How do you lead in a world that doesn’t yet exist?

The world is changing quickly, we all know and experience this on a regular basis. But this poses a massive challenge for leaders. How can we lead in a rapidly changing world and perhaps in a world that doesn’t even yet exist? Whether we look at technology and automation, multiple generations at work, globalization, social and racial injustice, COVID-19, or the many other trends that are shaping work and life, the bottom line is that things are changing.

In the past few weeks several Chief Human Resource Officers I have interviewed on my podcast have come under and have lost their jobs. You can read more about what happened on my LinkedIn post.

What should leaders be doing? I recently did a live session where I talked about several strategies leaders can implement, you can watch the replay below and make sure to subscribe to the Youtube channel to get access to more videos and to be notified when I go live.

Here are 7 strategies

Accept that this is the new normal

This is what the CHRO of MasterCard told me when I spoke with him. I asked him how keeps up with everything that’s going on and he basically told me that keeping up implies that the pace of change is temporary. But things will never be as slow as they are now.

Think like a futurist

From the 140 CEOs I interviewed for my latest book, The Future Leader, this was the #1 skill they identified as being most crucial. This skill is about thinking in terms of possibilities and scenarios instead of just picking a single path. I actually did a video on this which I think explains the concept nicely. You need to constantly ask yourself a series of 4 questions when making decisions:

1. Why might “this” happen or not happen?
2. What else might happen?
3. What do I want to happen and how can I make it happen?
4. What factors might influence why this will or won’t happen?

Lead by example

A mother brings her child to see Gandhi. She says, “Please tell my child to quit each sugar.” Gandhi says, “Please come back in six months.” She and her child leave and return in six months. Gandhi looks at the child and says, “Quit eating sugar.” The mother asks, “Why did we have to wait six months?” Gandhi says, “I had to quit sugar myself before I told someone else to do it.” The point of this story is that as a leader, you can’t ask someone to do something or behave in a certain way unless you are going to do it first.

Be a perpetual learner

My dad came from The Republic of Georgia (not Georgia the state!) and didn’t speak a word of English. He bought an English to Russian translation dictionary and would watch the Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin shows. Being a perpetual learner means you don’t rely on educational institutions or organizations to teach you what you need to know in order to be successful. You have to take control over your own personal and professional development and learn how to learn.

Recognize the past

I learned about this from Frances Frei, the former SVP of leadership at Uber and professor at Harvard Business School. She has worked on many leadership programs and learned that if you want to be able to create change inside of an organization you have to start by recognizing the past. Think of how you would honor an ancestor, it’s a similar idea. It’s about acknowledging and respecting what came before, and trying to build on top of that as opposed to talking a sledgehammer to everything.

Think like laboratory not like a factory

Factories are linear, process-centric, and embrace the status quo. Laboratories embrace failure, use data, experiment, and challenge convention. Leading in a rapidly changing world means you will have to make mistakes along the way, learn quickly, and apply what you learned to new situations and scenarios.

Surround yourself with people who are more talented than you

Leaders have traditionally been seen as the most capable and skilled people on a team and it’s something leaders have grown accustomed to. But this model is being flipped on its head. Leaders MUST surround themselves with people who are more skilled and talented than they are. This will certainly require a bit of courage, boldness, and getting out of your comfort zone.

I hope you found these strategies helpful!

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If you enjoyed the article and want more content like this here’s what you can do:

1. Subscribe to The Future of Work Podcast where I interview business leaders around the world each week.
2. Grab a copy of The Future Leader which has been endorsed by the CEOs of MasterCard, Best Buy, Oracle, Audi, Unilever, Domino’s Pizza, Ritz Carlton, Kaiser, and Marshall Goldsmith. It explores the most essential skills and mindsets for future leaders.
3. If you are or want to be an entrepreneur then my wife and I just launched a brand new podcast on how to Be Your Own Boss, called the BYOB Podcast where we share what we did and how we did it. You can subscribe to that here.