This is the leadership style of the future

Transitional leaders are embarking on a hero’s journey. Their destination is “Sustainable Performance” and en route to the summit they will need to have conquered the peaks of net-zero, circularity, inclusion and stakeholder capitalism.

But let’s not be under any illusion that leading through deep complexity and uncertainty to an unknown destination is going to be easy. 

The type of leadership required to navigate shifting business structures, transitional spaces, old eras moving to new eras, complex societal challenges, alongside competing expectations from all sides of your business, will require different skills.

• What will be the defining leadership style of the 2020s

These journeys will involve high individual and organisational effort in the now – with its complex web of concerns, pressures and uncertainties – to navigate the transition zone and stay in the game.

Meanwhile, the leaders who are unwilling to reframe or refocus their perspectives, to consider a different approach, to take bold, possibly uncomfortable choices, may remain in the remnants of the old era and hold on to what feels safe and secure while it remains.