Where Will We Find Tomorrow’s Leaders?
Linda A. Hill, Professor, Harvard Business School, discusses the leaders of tomorrow. Hill doesn’t think we’ll find new global leaders by looking in conventional places for people who act in conventional take-charge ways. Instead, companies should look for people who can lead from behind to promote the collective genius of their teams.
- What the leader of tomorrow will look like?
- What can organization do to development new kind of leader?
- What can an individual do to become one?
Acknowledging there’s a shortage of leaders in business, Hill describes how companies face challenges in developing leaders for emerging markets. What do we need from leaders in the coming years? Building on Nelson Mandela’s leadership principle, Hill believes two approaches are required for tomorrow’s leaders:
- Leading from behind
- Leadership as collective genius
Leading from Behind
Hill defined leading from behind as creating the context that others are willing and able to lead, allowing others to excel. Leaders should ask, “Am I creating to context to that others are willing and able to lead?” Today’s leader must create an inclusive, collaborative approach that demands a leading from behind leadership style. As workers, we all have something to offer, but is this being unleashed? Hill emphasizes that new leaders unleash this talent through a leading from behind approach.
Leadership as Collective Genius
What is leadership as collective genius? Collective genius is unleashing and unharnessing slices of genius. Unleashing the talent of those, who are allowed to lead, after leaders use the “lead from behind” approach. Unharnessing people means facilitating worker to work by their values, working so they get meaning from work. New leaders will place a premium on collectiveness.
More than Execution, Competitiveness is Innovation
Hill describes that tomorrow’s leaders will need to lead from behind and as collective genius; it’s a matter of perspective, by creating a context that recognizing everyone can contribute and lead. To be competitive in today’s global environment, new leaders can’t just execute, and they have to innovate. To get innovation, they need to create a culture of engagement and learning. To get this culture of engagement and learning, new leaders must have diversity, conflict, and agility. Workers, who are willing to bring their whole self to work, hold all of this together, being innovative. Companies must develop talent that will have a values-based approach to leadership.
Recommended Reading List
- Where Will We Find Tomorrow’s Leaders? A Conversation with Linda A. Hill
- Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership
by Linda A. Hill
