A new model of leadership

Times are changing fast.

I’m from a generation that grew up believing that a successful life was all about doing well professionally and materially. Some things will always matter because they are universal, like the ability to take care of your loved ones. But there’s a new generation that wants to do things very differently, for others and the planet.

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This paradigm shift urgently requires a radical new model of leadership, so that we can tackle the most pressing social, climate, geopolitical and economic challenges - and ultimately drive positive change in the world.

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I’ve spent time reflecting on this: through my work on the global leadership team at Microsoft; as Chairman of the Board of SKEMA Business School; as President of my foundation, Live for Good; and also, in the many inspiring conversations I have with my guests on the Positive Leadership podcast.

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I’d like to share more about the approach. Let’s begin with the context.

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Listening to youth

It starts by listening to young people and giving future leaders a voice. As the Chair of SKEMA, I am working on a very exciting project: we're partnering with 50 international academia, corporates and philanthropic organizations to shape a new Higher Education for Good.

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As a starting point, we launched a massive AI-enabled global consultation called Youth Talks . The platform has already collected over one million contributions from participants in 212 countries and is the largest exercise of its kind. I’ll share more when the report’s finalized, but early results show that young people are hungry to drive positive change and fix the planet’s biggest problems. They see success as going far beyond having a great job title, they want to assert their values and live their personal passions. They are demanding that education is more diverse, inclusive and personalized, and that the world of work needs to reflect balance: business must be good for people and the planet as well as profit. Above all, they want to achieve more than material accomplishment.

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Signals of change in the workplace

Then when we look at the workplace, we can see that technology adoption will remain a key driver of business transformation in the next five years, according to WEF’s latest Future of Jobs report. And when I talk about technology, I’m specifically referring to cloud computing and of course, AI.

Many employers believe that the impact of most technologies on jobs will be net positive. As far as AI is concerned, 75% of companies expect to adopt it and 50% of employers believe it will lead to growth of jobs. But our jobs and fundamental way of working will change too, which means all of us need to learn new skills. In our recent Work Trend Index , 82% of leaders surveyed said it’s essential that employees learn when to leverage AI, how to write great prompts, how to evaluate creative work, and how to check for bias.

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As AI reshapes work, human-AI collaboration will be the next transformational work pattern - and the ability to work iteratively with AI will be a key skill for every employee. To ensure everyone thrives in an inclusive and sustainable AI-powered economy, skilling people and then connecting them to meaningful jobs is crucial.

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ESG is the biggest change in the Coporate world in our lifetime?

Alongside the transformative power of AI, there’s another seismic change happening, which I think is the biggest change in the corporate world since digital transformation. I’m talking about ESG: Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance.?

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It’s no exaggeration to say that ESG is the biggest shift in business I have seen in my working life over the past four decades. So why are we seeing all three factors converge so strongly now? It’s a response to managing risk and ensuring organizations are sustainable in the world in which they operate; it’s a response to Government spending and policies and to changing attitudes from customers and employees.

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We're seeing more of this in Europe than in some other regions. But the signals are growing in many parts of the world. Consider these stats:

Let’s be clear, ESG is good for business. It may be a daunting challenge. But it is also a strategic opportunity to not only reduce risks and negative externalities but to build a competitive advantage at the core of innovative products, services, supply chains and people and business practices. At the end of the day, it is the right thing for the people, the planet and profit.

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Top 10 skills for 2025

Now that we have this broad context: a passionate and aspiring youth, a fast-changing workplace, a new AI era, and a huge ESG transformation underway, the next question is: what kind of skills will be most needed to match the demands of the economy??

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WEF’s report into the top 10 skills for 2025 is insightful. They fit into four key categories: problem-solving, self-management, working with people, and technology use and development.

And as you can see on the list many of those skills are all about cognitive capabilities, social and collaboration abilities but also resiliency, well-being and societal connection.

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Education 4.0?

The first three categories (problem solving, self-management and working with people) are the building blocks of the Education 4.0 taxonomy , built by WEF, which is relevant to everyone. This model reimagines education as an inclusive, lifelong experience, that places the responsibility for skill-building on every individual learner, with teachers and mentors acting as facilitators and enablers.?

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Abilities and skills come first. They?are the set of process-oriented capabilities that enable an individual to achieve a specific goal and fall into either:

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1. Cognitive and analytical aptitudes, including creativity, critical thinking and problem solving
2. Interpersonal (non-cognitive) aptitudes, including communication, collaboration and the suite of socio-emotional skills.?

