Leaders of the future

The well-worn road to success has been abandoned. No longer does the recipe for supreme achievement dictate that leaders of the future must sit up straight, mind her manners, head off to college and dream about working her way up to occupy the corner office.
The allure of the corner office is fading. At least for the time being as the milestones in technological advances are becoming more common. The leaders behind them are paving the way for a new class of brilliant minds. Where exactly are we headed when it comes to the future of leadership in business? The answer may surprise, and scare you.
Consider the fact that just two decades ago, the epitome of achievement for any young individual was measured by their ability to complete college, join the workforce and get married. Today 46% of those who enter college in the U.S. fail to graduate within six years. The generation at the helm of our future is choosing casual cohabitation over legalized marriage. In each month of 2013, 476,000 people started new businesses.

A different curriculum for leaders of the future

Whoever set the curriculum for life milestones must be turning over in their grave right now. We’ve got Moziah Bridges, a 12-year-old who has earned a profit of more than $150,000 from his bow tie business, Mark Zuckerburg who dropped out of Harvard and now runs the biggest social media empire in history. An ex-Lego developer created the worlds largest cash-back program that turns over tens of millions every year.  With these unlikely success stories in mind, who are our business leaders of the future?
The answer is simple: a wild card, a renegade. Someone so unexpected and unlikely that you will be shocked to see them ascend the ranks of power and settle among the top 1% of profit earners in the country.  What will this next crop of business leaders be like, the ones who will make us all forget who Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are? Take a look at these 5 characteristics. Memorize them. Accept them. You will experience these traits over and over again as you are introduced to the next wave in world business leaders.

 1. Colourblind

The future in business leadership will no longer be confined by race or gender. You won’t recognize her as the sure bet for President by her skin tone and you won’t believe that such a brilliant mind arose from his culture and background. There is no cookie-cutter look, body style or language requirement for the future leaders in business. The only prerequisite is a strong desire to stand up and take their rightful place.

2. Self-Educated

Leaders of the future will be self-educated. He will master the skills he needs to fulfil his dreams. There are no limitations due to the access to information and this business leader knows that no university holds the key to his success. He does not have a desire to ask for anyone’s permission to achieve or work his way up through someone else’s ranks. He is a student of life and business and has a track record of success in business during his youth that is the foundation of his self-made accreditation.

Companies are recognizing this.  Instead of evaluating college degrees or how “professional” a resume looks, they’re recruiting efforts have taken them to development forums where young, faceless people who are passionate about code hang out. In other words, they’re catering to the “self-educated” generation.

3. Motivated by Profit/Progress

Motivated by profit and progress, business leaders of the future will lack empathy or at least the pretence of it. Because this generation is being raised behind the thick veil of technology, interpersonal skills will be lacking. Yet the motivation to organize and implement change will be ever-present and demanded from their team and themselves. Everyone has an opportunity to grow their audience. Platforms like blogging and Youtube will continue to launch profit-seekers into stardom, giving them the resources to essentially launch their own DIY online PR campaign with a launch of a video or blog post.

4.  Unconventional Problem Solvers

If leaders of the future do not walk a conventional path, they can not be expected to create conventional solutions to issues that consumers face. This crop of business leaders that are poised to emerge will design and implement business strategies that will solve problems that we had no idea were a burden to us in ways that will have customers yearning for more.

5.  Self-Appointed World Changers

Leaders of the future will take their place as captains in the business. They have chosen themselves to make changes in the world as they see fit. Instead of being groomed and jumping through hoops to get ahead, these new business leaders will toil away, self-directed and earnestly preparing themselves for the completion of their self-fulfilling prophecy of world-class leadership. They won’t take no for an answer. Neither will they back down on their dreams. They don’t need your acceptance or approval. They only need you to get out of their way.

The new ways of leadership have arrived. Ignore these characteristics of leaders of the future at your own risk.