Leadership 2030 | Hay Group

Megatrends and their organizational impact

Globalization 2.0

Globalization isn’t what it used to be. No longer a linear shift toward a more connected, unified global market, it’s become something a whole lot more complex and unpredictable. Asia will dominate. Some markets may even ‘re-regionalize’. And the global business world is getting riskier.

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Ruth Wageman
Global director of research, discusses the increasing globalization of organizations and the need for leaders who are culturally savvy

Like its first iteration, ‘Globalization 2.0’ brings fiercer competition. But this time, tougher leaders and more of the same strategies won’t be enough. Globalization is changing. Asian management models are growing in influence. And despite an emerging global middle class, values and behaviors in individual markets are diverging. Matrixes, not hierarchies, will succeed. Leaders need to be flexible, culturally sensitive and able to lead teams over which they have no direct authority.

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Climate change and environmental impacts

A warming world is not a comfortable place. Crunched between the need to shrink their eco-footprints and cut the use of ever-scarcer resources, businesses must become ‘sustainable’ to survive. It’s a major departure from the old way of working and needs new thinking and structures.

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Ruth Wageman
Global director of research, discusses the new collaborative cross-sector leadership needed to combat the effects of climate change

How do you thrive when the essentials – water, minerals, fossil fuels – are becoming costlier, yet you’re expected to be more environmentally responsible? Re-structuring along sustainable lines has been shown to benefit the bottom line. But companies will also have to collaborate more to solve environmental problems. They will have to work out how to live with the higher cost of working sustainably. And their leaders will need tremendous cognitive skills to balance success with environmental responsibility.

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Demographic change

If businesses were in charge of demographics, they wouldn’t design today’s trends. While in industrial nations, populations are ageing and stagnating, they are booming in the developed world. The result is migration, skill shortages and an intensifying war for talent.

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The world’s people are getting older and more numerous. Skills shortages are the result for industrial countries, while in developing economies, the ‘brain drain’ is turning into a ‘brain cycle’ as migrants return home armed with new skills. Businesses everywhere will have to work hard to attract and develop a diverse, global pool of talent. Their approach will need to take into account age, gender and culture as never before.

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Individualization and value pluralism

Today, people expect more freedom of choice. Careers are an important part of their quest for self-expression. But their loyalty is more likely to be directed toward social networks than employers. These trends have a huge impact on how leaders and companies motivate people.

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Ruth Wageman
Global director of research, looks at how the increasingly diversified values of individuals are presenting leaders with new challenges

Growing individualization means people expect freedom and self-expression in work as much as in other aspects of life. Work/life balance, recognition and personal development are taking precedence over pay and promotion. For businesses, this means designing ways of working that suit individuals rather than the organization. It means flatter, decentralized workplaces and ‘post-heroic’ leaders who can balance the roles of boss, mediator and coach.

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The impact of a changing workplace [infographic]
Jana and John, both leaders of the future, discuss individualism and digitalization, and the skills leaders will need to take advantage of these two megatrends. view it here

Digital lifestyle and work

Technology is tilting the balance of power towards employees. ‘Always on’, people can work anywhere and form large, powerful personal and business networks. The same digital trends are also turning customers into partners. New career paths, standards and structures are needed if businesses are to take advantage.

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Ruth Wageman
Global director of research discusses how complex collaborations conducted entirely through technology are now common place but what challenges does this present for leaders?

Thanks to technology, individuals now have access to resources that were once the preserve of businesses and governments. Highly skilled and creative, these ‘knowledge workers’ pose a challenge to their employers, who must find a way to harness the expertise of ‘digital natives’ while keeping them motivated. In a world of fast, easy information exchange, high standards of integrity and sincerity are critical to keeping corporate reputations intact.

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Technology convergence

Ignore disruptive technologies at your peril. Today, four tech areas are converging fast, promising the sharpest technology shifts in history. Nano, bio, information and cognitive (NBIC) technologies are already transforming areas like medicine, energy and production. NBIC savvy will be crucial for everyone.

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Spurred by miniaturization and virtualization, NBIC technologies are converging fast. Businesses must take care to ensure that a focus on results doesn’t come at the expense of essential but expensive research. NBICs’ complexity, though, means that ‘mash-ups’ (collaborations and cross-sector partnerships) will grow, driving corporate structures to be more open. To make this work, leaders will need exceptional collaboration and influencing skills and a strong instinct for spotting the right innovations.

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Hay Group | Leadership 2030

Megatrends and their organizational impact

Globalization 2.0

Climate change and environmental impacts

Demographic change

Individualization and value pluralism

Digital lifestyle and work

Technology convergence