21stCentury Leadership 1

CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW-21ST CENTURY LEADERSHIP

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Summary

The findings of the review indicate that there is a lot of expectations in terms of the

competencies for the modern day leadership as compared to the classical leadership. There were

changes that included the need to fit into the industry dynamics, increase in the competition and

the issues such as the externals environmental propelled changes. The individually propelled

cases also played a fundamental part in the exercise and thus influenced the outcome of the said

competencies.

The review established an existence of many glaring differences between new leadership

and the classical one. However, the most important was the fact that the 21st century leadership

model has revenue generation as only a consequence of the quest to fulfill customer satisfaction.

There are some similarities in the two forms of leadership in the sense that the basic and

fundamental leadership qualities have been maintained across the generations. These have been

qualities such as span of control and unity of command (Jokinen 2005, p.201).

A lot of the reference material used had the information regarding the 21st century

leadership competencies. The material also outlined the difference between the two forms of

leadership. Regardless of the approach, the review concluded that the leadership in this modern

age and era has met the needs of major dynamics that are consistent with the prevailing condition

(Boyatzis, 2007). The downsides however of most materials were the lack of proper realization

of the similarities in the classical and modern leadership.

The other issue that the material provided was the classification of these qualities. Along

with this is the fact that the modern leadership competencies are based on the fact that there are

many drivers and many forms of which the change can be influenced.
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Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to critically review the available literature that deals with the

21st-century leadership management. Competencies are the skills in management that allow and

contribute to superior performance within the firm or organization (SHRM, 2008). According to

(Merriam Webster, 2016), competencies are skill sets that allow the person or organization to be

legally qualified or adequate. According to (The Free Dictionary, 2016), the competencies are

described as a set of skills or ability to achieve something.

Leadership is the activity of leading a group of individuals or a firm it is also the ability

to do this task (Business Dictionary, 2016). It can also be defined as the ability of a person or a

group of people to influence and control the subordinates who are other firm members (Tech

Target, 2016). This is the capability and the authority one has plus the power to lead other people

(Webster, 2016).

It is critical to understand the available literature that deals with first the predicted

fundamental competencies that relate to the 21st-century leaders. This will be done in a view to

describe the similarities or the variations from the traditional leadership skills. Further, the

review will delve into the root causes that led to the deviations on the leadership competencies.

Besides, the comparison, contrast, synthesis and analysis of the academic research on the topic

will be analyzed. Finally, the paper will provide the overall evidence-based conclusions on the

literature.

Predicted Key Competencies of the 21st Century Leadership

The leadership at this stated age is primarily needed to have the requirement for having a

strategic focus, and vision. This should be in conjunction with the ability of the leader to realize

the situations which warrant the leadership to be flexible and adaptable to the various scenarios
 21stCentury Leadership 4

that are present in the managerial domain (Stumpf, n.d.). Due to the increasing levels of lack of

product/service rarity, the leaders are then compelled to adopt the fact that they need to have

more innovative and creative ideas in the management of people and resources in a more

effective manner to stay afloat of the competition. The company through the leadership thus has

to continually change the competencies requirements

The other desirable attribute that is of necessity is the capability of the leadership to

manage the several points of view simultaneously. The leadership is also expected to be able to

empathize with all the stakeholders so that it can cultivate people development and instill the

output levels of the enterprise values. The leadership is required to focus on the high-level

objectives in sight while looking at the operational day to day goals and objectives. The other

desirable attribute is the capability to understand inequality the points of view and the

requirements of the clientele and the firm at large (Frank 2004, p. 12).

Changes in the environment and working conditions are the other circumstances that

result to predicted competencies. This is crucial in the fact that the leadership is supposed to

herald, embrace the changes and implement them to ensure compliance and adherence to the

regulations. The other issue is the change in the global environmental conditions that are within

the firms operating conditions. This is crucial in this modern age and time because global

warming and climatic changes are real debacles affecting todays working environment (Frank

2004, p.12).These trends make it easy to point into the directions that the leadership is likely to

take in the future or the present (Jokinen 2005, p.202). It is, therefore, imperative that the leaders

react positively to the amendments in the changing environment, it is a desirable attribute in the

prediction faction of the leadership in the coming 21st century.

