The Changing World
Over the next 15 years, we will begin to see three different generations in the workplace at the same time, each with very different needs and aspirations. Baby Boomers will no longer dominate and Generations X and Y will play a much larger role. Managers will be expected to manage a multi-generational workforce and acquire generation specific leadership and management skills including managing a generation of older workers who will not retire in the traditional manner. Globally, executives will have to come to grips with a world economy increasingly shaped by the emergence of China and India as major powers and with an Asia fully recovered from the 1997 crash. They will face global labour markets and complex environments generated by offshore and other multi-country strategies.
As a result, executives will need more sophisticated strategies to engage in the global market. They will travel frequently and spend a greater proportion of their careers outside Australia. A sound understanding of offshoring, supply chain management and diverse workforces will be vital. Managers will also need to give serious consideration to developing strong language and inter-cultural skills.
As the actions of senior executives come under closer scrutiny by the wider community, some hard questions are being asked about their role in today’s society. How will executives see themselves in the years to 2020? Our conclusion is that the mindset of executives will undergo a transformation in the way they think about their role, interact with colleagues, consider the basis of leadership, and also address their broader attitude to life.
The Executive Steward
Over the last decade, executives have been strongly encouraged to think of themselves as the owner’s agents, whose role is to maximise returns. This has resulted in a short-term focus as fund managers and, latterly, hedge fund managers have reduced their stock holding times. Many executives (and others) have become uncomfortable with this pressure and argue that their role should be that of a steward who manages for long-term corporate health, cognisant of the competing interests of all stakeholders. A debate has emerged about the rights of shareholders relative to other groups with legitimate interests in a company. Some commentators question whether a shareholder is really an owner of a company at all. Most shareholders have no involvement in a company’s operations, and many hold their shares for a relatively short time. Other commentators have argued that\ shareholders should be seen only as one group of security holders amongst others or even simply as speculators in the future profits of a company. With this shifting perspective on shareholders, executives are likely to be more concerned with balancing and reconciling the interests of all stakeholders in a company, rather than the needs of a particular group. The concept of a single ‘owner’ whose interests are paramount is less likely to apply in the future.
In effect, this will mean an ongoing focus on corporate health with executives building the capacity for strong performance year on year, rather than directing their energies to boosting short-term results. This is not to say that shareholders will cease to demand good returns on their investments - far from it - but it will mean that executives will no longer be rewarded for achieving those returns at the consistent expense of staff, customers, the community or the environment.
From the Cult of the CEO to the Cult of the Top Team
The cult of the CEO has become a worldwide phenomenon over the last decade. Many CEOs are now household names or at least recognisable faces. It is unclear whether this trend will continue. While a CEO will always be seen as the most important appointment in a company, in future greater attention may turn to the team supporting them. There is a steady transition away from traditional ‘command and control’ forms of management and towards more team-based, consultative management styles. Accordingly, analysts and the market are increasingly focussed on the attributes of top teams rather than solely on the CEO.
The growing ranks of Generations X and Y will reinforce this shift. Members of these generations are demanding considerably greater control over their working environments, want open and honest feedback, both upward and downward, and are more willing to judge and reject their working environments than their Baby Boomer forebears. The ‘Cult of the Top Team’ is likely to replace the ‘Cult of the CEO’. This will be a challenge for many of today’s executives, who have risen through the ranks of more rigidly hierarchical workplaces. In future, their success as executives will depend, in part, on their ability to create a work environment in which a top team can flourish. In addition, executives will increasingly be judged by analysts and markets on the quality of the teams they develop and manage.
A Return to Expert Leadership
The decade leading up to 1995 saw the rise of the generalist manager. Regulatory reform had created an uncertain and much less franchised business environment. In this new environment, broad-based skills and the ability to analyse new problems proved more important than traditional experience. At the same time, the ‘job for life’ management generation that emerged after the Second World War began to retire. Cross-industry hires to fill senior positions became common, and talented young generalists were given opportunities to lead. Long experience in a firm, from the shopfloor up, became less important than the ‘smarts’ and general management skills judged necessary for success in a new competitive environment. In recent times, the premium for generalist management skills has begun to decline. In education, demand for specialist management courses has grown much faster than demand for generalist courses, such as MBAs. As generalist management skills become more readily available in the workforce, depth of expertise has become a more defining requirement for senior executives. Executive searches increasingly specify deep expertise in an industry or functional area. The 21st Century manager is expected to possess this expertise, along with advanced communication and team-building skills.
The shift towards experts also reflects changes in the workforce. A more skilled and highly educated workforce will need less direction, and will typically value it less. It will no longer be sufficient for executives to play co-ordination and goal setting roles. They must also be expert in the subject matter at hand or bring deep experience to the issues being addressed. These trends suggest the age of the generalist manager is coming to an end Individual executives will need to consciously build and maintain a coherent body of expertise in an industry or functional area as they move between employers and markets. In order to progress in the future workplace, they will need to establish a sustainable logic to their career paths.
