The document discusses the leadership challenges of the 21st century, including constant change, globalization, innovation, sustainability, and knowledge management. 21st century leaders must focus on developing people through trust, clear communication, effectively leading change, and organizational structures that support collaboration. They must value employees, communicate a vision of social responsibility, and create a culture where innovation can thrive.

1. BMGT 485 Leadership for the 21st
Century
21st
Century Leadership
Moving People
Prepared for
Professor Elizabeth Brunn
Prepared by
Kim Mozingo
9 August 2015

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BMGT 485 | 21st
Century Leadership
2
Introduction
The 21st
Century needs leaders who are agile and adaptive, prepared to weather the storms sure
to come in an environment of constant change and complexity. Leading from a positional point of view,
where ‘leadership’ is implied because of position, will not produce the results organizations require.
Leaders need to learn to not only lead, but to lead with love and an attitude of servant leadership: for
their business, their followers, their customers, and the world at large. While Servant Leadership
provides the proper outlook leaders should take, the ability to change leadership approach in response
to the situation is critical. Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all model; a proper attitude toward leadership
should be one where hubris does not exist and learning is constant.
The New Business Landscape
To understand what is required of a 21st
Century leader requires understanding how business
and management have progressed. In A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future, Pink
outlines the progression of work from the 18th
Century Agricultural Age to the 19th
Century Industrial
Age and the 20th
Century Information Age. Pink contends that the 21st
Century will be the Conceptual
Age. The differentiation between the 20th
Century’s knowledge worker and the 21st
Century’s creator is
that much knowledge work can be outsourced, but creativity cannot (Pink, 2006). It is this shift from
knowledge as a commodity to the creative use of knowledge, housed in the experience of people, which
is one of the defining differences.
The 20th
Century leader’s job was management of resources. In 2009, management guru Gary
Hamel described a meeting of scholars and practitioners who sensed that it was time for a management
overhaul. Hamel describes 20th
Century management as bureaucratic, hierarchical, structured, and rule-
based (Hamel, 2009). This supports Pink’s claims in Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
when he describes 20th
Century management thought as revolving around the idea that hierarchy was

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important because the higher up one is on the organization chart, the more clout and importance one
had. Pink also describes 20th
Century management thinking that believed people were cogs in a
wheelhouse who did not want to work but needed to be motivated to work with rewards-and-
punishment (Pink, 2011). A bureaucratic, highly structured organization supported the manager’s job of
managing and allocating resources; of which people were only one.
Inspired by the U.S. National Academy of Engineering’s 14 Grand Engineering Challenges,
Hamel’s group of scholars and practitioners came up with a list of 25 Management Moonshots; ideals
for management in the 21st
Century. The Moonshots describe management and leadership goals such as
defining and communicating purpose, unleashing human potential, creating a collaborative
environment, leading for innovation, and humanizing the world of work (Hamel, 2009). While the 25
moonshots refer specifically to management, they clearly support the idea, purported by Kotter and
others, of blending the structure of management practices with the responsibilities of leadership
(Kotter, 2001).
Whether we agree with Kotter or not that management and leadership can co-exist in one
person and one role, the new 21st
Century business landscape requires flexibility and agility of thought
and practices to deal effectively with the challenges of the 21st
Century. The pace of change in the
external environment is accelerating. Ginni Rometty, the ninth CEO of IBM, recognizes this and is hyper-
focused on speed: the speed of change, and the speed necessary to transform and respond to change
(Lev-Ram, 2014). Astute leaders will continuously scan their external environments while nurturing their
organization’s culture and people so that when the time comes – and it will – they are prepared to pivot
and transform in response to change.

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Challenges for 21st
Century Leaders
To enumerate, some of the challenges presented to the 21st
Century leader include the pace and
scale of globalization, the requirement for constant innovation, the demand for sustainability, and the
ability to effectively capture and manage knowledge. The common denominator in all of these
challenges is people: knowing them, caring for them, serving them, and building with them.
International Business Times indicated that globalization is one of the top five trends influencing
business (Staff Reporter, n.d.). As the world becomes more connected due to the prevalence of internet
connectivity and mobile applications, leaders must respond by thinking and acting from a global
perspective (SAP, 2013). To complicate an understanding of globalization, Hanna persists that every
leader must be a global manager with a broad perspective and the ability to relate to other cultures
(Hanna, 2011), Ghemawat counters that it is too simplistic to think we can ‘train’ leaders to effectively
lead and manage anywhere (Ghemawat, 2012). What is a leader to do, then, in the face of rapid
globalization? Boaz and Fox present an important starting point: knowing yourself well enough as a
leader to understand the constraints of your mental model and limiting beliefs (Boaz & Ariel Fox, 2014).
Globalization: To prepare to work, live in, and lead in a global business environment, leaders
should understand the limitations within their business as they strive to embrace the diversity
globalization offers. Leaders must understand their business and business strategy well enough to
understand the role globalization plays in their success. Learning about cultural differences is a starting
point, but learning how economic, political, and administrative functions impact work is critical to
success as well (Ghemawat, 2012). Smart leaders will look for was to embrace the gifts of diversity that
globalization brings, to include diversity of thought which supports innovation and problem solving
through a well-rounded team (CareerCast Diversity Network, n.d.) and the ability to gain a broad global
perspective with a diverse base of employees, clients, and other stakeholders (Hanna, 2011). Carl Ghosn

