Leading in the 4^th Education Revolution

Central Leadership Retreat

June 2018

Introduction

The future has arrived! We have entered the age of the

4^th Industrial

Revolution, a future that is distinguished by a symbiosis of the physical, biological

and information world. In this new era, the quality of an individual, an organisation or

a product, will be determined not by the quality of the atoms but the value of its bits.

For example, the price of a laptop will depend not on its hardware price, but the

value of the owner’s contents.

There is every probability that the age of singularity may happen by 2040.

This is a tipping point when machine-intelligence is expected to exceed human

intelligence, and give rise to the majority becoming the useless class, a category of

people who will have no economic value, and, therefore, no employability. This is

also the time when the laws of physics and biology may cease to exist.

The world is already being characterised by four life-altering changes:

AI, automation and machine-thinking.

VUCA and the “Black Swan effect.”

High speed acceleration with no time to pause, reflect,

and make meaningful connections. Even time is accelerating. Long-term is no loner

100 years but 20 years.

Obsolescence in jobs. By 2032, about 47 % of today’s jobs will disappear.

Leadership Trends

The average tenure of business leaders is 4 years. Of these, 80 % fail to

impress in the first year, and 70 % remain stressed throughout their tenure. In a

VUCA world there is no time for apprenticeship or to wait and watch, and figure out

what to do. Leaders will have only

90 days to establish their credibility and

acceptability in their new job. So hit the road running, and refine plans as you go

along. Or else!

In view of the complexity and messiness of problems, no one person has the

expertise to solve them. We are witnessing the growing importance of teams that are

heterogeneous and multidisciplinary - people with different experiences and different

points of view. Even heroic leaders will have to depend on the power of their teams,

because talent is in the team, and not in individuals any longer.

So far we have witnessed a male-dominated leadership culture. We are now

witnessing the rising importance of women in leadership roles. In view of their

involvement with family commitments, they are unable to follow the traditional male

linear route. It does not suit women; we must, therefore, prepare for alternatives.

A revival and acceptance of the vital importance of liberal education, not

merely in school, but even during one’s life. Liberal education goes beyond the

narrow confines of liberal arts, and bestows:

Creativity.

Value systems.

Ethical consequences of our actions.

Civic engagement by way of social responsibility.

Competencies to flourish in the 21^st century.

It is time teachers to develop cognitive fitness and look after their mental

health due to increasing workload and acceleration in a VUCA world. Teachers today

are under severe stress, and this impairs their ability to:

Raise self-esteem

Be creative

Engage students effectively

Balance home and work-life

Openness to new ideas and perspectives

Reskill themselves

New Leadership Model

Compelling Vision

Vision is the fountainhead of new age leadership; regrettably, its strategic

advantage has not been grasped. We continue with instant-coffee planning and

knee-jerk reactions to situations. Vision is the single most important attribute for

success. While everything changes, the vision remains constant.

Vision is not a destination, but a journey to excellence, to success, to purpose

and meaning in life, to happiness. Mandela once said that action without vision is

time-pass; and vision without action is daydreaming.

It is unrealistic in a real-world to expect every leader to have a vision. The

next best alternative is to have a belief system or life principles. So while we may not

be moving on a given bearing, we are at least moving in the right direction. The

question we should be asking is: do I have a belief system and do I practise it in life

and at work.

A compelling vision is a leader’s philosophy of life and work. It provides:

Direction and destination, and describes the desired legacy

an institution must have.

Focus for subordinates on the critical few (20%), and manage the trivia (80%).

Motivation to the leader and his teams to overcome challenges.

A deep sense of belongingness with the organisation.

Posting the vision on websites, offices and in corridors is not enough. The

leader must share its understanding and relevance continuously, ensure its

application; and role-model its core values.

In order to be visionary, 4^th Age leaders will need a radar, a compass and a

trusted crew. Armed with these three essentials, as captains of their ships, they do

not have to retreat into the safety of sheltered harbours when tsunami strikes.

Instead, they can sail through the storm to the opposite shore.

