LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES



Leadership Challenges

Leadership Challenges

Introduction

There may be nearly as many different definitions and perspectives about leadership as there are people who study and write about it. As leadership has been a subject of study during the past 40 years, a realization has emerged that a single leadership approach will not be effective in all situations. While this may seem obvious to some, it represents a breakthrough in the way that leadership has characteristically been discussed by researchers, consultants, and trainers. The need to select or develop a leadership approach to meet the needs of an organization and its environment suggests that a critical leadership skill may be the ability to understand what fits of a particular situation. This is particularly true for organizations needing to meet changing social, economic, and technological changes. understanding the critical aspects of organizational change and having knowledge of alternative leadership models are both necessary to effectively deal with the organizational challenges of the 21st century.

Starting from this perspective, this chapter first briefly examines major challenges facing contemporary organizations, then reviews a number of alternative ways of looking at leadership in organizations, and finally considers some specific leadership requirements presented by change and globalization, the two largest organizational challenges of this century.

Organizational Challenges

Some management researchers and authors see the 21st century in terms of conflicts between groups with competing interests. For example, some point to the growing gap between affluent and poor groups as a source of continued unrest and possible challenge for organizations. While disparities in wealth have always been present, technological changes have made differences more visible than ever, possibly fueling new levels of unrest (Starbuck, 2005).

Other conflicts may exist between organizations and nations, as large for-profit and nonprofit entities extend presence and influence across national boundaries, often tying employees more tightly to the organizations than to their home country. Indeed, the revenues of Fortune 500 companies are larger than numerous national budgets. The influence of these organizations may be further augmented by continued globalization of markets and the outsourcing of work and services in other parts of the world.

The challenge of change and globalization require leadership that can:

adopt new technologies and alter business processes and employee/manager roles to make effective use of technologies;

develop new perspectives about the nature of the business objectives and goals of the organization;

develop perspectives about the nature of the calling of the organization and its role in society. Social responsibility is not just an “add-on.” Successful organizations must have a vision for the role and contribution to making the world a better place;

make products and services attractive to customers in different cultures; and

work effectively with members of different cultures as fellow employees, providers of outsourced services, or as venture partners.

Guiding change may be the ultimate test of a leader, since evidence suggests that few organizations will survive over the long term without it. However, fundamental organizational change is often resisted mightily. Thus, effective leaders in the 21st century need to be aware of alternative approaches to ...