We continue to live in interesting and challenging times.  There are conditions in our environment that place a premium on good leaders.  Experience has always been a critical element of good leadership, so has expertise.  However, current trends place less value on these.

At the same time, people are being constantly blasted with messages and information.  Their attention spans are getting shorter and shorter and leaders need to adapt their communication skills to take advantage of those short time frames.

Finally, it seems that leaders are now being selected by their followers, rather than somehow being anointed as leaders.  It is process of growing leadership democracy.

In this time, the leader must realize that his/her job has changed.  A successful leader now creates the conditions that attract a community that sees him/her as a viable leader.  They need to value conversations and engage their potential followers.

If a leader expects others to consider him/her worthy of being followed, they need to earn this status by the contributions they make and not by the guidance they provide.  Leaders need to be secure enough to realize that group and even mass participation will help them create value and will not threaten their existence in the leadership role.

The question we all must ask ourselves is: “Am I ready to lead in this new environment?”  Hopefully, we can answer in the affirmative.

“Instead of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to be.  It takes 20 years of hard work to become an overnight success.”                           Diana Rankin