The Changing of the Guard

A colleague sent me an interesting article yesterday. It reports on some research recently undertaken on the state on leadership in New Zealand workplaces and it subsequent affects on employees' satisfaction with their job.

The findings strike a cord with me. Firstly, the art/science of leadership is something close to my heart and something I want to pursue more seriously sometime in the future (one day I hope to be able to share some of the detailed thoughts I have been knocking around).
Secondly, I believe that this article touches on some of the core issues with emerging leaders in our workplaces, or the lack there of. I would like to share two of my observations:

1. I believe that the 17% of people who are passionate about their jobs and essentially loving what they do are this way not because of a great manager, generous renumeration, great perks or good Feng Shui throughout the office. These things are important but only decrease the amount of dissatisfaction someones has. These people are passionate because they will be working out of their strengths, or in other words, doing the things they are great at which energize them. Most people are happy to do what they are good at and while they will be effective in their roles they won't get the vitalisation that the 17% of us do who constantly work within their niche or zone or whatever you want to call it.

2. In five years time when the first load of baby boomers hit 65, there is not suddenly going to be a release of the best positions that they hold. I bet you they will fight to hang on to those positions like a Coca-Cola fan would hold on to the last Vanilla Coke once the product leaves the market (I'm not bitter). Those of us a at the beginning end of our careers (first 10 years) will need to be in a position to take those roles. I don't think they will be easily given.

I want to be a future leader of New Zealand. I am convinced that the best thing I can do to achieve this is to continually apply a strategic approach to my development in leadership skill, capability and experience. I encourage you to join me in this pursuit so in five to seven years time we will be on the cusp of an exciting and dynamic era of a new movement of emerging leaders. I think five years is a fair projection. It falls on you and I to make the decision about what the future leadership of organisations in New Zealand will look like. Who do you want to be signing your pay checks off then?