Next generation leaders don’t need followers

While the coronavirus crisis has massively accelerated progress in many aspects of digitalization, it is also forcing us to rethink leadership behavior. By now, most people have come to realize that hours spent at a physical workplace can no longer be a main promotion criterion. And they see that employees can work at least as efficiently from home (if not more so). However, although the need for more agile forms of organization is steadily increasing, many companies are still getting stuck in their pyramid-shaped management structures. But they must break free. I am strongly convinced that self-organization is not just hype and that self-leadership is becoming a crucial skill of future employees.

More courage to break up traditional management structures

Since working more intensively on new leadership structures and new leadership as a concept in next generation leadership, I see many organizations that want to be agile and innovative. At the end of the day, however, they are not (yet) ready to consistently break up their pyramid leadership structure and fundamentally rethink their processes. Design Thinking and Lego Serious Play Workshops, yes. But no structural adjustments or changes to the bonus system, please – that hurts!

Who wants to abolish themselves?

The idea of distributing leadership among different leadership personalities may be well received in theory, but when it comes to radical approaches – such as abolishing oneself as a leader and really making everyone in the team a self-leader – then resistance is immediate, and objections loud: “Somebody has to have the power to make decisions! Self-organization is all well and good, but when the going gets tough, someone has to be there who can decide. Besides, not everyone is a born leader and leadership has to be learned.”

VUCA world demands faster reaction times

Most people have realized that decision-making processes in a pyramid-shaped management structure are often far too long and that pressure to react faster to current market needs is constantly increasing in today’s VUCA world. For many though, it comes down to the fact that the pressure of suffering is simply not high enough.

Self-organization is often still mocked

Holocratic or self-organized forms of organization are often ridiculed. “This can’t work. People want leadership, even the next generation.” Traditional structures are immediately justified in view of their extreme form. But I think this very debate is of fundamental importance when it comes to setting the course for future leadership. Only a discussion that takes place well outside the comfort zone will ultimately help to meet the demands of the ever-changing VUCA world. The point is not that every organization should now become a self-organizing, but that entertaining discussions on radical approaches would go some way toward developing a little further in the direction of modern leadership.

Self-leadership will be a decisive skill in the future

After all, self-organization is not about “everyone doing a bit of what they want”, but about tough self-management. Only those who can lead themselves will develop their own strong personality in a world of influencers and artificial intelligence. Ultimately, this is the foundation of all leadership. Our education system also has an important role to play in providing the next generation with opportunities to learn self-leadership as early as possible. In a world in which we are often very poorly informed despite or precisely because of too much news and too many influencers, it is crucial that we take into our own hands how we deal with all these factors and develop our own path.

When leaders breed leaders

I, too, cut my professional teeth in a pyramid management structure. Within it, I have experienced both great and very bad leadership. I have experienced leaders who still managed to develop a vision with their teams and who, depending on the superior of their superior, can work towards this vision successfully and in an extremely self-organized way. While I’m sure that there will always be some form of leadership in interaction with people, I dare to doubt whether the concept of control and top-down will still work in the future. Instead, I would like to advocate a leader-leader concept in which leaders respect and support each other and where their form of organization encourages this behavior.