There are a number of reasons for the changing focus of leadership style, and understanding them is essential in preparing the next generation of leaders through education. Some of these are as follows:
Changing attitudes —People's attitudes to social issues, communities, and each other continues to change over time. Major social changes, including the more widespread acceptance of equality, diversity, and the importance of environmentally and socially conscious practices.
Changing the approach to business —The increasingly fast-paced world of markets means decisions must be made quickly and effectively, but flexibility is also essential given markets’ rapidly changing nature.
While both factors are essential in shaping how leadership is changing and how it affects leadership education, they underline one key driver: technology.
The advent of social media, digital spaces, and increased automation have already had a profound impact on how decisions are made, and how organizations are led. In turn, this has caused a shift away from strict top-down management towards a more individualized form of management. Team leadership, for example, is currently standard practice. This is vastly different from the more hierarchical management methods seen decades ago.
As these digital spaces and technology create an increasingly ever-changing world, the lines between social, business and entertainment networks will continue to blur. We can see this in action today with businesses changing their practices to accommodate a higher level of public visibility and scrutiny.
Unique education for unique leadership challenges
As the boundaries of business are pushed and reshaped, education has an important role to play in equipping the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. The problem, however, is this: How do educators successfully equip students with the skills and tools necessary to be able to operate, lead-in, and comfortably adapt to digital networks that are constantly changing? Additionally, our current educational practices themselves equipped for the task?
The leaders of tomorrow will need to be able to utilize and understand the trends of these networks, all while reacting and adapting their leadership strategies quickly and efficiently. This will almost certainly involve using networks of their own. An online MBA at UM offers students a pathway into a more digitally focused world. In addition to the wide array of resources at their disposal, such as alumni and faculty networks, this method helps to prepare tomorrow's innovators for the digital world they will help shape.
If students are to fully understand today’s leadership challenges, they need to be taught by today’s leaders —the innovators and experts that are at the forefront of the evolving digital horizon. UM’s faculty is highly specialized, respected, and innovative, but even more crucial —our educators are still active in their fields. Whether it's Dr. Robert Plant's continuing work in the fields of data, brand intelligence, and cloud computing, or Undergraduate Director Miguel Iraola's work on the relationship between the real and financial sides of the economy, our faculty is blazing the way in thought leadership. This allows them to pass on their valuable knowledge to our students.
UM can offer programs that deliver learning and qualifications in an environment that reflects how students will be working in the real world. More than that, our faculty and educational resources enable them to actively shape and mold that world with the skills they have learned. Leadership style is in a constant state of evolution. A clear example is the shift away from 20th-century leadership styles, which were more focused on autocratic or direct leadership, to the more inclusive, democratic participation methods commonly used in today’s innovative organizations.
For more information about UOnline’s degree programs, you can find more information here or you can contact one of our enrollment advisors are available on live chat, or by phone (800) 411-2290.
