Leadership 2.0

Michael Hyatt, the Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Nelson Publishers, has an excellent blog on leadership. Here is one of his posts.  I found it relevant during intense times of change:

"If leaders are going to be effective with the current
generation of Internet-savvy web-users, they must shift their
leadership style. I call this Leadership 2.0. Here’s how it compares to
Leadership 1.0:

1. Leadership 2.0 embraces change. Like Web 1.0, old-style leadership was fairly static. Leaders resisted change and were more focused on preserving the status quo.
   However, Leadership 2.0 embraces change. New-style leaders are on the
   cutting edge of experimentation. If something doesn’t work, they change
   course quickly. They are more concerned about driving the right
   outcomes than maintaining business-as-usual.
2. Leadership 2.0 demonstrates transparency.
   Old-style leaders were opaque. They wouldn’t tell you anything they
   didn’t have to tell you. They kept themselves shrouded in mystery.
   (Think of “Oz.”) New-style leaders are open and transparent. They let
   you see them for who they are—warts and all. They risk self-disclosure,
   preferring to acknowledge the truth of who they are rather than pretend
   to be something they are not.
3. Leadership 2.0 celebrates dialogue. Old-style leaders delivered a monologue. They
   did all the talking. The fact that they were the boss was proof enough
   that they were smarter than everyone else n the room. New-style leaders
   listen more than they talk. They ask questions. They lead powerful conversations. Why? Because they know that “all of us are smarter than some of us” to quote James Surowiecki in The Wisdom of Crowds.
4. Leadership 2.0 employs collaboration. Old-style
   leaders were competitive. They held all the cards close to their vest.
   They didn’t “play well with others.” They refused to help anyone they
   perceived as the competition, even if they were theoretically on the
   same team. New-style leaders are all about teamwork. They are inclusive
   in the way they lead, drawing you in and making you feel that you are
   doing something great—together. They enroll others as “colleagues” and
   “partners.”
5. Leadership 2.0 practices sharing. Old-style
   leaders hoarded their resources—their contacts, their insights, their
   time, energy and money. They played a zero-sum game. Their didn’t
   believe they could be generous without depleting their own pile of
   stuff. New-style leaders are just the opposite. They have an
   abundance-mentality. They freely share their resources, believing that
   “there is plenty more where that came from.” They know “it is more
   blessed to give than to receive” (see Acts 20:35)
6. Leadership 2.0 welcomes engagement. Old-style
   leaders were aloof and detached. They didn’t expect to get their hands
   dirty by actually talking to customers and other constituents. They
   stood above the fray, dispassionately observing the masses. New-style
   leaders don’t think in terms of hierarchy, as if something is beneath
   them. They jump in with both feet, happily and passionately engaging
   with anyone and everyone.
7. Leadership 2.0 builds community. Old-style leaders
   were rugged individualists. They pulled themselves up by their own
   bootstraps. They didn’t need anyone else. They could do it all
   themselves, “thank you very much.” New-style leaders, on the other
   hand, enjoy working with others and building a sustainable community
   that will go on long after they are gone. They get great satisfaction
   from working together rather than working alone.

Leadership 2.0 represents a quantum leap forward in effectiveness.
It enables leaders to connect with their followers in ways that
Leadership 1.0 could never do."