The similarities and differences of the 21st century leadership and the classical leadership
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The leadership in this modern day and age has changed due to the evolving and dynamic

nature of the business that is undertaken by the global firms. The difference with the classical

leadership is that the latter was constrained with the traditional top-to- down and rigid flow of

operations (Higgs 2009, p.274). The dynamisms in todays leadership, however, do not remain

restricted in the strict sense of organizational chart dogma and firm culture. The classical

leadership was not entirely flexible and adaptive in the sense of tolerance on the inventions and

innovations; instead, the leadership was required to maintain operations within the set guidelines

and procedures of the company (Boyatzis, 2007). The new direction, however, is needed to have

diversity from the ordinary business operations. They must go out of their ways to ensure that

they bring the innate creativity for the firm as it is important more so that that competition

nowadays is stiffer than it was before (Jartese, 2013).

There is also another difference between the 21st-century leadership, and the classical

leadership is the fact that the latter was based on the achievement of specific finite objectives.

These were the goals such as the delivery of commodities and services to earn revenue. In

essence, this implies that the corporate makes money but as a result of having created satisfaction

and pleasure to the customers and thus the revenue generation is not the prime reason for

operating the business, but a consequence. However, the new leadership is oriented on the

faction of making infinite goals to delight the consumers.

The other difference is the fact that the power identity is different in the two forms of

leadership. The classical form of leadership has been identified with the fact that power is

assumed to orient from the position of authority (Davies 2012, p.196). This implies that the

organization chart is essential in the determination of the manner in which the power is

disseminated from one position going onwards to another. However, in the modern leadership
 21stCentury Leadership 6

sense, the authority and power are considered to be more anchored on the joint team more than

the position authority (Jokinen 2005, p.200).

The other issue is the fact that the classical leadership maintains the ownership of

information. Information in the conventional sense is maintained and secured by the leadership

without sharing or open dissemination as it were. The 21st leadership understanding of

information handling is oriented on the fact that information and knowledge are openly shared

with relevant circles so as to act as a resource that will facilitate the performance and the output

of the employees and the entire firm at large. This is important as the sharing of ideologies is the

premise and the foundation of the agreements between different opinions. The other issues are

that the classical leadership at times opts to listen to the suggestions and the opinions of the

teams and task forces. The new direction faction, however, continually encourages the views and

remarks from the other team members.

There are, however, some points that are similar in the type of leadership values, the fact

that is the necessary and fundamental aspects of leadership are still upheld. A span of control is

one of them in that there should be a specified number of subordinates that the leader should be

in charge of. This goes hand in hand with the unity of command aspect. The unity of command is

the principle in leadership that the subordinates should not have more than one person whom

they report. Such basic and fundamental principles still play a part in the 21stcentury

leadership(Higgs 2009, 278).

Underlying causes of changes to leadership competencies in 21st century

The main causes of the leadership competencies come from three large factions: the

individually-driven changes, the employment needs/demands, and the environment of operation

of the firm in general. Starting by the individually driven reasons, it is seen that the issues of
 21stCentury Leadership 7

personal vision and values. These play a fundamental role in enabling the person to set new goals

and objectives relevant to the current time. The knowledge, experiences and career stages, are

the other sets of developmental stages/ attribute that warrant the change in leadership

competencies (Jokinen 2005, p.204)

The personally driven reasons for the modification are the most influential and impacting

methods. This is because the changes affect the leader at a personal level. This is because the

other reasons are more of reactive response, but this is more of a proactive response. The output,

therefore, may not be as positive as in the case of a proactive drive to leadership competencies of

the 21st century. The reactive responses are often met with resistance and oppositions as one is

being coerced to change with regards to dynamisms in the prevailing conditions.