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The second most important set of capabilities is Attitudes and Values: this is about beliefs, personal motivation, and engagement with broader society, such as moral or ethical considerations which tend to be subjective and based on people’s experiences.

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The third?set of capabilities is Knowledge and Information which in today's world account for the vast majority of the Education system’s value and outcomes.?

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What this tells us is that the economies of the future will all require advanced skills and abilities to interpret?the proliferation of knowledge and information. They will all require the appropriate attitudes and values, to guide those interpretations, and some AI/Tech ability and agility to make sense of the incredible volume of knowledge accessible to everyone.?

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So if this is the world of work that young people are entering, the question is: are we truly preparing them for this, today? ?Are we reflective enough of this huge paradigm shift and what it means from a leadership standpoint??

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The need for a new leadership philosophy

This is why we urgently need a new leadership philosophy.

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Based on my decades of deep, global interactions with the corporate world; with many different national governments; with the young people I meet through my work; with the philanthropic and the impact startups and social entrepreneurship movement, I'm deeply convinced that we need a reset of our common leadership model.

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People overall, and not just Gen Z, want to have a meaningful life and work for organizations and leaders who embody their values. They want leaders who are inspiring and enable them to have a positive impact in their life.?

This is the reason why I have studied and practiced Positive Leadership for many years. Some of you reading this will already subscribe to my newsletter and podcast (thank you) where I share what I am learning. But if you are not familiar with the concept, its roots are in positive psychology, neuroscience and mindfulness.

Along the way I’ve experienced and shaped a model that I have used in my professional and social circles:

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The powers of positive leaders

This leadership philosophy builds on the three interlocking circles of positive psychology,?

• Me
• Me & Others
• Me & the World

Ultimately, they cause a ripple effect delivering three waves of positive impact for the individual, teams and the world. So let's explore how you use the three interlocking circles to create positive ripples.

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Building the best version of myself

First, it's all about the commitment to build the best version of ourselves. What does it mean? It means taking care of yourself, physically, emotionally and mentally as a starting point. As they say on a plane, you have to put your own oxygen mask on first, before helping others.

Then it’s about really knowing yourself, identifying your real strengths and the passion that flows into your body and mind by moments. And being able to focus on the things, the activities and the people who matter the most in your life by finding your north star, writing down your personal mission and shaping your purpose.

Purpose can evolve over time, although some of us find it early. But I want to tell you one thing, it's never too late to define your purpose!

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Growing with others

Now that you have built self-confidence, resiliency and the ability to generate and manage your own positive energy, you have an exciting opportunity to understand how you can have a positive impact on others and grow them in the process. It could be your colleagues, your family, your teammates, your sports club associates, or any other social circles you belong to.

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It begins by inspiring others to achieve more and not just assigning to them a long list of tasks. It's about creating a strong level of confidence and real emotional safety, it's about mastering positive communication, which is not about painting a rosy picture, but on the contrary being constructive and decisive when things don't work out.

Over many years I have evolved my leadership to be more coach-like. I learn from others how to amplify our collective impact. This coach-like behavior better reflects the way people want to be seen and supported at work.

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Change for Good

As the second ripple creates strong positive waves it enables you and your team to shape the third circle and to drive the change for good. This starts by building the case for change. Whether you're working for a university, a Fortune 500 company, a climate tech start up, or a human rights NGO, you have to create that direct connection between each one of your team members’ personal purposes with your organization’s purpose. When you're able to do that, it's very powerful as you get the very best from everyone.?

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My own manager, Satya Nadella, the Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, spoke at WEF about the company’s social contract in every country where it does business and the way we're enabling our employees to use Microsoft as their platform of Change for Good, to accomplish our mission: to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. It’s why we are partnering with positive impact entrepreneurs, to drive systemic change and deliver against the UNSDGs. Because it takes a movement to drive a systemic change within our society.

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Your opportunity

The bottom line is that everyone has the opportunity to lead for good. You can be a leader as an entrepreneur, or working for a community organization, a sports team, a business unit or a government. A positive leadership philosophy nurtures the best version of yourself so that you can coach others to thrive, and eventually drive a positive change in the world.

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I come back time and time again to the book by David Brooks, called ‘The Second Mountain.’ If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to take a look. Brooks talks about the first mountain as our conventional trajectory in life, if we are fortunate. A climb where we are successful in education, progressing in our work, in buying a home, all of which are important. But when you reach the summit, then what? The second mountain is still there to be conquered. But this mountain is about achievements in the service of others. Of a deeper purpose in life.

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So, what are you waiting for? It is time to climb that second mountain and lead for good.