Looking back at the 21st century, in general, a lot has changed. From culture to politics to business and even technology, nothing has remained the same. Leadership, the act of managing a group of people, has not been left behind either. This is inherently observable in the business world where companies changed from goods producing machines to organizations that focused on adaptability and publicity. A company then did not need a multimillion dollar marketing strategy whereas today even a sick or controversial logo can put one out of business. This paper aims to evaluate the business landscapes in the two eras so as to show how leadership has changed in that time span.
Business Landscape
20th Century
It should be noted that the 20th century is as far away from the 21st century as the dark ages are concerned. This is to say that many leaps have been made regarding development in almost all sectors. In the 20th century, business was mainly done with the aim of making more and perhaps better goods and services to gain profit (Kron et al., 2016). This implies that the whole business structure revolved around the creation of commodities. Considering the heavyweight companies of the 20th century, the above statement can be justified. As such it was necessary for companies to do everything fundamentally possible to achieve a constant supply of demanded goods into the market.
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Furthermore, advertising was not much of a big issue then. George (2010) suggests that most of the advertising media that exist today were still under-developed and such marketing was rather primitive when compared to the 21st century. These include the internet and colored visual advertisements which gained mass recognition in the latter stages of the 20th century. Newspapers and perhaps television commercials for big business were more than enough with regards to “selling” their products. Thus a company was judged on the goodness or utility of either their goods or services and not necessarily their marketing campaign.
Moreover, when it comes to organizational structure hierarchy was often based on age, profession and consequently, experience. According to George (2010), employees who had worked the longest were often granted the high-status posts within a firm. It was therefore seldom to come across a manager or CEO in their twenties. Age was not the only predetermining factor when it came to the structure of businesses in the 20th century. Other factors included race and gender. Throughout there existed various reasons that hindered Africans Americans and to some extent Hispanic individuals from being employed in prestigious jobs in America and Europe. Racism and racial profiling defined this era.
Women, on the other hand, were significantly discriminated with regards to gaining quality education and thus better qualifications. Although there were few instances of women spearheading innovations and trends in the business world on a large scale, they were not given an equal treat with men. However, the charismatic women movement groups and laws eliminated this predicament and legislation that helped create a gender balance come the late 20th century.
So as to stand out from the rest, a 20th-century company needs to have focused primarily on two areas: good quality of commodities and services and dealing with competitors. As production of goods and services which the market necessitated was the primary goal of businesses, a company should have strived to enhance their products as much as possible. What’s more, competition is what caused many firms to shut down as differentiation of goods and services was not that conspicuous as it is the day. Hence it was imperative to handle competition, especially in highly populated industries so as to avoid decreases sales and subsequently losses.
21st Century
Contrary to the 20th century, the business now is focused on increasing the satisfaction of consumers. The goal here is an infinite one as bringing delight to customers is a never-ending cycle. Much has changed since the turn of the millennium. Among these changes is the shift of power between consumers and sellers. According to Kron et al., (2016) “Unlike the preceding centuries where sellers and producers could get away with manipulation, the consumers have the power to either make or break a firm.” It is an age where a lawsuit from a single consumer can do massive damage to an entire corporation. Thereby, businesses spend huge time and resources in ensuring they deliver the best to their customers.
In addition, organizational structure has varied significantly. The structures are aimed at maximizing the talent of employees rather than crush their spirit with repetitive and strenuous production as it was the case before. Due to the efforts of activists notably from the 20th century there exists equality for almost every grouping of individuals. Provided a person possesses the necessary qualifications; law dictates that he/she should not be denied employment or promotion on the grounds of gender, race, sexuality, religion and/or underlying disabilities (George, 2010). This has led to companies having diverse staff from different backgrounds. Moreover, due to the increased accessibility of education, many people finish studies at tender ages hence they gain experience quicker. Therefore, there are relatively young people in leadership positions.
Furthermore, as much as the market has increased due to population growth, competition has become much stiffer to the point where five other firms can achieve the same result. This has born the need for differentiation and persuasive marketing. Differentiation is made more so through effective branding whereby consumers are swayed by the name or logos of companies and not necessarily their products. Examples include Coca-Cola, Apple, and Nike. Marketing has been revolutionized due to more media opportunities, creative options, and financial support. It is vital for every company regardless of their size or financial power to create a forum for advertising their products lest they become redundant.
Development of Leadership Roles
Leadership is hard to define as it has a different meaning to different people. But in this paper’s context leadership is the organization, management, and control of a company so as to achieve and even surpass set goals. Thus it is the duty of a leader to push the business forward in terms of economic, social and technological progress. Leadership in the 20th and 21st century may be similar in some aspects, but the differences exceed the similarities. As shown earlier on, the 20th and 21st centuries provided different playing grounds when it came to business operations. Thus it would be imprudent for a company to have the same style of leadership throughout the two separate eras.
In the 20th century, leadership implied controlling people and being able to make them carry out commands that the executives deemed suitable. As a result, leaders were required to show a presence among employees. There was little or no diagonal communication, and communication was mainly one way that is from higher level employees to lower level employees (Kron et al., 2016). At the time the need for teamwork and a “happy workplace” was not as necessary as it is today. Good leadership in the 20th century revolved around the need to increase production and make profits no matter the course of action that was to be taken.
The 21st century has brought out new leadership ideas which have improved performance. The different business landscape has brought out new challenges and subsequently new roles of leaders. Firstly, leaders are part and parcel of the workforce. This is because of the pressure that trades unions as workers were often mistreated due to the negligence of employers. As such it is important for a leader to experience, first hand, the problems that employees face. They are no longer secluded in discrete offices where it would require an exhausting process to reach them. Even though executives and those in management have better pay and fancier offices, they are expected to develop a cordial relationship with workers in most firms (George, 2010).
