People need to learn leadership to be successful. The principles of management, which had been taught for years, depended on stability and known factors. As expressed by Eric J. McNulty, director of research at the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative:
Where management took stability for granted, leadership provides principles that work in the face of the unknown. Back in the eighties, people were looking for leaders to guide them, and people running organizations recognized the need to become leaders themselves. As they began to apply leadership principles to their world, they thrived. Thatâs why for the last thirty years, leadership has ruled the business world.
FAST IS FASTERâFORWARD IS SHORTER
As fast as the pace was in the 1980s, when I look back it seems slow by todayâs standards. Life moves much faster now. The rate at which we must deal with change and uncertainty can seem insane.
For several years one of my organizations, the John Maxwell Team, has asked me to do short videos they post daily called Minute with Maxwell. My team will set me up in front of a camera and then give me a word or phrase, asking me to react to it or teach on it for a minute or so. Itâs fun and the video gets posted online as a kind of mentoring moment. Recently, for one of these sessions, the phrase they gave me was fast forward. What immediately came to my mind were the words faster and shorter. Hereâs what I mean.
The future seems to be coming at us faster than ever. It is not going to slow down. Would anybody seriously consider the idea that tomorrow will be at a slower pace than today? Technology, social media, and the rate of change will never allow that to happen. To go forward, we need to move faster. And as leaders, we need to stay ahead, we need to see more than others, and we need to see before others.
Traditionally, in athletic races, the first three finishers are recognized, and all three receive prizes. Today, outside of sports, it seems as though only winners get recognized and rewarded. As the saying goes, coming in second means youâre the first loser. Thatâs why speed and agility are so important.
Forward is also shorter. As a young leader, I was taught that to be effective in leading my organization, I should create a long-range plan of ten years, a medium-range plan of five years, and a short-range plan of two years. That seems absurd now. Today a long-range plan may be two years. Technology and innovation move so quickly that everything is going forward in a shorter time frame. As leaders, we canât drag our feet or take too long making assessments. We have to change, reread our situation, and change again. And continue changing.
CONSIDER
In what ways do you feel the speed of life? How does it challenge you or negatively impact you?
[Your Response Here]
How does a leader do more than just hang on and survive in such an environment? The key is to learn how to continually make leadershifts. What is a leadershift? It is an ability and willingness to make a leadership change that will positively enhance organizational and personal growth.
Educator and author Bruna Martinuzzi cited a study conducted by an organization called the Economist Intelligence Unit. It identified the top three leadership qualities that will be important in the years ahead: âthe ability to motivate staff (35 percent); the ability to work well across cultures (34 percent); and the ability to facilitate change (32 percent).â All three of these qualities require adaptability. Martinuzzi likened this to the Chinese proverb that says that the wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself to the pitcher. Perhaps at no other time in recent history has adaptability been more important than it is now. âAdaptabilityâthe ability to change (or to be changed) to fit new circumstancesâis a crucial skill for leaders.â2
A more recent study conducted by Right Management and published in The Flux Report made it clear that the need for adaptability is only increasing. They asserted that 91 percent of future recruiting in the workplace will be based on peopleâs ability to deal with change and uncertainty.3
LEADERSHIFTING IS THE ABILITY AND WILLINGNESS TO MAKE A LEADERSHIP CHANGE THAT WILL POSITIVELY ENHANCE ORGANIZATIONAL AND PERSONAL GROWTH.
Good leaders adapt. They shift. They donât remain static because they know the world around them does not remain static. This has always been true, but itâs never been more obvious than today, nor has the ability to change quickly been more important. Adaptable leaders who make leadershifts lean into uncertainty and deal with it head on. I like what Paul Karofsky, executive director emeritus of Northeastern Universityâs Center for Family Business, said about this, though he used the w...