The ADAPT qualities are out there, but they are not plentiful. They require nurturing and urgently so. We need to equip leaders with the knowledge, capability, mindset and behaviours needed to execute their strategies and navigate a constantly changing context.

So where to start? To make change this big, for those tasked with leadership development, we recommend a ground zero reset. This reset requires us to:

1. Hold up the mirror: Only when we become aware of our traditional mindsets, patterns of behaviour and our underlying belief systems, can we change. Only the self-aware leader will be able to self-disrupt.
2. Slow down to accelerate: Speed is given great currency in today’s market but embracing a new leadership paradigm will require us to pause in order to gain clarity and build fresh perspectives. Only when leaders create space to reflect and elevate their sense-making will they be able to shift from hyperactive speed to transformational significance.
3. Put mindset ahead of skillset: Most leadership   development has focussed upon building competence and skill (horizontal development). Disruptive leadership is about mindset (vertical  development), how we make sense of the world, how we explore the reasons why we are drawn to lead and become clear and  purposeful about the significant impact we seek to have.

Principles of Leadership Development

How often do we hear the language born of traditional mindsets in our organisational narrative?

• This is beyond my control. I have no choice.
• The business of business is business.
• Failure is not an option.
• If I want something done right, I’ll do it myself. Harmony is achieved when differences are reduced.
• I should not show my weaknesses.

Cultivating an Invaluable Talent

Our research shows that businesses urgently need to begin cultivating the right leadership pipeline: only 15% of today’s leaders excel across all five ADAPT dimensions and can be considered self-disruptors.

This narrative needs to be confined to another time, when command and control from the centre could create effectiveness and efficiency, when buoyant global growth “floated all boats,” where competitors were known, change was emergent not disruptive and workplaces were densely populated with people who overwhelmingly looked the same.

In today’s world of hyper change this narrative is failing with many organisations finding that their traditional leadership and management models are insufficient in dealing with the new challenges.

And while the history of leadership is abundant with theories, models and concepts, what has developed in recent times is the accelerated change that requires organisations to more closely examine what they expect of leaders and how to prepare them for the future.

To some, the rapid advances in AI and robotics suggests that human labour will be eventually rendered obsolete. Korn Ferry sees a different future of work. Human nature to strive for achievement is strong, and alongside technological advancements, there are significant interpersonal, organisational and political matters to manage. As we steer this complex navigation to the future, effective leadership will matter even more than it has in the past.

We see 10 foundational principles for the development of leaders who will thrive in this new world.

Reflective Questions for Leaders:

1. How do you pool the resources when you don’t have sole ownership?
2. How do you handle energy loss when people are constantly asked to give up their routines and reskill themselves in order to navigate uncharted territory?
3. How do you form and lead a distributed, non-hierarchical organisation when the bound-ary and structure fade, and interdependence between partners is voluntary and transitory?

The 10 Principles for Developing Self-Disruptive Leaders

1. Self-awareness – Only when we become aware of our patterns of behaviour and our underlying belief systems, can we change. The foundation for any new way of leading will be the provision of insights into competency, personality traits, motivational drivers and learning agility.
2. Horizontal and vertical – Most leadership development has focussed upon building competence and skill (horizontal development). Disruptive leadership is about mindset (vertical develop-ment), how we make sense of the world, how we explore why we are drawn to lead and become clear and purposeful about the significant impact we seek.
3. Shift mindsets – Leaders need to demonstrate a new mindset in an increasingly volatile and uncertain business environment. Mindset is an internal operating system; the mindset we have impacts how we make sense of the world. Today’s growing business complexity requires an evolving mindset. Thriving in this environment calls for more sophisticated ways of thinking. In a hyper changing environment, leaders need to continuously update (to self-disrupt) their mindset to stay effective. Leaders trapped in yesterday’s mindset may struggle to find their place and voice in this new world.
4. Provide developmental heat – Due to the pace and extent of change, many people will play at the edge of their competence. Success will require us to constantly relinquish what feels easy and comfortable and try something different and difficult. To develop, leaders need to be faced with complex situations that disrupt habitual ways of thinking. New experiences will spark learning and some stress is needed to move leaders out of their comfort zone.
5. Optimise energy – Employee energy has become one of the key performance differentiators in today’s rapidly changing environment. Managing energy for optimal output is a business imperative and not just an employee benefit program. Leaders must understand the importance of building capacity and resilience in self and others and develop sustainable energy generating habitual behaviours.
6. Encourage broad perspectives – The exchange, confrontation and enrichment of diverse ideas leads to enhanced results. Create environments for ‘colliding perspectives’ that expose leaders to different world views, opinions and backgrounds to build perspective and elevate the capacity for sensemaking.
7. Learning with others – The source of new competitive advantage will come not from a short-term focus on maximising current financial performance, but from boosting future profits through participating in the flow of knowledge creation and from collective efforts rather than individual genius. Social connections and new relationships also help people update their identities. A critical part of accelerating leadership mindset change is to find new role models and peer groups who can serve as “mirrors” in order to build self-awareness.
8. Develop leaders at every level – In an increasingly decentralised and open system, leadership is less tied to a position of formal authority in the hierarchy. It is better defined as a shared process where decision making is distributed across networks and boundaries at every level. Use online and self-directed learning to shift the onus from HR ownership of development to the individual.
9. Pause principle – Leaders need to slow down to accelerate; speed is given great currency in today’s market but embracing a new leadership paradigm will require us to pause in order to gain clarity and build fresh perspectives. Only when leaders create space to reflect and elevate their sense-making will they be able to shift from hyperactive speed to transformational significance.
10. Build a leadership culture not just leadership programs –To navigate this rapidly changing business world, many organisations will need to overhaul not only their leadership development programs but the structure and culture of their businesses. Organisations must create structures and diverse and inclusive cultures that empower employees at all levels to challenge their own thinking and disrupt themselves to create an ecosystem of innovation and future ready leaders.