A Call to Urgency:
21st Century Leadership Competencies Needed for Success
by Dr. Trish Holliday and dr. ernie ricketts
A Call to Urgency: 21st Century leadership competencies needed for success
Traditionally, the skills needed to be successful in a particular job role have been divided into what were known as “hard skills” and “soft skills.” Hard skills were those more job related, technical skills, such as the skills needed to be good at accounting, engineering, etc. Soft skills were the more relational skills, those that enabled one to work well with others, or the skills that made one a good manager and leader. In today’s workplace, the terms are being reversed for those in leadership roles. What were traditionally known as soft skills now are viewed as the new hard skills essential for leadership success. It is no longer just important to develop the technical skills necessary to be a high performer in a particular role, the emerging trend is that there are mission critical leadership competencies needed to be a highly effective leader.
Consider for a moment the idea of flying in an airplane. When all is going well, and everything is functioning properly, a jet engine will enable an aircraft to fly. However, when something goes wrong the engine can stop performing effectively and simply stop working. This is known as a flameout. In aviation a flameout refers to the run-down of a jet engine caused by the extinction of the flame in the combustion chamber. It can be caused by a number of factors, including fuel starvation, compressor stall, insufficient oxygen (at high altitudes), foreign object damage (such as birds, hail, or volcanic ash), severe inclement weather, mechanical failure and very cold ambient temperatures. A flameout is most likely to occur when flying through certain weather conditions at a low power setting such as flight idle (e.g., during the descent). These conditions include flight through moderate to heavy turbulence, rain, hail, or sleet.
This same concept can occur with leaders when they are not paying attention to mastering the mission critical leadership competencies, the new hard skills, identified in this article. What are the indicators of leadership flameout? Leadership flameout is evident when leaders who were doing well all of a sudden falter, begin to perform poorly, and lead ineffectively, resulting in the organization and its workforce failing to meet established goals. There could be many contributing reasons for this failure such as losing sight of the organization’s mission, becoming egocentric, doing something unethical, losing focus of purpose, and above all, failing to stay current in role and industry best practices.
Avoiding leadership flameout begins with knowing the difference between leading and managing. Warren Bennis quoted Peter Drucker who said, “Leaders are people who do the right things, managers are people who do things right. There’s a profound difference.” A mission critical competency for leaders is to master understanding that effective leaders are forward thinkers, articulately paint credible visions of possibilities, and demonstrate strategic and organizational agility.
Being able to differentiate the value of leading people while managing processes increases the likelihood that leaders can avoid flaming out in their role. What do employees want most from their organizational leaders? Marshall Loeb stated, “Employees want direction, meaning, trust and hope from their leaders.” Employers expect their employees to perform their roles effectively and efficiently. However, the 21st Century leader understands that employees need more from their leaders. Effective leaders provide vision for the organization and meaning for the work all employees do at any level within the organization. When employees find meaning in their work, increased trust exists between leaders and employees creating greater employee engagement, resulting in a positive impact on the hope of achieving the organizational mission and goals. Effective leaders avoid flameout by demonstrating courageous leadership. Building rapport with individuals throughout the organization, developing honest relationships, providing truthful feedback and insightful coaching can help leaders perform courageous acts of leadership.
Learning to be a lifelong learner becomes a differentiator for effective leaders. Learning to always learn helps great leaders avoid flameout by first knowing they do not know it all and making it a priority to continually improve. Demonstrating continuous learning and growth positions leaders in a way that makes flameout less likely. Great leaders are made, not born. “They’re made,” Loeb observed, “usually, Self-made.”
Effective leaders pay attention to the warning signs that could lead to flameout, resulting in the ability to keep their effectiveness moving forward. Leaders who understand and demonstrate the difference between leading and managing positively impact the work environment and the interpersonal relationships in the organization. People are cared for and their work valued and processes are managed for efficiency. Leading with direction and purpose promotes visionary leadership. This type of leadership increases employee engagement in their work as they see how what they do aligns with the leader’s vision.
Finally, becoming a life-long learner heavily impacts how to avoid flameout by keeping an eye on continuous improvement, growth and development. Success in being a lifelong learner starts with the deliberate decision to commit to always learning, seek out other lifelong learners for energy and encouragement, and develop a personal learning plan that identifies resources, strategies, and goals for succeeding.
Effective and efficient leaders avoid flameout by proactively taking strategic steps. Those steps include knowing the difference between managing and leading, developing a sense of purpose, being a life-long learner, and realizing that leaders are made, not born. These are the new “hard skills” essential for leadership success.
This article was originally published in HR Professionals Magazine.