Leadership is changing.
This is the consensus from the over 140 CEOs I interviewed for my book, The Future Leader.
Change is hard, in fact it goes against our very human nature! Nobody wants to be changed.
Don’t believe me?
Then why do babies cry whenever you change them?
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.
Costco warehouses are for more than just bulk goods and samples—they’re also home to happy employees. Costco is regularly ranked a top place to work and a company with the happiest employees, largely due to a culture that values employees and treats them fairly with good benefits and wages. Setting the tone for that culture is CEO Craig Jelinek. Craig follows in the footsteps of previous Costco leaders to put his people first and continue a legacy of engaged employees.
Leadership is changing right before our eyes, but what should leaders be doing to adapt and to make sure that they are staying on top of their leadership game? This is a question I’ve been asked quite a bit by my community so I wanted to share 5 things you can do.
Jeff Dailey is an insurance veteran with more than 30 years in the industry, starting as a claims adjuster and working his way up to Farmers Insurance CEO. He oversees 20,000 employees and 45,000 independent agents around the world. I had the chance to chat with him about the future of leadership and what it will take to succeed as a leader in the future. He’s one of the amazing CEOs I interviewed for my recent best-selling book, The Future Leader.
Chances are you are one of the many people around the world working from home right now. The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered office doors overnight and sent millions of people around the world to work remotely.
Even as states and countries start to re-open and some people head back to the office, more companies will stick with their remote working capabilities. In most cases, working from home is safer for employees and helps organizations better allocate resources.
Every leader is unique and takes a different approach to leading based on their background and perspective. Everything from how they were raised to where they grew up to who they surround themselves with influences their leadership style. Who are you as a leader? What makes you that way? And how does that influence the type of leader you can become?
What’s the top skill leaders need to succeed over the next decade and beyond? According to my interviews with more than 140 top CEOs, far and away the most needed skill is being able to think like a futurist.
Contrary to what some people believe, futurists don’t predict the future. Instead, they help make sure individuals and organizations aren’t surprised by what the future might bring. Thinking like a futurist involves looking at different possibilities and scenarios as opposed to picking one path and sticking to it.
Liz Wiseman is a New York Times bestselling author of three books, including Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. She has been listed on the Thinkers50 ranking and in 2019 she was recognized as the top leadership thinker in the world. She is a researcher, an executive advisor, and the CEO of the Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm. Some of her recent clients include Apple, Disney, Tesla, Facebook, and Twitter.
Will the leader of 2030 be that different than today and if so how? These were the two questions I wanted to answer in my new book, The Future Leader. I wrote the book before COVID-19 and now the insights and the research are especially more relevant since leaders are having to adapt and change quickly!