GAINING PERSPECTIVE TO GAIN IMPACT
The Future Leaders study, conducted by LLYC, concludes that a new generation of leaders is emerging.; These leaders with take a different approach to all things collective and who are passionate in the ways they express themselves and, in how they communicate their points of view, their convictions, their grievances. It is a generation that, when confronted with reality, is actively considering the need for change.
The situation faced by society is changing, and new dynamics are impacting on the intensity and speed of conversations, above and beyond generational factors. The level of information we have available to us today is astounding and often at times disorientating, often leading to a loss of perspective.
The urgency of the expected changes produces strong emotions, emotions that can sometimes give the impression that they stand in the way of necessary conversations. There is a great need to gain perspective and understand the positions held by the various stakeholders that make up our society, and thus engage in the necessary dialogues to find the solutions we seek for to resolve the social tensions that concern us.
There is a great need to gain
perspective and understand the positions held by the various stakeholders that make up our
society, and thus engage in the necessary dialogues to find the solutions we seek
A renewed search for purpose is emerging from this situation like a “compass” to guide our actions, a situation with a broad andly diverse combination of varying stakeholders and varying perspectives. New leaders, civil society organizations, governments, and companies alike are all successfully gaining perspective in their search for purpose, seeking positive impacts for society.
All this energy from future leaders is sometimes more often seen in the form of social media protests, a kind of “circumstantial” activism that can be taken as declarative, but with no suitable translation into action for achieving actual transformation in reality. We often encounter a disjunction between what we say and what we do, which leads to questions.
Nonetheless, it must be said that our call for change is indeed being heard by companies and is being driven by how we -– the citizen-consumers –- mtake everyday decisions, by how we and express our preferences. Every time we choose one product over another, we mobilize the market in one direction or another. And this does not go unnoticed by the economic stakeholders.
We have recently seen brands emerge by defining and expressing their purpose in search of new connections with their audiences. However, the raid on verbalizing purpose without tying it to transformations and impact can more quickly lead to a loss of meaning.
A new form of activism is deciding the agenda of social priorities for society in new ways. A form of activism from the people that is manifesting itself with renewed vigor, but that is also being reflected in by the actions (and reactions) from governments. Somewhere between activism from the people and government activism, this dynamic is generating tension in society, tension that is accompanied by anxiety surrounding the today’s reality and its future. It is a dynamic that questions the timeline in our search for solutions and translates into a demand for companies to accelerate their transformations.
In response to this new reality, something very powerful is happening; something that allows us to be optimistic when thinking of solutions at on the scale we need and that seeks to respond to the future leaders’ desires of future leaders. In various countries, and even at a global level, coalitions of multiple stakeholders that who share a common goal are emerging. Coalitions that seek to transform reality, leaving behind competition-related issues, escaping the “lowest common denominator” trap into which many business organizations once fell, organizations that stuck with a management model from the past. It is a joint- work model in which efforts align to achieve positive change for society rather than defend the status quo. It is a different approach to the solutions, in which openly seeking social influence is sought openly and is being driven by shared learning. It is a new way of managing interests while including society. These coalitions are focused on something different. They might be set up to promote actions aimed at reverting climate change, to protecting and restoringe biodiversity in our natural ecosystems, or to achievinge more inclusive growth., but Eevery one of them seeks to inform society about these challenges, considerings itself open to alternative paths to the solution and successfully attractings a broad spectrum of stakeholders. It is a model that reflects the hallmark values that characterize future leaders and translates them into action.
These new leaders are emerging both in society as a whole and at in our social organizations and companies in general. Influenced by theseir new leaders, or by leaders who listen to and understand what is being proposed by society, many companies are transforming themselves in the search for a better way of doing business. Many of these companies are B cCompanies, which that seek a triple environmental, economic, and social impact, but there is also a group of large international companies that understood the challenge and are now working together on global coalitions at a global level to generate positive impacts to on a large scale.
Influenced by these new leaders, or by leaders who listen to and understand
what is being proposed by society, many companies are transforming themselves in the search for a
better way of doing business.
Without a doubt, the arrival of this new generation of leaders is an opportunity for us all, a time for action, for joint efforts. Today, we can all be part of and lead thise change. The better we understand one another, the better we talk to each other,; and good things will come from our dialogue.
Gaining perspective helps us find transformational common ground.
