Shaping the Future : Leadership 2020

Great Leaders of the future will be adaptable, empowering, diverse, customer focussed and emotionally intelligent. These were the conclusions from a meeting of 20 MBA graduates (South West Alumni Network) hosted by the Open Business School and run by Paul Maisey of Buffin Leadership International.

After discussing known trends such as economic globalisation, demographic changes and the impact of technology the group went on to create their own model of what great leadership would be like in 2020. Below is the list of key areas - for current leaders to consider for their future development !!


1. Adaptable
- Able to respond to change at different speeds
- Uses different approaches in different situations
- Focuses more on a creative mindset than processes
- Less risk averse and willing to fail ( learn )

2. Empowering
- Will encourage leadership behaviours at all levels of organisation
- General style will be participative and coaching based
- Major focus on increasing teams knowledge base
- Collaborative working across teams and organisations
- Relationships built on listening and trust

3. Diverse
- Welcomes ideas from all cultures
- Inclusive working practices irrespective of gender , background etc
- Explores opportunities in dispersed way of working ( international )
- Utilizes blends of experience and innovation

4. Customer focussed

- Open to different approaches for different markets ( globally )
- Customer centric in structure and accountability
- Will involve customers in generating solutions to their needs
- A flexible and highly responsive ethos
- Will use Information Technologies to connect with wide range of customers

5. Emotionally Intelligent
- Values driven , intuitive leadership style
- Humble ( learns from mistakes and recognises others knowledge )
- Able to engage people in clear Vision
- Uses humour and emotions to draw on teams strengths

The Secret to Great Leadership in 2018

A high level of self awareness is at the heart of the future of great leadership, according to fifteen members of the Chartered Management Institute in Bath. You also need to maximise your personal attributes as well as your technical and managerial skills, to underpin a high level of competence in leadership and soft skills. These were the conclusions from a creative problem solving seminar looking at “What will great leaders be like in 2018? “ run by Paul Maisey of Buffin Leadership International.

Top Tips include

Self Awareness
- Commit to and undertake lifelong learning
- Be true to your strengths
- Celebrate culturally diverse thinking and practices

Leadership Skills
- Have and clearly communicate a compelling vision
- Be adaptable and responsive
- Support your colleagues and customers with effective coaching

Soft Skills
- Be approachable and willing to listen
- Use your ( and others ) imagination to innovate
- Include differing views and perspectives in decision making

Managerial Skills
- Have a strategic overview of direction
- Be an effective delegator
- Use Networking to ensure knowledge & skills up to date

Technical Skills
- Be numerate and understand the profit/loss equation
- Use Information Technology to maximum advantage
- Have the ability to manage a “ virtual “ team

Personal attributes
- Whether from Asia, India , Russia or Europe play to your strengths
- Male or Female appreciate other perspectives
- Use your beliefs and values to drive change

The eighteen top tips above represent a summary of over 70 attributes required of a future leader. Each leader and each company will use them in the way most appropriate to their circumstances and industries.

Paul Maisey is the Regional Director in the South West for Buffin Leadership International. Further information is available at www.Buffin.com

The Apprentice - exemplary leadership or tragic soap opera ?

The Apprentice – exemplary leadership or tragic soap opera?

I suspect that many of you will join me in watching the BBC series The Apprentice in a mixture of astonishment, awe and horror. The basic premise of a group of would-be leaders competing each week on different task to demonstrate their skills seems a sound one. The fact that they have given up jobs to be there and that Alan Sugar makes the decision could be seen to be a combination of confidence and risk taking. What though does the programme say about effective leadership?
If you review the behaviours demonstrated each week you may conclude that a leader
- Is the dominant member of a team and uses directive behaviours to get their way
- Is astute at team “ politics “ and ensuring others get they blame
- Is talkative (beyond belief) and unaware of what ears are for!
Alan Sugars Boardroom behaviours – being positive - could be said to be decisive, clear and emotional. Or simply idiosyncratic.
Let’s compare this to other views of Leadership. According to Bolden and Gosling (2003) some of the key qualities of Leadership are
- Integrity and moral courage
- Self-awareness and humility
- Empathy and emotional engagement
- Transparency and openness
- Clarity of vision
I believe (based on over twenty years of experience) that leadership comes from within us and is concerned with releasing the energy of the team. High performance leadership involves engaging mentally, emotionally and spiritually with your team. Focussed high energy leads to action and results.
So does The Apprentice showcase exemplary leadership behaviour or is it a soap opera?
In my view
- let’s remember the context – it is a TV show ( involving entertainment and editing )
- it is highly competitive – in the end there will be only one !
And to quote Kellerman (2004) “Leaders are like the rest of us: trustworthy and deceitful, cowardly and brave, greedy and generous “
WHAT DO YOU THINK?