In my latest online survey I asked the question “What is the biggest challenge for future leaders?” The greatest number of answers were based around the idea of low expectations, relationships and issues to do with people. That was not a surprise since it is the complexity of working with people that is tricky. I was particularly interested in the idea of ‘low expectations’ and what this might possibly mean. I’m wondering whether leaders need to confront issues rather than hoping that the problem will go away and whether leaders need to understand the importance of personal learning conversations. This is about building organisational culture so that people engage in dialogue and discussion that is robust and focused on driving the organisation forward. This implies that leaders have a clear focus on what is important, why it is important and how people might be expected to behave.

Heifetz, Grashow and  Linsky (2009) describe adaptive leadership as the practice of mobilising people to tackle tough challenges and thrive. I think this is the way to go. Adaptive leadership is needed for the growth of individuals and organisations. Perhaps, to avoid low expectations, future leadership involves:

• looking for those things that should be preserved and having courage to abandon the expendable;
• accepting that conflict is a necessary part of the organisation and can be productive;
• creating a culture of courageous conversations;
• acknowledging the importance of collaboration, networks and global connections; and
• building the capabilities of others to lead in adaptive ways.

This quote from Egon Zehnder (2000) reminds us that future leaders will need to be flexible, future focused and capable of thinking in new ways. “Stability is a liability, not an asset in today’s world. Each new view of the horizon is a glance through a different turn of the kaleidoscope.”

I’m going to leave the survey open for a few more days so take a few minutes to contribute here. And join the conversation about what the biggest challenge for future leaders will be. Do you agree that it is low expectations and if so what do you interpret this to mean?