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Futureproof your leadership! | Future Leaders Blog

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We had the great pleasure and honour of talking at a WATC Careers Club in London at the end of last year – on the subject of how to futureproof your leadership.

The event took place at Coca-Cola’s offices in central London, a great, inspiring place. The room was full of engaged formal and informal leaders at different stages of their career. It was wonderful to watch and hear their eagerness and commitment to becoming the best leader only they can be.

Because, as you know, there is of course not just one way of being a great leader. In fact, the best leaders we have ever met are clever in seeing that they have a unique recipe for leadership, made up by strengths, knowledge, skills, experience, personality and emotional intelligence. And they then make the most of that mixture in the particular leadership role they have.

Time does not stand still though and neither should we. So even authentic leadership needs to continuously develop to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Education is the passport to the future,

for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.

Malcolm X

The world and the reality in which we operate, is changing continuously and so does our leadership. Factors such as globalisation, the expectations of new generations as well as sustainability goals, drive and encourage a new type of leadership.

Future leaders need to be authentic, strengths-focused, inclusive, flexible, great listeners, curious and open-minded in order to capture others’ interest and engagement, and be able to create dialogue and cross-pollination of ideas that can solve the challenges of the future.

All of this can sound big and over-whelming, but it really doesn’t need to be.

Just remember that great leadership is about influencing others and enabling them to do a great job.

With that in mind, think about what behaviour(s) you can develop further to make that a reality. Perhaps you want to practice your listening, your feedback skills or your open-mindedness (=listening without having to be “right”). Or maybe it’s something completely different. Only you know what’s going to be most useful for YOU.

Whatever it is, make the commitment to do it and notice the steps you take to futureproof your leadership. And when you show that kind of commitment, we know you’ll do great!

 

About the authors

Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of ”The Team Formula”.

Their latest book, multi-award-winning ”Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions”, published by Financial Times International is a practical tool for building winning teams. You can download a free chapter of the book at www.leadingteamsbook.com

Praise for ”Leading Teams: ”Enjoyable to read. Simple to understand. Practical to implement. A must read for team members or leadersDebbie Fogel-Monnissen, Executive Vice President, International Markets Finance Officer, Mastercard, NY, USA

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