Key Point: Thanks to the Internet’s relation to everything, there are a number of emerging realities. The following are two of these “truisms.” 1. If it can be publicly posted, it will be. 2. If it can be publicly rated, it will be. (You may remember these from a previous blog).
As a leader, you are likely to experience public posting and rating of your leadership capability from both specifically known and anonymous sources.
One way or another, leadership performance is going to be much more transparent in the immediate future. Public websites like Glassdoor are just the beginning. So get yourself ready to have your performance level for all people to see. And if you’re not in a formal leadership role, expect your public employee rating to be out there for other people to see too. Yup…. Transparency is more than a buzzword or fad. It is likely to have good and not so good aspects, but overall, it’ll have a positive outcome for leadership and team member effectiveness.
In a recent book, Leadership 2030, Georg Vielmetter and Yvonne Sell examined the repercussions of the convergence of major forces like globalization, climate change, increased individualism, and accelerating digitization.
Among their findings is that leadership in the future will involve increased personal and business-level discomfort. Leaders will have to cope with the blurring of private and public life – and they will have to forge new relationships with competitors and employees. This requires new skills and mindsets. Ego is on its way out. The following excerpt is from their HBR blog on this topic:
“Leaders motivated by power over others will not thrive in this new world. We will see more “altrocentric” leaders, who understand that leadership is a relationship and will therefore primarily focus on others rather than themselves. Adept at engaging rather than commanding, they see themselves as just one integral part of the whole. Altrocentric leaders will be capable of long-term vision encompassing both global and local perspectives.
David McClelland points out that both emotionally intelligent leaders and their egocentric counterparts tend to be motivated by power; they enjoy having an impact on others. The difference is in the type of power driving them: Egocentric leaders tend to be concerned only with personalized power – power that gets them ahead. Altrocentric leaders, on the other hand, derive power from motivating, not controlling, others.
The altrocentric leader who is intrinsically motivated by socialized power, and who draws strength and satisfaction from teaching, teambuilding, and empowering others, will be able to handle the increased pressure of tomorrow’s business environment. They understand that they need not “have all the answers” themselves, and this mindset and willingness to turn to others for help better equips them to handle the stress of the uneasy chair.
All leaders will see life become more chaotic and overwhelming, and their struggles and management will be more visible than ever. Egocentric leaders will have a difficult time evolving, if they even can, and will be unable to thrive in such discomfort. Organizations need to develop leaders who are motivated by altrocentric leadership. They will be better prepared to succeed in 2030 and beyond.”
Having industry, job or technical skills will be table stakes and expected. Our personal attributes and ability to connect expected technical skill through others for valued results will become the differentiator. And other people around us will very openly evaluate how we’re performing at this.
Character Moves:
- As a formal leader get ready to be publicly rated on at least four major areas: A) Ability to develop effective relationships. B) Ability to achieve great results. C) Ability to develop others. D) Ability to attract others who want to work for you.
- As an employee get ready to be publicly rated (at minimum) on the following key areas A) Ability to create and contribute lasting value/results B) Ability to build relationships. C) Hunger to continuously grow, improve and develop. D) Others’ willingness and fight to have you on their team.
- Be sure your emotional intelligence is high and as noted in the article above: Put your ego on the back burner where it belongs. Learn what altrocentric means for you.
Rated in The Triangle,
Lorne
Published and edited by Garrett Rubis