Culture of Innovation

In an age dominated by VUCA and the Black Swan effect, innovation is the #

1 leadership competency, to succeed and flourish in life and at work. The future of

innovation is no longer limited to solving life-altering problems creatively, or

designing new products. The future of innovation belongs to platforms and not

products. This explains why Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon are the lead

innovators today. Platform thinking must, therefore, be at the top of your creativity

agenda. This is where the magic lies.

A point that has been missed out in nearly all the literature on innovation, is

that, unless senior leaders in a company are innovative, innovation will remain a

pipe-dream. You have to make a determined and conscious effort to build your

capacity for innovation. Those who do not possess high levels of empathy, creativity,

critical-thinking and risk-taking - key components of innovation, will find life and work

a struggle. There are other formidable challenges too: changing our hierarchical

culture, the fear of failure, a risk-averse society, reluctance to be team players; and

above all, building a culture of dissent for openness and inclusivity in the teams and

organisations you lead.

Culture of Dissent

Most organisations do not even attempt to think because they are afraid of

conflict, and not because they cannot think together. 42 % start-ups fail because

they make products nobody wants. 90 % companies enforce conformity, and 85 %

executives have issues and concerns, but are afraid to raise them - afraid of conflict,

afraid of losing the argument. Most disasters happen not because we did not have

enough information; rather we did not have the moral courage to act.

The new challenge is daunting: how do we develop thinking leaders, thinking

organisations and thinking societies? We must a build a healthy culture of dissent,

as it challenges one’s thinking, and helps in building consensus.

Developing and Nurturing Talent

There is nothing ready-made in life; ready-made parents, ready-made

children, ready-made spouses, ready-made whatever. To remain competitive, one

must invest in future talent. Man is born potential; he becomes talent. Leaders will

have to identify, develop and nurture talent within their organisations. While selecting

persons for higher positions and greater opportunities, the selection of individuals

should be based upon their potential. The following checklist will help in the selection

process.

 Learnability, growth mind-set, and openness to brutal feedback.

 Critical thinking and desirably creativity.

 Team player.

 Grit and resilience.

Given rapid knowledge and job obsolescence, continuous re-skilling will be

the order of the day, and shall primarily be the individual’s responsibility. With

decreasing importance of formal education, and rising eminence of informal and non-

formal education, self-directed and on-the-job learning are paramount.

The key objectives of developing and nurturing talent will be:

Possessing an entrepreneurial mindset, with innovation as

the capstone foundation.

Having an independent point of view.

How to do forward and contingency planning to cope with VUCA

And Black Swan situations.

Acquiring the ability to Think 2-up and Act 1-up.

Building Organisations for Speed

A question on which everyone must reflect is whether their organisation is

built for speed. Responses in a VUCA situation have to be much faster than in

normal conditions, because disruption is happening faster than what we can cope

with. In the new scenario, the winner takes it all. There are no prizes for coming 2^nd;

and coming 3^rd and 4^this irrelevant.

High-speed responses are possible provided all leaders and managers are

trained in:

A directive-style of command,

wherein the leader’s higher intent,

the ’why” of organisational goals, is shared 2-down.

Intuitive decision-making,

as opposed to deliberate, logical and reasoned thinking.

Algorithmic processing of big data and rapid decision-making.

A flat structure organisation that lends itself to decentralised

decision-making, and real-time 360feedback.

Working as teams in an information-transparent environment.

Anticipatory thinking: Scenario planning and contingency plans.

Leading Through Chaos

In a VUCA age, all organisations are in a start-up state.

We must accept that chaos is a natural phenomenon. We are born in chaos;

we live in chaos; and we die in chaos. VUCA is chaos. A chaos does not have to

happen because of a Big Bang. Edward Lorenz describes chaos theory as the

butterfly effect. A small change in the initial conditions of a situation can result in

large unseen and unrelated upheaval at a completely different location. Namely, if a

butterfly flaps its wings somewhere in Japan, it could result in a tornado in the Gulf of

Mexico.

