The high-octane pace of today’s business climate requires individuals that embody the attributes of the 21st century convener, known as the Disruptive Leader, to be multidimensional in their abilities to innovate, lead others through times of uncertainty, and skillfully curate information and resources to pursue new frontiers. According to Korn Ferry — “This new model of high-performing leader incorporates and builds on existing concepts of agile, digital, and inclusive leadership…”.
While the rise of the Disruptive Leader may seem like an overnight sensation in leadership circles, it is actually the culmination of a long process. A Google search for ‘Disruptive Leader’ yields over 44,600,000 results, indicating widespread interest in this phenomenon.
In the digital age, success as a leader involves more than technical skills. It requires the ability to navigate complex challenges, such as leading through automation and adapting to constant change. Leaders must balance innovation with practical experience gained through failure, coaching, and mentoring.
Not all high-performing contributors automatically make effective leaders. Leadership demands a unique blend of aptitude, attitude, and real-world experience. As companies seek transformational leaders, they must also invest in their development, preparing them for the impact of AI and automation.
In our executive coaching practice, we encourage clients — who aspire to be this powerhouse of future-ready influence — to consider that there is a myriad of other key attributes that define professional success in the world of IoT 4.0. The hot pursuit of these qualities requires a higher level of conscious and unconscious competency, and a desire to disrupt oneself or be unfavorably disrupted by circumstances outside of your control.
Getting Ready to Serve as a Disruptive Leader…means being grounded in one’s personal convictions, values, attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors — no matter what is going on in the world around you. Most importantly, recognize that in order to achieve long-term success, you need to develop other characteristics such as discipline, willpower, resilience, intelligence, creativity, courage, determination, and self-control.
These translate into “spiritual guidelines” to anchor you as you sprint through the marathon race of daily living, impacting how you act and make decisions. So how do these guidelines translate into being successful as a Disruptive Leader?
- Balance Relationships & Results: connect digital technologies to the human elements of leadership in your daily routine and focus on quality of relationships to make the biggest differences with business outcomes. Collaboration is an enabler of innovation.
- Learning Agility: constantly absorb, understand and internalize information, and then actively seek ways to apply and share this wisdom with others. Lifelong learning is a critical path for all leaders.
- Curiosity & Opportunistic: courageously color outside of the lines through the exploration of ideas by asking — “what if” and “why not”, and ethically push the boundaries of the unknown to get the best from yourself and others. Be ready for opportunities as they present themselves in unique ways.
- Passion to Serve with Gratitude & Grace: being a leader is a privilege and tremendous responsibility, as all eyes are on you to model the way for others. In order to have leadership credibility in the IoT 4.0 world — you have to reinforce through actions and words — social responsibility, gratitude for all of life’s lessons, and to demonstrate grace in times of conflict.
“Just as we need more people to provide leadership in the complex organizations that dominate our world today, we also need more people to develop the cultures that will create that leadership.” — John Kotter
SELF-REFLECTION…What is your model for 21st century leadership? How are you getting ready for the IoT 4.0 tsunami & beyond?
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