Nowadays, so as to increase transparency leaders nowadays actually look for feedback; and as such, numerous forums are present for both employees and consumers to issue their complaints and comments. Even interns and support staff are encouraged to express their views, in the previous century such individuals were regarded as inferior employees, and their word was insignificant. According to Kron et al., studies have emphasized the importance of communication within any organization irrespective of the field or industry (2016). Communication aids in improving performance, customer satisfaction and curtailing progressive challenges that are much easier to deal with since their inception. As such modern leadership entails free and comprehensive communication across all channels.
Lastly, George dictates that innovation is what drives the successful businesses that are out there today (2010). In comparison with the past where the purpose of jobs was to do as much as work as possible, today workers are encouraged to come up with newer ways to simplify work and even entirely new products. As such the role of leadership is to motivate employees to maximize their potential. Hence leaders develop schemes and programs that ascertain the creativity of workers. In Google, for example, employees are encouraged to work on their projects which in turn have led to the company producing novel software that was not initially planned for by the executives.
Leadership Challenges
At the onset of the 20th century a lot of universal events that would shape humanity had not occurred. Such events include World War 2, the invention of computers, the internet, development of nuclear energy among many others. As such problems in general for the 20th century are entirely different from the ones experienced in the 21st century. Leaders in the 20th century were faced with the challenge of maximizing output while minimizing input to counter unanticipated economic depressions (Kron et al., 2016). This involved getting the most out of employees who at most times meant little pay that did not match the level of work done. Although in developed countries work conditions were relatively better.
Strikes and boycotts were a major challenge during the era. This would, in turn, lead to massive losses as production had to be put on hold. Such occurrences changed the mindset of employers and lawmakers making working conditions and not necessarily worker satisfaction a priority. Succinctly, this implies that leaders were supposed to cater to the physical and economic demands of employees and many at times emotional and psychological needs were often neglected.
On the other hand, current leaders (those in the 21st century) are faced with many and newer sets of challenges. To begin with, leaders nowadays are confronted with the challenge of staff motivation. Employees have been shown to work better and faster leading to higher quality and quantity of products which in turns increases profits of a company. Thus, leaders, today are expected to be at the forefront of ensuring employees are in a happy workplace. So as to ensure the well-being of workers executives provide numerous ventures that ensure employees are motivated to work. Such investments or measures include better economic incentives, respect, and communication.
Moreover, companies are not entirely dependent as some issues are too complex or require huge amounts of financing to solve (George, 2010). Thereby, collaboration is an essential tool for survival in today’s business world. Collaboration with shareholders, consumers, suppliers and even consumers is required to achieve permanent solutions to problems. A leader thereby faces the challenge of effectively working together with parties that are not traditional workmates (George, 2010). An example is whereby a lawsuit or a policy that affects a whole industry would call for competitors to work together so as to ensure continuity.
Almost any top performing company can provide good pay and most if not all financial incentives. Since there is a boom in skilled labor, most exceptional employees do not necessarily seek money but meaning and satisfaction in their work. As such modern leadership requires a leader to provide these intrinsic values that tie down workers to the company. This is a challenge although not as evident as others. Therefore a leader is faced with the challenge of employing satisfaction and a standard value in work, but he/she should be the primary advocate for what the company believes in.
The Capable New 21st Century Leader
There is a compelling belief that the strength and tenacity of a leader determine the efficiency at which organizations are run. Thus the men and women in top positions often take the blame and praise for poor performance and achievements respectively. Seemingly, the hierarchal system of management does not bore results as before. Younger and qualified individuals who are tired of waiting for a decade to get the top jobs have started their companies some of which have performed way beyond expectations (Kron et al., 2016). A lot has changed when it comes to leadership and management which have necessitated certain qualities for an individual to be an exceptional leader.
A leader should be people centric so as to compete favorably. Consumers, employees, suppliers, law enforcement, shareholders are all people. Thereby a leader needs to know how and when to deal with people. Since humans are different, the same approach will not work for everyone hence ingenuity is a skill a person in charge should possess. Unilever CEO Paul Polman told the Financial Times, “I don’t work for the shareholder. I work for consumers and my customers” (George, 2010).
In addition, good leaders nowadays do not take the role of coaches but rather captains. This is to say that they do not give orders from the sidelines but are actively involved in instructing, implementing and carrying out activities. They, therefore, empower employees or workmates as employees are termed nowadays through active involvement. This is entirely contradictory to the 20th century of management where employees were given limited amounts of power to ensure accountability.
A lot of other factors come into play when determining who is a good leader and who is not. But the fundamental measure of real leadership is sustained superior results over a long period of time (George, 2010). Although the past styles of leadership could achieve results in the short run, it is newer and people friendly methods that deliver results over an extended period.
Conclusion
The 20th century was filled with events that will have a lasting impact on mankind. The 21st century although only in its early phases has seen numerous strides in technology and consequently businesses. The two periods had two different yet similar landscapes when it came to business. The differences dictated how leadership was affected; in the 20th-century leadership entails command and follow scheme which focusing on maximizing production whereas leadership in 21st-century details a more team-based approach that aims to increase employee and custom satisfaction. It is without a doubt that changes will continue to take place in the business world hence adaptability should be a step every willing person should be prepared to take.
References
George, B. (2010). The New 21st Century Leaders. Harvard Business School Publishing . Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/04/the-new-21st-century-leaders-1.html.
Kron, P., Linecker, M., Graf, R., & Clavien, P. A. (2016). Leadership in the 21st century. European Surgery, 48 (3), 157-162. doi: 10.1007/s10353-016-0419-z.