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of Nissan attributes their ability to weather change well can be attributed to their diverse, multi-national
culture and workforce (Baron, Grant, & Horn, 2012).
Innovation: The pace of change requires leaders to develop the ability to lead innovation.
Innovation is the ability to create useful, marketable products and services and get them into the hands
of customers (Lanier, 2013). It is the intersection where invention and commercialization meet (Aulet,
2014). Innovation happens in teams where collaboration and communication are open and shared.
Innovation requires courage on the part of employees to share information and leaders to attempt
different approaches to innovation (Llopis, 2014). Creative approaches to innovation can frequently be
found in small, nimble companies such as Atlassian. Atlassian pioneered ShipIt days which are 24
working hours per quarter where employees work on a project of their choosing; successful and
marketable projects are then undertaken by the company (Luijke, 2011).
Sustainability: Sustainability must be more than a buzz-word for 21st
Century leaders. While
sustainability practices present a strong business case in realizing respectable return on investment,
leaders who pay attention to customer stated behavior will resonate with the sentiment offered by on
interviewee who stated, “Don't really care about brands - I care about products, ethics and process.”
(Curtain, 2014). Consumers care about how business give back and claim that they purchase based on
that behavior (SAP, 2013). Yet we know that while consumers state they care about sustainable
practices, they do not always act that way. What is a leader to do with what appears to be an aspiration
more than true behavior? Leaders must continue to build and communicate strong, credible and
sustainable brands(Hollis, 2011). The bottom line for leaders is that sustainability is good for business
(Lovins, n.d.). Sustainable businesses attract and retain better employees, appeal to stakeholder needs,
recognize ROI, and differentiate themselves in saturated markets (Kane, 2010).
Knowledge Management: 21st
Century leaders are faced with not only potential labor shortages
in key areas, but also the more pressing and complex problem of the context-dependent knowledge that

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threatens to walk out the door as baby-boomer retirement looms (DeLong, 2004). While many
organizations have processes and tools that catalogue explicit knowledge, the challenge lies in finding,
storing, and retrieving knowledge in useful and timely ways so that information is available when it is
needed and where it is needed. Frost contends that organizations that learn to capture and manage
tacit knowledge, that knowledge that resides in a person based on their experiences, will have
significant competitive advantage (Frost, 2010).
Key Enablers of 21st
Century Leaders
Globalization is about people and only matters insofar as it impacts people. Sustainability only
matters and can only be implemented by people. Innovation happens with people. Knowledge
management's greatest challenge is tacit knowledge which is housed in people. People are the 21st
Century’s greatest challenge, and greatest opportunity. Managing and leading them, creating for them,
selling to them, and innovating with them will impact everything a leader does. Key enablers for 21st
Century leaders support the need to care for people and include trust, communication, the ability to
lead change effectively, and organizational structures and policies that support growth, development,
and collaboration.
“Trust is like the air we breathe. When it's present, nobody really
notices. But when it's absent, everybody notices.” ~ Warren Buffet
Trust: Trust is the currency of business and the foundation of all healthy human relationships.
Building and maintaining trustworthy relationships with employees, customers, colleagues and all
stakeholders is a leadership imperative (Miller, 2014). Leaders who pay heed to the prevalence of social
media and peoples’ propensity to use it will understand that breeches of trust and integrity can spread

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like wild-fire (Hurley, Gillespie, Ferrin, & Dietz, 2013). Aside from the negative warnings of the dire
consequences of broken trust, leaders who build and maintain a culture of trust will be rewarded with
teams who collaborate and innovate (Llopis, 2014). Research also shows that organizations that behave
credibly earn more, retain better, and attract better talent (Covey, n.d.).
High-trust organizations have a strong mission and employees who support that mission, a
culture conducive to cooperation, leaders who lead and not just manage, and employees engaged in
decision-making (Hitch, 2012). An example of a high-trust practice can be found in Atlassian where, on a
weekly basis, employees are asked one simple question about how they feel the company is doing in a
variety of areas. Atlassian sustains trust and maintains integrity by acting on that input (Rotenstein,
2011). IBM’s ValuesJam held in 2003 elicited 50,000 views and 10,000 comments, among them many
from then-CEO Sam Palmisano. Palmisano’s open participation was a bold and fearless move that set
the tone for other executives to follow, but he clearly displayed integrity when he acted on the
information he gleaned from ValuesJam conversations (Hemp & Stewart, 2004).
“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will
hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” ~Buddha
Communication: With four generations in the workplace today; the need to see change as a
constant; the need to innovate in response to change; and the need to capture, manage, and distribute
knowledge, the ability to communicate clearly is a leadership imperative. Communication is the tool by
which leaders manage and maintain trust. It is the key to communicating vision and the enabler of
change, innovation, and employee engagement (Aquirre & Alpern, 2014). Communication reduces the
uncertainty that is inherent in change initiatives; leaders need to be visible and in continuous contact
with as many employees as possible (Brooks Hodge, 2002). Communication is the key to talent retention

