Effective Leadership:

Managerial Leadership

Integrity – the New Leadership Story

"Never extraordinary high trust levels between employees and senior managers are failing."  

– Watson Wyatt

Profile of the 21^st Century Leader

While leadership is always important to corporate performance, there is a growing realization that effective leaders with integrity are absolutely crucial to successfully navigating the New Economy of the 21^st Century. In addition there is also a growing realization that the characteristics of the Leader of the 21^st century are dramatically different than the leader of the past, even the recent past.

Command and control is out, organizations are getting flatter, the competitive landscape is chaotic, people are looking for meaningful work, customers are in control, these and more demands are being placed on today’s leaders. Transition to the New Economy are frequently compared to movement to the Industrial Economy, the Information Economy, but the breadth of developments and changes in the New Economy are so dramatic that there is little precedent.

The real job of leaders is to inspire and create meaning and direction in the midst of drastic change and even chaos. In such a world of change and ambiguity, a new leadership style is needed. This involves the need to grasp the paradoxes inherent in the New Economy and to master the competencies required by the business environment now being created. This new leadership relies on the leader acting as an authentic and inspirational force developing effective relationships with people in the company, partners, customers, competitors and any other stakeholders

We developed a Profile of the 21^st Century Leader. Through our experience and research we defined the characteristics that will be needed to lead in an increasingly changing business landscape. This not to say that there is a definitive leadership model. Rather, we believe that leaders need to continuously adapt and change their approach as needs dictate. Leaders will need to apply these characteristics in an artful rather than a rigid scientific manner.

Leadership Integrity Guidelines

Integrity is a delicate jewel. Building integrity in leaders and their organizations takes time, continuous effort and cannot be feigned. You must feel it in your gut, in your core beliefs that being honest and trustworthy is the right business practice. If you feel that integrity is the route to financial success you are doomed to failure.

Accountability is the foundation for authentic business relationships. At least it forces the process of identifying and resolving issues. Authentic people take full and complete ownership for their lives, their choices, thoughts, feelings and actions, without blame or faultfinding.

Authentic people know their deepest values without hesitation and fulfill them in thought, word and deed. Integrity is their nature. They do not depend on their position for power. A leader with Integrity:

• delivers their message clearly and don’t worry about revealing themselves

• must have a clear vision of who they are and what they stand for

• creates clear intention by knowing the right questions to ask to create clarity and commitment

• firmly believes that doing the right and ethical thing is the overarching way to do business