Future proof leadership: chances are, your leaders aren’t ready

Imagine the future. Technology has transformed how we live and work. Demographic shifts have reshaped society and the workforce. Globalisation has changed the rules across all markets. Client expectations have dramatically increased, expecting everything faster, better, more differentiated and personalised than before. Climate change has had a huge environmental impact and corporate responsibility is now front and centre in the fundamental purpose of organisations.

In this future, organisations look very different. In this future, the role of leaders has been transformed.

The 2016 Deloitte Human capital trends report¹ shows that in order to address these future challenges organisations are shifting from hierarchical structures to networks of highly empowered teams driven by a new model of management, and led by a breed of newer, more globally diverse leaders. The role of leader looks dramatically different in this context. The need to build the right leadership, which is capable of being truly agile and flexible and delivering what is needed in this new world, is a genuine concern for 86% of HR and business leaders, citing leadership as an important or very important issue¹. What this data indicates is that the current picture of leadership within private and public sector organisations is not ready for the modern world.

Not only are leaders having crises of confidence about their own ability to adapt for the future, but those with the responsibility for defining and delivering a future-focused leadership strategy are lacking real insight into what the future of their business will look like and how transformation can be realised. It is no surprise then that organisations struggling to address leadership run the risk of being outmanoeuvred by competition; being ineffective at dealing with future challenges in global business.

So, where should you begin in tackling this? Given that £40-60Bn is invested in leadership annually² and only 13% of companies believe they are excellent at building future leaders¹, organisations must address where the investment is being made. HR, Talent and L&D leaders must start by asking themselves how can they maximise the return of the organisation’s investment in leadership without a clear roadmap of where they are going and what is needed from leaders to get, and remain, there.

¹Source: Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2016 
²Source: Kennedy Leadership Development Consulting Market 2013