Lead with Integrity: The Future of Leadership

Ethics Matters

Q3 2020

Throughout the past few months, I have been intrigued by the many ways our world is changing. We are all forced to adapt the way we operate in nearly all areas of our lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated our use of technology to conduct business. The tensions around equity, diversity and inclusion has caused many of us to assess ourselves and identify our blind spots regarding race. All this change accentuates the need for ethical leadership, now and in the future.

Before March 15, 2020, our world was discovering new technology and adopting it at a normal pace. Almost immediately after that day, we began to adopt new and advance our use of existing technology at an accelerated pace. With such rapid change, comes chaos, uncertainty, and temporary loss of productivity. If you are like me, you probably have experienced all of these undesirable factors at varying levels.

So, how do we get to a normal and productive state? I say with leadership – starting with self-leadership. Leaders must set the tone by establishing and maintaining effective routines. It is important for us to develop a rhythm for our activities, or we will become very inefficient with our time. Once we are in a rhythm, we can help those we lead get in cadence. Leaders must also drive the effort to embrace new thinking around: 1) adaptability, 2) creativity, 3) critical thinking, and 4) technology use. The Future of Leadership will be dependent on our ability to competently lead using these skills.

The Future of Leadership is also going to be impacted by the new awareness and interest in equity and inclusion. To be most effective, leaders will have to bring some additional qualities to their organizations. The business world of the future is requiring its leaders to have heightened levels of: 1) emotional intelligence, 2) listening, 3) empathy, and 4) interpersonal communications skills. The marketplace is demanding more inclusivity, and to be effective, future leaders must commit to increasing competence in these areas.

The Future of Leadership calls for us to increase our competence in the aforementioned, key areas. I am committed, and I hope you are too. If I can assist you in any way, let me know.

Remember, Lead with Integrity!