I'm James Wallman — author, entrepreneur, futurist. Welcome to The Future Is Here. We provide sensible, robust, useful strategic advice to people like you.
Or, how to be a great leader in the complex world of the 21st century
(This is inspired and informed by, among others, work conducted by Berlin-based The Dive.)
We are living in a time of great complexity.
Who says? Ha! Everyone — from The Economist to anthropologist Ian Morris. Read Why You Need a Futurist for more on this.
And why? The Law of Accelerating returns. Again, there's more on that in Why You Need a Futurist.
Anyhow, even if it's difficult, we may as well get on with it and enjoy the age of complexity — when it's every harder to predict what will happen and make decisions.
Note this is not about complicated systems, which are
It's about complex systems, which are
As explained by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his brilliant book The Black Swan, and in this video.
Organisations are also becoming more complex, in terms of:
Management 1.0 is…
Management 2.0 is…
Management 3.0 is…
Management 4.0 is:
These are the 9 key skills for leaders in the future, according to 1,200 managers in Germany:
1. Flexibility & diversity
•Agile and ever-changing structures
•Time autonomy
2. Process skills
•Capability to design open-ended and iterative processes
3. Networks
•Self-managed networks
•Collective intelligence
4. End of hierarchy
•Increasing failure of traditional, result-oriented management tools
5. Willingness to cooperate
•End of traditional competitive strategies
6. Personal coaching
•Engagement and motivation through personal reflection anddevelopment
7. Self-determination & appreciation
•Autonomy of decision and individual responsibility
8. Social responsibility
•From shareholder to stakeholderapproach
Source: KPMG, Was gute Führung ausmacht; survey of 1,200 top managers in Germany
A useful framework from Jana Costas at the Free University, Berlin.
This is from management thinker Jurgen Appelo's book Management 3.0.
People are the most important part of an organization and managers must do all they can to keep people active, creative, and motivated.
Teams can self-organize. This requires empowerment, authorization, and trust from management.
But beware self-organization! It can lead to anywhere. You have to give people clear purpose and defined goals.
A manager's role is to support teams, to develop their skills.
In complex organizations, it's key to make sure it's easy for people to communicate.
Successful companies to consider:
Source: Basedon Presencing Institute, Otto Scharmer, www.presencing.com/permissions
Want to update your organisation and leadership?
The answer is… ABC: Always Begin with Culture!
When thinking about culture change (and leadership development) consider the model below:
For strategic advice on what this means for you and your business, and for inspiring, useful ideas on how to succeed as a leader today and tomorrow, get in touch.