The Most Valuable Asset for Leadership.

“ If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results.”General George S. Patton

The role of a leader is to keep organisations on the track and to drive teams to success. This is not news! We have been reading loads of articles and lists on how leadership can be developed within organisations; bringing recipes to success that can be applied at any given moment. However there is a gap between concepts and real life. It is the human factor.

We moved from the “product centric” to “human centric” economy. Companies such as Airbnb, Uber and Alibaba as well the entrepreneurism present in the start-up movement brought to light a new way of how to engage customers and stakeholders. Leaders of these companies have designed their business based on purposes, neither on a plan nor to create a new demand. In a nutshell, people buy ideas, belongingness, to feel unique when interacting with a company or buying a product. These business models are giving to their clients and employees the same level of treatment, proving how guidance is important to make a difference from the inside out.   

The new economy highlights the long tail concept in which people are more likely to support brands and concepts away from the mainstream, creating communities and sharing experiences. New media channels have emerged along with internet such as Social Media, streaming, YouTube and VOD fragmenting the audience. Due to these facts a non centralized demand was built; we can watch the series we like the most in the moment we want to, buy a pair of snekers or any clothes using our mobiles, read the news from a great variety of sources. The world has become more democratic and decentralized. There is a niche market for every singular taste.

Furthermore, these behaviors changes are demanding a new approach from organisations. People have no longer a standardized view of work; on the other hand, they are aiming to be seen as different individuals with distinguished goals and purpose for their careers. This makes the role of a leader more subtle, focusing on the human needs and at the end more difficult to deal with on a daily basis. Leaders who want to take the best of their teams have to provide an environment able to stand out personal values and talents by understanding that everyone needs a unique support, a unique way to stimulate and to empower. The same motivational speech does not work anymore, it is necessary to have one on one conversation, more detailed follow ups and a clear view of where the company and the employees must go.   

Nevertheless, there are a lot of leadership theories, manuals and recipes, all of them have value and can build leaders in a concept way, but if we don’t look in details on people who are by our side in offices and life all this knowledge can be wasted. The key to success to be a leader is to understand people and how trends and habits can change organisations from inside out.