The new models of leadership
In recent years, new models of leadership have been presented by various groups as being necessary to adequately meet the rapid changes occurring in our world. This article will summarise two:
- Responsible leadership, as presented by Accenture, Forum of Young Global Leaders and the Global Shapers community, and
- Eco-leadership, as advocated by Simon Western and colleagues.
1. Responsible leadership
Responsible leadership has five elements:
Stakeholder inclusion,
Emotion and intuition,
Mission and purpose,
Technology and innovation, and
Intellect and insight.
Companies that combine top tier innovation with top tier sustainability and trust outperform their industry peers.
Company executives consulted on responsible leadership placed extensive emphasis on technology and innovation. Whereas company stakeholders (consumers, employees and others) placed greater emphasis on leaders with highly developed mission and purpose, emotion and intuition.
The difference in prioritising the five elements of responsible leadership suggests that companies may struggle to meet the expectations of wider society, unless they modify their leadership qualities and seek a stronger and more balanced profile – focusing less on financial performance and technology.
Who are your stakeholders, and how well do you really know them?
Responsible leadership becomes real when it learns from, and ultimately reflects those that serve. Leaders today must deliver organizational performance, continuous innovation and build stakeholder trust through sustainable and risk responsible approaches. Ideally, these should reinforce each other.
2. Eco-leadership
The second leadership style, Eco-leadership, is where a leader sees a company as an ecosystem within an ecosystem.
The eco-leadership model looks both internally and externally, recognising the interdependencies within and beyond the company, creating an adaptive company that addresses social and environmental challenges, as well as generating business success.
Eco-leadership makes space for leaders to flourish, connect people in the network, and develop communication feedback loops, enabling systematic self-regulation by facilitating the whole system. In this vision of leadership, employees have distributed leaders, part of a network with agency and autonomy.
Eco-leadership perceives people, profit, and the planet as equally important, when combined, resulting in a successful business. Money alone is no longer enough, and the traditional vision of leaders standing at the front or pulling people, up no longer applies. It’s more, they are part of an interconnected network that is interdependent amongst each other but reliant on each other for successful change.
Eco-leadership means renegotiating purpose –
What is valued and what does success mean for a company?
Final thoughts
The future requires new models of leadership. Ones that recognise that sustainable business success only occurs when broader societal priorities are integrated with the company drivers of productivity and profit.
If you would like support to consider the currency of your current leadership approach, your company vision and whether you are prepared for the new demands in the changing world then contact us for a free confidential discussion on how Xseed Lead can help.
Author Bio
Deborah Knight is the founder of Xsead Lead with a background in organisational and individual leadership and executive coaching.
As a coach, Deborah aims to create an inclusive and respectful space where individuals and organisations can do the work necessary for growth and change. She is also passionate about helping women be valued for themselves while also contributing and being successful.
Apart from her company which she is deeply passionate about, Deborah also loves bushwalking, reading, travelling, and learning new things.
For any coaching or organisational support enquiries Deborah can be contacted via email: info@xseedlead.com.au or via her company website which is www.xseedlead.com.au.
