Today, what the world is witnessing is actually an evolution of capitalism. Just like other changes, people believe that this is also a natural evolution taking place in human history. If people cast their minds back to previous centuries, capitalism was a different ballgame. For instance, in the medieval period, feudalism evolved into capitalism that made a way for mercantile capitalism and later led to industrial capitalism. And after 100 years of existence, the industrial capitalism advanced towards shareholder capitalism. Now, the world is at an inflection point where people are expecting something new to happen. The world is looking at the vibrant generation of millennials to bring a fresh wave of innovation, and creativity at every level. Not scared to live up to the expectations of the society, these thinkers, challengers, influencers, and Opportunity-makers are bringing their A-game to the marketplace. Therefore, in the coming days, this generation Y is not only going to be the corporate disruptive leaders helping others to navigate but also capable of bringing the avalanche of change in the entrepreneurship landscape.
Age no bar to define leaders
All sorts of companies from SMEs to MNCs have realized that in order to survive in the current unstable, volatile, complex, and puzzling environment, they need transformative leadership skills and organizational capabilities different from those that helped them succeed in the past. The globalization and the speed of technological advancement in the 21st century have highly fuelled the need for dynamic leadership in every organization. According to the survey conducted by Deloitte, only 13% of companies rate themselves “excellent” for providing leadership programs at all levels including new leaders, next-generation leaders, and senior leaders.
Coming to mind is Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old girl who started a school strike for climate change and later became the voice of whole Sweden. Acknowledging her passion, capabilities, and commitment towards the environment, Time Magazine recognized her as the “Next Generation Leader”. Explaining her mission towards this much-needed change, she quoted, “To change everything, we need everyone”. This is just one example of a young girl with a make-a-difference attitude. Ultimately, leaders are recognized by their value-driven ethics, passion for work, commitment towards the cause, and high sense of responsibility. This is what makes them different from managers to transformational leaders.
Leadership has happened because of consequence not desire
Some people possess unique problem-solving capabilities that demonstrate their leadership attitudes. What they observe and how they act is something of a mystery for others. But, the most fundamental quality they inherit is paying attention to details. The reason behind this ability is that they consistently and dedicatedly work on refining their competence rather than wanting to become leaders.
Now when it comes to corporate leaders and entrepreneurs, the perception of profit needs to evolve a little bit. Profit is not just about someone’s bi-monthly or quarterly balance-sheet. It is about how the organization is being enriched and what kind of talent and work culture it is fostering in the organization. It basically depends upon how the human infrastructure has grown and how many people’s lives is the company touching. But this is not through charity, instead of solid business ideology and sound ethics. The growth curve of modern business is based on its expansion; whether a company manufacture’s safety pins or computers or space crafts, the noteworthy thing is the company’s consuming desire to reach and compel millions of people to use its manufactured safety pins or play games on computers, or send its shuttles in the space. Hence, the perception towards profit needs to be evolved; it must not be solely money-oriented instead of a healthy balance between a goal and a money-oriented approach.
Need of the Hour: Economy-Driven Leadership
For the very first time in the history of humanity, people have the necessary resources, capabilities, and technologies to address almost every human problem on the planet. While taking a closer look at the statistics, the world produces food enough for 17 billion people. But with the present population of only 7 billion, close to half of the population is fighting food famine. This is not because the resources are lacking but simply put the intention and drive are missing. Changing the intentions of the leadership will not take a long time if people find the right to access them.
The only global mechanism on the planet is economic development. Politics, military, religion, and other concepts will split-up soon. Except the economy is the one mechanism that can bridge the existing gap between all dividends. Hence, only forward-thinking economic leaders can cross boundaries and break the shackles. A political leader cannot do it, a military leader is not the right one for the job and neither is a religious leader capable of bringing the change. The only person competent and skilled enough to drive the financial change around the world is the economic leader. For staying intentionally pure towards available economic resources is to make sure that every human being living on this planet has an equal right and an active role to play towards the global economic growth.
Once a person becomes the leader, the way he thinks, speaks, and acts; every single activity of his has the potential to affect the lives of millions of people. When such privilege has been gifted to a single human being, it is his fundamental responsibility to do something great. Conclusively, the world is in the dire of need of next-generation leaders who can bring global economic transformations in the society.
