Assignment:
Compare and contrast the business landscapes of the 20th and 21st century focusing on organizational structure, environment, and ways to create value to capture a competitive edge;
Explain how the differences in business landscapes changed the role of a leader within the organization and what that role is today and likely to be in the future (include the differences between leaders and managers);
Discuss the nature and types of challenges facing the leader in the 21st century; and
Explain why the leader must be people centric in order to create a competitive edge.
The Leadership Landscape of the 20th Century
The leadership landscape of the 20th brings management to the key directions and trends that are the base for today's leadership's characteristics. The century was filled with revolutions, wars, and breakthroughs. All these factors changed the systems and formulate management (leadership) as a particular science. The experts of that time (F. Taylor, H. Fayol, A. Church, C. Barnard, M. Weber, H. Ford, and others) implemented and developed various principles of scientific management, the basic concepts of which are still popular.
As a result, the leadership landscape of the 20th elaborated six separate branches (financial management, human resource management, information technology management, marketing management, operations management, and strategic management). All these branches were developed in a very general way; each sphere of management was quiet new and novel. Moreover, experts did not pay a lot of attention to the role of a leader in the structure of these management departments. Because of it, leadership landscape of the 20th century was very "fresh" and unexplored. The basic responsibilities of leaders were control, understanding, reporting, and desire to work.
The most important purpose for the business of 20th century was to build an economy, to make new systems work. That is why management of that time was about achieving finite goals: delivering goods and services, making money. (Denning, 2010) All companies started to research the market and find new ideas and solutions for creating the demand to earn more profit. However, a few organizations thought about companies' internal world: employees, organizational structure or corporate standards. Moreover, because of shortage of information and data, companies were not able to forecast the future and predict external changes.
Generally, leadership of 20th century made a revolutionary step: it made the world become open and start to interact. Due to these interactions such working positions as leader, manager had appeared. Clear understating of those positions starts to arise in the 21st century.
The Leadership Landscape of the 21th Century
Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School, Michael Useem says, "In an era of uncertainty, it is essential that managers are highly visible, and in personal direct contact with as many employees as possible." (Hodge, 2002) 21st century has become the era of information, globalism, and uncertainty. The role of everything has started to change. Leadership and management have become the most studied area of business life.
20th century built a base for development in the century of 21st. Companies have become more experienced and persistent. The economy has stabilized for a while. All these factors have made organizations move their attention from money and profit to people. As a result, new goal of management has started to exist - the infinite goal of delighting customers. (Denning, 2010)
The first scientist, who started thinking about people-centered management, was Peter Drucker, American management consultant and educator. In 1993 in one of his speech he said, "I am interested in the behavior of people." Drucker was the first to see clearly that the purpose of a firm is not to make money. He always stated that the only valid goal of a company is to create a customer. Thus, P. Drucker can be seen as the founder of the emergent discipline of 21st Century management that is centered on people. (Denning. 2013)
Changing in management style has led changing in a leadership landscape. Today people-centered management dictates new conditions for leaders and made them change settled attitude to the companies and market. The following are the criteria and new views of management, which leaders of the 21st century should take into consideration.
Leaders should become "facilitators" of change. They should inspire team members to think and succeed. The best manager/facilitator will provide the skills and working environment necessary for her staff to excel. Managing people at work is potentially a minefield of risk. (Kane, 2008)
One of the important keys if managing people is listening. In order to be a good listener, a leader should think of himself as an equal to the one you're listening to. Be a facilitator who encourages others to reach their potential by listening attentively and helping channel ideas to accomplish the goals of an organization. (Kane, 2008)
"Culture is everything" - Culture has started to be critical to the success of change management. Modern leaders started to forget about the culture of their companies; however, many change management designers claim that company's culture is the legacy of a past from which every leader should to move on. (Aguirre&Alpern, 2014)
Being open - leaders should stimulate yourself always to look for the unknown; it will create awareness for changes and opportunities that are coming your way; it will sharpen your view on what is going on in and around your company. (Boot, 2011)
Build understanding - leaders must never reject or judge anything new before you understand it enough; your open mindset will help you find the right questions; it creates respect between people and takes away the fear of the unknown. (Boot, 2011)
Creating synergies - managers should always aim at finding and exploiting potential synergies, this is opening the door for win-win situations; it generates motivation and positive energy; it builds trust between people, and generates actions that turn change into sustainable success. (Boot, 2011)
Start working at the top - Although each employee starts his/her job at a fist level of organization, all successful change management initiatives decide to start at the top and work with well-aligned group of executives supported by the CEO. The experience of working together could led to productive results and formulate one single "language" for group of workers. (Aguirre&Alpern, 2014)
Make the rational and emotional things together - Human beings respond to calls to action that engage their hearts as well as their minds, making them feel as if they're part of something consequential. Leaders' strategies must include emotional factors of workers. (Aguirre&Alpern, 2014)
Every layer must be involved in the working process - Every layer of an organization has unique knowledge that a company could use. Strategic planners should take into consideration the extent to which midlevel and frontline workers could make, break or change any initiative. (Aguirre&Alpern, 2014)
New way of thinking - Managers have started to shift their formal and informal elements of behavior. It helps them to become clear communicators, who are able to explain personal way of thinking. (Aguirre&Alpern, 2014)
Engage and engage - Powerful and sustained change requires constant communication, not only throughout the rollout but after the major elements of the plan are in place. The more kinds of communication employed, the more effective they are, which is why HP's tearing down that fence was so important: Symbols reinforce the impact of words. (Aguirre&Alpern, 2014)
Step outside - the company could have workers, whose power is more informal and is related to their expertise. They might include a well-respected field supervisor, an innovative project manager. Companies that succeed at implementing major change identify these people early and find ways to involve them as participants and guides.
Adaptability - Leaders should take the time to find out what is working what is not. (Aguirre&Alpern, 2014)
Sustainability - Each action and event that happens in a present time would affect the future. Leaders must thoroughly develop all systems, details of work and etc. to create desired future. Moreover, modern companies must think about sustainability because they could prevent future global problems (water scarcity, pollution, etc.). In this connection, it is important to add that sustainability helps companies become ethical and follow social responsibility. (Lovins, 2014)
Filling generational gaps - To build a "bridge" between generations and to fill gaps, leaders should develop and use various strategies to find similarities and, subsequently, work with these similarities.
The criteria written above help companies understand the leadership challenge of the volatile, globalized, hyper connected age more clearly.