Executives will need to rethink their role in the years to 2020. They will be asked to balance a wider range of interests, under greater external scrutiny. Executives will still be expected to deliver good financial performance, but the results they achieve will also be assessed on the basis of how well they have met a wider range of stakeholder needs. In this environment, executives will increasingly see themselves as ‘stewards’ who nurture the long-term health of the businesses they manage. The age of the generalist manager is coming to an end. In the changing workplace, executives will need to demonstrate deep industry and/or functional expertise as well as advanced communication and team building skills. Companies will increasingly seek senior executives who really ‘know their stuff’.
Executives will continue to receive higher levels of remuneration than their predecessors but they will also have to deal with greater levels of uncertainty regarding tenure and pensions. They will need to spend more time on personal wealth management while at the same time striving to achieve a balance between their working and family life.
In the years to 2020, successful executives will be those who can:
Maximise Opportunities in a Changing World
Maintain an international perspective and be continual learners Be flexible and able to move confidently between different global markets and cultures Reflect the needs and preferences of the ageing Baby Boomers in organisational structures and customer services.
Manage Diversity in a Changing Workplace
Achieve a balance between the management styles required to work with three generations within a single workplace.
Master staff performance measures based on outputs rather than inputs
Gain insight into the motivations of a diverse workforce, and be creative in designing the right incentives to attract and retain talented staff.
Respond to Changing Times with a Changing Mindset
Create work environments where talented teams, not just talented individuals. Maintain specialist skills in addition to general management skills. Value functional, industry and technical expertise. Promote and practice a work/life balance.
"The years to 2020 promise significant change for managers and executives. Most will need to master new skills to address the emerging challenges. Successful executives will be those who can effectively manage three generations in the workplace, create more flexible working environments, optimise individual and team performance, balance stakeholder interests and build and maintain their personal expertise. The bar for success in management continues to rise. Managers and executives will need to maintain their skills of the last decade and to master the additional tools and techniques of the next. To do this, they will require new types of executive education that provide strong general management skills, including interpersonal and intercultural skills, as well as industry and functional training to develop specialist expertise in their fields."
- Surya Kanta Jena -
soorajkiran1@gmail.com
Over the next 15 years, we will begin to see three different generations in the workplace at the same time, each with very different needs and aspirations. Baby Boomers will no longer dominate and Generations X and Y will play a much larger role. Managers will be expected to manage a multi-generational workforce and acquire generation specific leadership and management skills including managing a generation of older workers who will not retire in the traditional manner. Globally, executives will have to come to grips with a world economy increasingly shaped by the emergence of China and India as major powers and with an Asia fully recovered from the 1997 crash. They will face global labour markets and complex environments generated by offshore and other multi-country strategies.
As a result, executives will need more sophisticated strategies to engage in the global market. They will travel frequently and spend a greater proportion of their careers outside Australia. A sound understanding of offshoring, supply chain management and diverse workforces will be vital. Managers will also need to give serious consideration to developing strong language and inter-cultural skills.
As the actions of senior executives come under closer scrutiny by the wider community, some hard questions are being asked about their role in today’s society. How will executives see themselves in the years to 2020? Our conclusion is that the mindset of executives will undergo a transformation in the way they think about their role, interact with colleagues, consider the basis of leadership, and also address their broader attitude to life.
The Executive Steward
Over the last decade, executives have been strongly encouraged to think of themselves as the owner’s agents, whose role is to maximise returns. This has resulted in a short-term focus as fund managers and, latterly, hedge fund managers have reduced their stock holding times. Many executives (and others) have become uncomfortable with this pressure and argue that their role should be that of a steward who manages for long-term corporate health, cognisant of the competing interests of all stakeholders. A debate has emerged about the rights of shareholders relative to other groups with legitimate interests in a company. Some commentators question whether a shareholder is really an owner of a company at all. Most shareholders have no involvement in a company’s operations, and many hold their shares for a relatively short time. Other commentators have argued that\ shareholders should be seen only as one group of security holders amongst others or even simply as speculators in the future profits of a company. With this shifting perspective on shareholders, executives are likely to be more concerned with balancing and reconciling the interests of all stakeholders in a company, rather than the needs of a particular group. The concept of a single ‘owner’ whose interests are paramount is less likely to apply in the future.
In effect, this will mean an ongoing focus on corporate health with executives building the capacity for strong performance year on year, rather than directing their energies to boosting short-term results. This is not to say that shareholders will cease to demand good returns on their investments - far from it - but it will mean that executives will no longer be rewarded for achieving those returns at the consistent expense of staff, customers, the community or the environment.