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as well; Ken Blanchard notes that one reason employees leave is due to trust issues created by a lack of
communication (Blanchard, 2010).
Leaders are responsible for developing and communicating an organization’s inspirational
vision, mission and values (Fournier, 2011). A vision communicated with passion and clarity helps the
organization as a whole, and employees as individuals, move as one, make decisions, and innovate
(Zenger & Folkman, 2014). Atlassian found that updating their vision by aligning it to what the
organization actually did (their mission) led to more targeted innovation which led to better products
and services (Farquhar, 2014).
Leaders need to be able to communicate across generations and to a diverse population. While
there is a plethora of information available about the differences in how generations behave and what
they want from work, there are more commonalities than differences (Eckert & Deal, 2012). Critical for
leaders to understand is that individuals, regardless of generation or background, operate with mental
models defined through life experiences. How people absorb and interpret information is individual;
leaders must learn to communicate clearly and simply in multi-modes across different platforms to
include social media. In an interview with McKinsey, Shimon Perez articulates the leadership imperative
of communication, stating leaders lead with words that must be precise, clear, and credible and action
that is decisive (Kirkland, 2012).
“Culture is everything.” ~ Lou Gerstner
Leading Change: The business environment of the 21st
Century has been described as Volatile,
Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) (Sinar, Richard Wellins, Ray, Lui Abel, & Neal, 2015).
Organizations must be agile and adaptive, and leaders must be prepared to lead in times of uncertainty.
Leading change requires that relationships are strong and stable, which happens when leaders put the

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important things first: developing a culture of trust and operating with integrity always. A focus on
culture – before change is needed – is critical. Leaders must focus on strength of the culture, work with
informal organizational leaders, and ensure that every word and action remains aligned. Change should
start at the top of the organization and involve every layer, making a strong rational and emotional case
for change. Behavioral changes can lead to new thinking which reinforces desired behavior (Aquirre &
Alpern, 2014).
"Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them
surprise you with their results." ~ George S. Patton
Organizational Structure: In a Harvard Business Review interview, former IBM CEO Sam
Palmisano states that clients will not allow for a top-down, bureaucratic approach to business because it
would negatively impact the speed, flexibility, and innovation clients expect today (Hemp & Stewart,
2004). In his five article series, Morgan describes an organizational structure that many companies are
moving to as a Flatter Organization. In this structure, there is minimal hierarchy and lines of
communication run vertically and horizontally with a focus on communication and collaboration across
the organization (Morgan, 2015). A benefit of a flatter organization is that, with reduced power distance
(the propensity to see ‘the boss’ as the undisputed king) and open lines of communication, employees
closest to the customer who know market needs better than those at a greater distance have the ability
to share tacit knowledge gained in customer interactions. The impact of a more open structure where
there is a focus on developing people, low power distance and a focus on happiness? Happy workers are
more productive and innovative and happy companies have happy customers and make more money
(Kjerulf, 2014).

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“This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.”
~Winston Churchill
Summary
20th
Century managers led with a view that positional authority conveyed leadership. They
managed land, labor, and wealth but the key product of the 21st
Century is ideas centered in the
knowledge and experience of people (Baron et al., 2012) and (Pink, 2006). Leaders of the 21st
Century
must move people with a clearly articulated vision that includes social responsibility as well as
responsibility to the organization’s and individual employee’s success – a triple-bottom-line mentality.
The vision must be communicated with passion, using humanized words such as “make the world a
better place” rather than phrases such as “increase shareholder equity.” Leaders must value employees
as individuals and intentionally create a culture of respect and sharing to remain innovative and nimble.
It is astonishing to consider, in light of descriptions of the 20th
century leader, that a model for
21st
Century business can be found in the last century’s world of science and technology. In The
Innovators, Isaacson describes a model for business that would support 21st
Century needs to innovate
and change, to be globally focused and sustainable, and to share knowledge openly. Although not
without its challenges of idea-stealing and back-biting, Isaacson’s description of what he refers to as The
Solid-State Team (Bell Labs) includes adjectives such as innovation, collaboration, teamwork, and mutual
respect. In fact, as Isaacson describes, the physical layout of the ‘new’ Bell Labs was copied by Steve Jobs
in his design of Apple’s headquarters. Bell Labs was built so that teams of scientists and researchers
could meet to talk and share, not unlike MeetUps of today (Isaacson, 2014). To nurture innovation and
knowledge creation, leaders of tomorrow will need to be flexible and agile, respectful of all stakeholders
– employees, suppliers, investors, and clients, and truthful. Flatter organizations will prevail as will a
revitalization of a culture that reflects mutual respect, trust, and diversity.

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