Global Transitions
Of the more dramatic features of the 20th century, two stand out:  the rapid pace of change and the revolution of communication systems. Both processes accelerated links between diverse communities in the globalisation process.

It is now commonplace to say that business leadership requires the flexibility to deal with the unknown as well as the unexpected.

In the first decade of the 21st century, we have the benefit of more foresight - dealing with diversity and uncertainty is now the norm. As the pace of global and business change become even faster, it’s clear that communication will be an even more vital component of fostering and managing these changes.

A well as the above-mentioned general shifts in the global workplace, internal ways of operating have gone through a profound change in many organisations. From hierarchies of reporting to networks of relationships; from planning, controlling and monitoring to listening, questioning and coaching; from the belief in finding one right answer to an openness to diverse perspectives; from the need to win in adversarial debate to creating shared meaning through dialogue. Communication, cooperation and interdependence mark this shift; the ‘servant leader’ model follows on. Modern leaders rely less on their authority but rather have a greater need to be experienced as authentic; information should be spread widely to empower employees, rather than be held back as a form of exclusive executive power.

So what do today’s business and organisational leaders need in order to cope with these new dynamics?

At the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, we have found that they need more complex skills in predicting, fostering and managing change and in harnessing the creative powers of diversity.

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