Addressing new leadership challenges in a rapidly changing world

Abstract

Addressing new leadership challenges in a rapidly changing worldLeadership is one of the most popular practical and research topics in applied psychology. This is not surprising because leadership is key for successfully managing businesses and organisations, and it is the driving force for tackling grand societal challenges. Unfortunately, leadership can also be at the root of societal problems. Currently, we are experiencing a large scale of changes in business and society that make leadership more important than ever. For example, digital transformation is changing the way business and management are done (Hanelt et al., 2021); the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people work and live (Rigotti et al., 2020(Rigotti et al., , 2021; the globalisation/de-globalisation debate is influencing whether and how organisations and society should be managed worldwide (Contractor, 2022;Witt, 2019); and diversity and inclusion are urgent issues in business and society in times of mass migration, aging population, changing career patterns, and so forth (Post et al., 2021). Further, creativity and innovation are becoming crucial in creating breakthroughs to solve difficult problems for better business and society (Rank et al., 2004;Voegtlin et al., 2022), and ethics have quickly become a concern in business and society as corporate scandals, environmental destruction, and human rights issues in business and society continue to rise (e.g. De Cremer & Moore, 2020).Those changes present new leadership challenges, which need to be addressed to make contributions not only to business and management but also to respond to grand societal challenges such as inequality, injustice, and climate change (e.g. Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]; United Nations, 2020). This virtual special issue selected 13 leadership articles published in Applied Psychology: An International Review in recent years that are categorised into four major themes corresponding to the new leadership challenges: (a) new perspectives of leadership, (b) leadership in diversity and inclusion, (c) leading for creativity and change, and (d) ethicality of leadership. All four themes are vital and timely in thinking about new leadership challenges in a changing world (Figure 1). NEW PERSPECTIVES OF LEADERSHIPResearch on new types of leadership that fit the new world is emerging. The major leadership theories, including traits and behavioral theories, contingency theories of leadership, and visionary/charismatic/transformational leadership theories, have mainly come from North America (House & Aditya, 1997;Nkomo, 2011). However, given the continuing trend of globalisation, concepts and perspectives from other parts of the world are useful to gain insights about effective leadership. In this regard, two articles in this section relate to the Asian perspective

Emotional Intelligence: Constraints and Possibilities in Leadership Practices

“…More than just a trend, this "new normal" will have lasting and powerful effects on the future of Emotional Intelligence: Constraints and Possibilities in Leadership Practices DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109977 education and school leadership. Also, school leaders can use data to make a change that is impactful and sustainable [1,2,7].…”

“…Researchers concluded that effective leadership behavior and practices, which facilitate change in the work setting includes building trust with stakeholder and employing strategies to implement an organizational culture that reflects trust and honesty, which results in a sense of belonging. Such strategies reinforce a commitment to organizational change [7,15,17,39].…”

“…More than just a trend, this "new normal" will have lasting and powerful effects on the future of education and school leadership. Also, school leaders can use data to make change that is impactful and sustainable [1,2,7].…”

“…Research step 4 delineates that EI competencies can support principals lead change, which requires self-management, trust, collaboration, and relationship building [2,7,12,18]. For example, applying the ADKAR model created by Jeffery Hiatt [48], limits resistance, by implementing incremental change, incorporates employee feedback, and keeps the goal in front.…”

“…Moreover, the results of a comprehensive report identified four major themes that pose new challenges for leadership and principals, in particular: ethnicity, diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), creativity, innovation, and change [7]. The identified themes mirror principals' existing leadership challenges and post-COVID-19 pandemic leadership challenges.…”