21^st Century Leadership
Randy Wolken, President & CEO

Has leadership changed in the 21^st century? Do we need to lead differently than before? From my point of view – yes. The key components of successful leadership have evolved and will continue to change.

I began my formal leadership training, in the summer of 1982, at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point. At West Point, they had a defined approach to preparing future Army leaders. It involved “breaking you down” to “rebuild” you into a disciplined, tough, principled, and loyal leader committed to accomplishing the mission. The training was challenging to say the least, but I’d also say I received the education of a lifetime. However, if I were to attend West Point today, my experience would be significantly different. Why? Times have changed – even for an institution with over 215 years of success!

Much of what I learned at West Point still applies. Integrity, honor, commitment to the mission and your teammates, excellence, hard work, and professionalism are all qualities of a 21^st century leader. However, the way they teach and exemplify this at West Point has changed. The standards are still as high as ever, but how they learn, and lead has changed. The modern Army is different – and better – than ever before. It demands a talented, skilled, and modern leader. The same can be said of our modern businesses and organizations. Our leadership challenge is more significant, more demanding, and more complex than it was in the past. This modern challenge requires new skillsets and focus.

As the world grows more complicated, our approaches to leadership development have changed. McKinsey’s report on 21st Century Leadership can be helpful resource. Through their work with leadership teams across companies, sectors, and world regions, as well as their longitudinal research, they’ve determined the six leadership traits they believe are necessary to excel in today’s uncertain environment:

• Positive energy, personal balance, and inspiration. This collection of traits is focused on a managers’ need to develop and protect the mind, body, and spirit. Managers will find themselves bereft of the energy to learn and lead if they don’t clearly understand what makes them tick. A recent McKinsey research report shows energy is becoming a critical commodity as the modern, mobile, post-pandemic, multi-generational workforce is looking for more connection, authenticity, and inspiration from their leaders.
• Servant and selfless leader. The highest-performing leaders focus on their team flourishing. It’s not about them; it’s about others’ deeds, actions, and outcomes. It’s about the organization’s mission, deep purpose, and positive impact.
• Continuous learning and humble mindset. Leaders can’t be afraid to take risks; they must be endlessly curious and willing to learn from their mistakes. The highest-performing leaders never consider themselves the highest expert or the most intelligent person in the room. Their superpowers are their humility and willingness to be vulnerable.
• Grit and resilience. Hard as it may be, sometimes, leaders need to be stoic in the face of disruption. They excel at assimilating the best ideas around them but never waver from making the tough decisions when it’s called for. They don’t disappear when times get tough. Instead, they calmly analyze the root cause of a situation, adjust behaviors, depersonalize, and bounce forward—never too high, never too low. According to the latest research from the Organizational Health Index, companies with leaders who act decisively and commit to those decisions, are 4.2 times more likely than their peers to be healthy.
• Levity. The high-performing leaders recognize that it’s important to bring humor to their conversations, sometimes even during serious matters. Moments of humor can help teams bond, defuse high-stress situations, and unlock the creativity of the whole group. Indeed, research has shown that leaders with a sense of humor—even a so-so sense of humor—are 27 percent more motivating and inspiring.
• Stewardship. The best-performing leaders take the long view; they see themselves as stewards of their organizations and teams “for now.” They understand that markets will shift, customer demands will change, and leadership tasks will evolve as the organization does.

Leaders today must commit to developing a truly unique set of 21^st-century skills and perform them with excellence if they’re to thrive. It starts with acknowledging that the 21^st century is a time like no other and requires advanced leadership skills in order to be successful. In these fast-changing times, do you recognize the challenge? Have you identified the new skills you need? Are you working with others to acquire these new skills and helping your team and colleagues gain them as well? If not, you may be falling behind – and in today’s world, that can be disastrous.

MACNY is committed to helping you develop the key leadership skills needed to thrive in today’s complex environment. Learn more at macny.org.