5 Critical Capabilities of the New Disruptive Leader for 2018

    

It’s no secret that the world has changed before our eyes. No matter what your political or socialleader-disruption.jpg views, we can all agree it the world is extremely different and it’s never going back to the way it was.  In this radically changed world that has been disrupted, volatility has become vicious volatility.  Uncertainty has become unrelenting uncertainty.  Complexity has turned into continuous complexity, and ambiguity has turned into accelerated ambiguity.  Basically, we now live in a “VUCA Squared” world!

As we come to the end of this dynamic and challenging year, we should look back for a few moments to reflect and learn, but we need to quickly turn our attention to the future because the future is now.  A VUCA Squared world needs a new type of leader with new types of leadership skills.  Based on research, analysis, and an extremely intense year of working with some of the best organizations on the planet, I have put together a list of the 5 capabilities the new disruptive leader needs to have in 2018 and beyond.

Innovation to push the limits of what can only be imagined

The disruptive leader of 2018 must have the capability to push innovation beyond the limits of what we know and how we have ever done things in the past. Simply challenging the status quo is no longer good enough; proactively changing the status quo to a new paradigm is the entry ticket to the party but no guarantee for success.  This new leader has to have a combination of intelligence, business acumen, business leadership, and extreme courage to pursue new ideas in a way that go beyond the limits and capacities of the organizations and teams they lead.

Transform people and organizations by creating adaptable cultures that thrive on change

The disruptive leader of 2018 must have the capability to not just “change”, but to transform organizations, teams and people quickly and efficiently and lift them up to new levels of productivity and scale.  In this process, the new leader has to create a culture that takes a contrarian view on change; instead of avoiding it, they thrive on it and can’t live without it.

Influence beyond the core

The disruptive leader of 2018 must have the capability to use influence skills well beyond their core sphere of coworkers and direct reports and reach internal, external, and digital constituents that may not know you exist or worse yet may not care you exists with messages that stick and change behaviors.

Aggressive Authenticity

The disruptive leader of 2018 must have the capability to be aggressively authentic and transparent. In a day in age where every day headlines roar with the latest scandal and exhibits of deplorable human behavior, leaders must be aggressive in establishing themselves as authentic and transparent.  The aggressive authentic leader thinks about things and situations that nobody else does and anticipates the needs and fears of others to make them safe, secure, and productive.

Solving all Problems

And finally, the disruptive leader of 2018 must have the have the capability to solve all problems. Not some problem, not selective problems, not problems that create hero worship, but all problems no matter how small or how big. Excuses in this new world are not acceptable, only results.  And unfortunately, in the business world of 2018 and beyond, there are no simple problems, everything is complex and new leaders must have the skills, the tools, the people, and the resources to solve any and all problems that may hinder the disruption.

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Robert Brodo

About The Author

Robert Brodo is co-founder of Advantexe. He has more than 20 years of training and business simulation experience.