What it takes to be a great leader | Roselinde Torres | TED

Summary

The speaker challenges traditional leadership models, highlighting a study revealing 58% of companies struggle to develop leaders for critical roles despite training efforts. With 25 years of experience, the speaker identifies leadership gaps and explores effective practices globally. The essence of 21st-century leadership is distilled into three key questions focusing on foresight, diverse networks, and the courage to innovate, emphasizing the need for leaders to anticipate change, connect with diverse perspectives, and embrace bold, transformative actions.

Takeaways

• 🦸 Traditional leadership models and development programs are outdated and often fail to produce effective 21st-century leaders.
• 📊 A study of 4,000 companies revealed that 58% had significant talent gaps in critical leadership roles, despite leadership development efforts.
• 🤔 The speaker's 25 years of experience in leadership observation and advising CEOs revealed a concerning trend in leadership preparation.
• 🌐 The 21st-century world is characterized by globalization, digitalization, transparency, and rapid information flow, requiring a new approach to leadership.
• 🔮 Great leaders are proactive, looking ahead to anticipate changes and shape the future rather than just reacting to it.
• 📅 Leaders should be aware of where they are looking for insights and who they are spending time with to understand potential discontinuities in their business model or life.
• 🌈 The diversity of a leader's network is crucial for pattern identification and problem-solving, as different perspectives foster innovation.
• 💪 Courage is essential for leaders to abandon past successful practices that may no longer be effective and to embrace new, potentially risky ideas.
• 🤝 Building relationships with people who are very different is a key capability of great leaders, as it leads to a more robust and diverse network.
• 🛑 Emotional stamina is vital for leaders to withstand criticism and maintain conviction in their new ideas, especially when they challenge the status quo.
• 🚀 Answering the three key questions about anticipating change, network diversity, and abandoning past practices will determine a leader's effectiveness in the 21st century.

Q & A

What is the outdated image of a leader that the speaker mentions?

The speaker mentions an outdated image of a leader as an all-knowing superhero who stands and commands, and protects his followers, which is a concept from another time.

What did the study of 4,000 companies reveal about leadership development programs?

The study revealed that 58% of the companies cited significant talent gaps for critical leadership roles, indicating that despite corporate training programs, more than half the companies had failed to grow enough great leaders.

What is the speaker's professional background regarding leadership?

The speaker has spent 25 years observing what makes great leaders, having worked inside Fortune 500 companies, advised over 200 CEOs, and cultivated numerous leadership pipelines.

Why did the speaker leave their job to study leadership preparation full time?

The speaker was consumed by questions about why leadership gaps were widening and what great leaders were doing differently, and was frustrated by recurring stories of leadership failures, which led them to leave their job to study this full time.

What did the speaker learn from traveling to South Africa about leadership?

In South Africa, the speaker learned about Nelson Mandela's ability to anticipate and navigate his political, social, and economic context, which was ahead of his time.

How do great leaders differ in their approach to change according to the speaker?

Great leaders are not head-down; they see around corners, shaping their future and not just reacting to it. They anticipate changes to their business model or life and make decisions to prepare for them.

What is the importance of a diverse personal and professional stakeholder network for a leader?

A diverse network is crucial as it serves as a source of pattern identification at greater levels and provides solutions, as it includes people who think differently and can offer unique perspectives.

Why is it important for leaders to abandon practices that made them successful in the past?

It is important because sticking to familiar and comfortable practices can hinder growth and innovation. Great leaders dare to be different, take risks, and build emotional stamina to withstand criticism of their new ideas.

What are the three defining questions for leadership in the 21st century according to the speaker?

The three defining questions are: 1) Where are you looking to anticipate the next change? 2) What is the diversity measure of your personal and professional stakeholder network? 3) Are you courageous enough to abandon a past successful practice?

How can leaders ensure they are prepared for the realities of today and possibilities of tomorrow?

Leaders can ensure preparedness by focusing on the three defining questions, which help them to anticipate changes, build diverse networks, and take courageous steps away from past practices.

What does the speaker suggest is the key to impactful development for leaders?

The speaker suggests that impactful development comes from building emotional stamina to withstand criticism and taking courageous leaps in ideas and practices, rather than just incremental steps.