Leadership In the Age of Scarcity

Leadership In the Age of Scarcity – The Conversation – Harvard Business Review

Glimpsing into the minds of 3600 graduate and undergraduate students worldwide, IBM’s recently released Global Student Study 2010 looks into some ideas of what these young people will do differently when they become leaders themselves. In their review of this study, the Harvard Business Review authors of the attached article compare the divergent points of view due to generational differences between current and future leaders and CEOs.

One thing is indisputable: Differences will eventually cause a tsunami of change. The key questions revolve around the how as the when is now palpable.

In my view it is all about alignment: As the current line of leadership ages, and the reigns are taken over by younger and different managers who belong to generation Y, a new set of values, principles, ideals and standards emerge. Through the transition, senior leaders will have to re-think how they align with their younger successors. The transition will be critical in the smooth shift that is sweeping over the world view and the sustainable future.

So, how does one move towards alignment? Do you need both parties to come to an agreement about meeting each other half way? Or sometimes the realization that events outside our control lead the way towards a necessary and unavoidable course of action? And what happens if you don’t do anything? Is letting nature or time take its course a viable option in today’s reality? How do you prepare? And how do you begin to explore the possibilities of how things might be in the future?

And, are you convinced that you absolutely MUST begin exploring all these questions?