In the recently released fourth edition of their bestselling and award-winning book, The Leadership Challenge, authors Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, update their findings on what exemplary leaders do to get extraordinary things done in organizations.
Q. Are the challenges of leadership the same today as they were when THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE was first published twenty years ago? Have they become even more demanding?
A. The challenges that leaders experienced in 1987 felt as demanding to them as they feel to leaders in 2007. When we asked people twenty-five years ago -- and when we ask them today -- to describe to us the conditions for performing at their best as leaders, every single case is about dealing with adversity and change. People have told us how they led turnarounds of losing operations, started up new plants, developed new products or services, installed untested procedures, renewed operations threatened with closure, or reinvigorated a tired bureaucratic system. We only become the best when we change something, try something new, or stretch ourselves beyond conventional norms.
That said, the two most demanding challenges that confront today's leaders are a result of the tectonic shifts in technology and the global economy. The strategic and tactical implications are enormous. But even more significant are the new demands on human relationships.
Titus Lokananta, plant manager, Grupo Industrial Bimbo SA, remarked to a
Wall Street Journal reporter not too long ago, "I'm an Indonesian Cantonese with a German passport who works for Mexicans in the Czech Republic." This guy represents five cultures all by himself! He's clearly has had to adapt to a variety of cultures and countries in order to be successful. More and more leaders will be facing the kinds of leadership challenges that Titus does -- the challenges of leading diverse groups of people who are culturally different and who are physically distant from them. The development of a
global leadership mindset is likely to be the most vexing challenge leaders will face in the next several years, even decades.
Leaders of culturally diverse teams will have to be extremely flexible, realizing that there are going to be different perspectives on many issues. Broadmindedness and open-mindedness are crucial to success in a global environment. You have to know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses. You have to be superb at reading the emotions of others, and you have to be able adjust to the environment.
Q. Do people look for the same qualities in their leaders, across cultures and national boundaries? What is the most critical of these qualities?
We can all take comfort in knowing that around the world there are a few critical qualities that people look for in their leaders. These characteristics have remained constant over time, and our research documents this consistent pattern across countries, cultures, ethnicities, organizational functions and hierarchies, gender, educational, and age groups. The majority of constituents believe the leader must be:
- Honest
- Forward-looking
- Inspiring
- Competent
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