{"id":742325,"date":"2019-09-26T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T07:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/?post_type=articles&p=742325"},"modified":"2019-09-26T12:35:02","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T10:35:02","slug":"new-generations-of-leaders","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/articles\/new-generations-of-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"New Generations of Leaders"},"featured_media":742338,"template":"","meta":{"_has_post_settings":[]},"schools":[29,33,35],"areas":[16,19,25],"subjects":[],"class_list":["post-742325","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","schools-business-school","schools-human-sciences-and-technology","schools-university","areas-competitiveness-growth","areas-global-affairs-law","areas-talent"],"custom-fields":{"wpcf-article-leadin":["

With Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation.<\/h4>\r\n \r\n\r\nEach year, a new crop of brilliant, talented, highly educated young people graduate from college and join different organizations. In today\u2019s environment, there is one factor that sets true leaders apart: awareness of the change that society needs and the right leadership model to pursue this change within organizations. In a commencement address at IE University in July of this year, Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, underscored the importance of actively addressing the two major crises now facing our planet: inequality and climate change."],"wpcf-article-body":["Darren Walker is highly confident in the capacity of leaders to change things. This confidence informs his work at the helm of the Ford Foundation, which is dedicated to the fight against inequality. The foundation\u2019s mission statement cites the inherent dignity of all people and denounces the political, economic, and social exclusion of large swaths of the global<\/a> population. In this spirit, Walker spoke to a new generation of leaders at IE University\u2019s 2019 graduation ceremony, urging young professionals to develop an inclusive leadership style and a broader perspective.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTwo interconnected crises<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWalker began by noting that our planet is facing two interconnected crises. The first is income inequality. The gap between the richest and the poorest continues to increase, and inequalities based on gender, race, sexual orientation, and disabilities remain widespread. The second great crisis is climate change, which affects the entire planet but hits vulnerable populations the hardest. Moreover, as the United Nations recently warned, we have just 12 years to act before the trend of global<\/a> warming becomes irreversible.\r\n\r\nGiven these pressing crises, it\u2019s clear that our society needs to change. According to Walker, this change will need to come from all sectors of society\u2014from governments, non-profits, philanthropy, and civil society\u2014but especially from our economic system. Irresponsible capitalism, Walker argued, prioritizes short-term gains over long-term value.\r\n
Businesses and their leaders can choose to keep contributing to the problem... or start building the solution.<\/blockquote>\r\nThe leader\u2019s decision<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWe now find ourselves at a crossroads where a decision must be made. Businesses and their leaders can choose to keep contributing to the problem... or start building the solution. Society at large favors the latter. According to the most recent Edelman Trust Barometer, 76% of people feel that \u201cCEOs should take the lead on creating needed change.\u201d This means they need to take the initiative\u2014with everything that entails.\r\n\r\nWalker mentioned three things that all 21st<\/sup>-century leaders will need to do: build long-term value, recognize all stakeholders, and measure social impact.\r\n\r\nBut how do today\u2019s organizations typically measure performance and success? Prioritizing shareholder value above all else devalues the investments we make in our future\u2014the future of workers, of our communities, of our organizations, and of our planet. Only by understanding who our actions affect and acting accordingly can we truly create lasting value for everyone.\r\n\r\nWhile recognizing that trust in government institutions has declined, Walker also noted that, in today\u2019s globally<\/a> interconnected economy, companies cannot afford to build walls instead of bridges. Business activity across borders and continents cannot be dissociated from the interests and concerns of the people who live and work in the surrounding communities. Companies must listen to them and give them a role in the decision-making process that affects their lives.\r\n
In today\u2019s globally interconnected economy, companies cannot afford to build walls instead of bridges.<\/blockquote>\r\n\u201cNothing about us without us\u201d<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThrough his work for an organization involved with disability issues, Walker discovered a useful guiding principle: \u201cNothing about us without us.\u201d\r\n\r\nFor businesses, the implications are clear: No decisions about workers without consulting those workers. No policies that impact a local community without listening to the local community. No actions that impact our environment without considering how they affect the planet and the people who live on it.\r\n\r\nWalker even advised people further down the corporate ladder to ask\u2014and even demand\u2014that their organization implement the necessary changes.\r\n\r\nOne key challenge is the need to measure value and success from a broader perspective. Walker drew an interesting contrast between how success is measured in education and in business.\r\n\r\nWhereas grades and honors are important in educational settings, there are other measures of success that prove more useful in our lives and careers, contributing to our overall excellence as people. We can apply these measures to assess the success of a person\u2019s education: As a student, did you grow in your understanding of the world? Did you experience the city where you lived? Did you take in its art and culture? Did you contribute to the community in some way? Did you build relationships and friendships with your classmates? Did you come to understand experiences different from your own and expand your perspective?\r\n\r\nWe can apply similar measurements in the business world: What contributions does a company make to the places and communities where it operates? How does it contribute to the growth<\/a> and welfare of the community? Does the organization have a positive influence on people and the planet? It\u2019s not about philanthropy; this is the only valid approach in the 21st<\/sup> century. Only through a broader and more inclusive perspective can we aspire to achieve sustainability. We must be prepared to take on the challenges that lie ahead and embrace a key principle of activist leadership: \u201cValue what you can measure, but also what truly matters.\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u00a9 IE Insights."],"wpcf-article-extract-enable":["1"],"wpcf-article-extract":["With Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation.<\/strong> Each year, a new crop of brilliant, talented, highly educated young people graduate from college and join different organizations. In today\u2019s environment, there is one factor that sets true leaders apart: awareness of the change that society needs and the right leadership model to pursue this change within organizations. In a commencement address at IE University in July of this year, Darren Walker underscored the importance of actively addressing the two major crises now facing our planet: inequality and climate change."],"wpcf-article-summary-enable":["1"],"wpcf-article-summary":["New business leaders face challenges that require a differential factor, above and beyond their talent and training. The key to advancing towards the future we want is to know what change society needs and develop new models of leadership. Leaders play a crucial role in this journey. Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, explored this topic in a commencement address at IE University\u2019s 2019 graduation ceremony. Walker signaled his confidence in the ability of new generations of leaders to address the most pressing crises of the 21st<\/sup> century: inequality and climate change."]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/742325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"schools","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/schools?post=742325"},{"taxonomy":"areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/areas?post=742325"},{"taxonomy":"subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subjects?post=742325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}