By Eline Kullock
Yesterday I gave a lecture in Porto Alegre. My lecture was part of a Management Seminar which included people such as Jose Tolovi Jr, the president of the “Great Place to Work Institute” and Carlos Faccina, the President of BSP and ex-Director of HR at Nestle. I tackled the issue of different generations and their relationships to each other. There were about 350 people in the audience. True to the city’s name, I found the people particularly “alegre” (the Portuguese word for happy). As we began to discuss the topic of new leadership within businesses of the future, I felt like a knot was forming inside my head…
During my lecture, I talked about how this new generation is filled with urgency and a desire for immediacy. This generation hasn’t lived through the time of letter writing, when it would often take 20 days, to receive news from a loved one. They haven’t experienced a world filled with a calmer, more tranquil, rhythm in which business people conducted large meetings in regards to “Strategic and Operational Planning.” If I proposed a strategic five-year plan to Generation Y, I think they’d look at me as if I was from another planet.
Faccina talked about leadership from a humane perspective. He stressed the importance of recognizing that people are individuals and taking care of them. At that precise moment, as these reflections bloomed in our minds, in front of that huge audience, I began to wonder…
I wondered how to make sure Generation Y would be good leaders. Did they have good role models in their schools or in their religion? What about in their households, did they find “grounding” and “inspiration” there, despite all the breaking and remaking through parents’ separations, divorces, and remarriages?
How are we going to prepare them to lead a team, in a world even more fiercely competitive than Baby Boomers faced? How will they deal with such a different and unpredictable future, where decision-making must happen at the speed of light (sometimes without sufficient information)?
Young people chat virtually, are more egocentric, and question everything. How will they take on the complex role of leadership, all while being a positive example for their team?
The future of businesses might resemble a chaotic orchestra. What sort of conductor will harmonize such a questioning and (at times) disobedient orchestra? Harmony might be found in a “conductor” who is able to convince through his or her charisma, posture, generosity, engaging the “orchestra” in innovation, and cutting-edge projects, where dedication, concentration, resilience, and extensive planning are all indispensible to making the right decisions and achieving overall success.
Laurent Lapierre , a Ph.D in Leadership, living in Canada, spoke about what it means to be a true leader. A true leader knows their strong and weak points. A true leader knows that they are not all knowing, or omnipotent, and are conscious that they too risk falling into impotence. A true leader uses emotion to manage the team, and to make decisions. They know that a leadership-role includes having doubts and coexisting with those doubts. Being a leader also means being human and failing sometimes. Being the boss, isn’t just about getting the best chair, the most incredible office, earning a better salary, and giving orders.
At the end of the lecture, I talked to Faccina. We spoke about our role as teachers, and preparing this new generation for the difficult task of “deepening the superficial,” in a world spinning at a speed which often doesn’t allow for this deeper vision. As educators, this is, without a doubt, our biggest challenge. As managers, it’s our biggest mission. We need conductors who will make beautiful music, despite all the chaos. Leaving Porto Alegre, full of happiness, my mind was lost in reflection. I was truly impressed with the hotel and its service. Upon my arrival, I asked for an ice bucket, and found it as soon as I set foot in my room. The young man who took me up to my room (Generation Y) was grinning ear-to-ear. He was so happy to see me surprised and struck with such admiration. I could only think who his leader would be…
