are scarred from the constant downsizings by organizations. This has resulted in employees having less loyalty and engaging less in the organization. Millennials, who saw their parents downsized, desire to work for themselves and see organizations as a temporary place where they can learn skills they will need. Successful leaders today communicate commitment to their followers, support employee development, and enable career opportunities.
• Chaos and Complexity: Years ago, organizations feverously followed their competitors and built strategies to win against them. Today, organizations must still do this, but must also “anticipate” where the new competitors will come from. Not only will new competitors emerge, but new technology or the use of it could disrupt your industry landscape and/or eliminate your organization. Such was the case of Blockbuster Video vs. Netflix or the taxi industry and Uber. Successful leaders manage this chaotic and complex environment by being adaptive, creating and nurturing a culture that is innovative, building key relationships throughout industry, and building strategies that are dynamic.

Dr. Linda Pittenger is an associate professor in the Master of Science in Leadership program at Embry-Riddle Worldwide.