On Jan 27 2016 Charlotta Brynger held a seminar at the Chambers of Commerce on the topic “Leadership Challenges of the Future”. The interest in the topic from international companies in the region was huge. The article below was written and published by the West Sweden Chamber of Commerce summarizing the learning points of the session.
“Accelerated Globalization is causing a shifting centre of power in the world on an economic, political, cultural and demographic level. It is moving from North to South and West to East. Increased Digitalization is being hailed as the 4th industrial revolution and its impact is already affecting every aspect of our lives. Climate Change and scarcity of resources pose an imminent threat to civilization. Technology is becoming increasingly complex forcing Innovation Convergence where companies have to collaborate with each other in order to keep up. Growing individualism means that people are evermore career-minded and apt to changing jobs thus posing challenges for employers to develop and retain talent.
But how will these trends impact leadership?
We asked Charlotta Brynger to identify what she sees as 3 must-have skills for managers of the future
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Cultural lntelligence |
There is a popular misconception that in time a global culture will evolve. In fact, the opposite is true – the more global we become, the more culturally protective we become. Leaders must therefore have cultural intelligence – be able to embrace, understand and adapt to different cultures. The first step to cultural intelligence is self-awareness and knowing your own culture. Without an accurate reference point it is impossible to identify and understand cultural differences and the hurdles and opportunities they present.
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International Collaboration |
Great minds do not think alike! It is human to be most comfortable with what we know, to think ‘us and them’ but this is extremely counterproductive to successful leadership in the future. Managers must become conscious of this so-called unconscious bias and look to the resources offered by international colleagues and contacts. Successful managers will be the ones who collaborate most effectively, who make use of digitalization to involve and expand their global contacts without underestimating the importance of face-to-face, who recognize overseas talents and let their company’s diversity be reflected in the decision-making processes.
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Vigilance |
There is a lot to stay on top of. Changes are happening at great speed and keeping your finger on the pulse requires an investment of time. But time spent following global developments and acquiring necessary skills will be time well spent. Successful managers will follow developments as they happen, rather than after they have happened. Take time now to review the way things are done in your business today and start to identify future strategies and action plans to achieve success.
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Catherine Morton Fincham Marketing Coordinator at West Sweden Chamber of Commerce |
Megatrends are long-term processes of transformation with a global scope at a global scale with a dramatic impact. During her recent seminar to members of the West Sweden Chamber of Commerce, Charlotta Brynger gave her insight into the leadership challenges posed by current megatrends.”
The original article is featured here:
http://www.handelskammaren.net/sv/Nyheter/Nyhetsarkiv/sa-lyckas-du-med/3-skills-every-21st-century-manager-must-have/