Leadership in the 21st Century - A Blueprint

In the wake of recent corporate scandals, the status of business is low, and citizens are demanding greater corporate accountability and ethical action. New public policies oblige business executives to find firmer morale ground and to avoid the temptations of greed.

The best companies to work for are those in which employees are seen as working hard while having fun with people they view as their friends. Yet, loyalty to any single organization is gone.

Businesses are competing in the “war for talent,” and the increasingly diverse pool of employees require new approaches to motivating people.

New media requires that we, as leaders of our lives, choose where, when, and how to get things done, to manage the boundaries between the different parts of life.

This sets us apart, as leaders, from all prior generations. It takes leadership to drive change and make it so. You’ve got to choose to lead.

As we continue to work towards being better leaders, it is important that we define what is important to us. Doing so requires that we do some introspection about important events in our life, our heroes, our desired future, and our core values.

In order to deepen our awareness of who we are and who we want to be, it is necessary to look back in our past to determine the four or five events in our life that have shaped us – made us who we are, defined as the story of our life, to date, as well as who we define as our heroes, or who we look up to, and why.

After having written out the story of your life, write out your leadership vision, a compelling image of an achievable future, or, where you see yourself when you look forward ten to fifteen years from now.

In conjunction with both the story of our life, and, your vision for the future, you need to establish your personal core values – what you hold most dear and are willing to strive or even fight for.

Your values determine your actions as a leader and how you view the world around you. Your distinctive values are an important part of what will make your own particular brand of leader.

Now, you have a blueprint for becoming the leader that you want to be, a vision for what that looks like 10 – 15 years in the future, and, the core values that you will live by while continuing your growth to becoming a better leader.

Leadership is a journey, and while we may enjoy rewarding stops along the way, it is important that we never stop moving forward. 

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