OWP liVe REPORT

9

Agility is the must-have skill for leaders in times of disruption

L E A D E R S H I P

Leaders who augment their traditional skills with new world competencies will be key assets for both their teams and their organizations in a fast-changing market. As the terrain in which businesses operate continues to shift, leadership is constantly challenged. An increased pace of change brought about by a combination of digital innovation, unpredictable disruptors and indeed, unexpected pandemics blowing existing plans out of the water, has meant that the role of leadership has never been more demanding. These are all challenges of the digital age, according to Jennifer Jordan, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior. "In the digital age, leaders are having to look to others, or to the network for expertise while traditionally they would have been the expert voice in the room. We’re finding that ‘in the new world’, it’s about empowering others rather than holding power, and being adept with data rather than using gut instinct to make decisions,” said Jordan.

But Jordan’s research found that leaders should not throw away the traditional competencies in favor of the new world competencies; leaders must retain their pre-digital leadership skills while balancing new world competencies with them. Agility is the ability to move between modalities on a wheel of skills according to circumstances: A defining feature of successful leadership in the digital age.

How has leadership changed?

The world is moving fast; disruptors can come from anywhere; product life cycles are shortening; customer bases are changing. If organizations don’t adjust quickly, they won’t survive. In this environment we’re finding that leaders have to look to others, or to the network for expertise on digital, for example. They have to be competent in data and analytics and they have to be open to being mentored and coached by their younger colleagues.

> The Listener > The Analyst > The Accelerator

JENNIFER JORDAN IMD Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior

> The Adaptor > The Visionary > The Power Sharer > The Humble Learner > The Teller > The Intuitionist > The Perfectionist > The Constant > The Tactician > The Power Holder > The Expert

What are the ‘new world’, digital competencies the leaders must skill up with?

TRADITIONAL WORLD DIGITAL WORLD

There are seven new world competencies that leaders must take on. They need to be humble learners and good listeners, able to defer to those who hold expertise in particular fields, such as digital. Increasingly they must share power in ecosystem leadership models and be adept analysts. They must be visionary