The employment demands are also a critical area that drives the need for change in skills.

The dynamisms in the tasks function and roles that are oriented to the work position environment

warrant the need for change in the competencies. This is the reactive form of change in the

leadership skills. This is because the industry in which the corporate operates in changes and

consequently the firm and the leadership has to adjust to meet the changes some of which affect

an entire industry competition and new set levels of quality. The company /firm must re-adjust

the operations and performance and by the extension the leadership (Jartese, 2013, p. 1). The

leaders are then compelled to adopt the fact that they need to have more innovative and creative

ideas in the management of people and resources in a more efficient manner to stay afloat of the

competition. The company through the leadership thus has to continually change the

competencies requirements

Finally, the environment is influential enough to impose changes in the leadership

domain. The first issue is the culture and climate deviations, the variations in the business
 21stCentury Leadership 8

environment regarding competition and industrial growth. The other issue is that the legal

constraints/ regulations warrant the competencies to be a bit more aligned with the changing laws

and requirements (Davies 2012, p.198). The legal faction, on the other hand, is a vital area that

needs to be evaluated. The change in the legislative requirements is, for example, the ban on

certain commodities, or certain conditions that ought to be met in the delivery of goods and

services.This is crucial in this modern age and time because global warming and climatic

changes are real debacles affecting todays working environment. The company and the

leadership by extension have to take into consideration the fact that the commodities are not

going to influence the climate in a negative manner. This is vital in the fact that the leadership is

supposed to herald, embrace the changes and implement them to ensure compliance and

adherence to the regulations. The other issue is the change in the global environmental

conditions that are within the firms operating conditions.

Academic Research on the Topic

The first area that will be looked into regarding the academic research on the topic is the

analysis of the report titled as competencies in the 21st century by Richard E. Boyatzis. In this

report, it is found that the skills are oriented on three categories; one is the individually-driven

changes, the employment needs/demands, and the environment of operation of the firm in

general. However, the report further classified the competencies as emotional, social, and

cognitive intelligence competencies (Boyatzis, 2007).

This differs from the report public sector leadership for the 21st century. This is because

the leadership in the 21st century is considered essential component good public governance.

The key issue in the leadership nowadays considered as the vital input in enhancing the
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management of capacity (OECD, 2010). This view goes beyond the slight identification of the

competencies into different categories.

According to 21st century leadership: redefining management education: educating

managers in the modern era (Stumpf, n.d.), the leadership at this stated age is primarily required

to have a strategic focus, and vision. This should be in conjunction with the ability of the leader

to realize the situations which warrant the leadership to be flexible and adaptable to the various

scenarios that are present in the managerial domain (Higgs 2009, p.276).

According to the 8 Differences between Traditional and Collaborative Leaders by Jartse

(2013), it is often plausible to classify the classical and 21st-century leadership into traditional

and collaborative leadership respectively. This academic resource is quite exhaustive in bringing

out the distinctions between the two forms of leadership. The only drawback that can be

attributed to the resource is the fact that it did not cater for the would-be similarities between the

two factions and hence it is found wanting in that regard (Jartese, 2013, p. 1).

Rethinking schools and school leadership for the twenty-first century by Davies, B (2012)

is another resourceful material that can be used comprehensively for the analysis of new

leadership characteristics more so along the lines of academia. The academic frontier only

provides a framework for practical application study. The race for talent: retaining and engaging

workers in the 21st century by Frank F (2004), is a crucial resource in drawing parallels into the

form of competencies that ought to be undertaken for the development and improvement of

employees. This is crucial as it allows the leadership to have an end target as a reason for

developing new competencies.

The journal titled, How can we make sense of leadership in the 21st century? by Higgs,

M (2001) is informative in the sense that it categorically defines the expected competencies of
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the new generation of leaders. More to that it ensures that there is an efficient explanation of the

reasons as to why such changes are warranted. The reference goes in hand with, Global

leadership competencies: a review and discussion by Jokinen (2005). This is crucial in the fact

that the explanations of the actual causes of competencies are discussed in details.