From the Cult of the CEO to the Cult of the Top Team
The cult of the CEO has become a worldwide phenomenon over the last decade. Many CEOs are now household names or at least recognisable faces. It is unclear whether this trend will continue. While a CEO will always be seen as the most important appointment in a company, in future greater attention may turn to the team supporting them. There is a steady transition away from traditional ‘command and control’ forms of management and towards more team-based, consultative management styles. Accordingly, analysts and the market are increasingly focussed on the attributes of top teams rather than solely on the CEO.
The growing ranks of Generations X and Y will reinforce this shift. Members of these generations are demanding considerably greater control over their working environments, want open and honest feedback, both upward and downward, and are more willing to judge and reject their working environments than their Baby Boomer forebears. The ‘Cult of the Top Team’ is likely to replace the ‘Cult of the CEO’. This will be a challenge for many of today’s executives, who have risen through the ranks of more rigidly hierarchical workplaces. In future, their success as executives will depend, in part, on their ability to create a work environment in which a top team can flourish. In addition, executives will increasingly be judged by analysts and markets on the quality of the teams they develop and manage.
A Return to Expert Leadership
The decade leading up to 1995 saw the rise of the generalist manager. Regulatory reform had created an uncertain and much less franchised business environment. In this new environment, broad-based skills and the ability to analyse new problems proved more important than traditional experience. At the same time, the ‘job for life’ management generation that emerged after the Second World War began to retire. Cross-industry hires to fill senior positions became common, and talented young generalists were given opportunities to lead. Long experience in a firm, from the shopfloor up, became less important than the ‘smarts’ and general management skills judged necessary for success in a new competitive environment. In recent times, the premium for generalist management skills has begun to decline. In education, demand for specialist management courses has grown much faster than demand for generalist courses, such as MBAs. As generalist management skills become more readily available in the workforce, depth of expertise has become a more defining requirement for senior executives. Executive searches increasingly specify deep expertise in an industry or functional area. The 21st Century manager is expected to possess this expertise, along with advanced communication and team-building skills.
The shift towards experts also reflects changes in the workforce. A more skilled and highly educated workforce will need less direction, and will typically value it less. It will no longer be sufficient for executives to play co-ordination and goal setting roles. They must also be expert in the subject matter at hand or bring deep experience to the issues being addressed. These trends suggest the age of the generalist manager is coming to an end Individual executives will need to consciously build and maintain a coherent body of expertise in an industry or functional area as they move between employers and markets. In order to progress in the future workplace, they will need to establish a sustainable logic to their career paths.
Executives will need to rethink their role in the years to 2020. They will be asked to balance a wider range of interests, under greater external scrutiny. Executives will still be expected to deliver good financial performance, but the results they achieve will also be assessed on the basis of how well they have met a wider range of stakeholder needs. In this environment, executives will increasingly see themselves as ‘stewards’ who nurture the long-term health of the businesses they manage. The age of the generalist manager is coming to an end. In the changing workplace, executives will need to demonstrate deep industry and/or functional expertise as well as advanced communication and team building skills. Companies will increasingly seek senior executives who really ‘know their stuff’.
Executives will continue to receive higher levels of remuneration than their predecessors but they will also have to deal with greater levels of uncertainty regarding tenure and pensions. They will need to spend more time on personal wealth management while at the same time striving to achieve a balance between their working and family life.
In the years to 2020, successful executives will be those who can:
Maximise Opportunities in a Changing World
Maintain an international perspective and be continual learners Be flexible and able to move confidently between different global markets and cultures Reflect the needs and preferences of the ageing Baby Boomers in organisational structures and customer services.
Manage Diversity in a Changing Workplace
Achieve a balance between the management styles required to work with three generations within a single workplace.
Master staff performance measures based on outputs rather than inputs
Gain insight into the motivations of a diverse workforce, and be creative in designing the right incentives to attract and retain talented staff.
Respond to Changing Times with a Changing Mindset
Create work environments where talented teams, not just talented individuals. Maintain specialist skills in addition to general management skills. Value functional, industry and technical expertise. Promote and practice a work/life balance.
"The years to 2020 promise significant change for managers and executives. Most will need to master new skills to address the emerging challenges. Successful executives will be those who can effectively manage three generations in the workplace, create more flexible working environments, optimise individual and team performance, balance stakeholder interests and build and maintain their personal expertise. The bar for success in management continues to rise. Managers and executives will need to maintain their skills of the last decade and to master the additional tools and techniques of the next. To do this, they will require new types of executive education that provide strong general management skills, including interpersonal and intercultural skills, as well as industry and functional training to develop specialist expertise in their fields."
- Surya Kanta Jena -
soorajkiran1@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment