Thoughts from Gary Miles, Director of International Operations, Roffey Park Asia Pacific

Singapore is in a period of transition. Looking at the reactions of Singaporeans over local issues such as the Population White Paper, we observe one thing: Instead of the traditional top-down leadership style, people are expecting leaders to exercise shared leadership. Buzz words like “trust”, “transparency”, “buy-in”, “collaboration” and “empowerment” are more emphasised.

What were the factors that led to this change? As educators, how do we develop our youths to be proficient in practicing shared leadership? What are the crucial elements and skills?

To share with us his views, we have a Human Resource Leadership expert, Gary Miles, from the international leadership institute, Roffey Park. Gary is a member of the Senior Management Team of Roffey Park, an internationally renowned leadership institute based in the UK and Singapore. With 65 years’ experience of leadership, organisational development, human resources and coaching, they provide executive education and research to many of the world’s leading companies and organisations. He has over 20 years of experience as a Human Resource (HR) Practitioner and Business Manager and specialises in HR Development including HR Business Partnering and Leadership Development. He has designed and delivered programmes in Singapore, Dubai, USA, Canada and Europe.

Let us hear from Gary:

Leaders for Different Generations

Over the last thirty or forty years, we have seen a shift in leadership styles. This is not only due to the distinct and successive generations that assumed their turn at the leadership role (from Boomers, to Generation X and now Generation Y), but also to the other changes in the organisation, business environment and nature of the workforce. The different generations not only embody different leadership styles, they have different expectations of their leadership.

Baby Boomers, due to their hierarchical, conservative and measured working style, are more likely to value a leadership style that is paternalistic and has authority vested in the wisdom of many years of experience.

Generation X, leaning towards a fair, competent and collaborative working style and approach expect to be led by a competent leader who can set the pace and inspire them.

Generation Y, being more challenging of authority, individualistic and ambitious with focus on self rather than organisational loyalty, value leaders who are driven and who recognise their needs. They are not impressed by corporate hierarchy and expect direct access to top management.

The Evolving Leader

The phenomena of the multi-generational workforce, with different generations working alongside each other, each requiring a different type of leader to guide and motivate, has caused a transformation in the nature of leadership.

Organisational structures have evolved, from organisational hierarchies to flatter organisations. The dynamics of the business environment, where we have to deal with an ever-increasing amount of change and ambiguity in our lives have also necessitated a different style of and approach towards leadership. Furthermore, where people now have to multi-task and handle more than one area of work, and where they are over-stretched and pressurised, the command and control approach to leadership no longer works. Buy-ins from staff become more effective in moving the organisation towards a certain goal.

“Buy-ins from staff become more effective in moving the organisation towards a certain goal.” – Gary Miles

There has thus been a distinct shift to a more consultative form of leadership where effective leaders engage their people and consult them before making decisions that have an impact on their staff and the organisation.

Another noticeable change in leadership now is the greater emphasis on Servant Leadership, the kind of leadership embodied by Mahatma Gandhi. This type of leadership is based more on humility and the genuine desire to be the stewards of the people and organisation, and to have a strong ethical interest and desire to serve communities at large, and not just the organisation.

Leaders of the future will need to be even more flexible, resilient and comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty given the speed of change in the work environment that we have to contend with. Dealing with the diversity of generations in the workforce will require high levels of tolerance, understanding and appreciation of diversity to ensure that the benefits of a the diverse workforce can be harnessed for greater organisational and economic success.

Developing Leaders of the Future

In seeking to prepare a new generation of leaders, our curriculum in leadership development will need to reflect the changes taking place in organisations and the need for a more collective mindset.

There is a need to educate the younger generation on the value that older workers bring to the table in terms of experience and wisdom. We need to unlearn skill sets that have, up to now, been emphasised in schools—telling and teaching—in favour of coaching skills that need to be developed and practised.

“We need to unlearn skill sets that have, up to now been emphasised in schools – telling and teaching – in favour of coaching skills that need to be developed and practised.” – Gary Miles

There is also a need to develop the moral and ethical dimension to leadership. Self awareness continues to be an absolutely fundamental building block for any learning and development programme.

Developing emotional intelligence will be crucial for the future generation of leaders, who due to social network sites, have taken a regressive step as far as social skills and human interaction are concerned. Both are exceptionally