In a disorienting time – Some

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We live in a disorienting time. A number of trends affect us all. Wicked problems are becoming more frequent and affect the whole of society and all businesses in a sort of whirlwind. A disorienting time requires a new type of leadership.

War, global heating, energy shortages, economic crises and pandemics are examples of wicked problems. Architect researcher Horst Rittel defined wicked versus tame problems in the 1970s. He meant that no country, let alone a company, could solve wicked problems on their own. The opposite of wicked problems are tame problems, one-dimensional and possible to handle even by a single company and a motivated leader.

The digital revolution with AI, Big data and IoT changes the conditions for future successful organisations. We have become more connected, interlinked and effective while a few global platforms steer much of the world’s communication flows. Soon we will be able to live a parallel life in the Metaverse.

As a leader you have greater possibilities today to follow, affect and analyse your operations. Leadership will increasingly be about relations between machine and man. How can the leadership of the future navigate in this digital-physical reality?

Polarisation between different socio-economic groups, between generations and age groups, is increasing.

The liberals are becoming more liberal, and the conservatives are becoming more hard-core. This is shown in surveys of Galtan and not least by the results of a number of elections.

Companies are usually neutral in political issues, but more and more company leaders are taking a stand on sensitive issues. How should leaders of the f uture act? In this type of environment politics and society put new demands on companies and organisations. These visions and demands will become norms, rules and new laws.

The leadership of the future will as a consequence need to develop in order to be able to act. To gain “licence to operate” in markets of the future will require more than good KPIs and quarterly results. Not even strong ESGvalues will be enough in a confusing world where fourth generation industry is on the way to becoming the fifth generation.