21st Century Leadership Critical Literature Review

Therefore, these complexities have brought about serious unforeseen and unprecedented issues which need leadership which is up to the task, versatile and capable of providing the necessary guidance and counsel. This, therefore, calls for a 21st leadership, which is competent to give fundamental leadership perspectives which are intended to cater to the challenges and opportunities which are unique to the 21st century. 21st century kind of leadership is one which draws its perspective from diverse disciplines and theories and reflects on the integration of a wide array of traditions and practices (Guthrie and Callahan, 2016). This is to enable it to create a kind of leadership which will foster transformative change, practical knowledge to the service of the world. 21st century Predicted Key Competencies The 21st-century key competencies which have been predicted can be grouped into three distinct but interrelated categories.

Interpersonal competencies are another predicted key competency of the 21st-century leadership. Hyatt and Williams, (2010) suggest that it includes collaboration and communication with teams and followers in any business operation or organization. For effective communication, leaders should share, clarify and balance the information which they are sharing with the followers. Collaboration, in this case, involves involving all interested parties into decision making, planning, negotiations, and conflict solving. This is because having effective communications coupled with collaboration with stakeholders is critical in taking new initiatives and strategies for business and on the part of an implementation of the policies of the business or organization. Each organization has a distinct culture which impacts on how people function in an organization and have things are done (Panda, 2009).

a leader should propagate the culture of an organization and create a belief system which followers prescribe to and abide by. Organizational culture in the 21st century is a prerequisite to having a successful transformation of change in operations of any business. Both outward and outward orientation of a person is essential leadership aspects to engage in the entire system of operations (Panda, 2009). Interpersonal, intrapersonal and cognitive competencies are key to 21st-century leadership and its effectiveness. Power in classical leadership is vertical and red tape or bureaucracy dictates the implementation of policies. However, in 21st-century leadership, power and operations are horizontal, in that each person is an active participant in decision making. In classical leadership, information is held by the management and claims ownership for it.

information has to come from above on the decisions and management policies of the organizations (Jenkins, 2012). in 21st century leadership, information is openly shared, and knowledge is disseminated in all of the teams and followers. These leaders give followers the capacity to be innovative and creative in solving problems and policy implementation. However, there are specific areas where classical leadership styles and 21st-century leadership converge, and this is having work done in the most immediate way possible. Both leaders ensure that results have to be realized in the shortest time possible. This is despite these leaders using different means to achieve those results (Croft and Seemiller, 2017). also, both leaders have a competitive nature where they aspire to be successful in the marketplace.

Globalization has caused increased competition in the market where there are many companies and organizations which offer the same brand and would like to dare abroad. Therefore, every leader must have that competitive advantage over their peers or competitors. One factor which is very common in the 21st-century market is that it is flooded by the same products or brands and therefore it takes tremendous leadership changes to make an impact to the clients and succeed (Harvard Business Review, 2018). A reduced attrition rate is needed for effective leadership in a globally competitive environment. Therefore, updated leadership styles are needed for achieving organizational goals productively. One of the primary agents of communication and payments in modern businesses has been digitalized and therefore needs a 21st-century leadership to steer the organization or business to success.

In line with operations and transaction of business, a leader’s approach and styles can become outdated and the followers can cease to be responsive. Barnes, (2010) observed that this is because they are no longer willing to follow their leader as they have stopped growing and learning. When a leader stops reinventing themselves, they become complacent, make bad decisions and do not put efforts to invest in themselves. In the 21st high-paced and competitive environment and global marketplace, businesses and organizations cannot sit and wait for leaders to invest in themselves. It is not limited to those in charge, but a responsibility of all those who participate in a certain event or organization. While 21st century can be understood as a way in which it complements administrative and management functions, it is a fundamental aspect of any organizational life, and it requires distinct attention for its development and practice (Jenkins, 2012).

It is, therefore, an integrative and a multidimensional way of leadership which is anchored of relationship. Through a shared vision, aspirations, and purposes, it brings new ways of knowing, being, doing and having respect for the developmental nature of humanity. Although there is the difference on the approaches and focus of the philosophy of the 21st-century leadership, there are three key themes which are common, which have transformed the leadership of the day. Extending traditional 21st-century leadership skills.  Journal of Leadership Studies, 3(4), pp. Bolden, R. and Gosling, J. Leadership Competencies: Time to Change the Tune? Leadership, 2(2), pp.  New Directions for Higher Education, 2016(174), pp. Harvard Business Review.  The New 21st Century Leaders. [online] Available at: https://hbr. org/2010/04/the-new-21st-century-leaders-1.  SSRN Electronic Journal.