Conclusions Drawn from the Information

The information that collected thus far with regards to 21st-century leadership is based on

the fact that theres deviation of the traditional and modern leadership. The most intricate

difference is the fact that, the 21st-century leadership and the traditional leadership is the fact

that the latter was based on the achievement of specific finite objectives. These were the goals

such as the delivery of commodities and services to earn revenue. However, the new leadership

is oriented on the faction of making infinite goals to delight the consumers. The other glaring

difference is the manner in which information is disseminated and shared in the concerned firm.

Information in the classical sense is maintained and secured by the leadership without sharing or

open dissemination as it were. The 21st leadership sense of information handling is oriented on

the fact that information and knowledge are openly shared with relevant circles so as to act as a

resource that will facilitate the performance and the output of the employees and the entire firm

at large.

However, there are still some fundamental basics in leadership that are maintained and

borrowed from the traditional sense (Nyquist 2012, p.13). A span of control is one of them in

that there should be a specified number of subordinates that the leader should be in charge of.

This goes hand in hand with the unity of command aspect. The unity of command is the principle

in leadership that the subordinates should not have more than one person whom they report to.
 21stCentury Leadership 11

The other issue that was learned is that there are a lot of matters that demand the change

for the competencies. Along with this is the fact that the advanced leadership competencies are

based on the fact that there are many drivers and many forms of which the change can be

influenced. Regardless the approach, it is concluded that the leadership in this modern age and

era has met the needs of major dynamics that are consistent with the prevailing conditions.
 21stCentury Leadership 12

References

American Heritage , 2016. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. s.l.:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company..

Boyatzis, R. E.(2007). Competencies in the 21st century. Cleveland, Ohio, USA: Case Western

Reserve University.

Business Dictionary, 2016. leadership. [Online]

Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/leadership.html

[Accessed 2 Jan 2016].

Davies, B. (2012). Rethinking schools and school leadership for the twenty-first century:

changes and challenges.International Journal of Educational Management, 16(4), pp.

196-206.

Frank, F. D., Finnegan, R. P., andTailor, C. R.(2004). The race for talent: retaining and engaging

workers in the 21st century. People and Strategy, 27(3), p. 12.

Higgs, M. (2009). How can we make sense of leadership in the 21st century? Leadership &

organization development journal, 24(5), pp. 273-284.

Jartese, (2013). 8 Differences between Traditional and Collaborative Leaders. [Online]

Available at: http://blog.innocentive.com/2013/11/21/8-differences-between-traditional-

and-collaborative-leaders

Jokinen, T. (2005). Global leadership competencies: a review and discussion.Journal of

European Industrial Training, 29(3), pp. 199-216...

Merriam Webster, 2016. Competencies. [Online]

Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/competency

[Accessed 2 Jan 2016].

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Nevins,M.D., and Stumpf,S.A. 21st Century Leadership: Redefining Management Education:

Educating Managers in the Modern Era. [Online] Available at: http://www.strategy-

business.com/article/19405?gko=3b347[Accessed 24 Dec 2016].

Nyquist, J., (2012). The PhD a tapestry of change for the 21st Century Change.The Magazine of

Higher Learning, 34(6), pp. 12-20.

OECD, (2010). Public Sector Leadership for the 21st Century: s.l.: OECD.

SHRM, 2008. Leadership Competencies. [Online]

Available at: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-

competencies/leadership-and-navigation/pages/leadershipcompetencies.aspx

[Accessed 2 Jan 2016].

Tech Target, 2016. Leadership. [Online]

Available at: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/leadership

[Accessed 2 Jan 2016].

The Free Dictionary, 2016. Competencies. [Online]

Available at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/competencies

[Accessed 2 Jan 2016].

Webster, M., 2016. Leadership. [Online]

Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leadership

[Accessed 2 Jan 2016].

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