The Five Qualities of Future Global Leadership
Based on a large Accenture-sponsored study of 150 specially selected high-potential leaders from around the world,...
Based on a large Accenture-sponsored study of 150 specially selected high-potential leaders from around the world, Goldsmith identifies five leadership qualities that will be significantly more important for future leaders than they were in the past. While ten characteristics remained constant across past, present, and future (vision, integrity, etc.), five emerged as dramatically more important going forward: global thinking, cross-cultural appreciation, technological savvy, building alliances and partnerships, and shared leadership. The framework highlights the fundamental shift from domestic, hierarchical, tell-based leadership to global, networked, ask-based leadership driven by the rise of knowledge workers who know more than their managers.
- Develop Global Thinking
- Build Cross-Cultural Appreciation
- Maintain Technological Savvy
- Develop Global ThinkingEven in domestic organizations, leadership is becoming global through global suppliers and customers. Leaders must expand their mental models beyond regional or national contexts to understand worldwide dynamics and implications.
- Build Cross-Cultural AppreciationDiversity is no longer a domestic issue. Future leaders must understand diversity globally - different religions, cultures, and many types of differences that extend far beyond the traditional domestic framing of diversity and inclusion.
- Maintain Technological SavvyLeaders don't need to be technologists but must understand how key technologies influence the value chain, logistics, marketing, and their industry. Failing to understand social media, AI, and emerging platforms is no longer acceptable.
- Build Alliances and PartnershipsMove from operating within your own business sphere to building alliances within the company, with peers, management, customers, suppliers, and even competitors. Direct reports are increasingly partners, not subordinates.
- Practice Shared LeadershipShift from telling to asking. Most leaders now manage knowledge workers who know more about their work than the manager does. Peter Drucker said: the leader of the past knew how to tell; the leader of the future will know how to ask.
Goldsmith points to IBM's transformation: in the old days, IBM took pride in doing everything internally. Today, IBM is 'almost nothing but alliances and partnerships.' Even competitors collaborate - Pfizer might compete with Merck on one product while collaborating on another. This shift from self-contained to networked operations demands fundamentally different leadership capabilities.
Goldsmith participated in the Accenture study that surveyed 150 high-potential young leaders from around the world - specifically the leaders of tomorrow, not today. They were asked three questions: describe the most important characteristics of the global leader of the past, present, and future. The analysis revealed which qualities remained constant and which were seen as dramatically more important going forward.