eBook: The Future of Leadership
The Future of Leadership
Many leadership studies aim to understand the implications of the VUCA world for the future of leadership, however, little research has been carried out on the future of leadership in the legal market. Through in-depth interviews with 13 Managing Partners and 17 General Counsel in Germany, we examined current perceptions around leadership in the future. What skills and mindsets will be key to success in the future? What trends and challenges will shape leaders’ main focal areas? What are their respective perspectives on leadership, viewed against the background of their extensive leadership experience, including past transformational change?
Connect, Relate, Reflect
Our conclusion from the 30 interviews is this: Leaders today must be able to operate at three leadership altitudes,strategic, operational, and personal, as well as being able to switch between these levels and continuously adapt:
Connect: A strategic, systems-focussed perspective in which leaders connect with the network outside of their organisation, and regularly review and challenge the status quo.
Relate: An operational, people-focussed perspective in which leaders focus on their fellow human beings and the internal system of the organisation, seeking effective ways of relating to others.
Reflect: A personal, self-development perspective in which the leader systematically reflects on his or her own leadership abilities and mindset, as well as the impact this has on the organisation.
The study was jointly executed by the Bucerius Center on the Legal Profession and Egon Zehnder.
Read the study online or download the PDF