Leadership 2030 (Part 1/2)
Nov 06 2015
Leadership 2030 is the result of a ground-breaking foresight research and analysis program conducted by Hay Group and Z_Punkt. The research identified 20 global megatrends, pinpointing the six that will create the greatest shifts in the business environment.
This analysis provided a detailed view of the causes and consequences of each megatrend at three important levels:
•the business environment
•organizations
•leaders and their teams.
1. Globalization 2.0
Globalization 2.0 is fundamentally different from its predecessor. A new world order is emerging. Economic power is shifting to Asia. Trade is booming between developing markets, leaving ‘old’ economies increasingly out of the loop. The East is no longer merely the sweatshop of the West.
A new global middle class is on the rise, and competition is intensifying for highly localized markets. Blink and opportunities will be missed: businesses will need to fine-tune their radars to local dynamics.
A single, centralized strategy will no longer cut it in the world of globalization 2.0. The need to embrace diversity – in all its forms – is greater than ever. ‘Think global, act local’ has never been more apt.
2. Environmental crisis
The signs of climate change are becoming frighteningly real. At the same, critical natural resources – oil, water, and minerals – are running out. As the environmental crisis worsens, sustainability will be critical to survival for organizations. Carbon reduction will be essential to market competitiveness. Firms will need to restructure operations as the environment moves from CSR to the bottom line.
Leaders will need to embed sustainable cultures and communicate a clear rationale for such radical change. And they will need to provide absolute clarity over what this means for day-to-day roles and performance.
Sustainable structures and depleting resources will not come cheap. Costs will explode. It will be down to leaders to communicate this ‘new normal’ to stakeholders. Coping with the environmental crisis will call for transformational strategic thinking. And it will require new forms of collaboration – at times with competitors – to achieve the complex solutions demanded.
3. Individualism and value pluralism
With wealth comes choice. Under globalization 2.0, millions of people will discover a wider range of life and career options. And they will have the freedom to make decisions based on values, not economics.
This will transform their motives as employees and consumers. Lifestyle, recognition, self-expression and ethics will take priority over price, pay and promotion. Organizations should no longer expect loyalty.
Firms will need to get closer to their markets and workforces than ever before. They must understand every worker and customer as an individual, or lose out on talent and business.
Agile organizations will seize on local market opportunities and the growing demand for customized offerings. Smart employers will design ways of working to suit individuals, not the organization. This will demand more flexible, less centralized and flatter structures.
A new breed of leaders will be needed to engage diverse and highly individualized teams. The key will be to provide autonomy within a clear set of boundaries, to foster the conditions for people to perform.
(To be continued Part 2/2)
Adapted from : Georg Vielmetter, Hey Group