What Are The Leadership Competences of Tomorrow?

What Are The Leadership Competences of Tomorrow?

The MLI Leadership Days 2021 was a week-long think tank that focused on two questions: What leadership skills will be important in the future? What skills and characteristics do people in leadership roles need to overcome the complex challenges of our time?

At MLI we are convinced that leadership is the driving force for the necessary changes of our time. Whether leadership is a force for good, or a force for destruction depends on the values upon which that leadership is based.

Good leaders must anticipate developments, deal with uncertainty, and recognise connections and patterns. That's why leadership is a complex art.

For years now, the World Economic Forum has listed an ability to solve complex problems as the most important skill required for future success. That sounds plausible at first glance but given a second viewing ‘an ability to solve complex problems’ is far too abstract and general.

Through the lens of leadership, one can find a differentiated view of the world, once in which we can find exciting opportunities in the complexities of such a vague term.

Group dynamics

Our expert neuroscientist, Dr Markus Deutschmann spoke on the impact of leadership behaviour on the minds of an organisation, and how observing ‘leading figures’ activates neurotransmitters and put people into either productive or stressed states. 

Agile but right

Dr. Denniz Dönmez described the true meaning of agile leadership. He emphasised how an agile approach might make sense when countering complex challenges, but can be dangerous when tackling complicated ones.

Meaning and positive emotions

Heike Heidenreich, MLI expert and former head of strategic communications at Munich Re, joined a thought leaders panel to discuss the importance of combining strategic changes with positive emotions and concrete tools.

Sustainability

Our strategy expert Andreas Kuhndörfer spoke to futurologist Franz-Josef Radermacher and sustainability icon Dr. Martin Stuchtey on the moral and economic reasons for creating a sustainable economic system.

Thinking traps:

Joined by my colleague Martin Gürster, I led a session in showing how unconscious ways of thinking and behaviours can lead to suboptimal decisions. We further covered how gaining an understanding of these thoughts and behaviours can help leaders become more effective and ensure the future viability of their organisations.

At the end of the event, we asked ourselves the key question – What is truly important for those in leadership roles?

Together, we settled on five key skills:

1.  The ability for self-reflection: To be able to see oneself as part of a system, recognise limiting patterns and act free of emotional reflexes.
2. The ability to empathise: Being able to put oneself in other people's shoes and trust people who think differently.
3. The ability to convey meaning: Being able to explain overarching context, help people to locate themselves within it and to recognise both a desirable goal and one's own contribution on the way there.
4. Resilience: An ability to recover quickly from supposed setbacks and to focus on opportunities and possibilities.
5. Lifelong learning: The ability to remain curious, ask questions and look for new solutions to existing problems.

The list is not complete - the work contexts are too complex - depending on the industry, company situation and management tasks.

But I think the points are relevant for management teams looking into an uncertain future.

Complexity is multi-layered. Our philosophy at the MLI Leadership Institute is to offer people in leadership roles a range of expertise - depending on the specific challenge they face: from the digital native who explains how to use digital tools to activate hybrid working systems, up to experienced strategy coaches and mentors who can provide the decisive impulses for important personnel decisions or personal career questions.

MLI is a a diverse, cosmopolitan network – that’s what makes us great, and that is what will be important in the future.

Sebastian Morgner
Managing Director of the MLI Leadership Institute