In the 4^th Revolution, chaos is the new normal, and the challenge for all

leaders is how does one achieve excellence and high performance while operating

through chaos? The best strategies for leaders to deal with chaos will be to practise

the following:

 Accept chaos is normal, and be worried if the surface of the sea is calm.

 Hold on to the magnetic bearings of your vision to see through the chaos,

and navigate forward. While everything will change, the vision shall remain

constant.

 Never lose sight of the big picture, the ‘why’ of what you are doing.

 In every order there is disorder and in every disorder there is order. Try

and identify the order by developing the habit of pattern recognition, and

avoid focusing on single events.

 Leaders must be mentally robust to sustain high performance and achieve

one’s goals whilst under stress.

 While nurturing talent, it is desirable to artificially inseminate chaos. The

best talent emerges only out of struggle.

Warrior Leaders

The fundamental difference between well-established organisations and start-

ups, is the difference between peacetime generals and wartime generals. During

peacetime you don’t need a Patton, a Rommel or a MacArthur. The peacetime

general is keen on motivating his troops, training, delegating and getting promoted.

On the other hand, the wartime general is determined on winning.

New Age leaders are warriors - wartime generals:

They lead from the front.

Manage change on a daily basis.

Think strategically - the big picture.

Share their intent two levels down.

Innovation to deceive and surprise the enemy

(in this case, the competition)

Less talk and more execution.

Less business, more products.

A coach and a mentor.

Pursuit of Excellence

There is no such thing as perfection; perfection is an unattainable goal. The

only perfect state is death. The only perfect person is an imperfect person. The

alternative to perfection is excellence; a habit, a way of life.

Excellence is the new religion because nobody is average or normal.The word

average is a myth, a mathematical fact, and a divine belief in most religions. Each

human being is unique, and has an identity (although many may not have discovered

it so far). The reality is that we are individuals; we have been evolving as atoms, as

bits for the past 50,000 years. We are evolving in every single facet - genes, IQ,

knowledge, competencies, potential, and talent. The concept of average, therefore,

destroys talent.

What is Excellence?

In brief; excellence is a spiritual experience. Purpose

(not profit) drives

excellence

- gives meaning to life. In turn, meaning makes one restless; thus

creativity is born and gives re-birth to an individual.

Excellence is not a goal, but a journey for continuous improvement. The

Japanese call it kaizen, the desire to do better than yesterday. An easy example that

comes to mind is Steve Bubka, the Ukrainian, who broke his world record in pole-

vaulting 35 times. On his own he kept of raising the bar till he could not raise it any

higher. A true seeker of excellence keeps asking himself/herself everyday: How can I

improve by 1 percent every month, a concept described as the “aggregation of

marginal gains.”

Excellence is scaling the peak, overcoming a challenging goal. When you

conquer a peak, you conquer yourself. You become self-aware.

Excellence is not just about one’s self; it is also to make others excellent too.

The Excellence Mindset

Those who strive for excellence, do it regardless of benefit, rewards and

incentives. They are inspired beyond profit, and are purpose-driven. Purpose gives

them meaning and happiness to their life. The practitioners of excellence are

characterized by:

Self-directedness.

Achieving mastery by raising the bar continuously.

Taking up challenging goals.

Willingness to pay the price for excellence, by sacrificing what is most

precious to them - time, money and relationships.

Building an Eco-system for Excellence in Schools

There is a general belief, with some exceptions that, mass systems go against

the notion of excellence. This is not true. For example, in schools, it is possible to

build an eco-system for academic rigour by:

 Adherence to systems and processes

 Predictive data analytics that enable early intervention.

 Developing a growth-mindset where students are praised for the effort

they put in, rather than praise them for their intelligence.

 Student-teacher feedback.



1 % improvement every month, i.e., 9% in one year.

Conclusion

Data will be the greatest asset in the 4^th Revolution. Those who control data

will be able to:

 Hack human brains in order to manipulate people’s thinking, and

keep ahead of one’s competitors.

 Create algorithms to know who we are and what we are thinking and

feeling.

As future leaders you must start designing strategies on:

 How to access data ethically?

 How to generate personal data to know yourself better, and improve

your quality of life.

 What type of data will enable you to establish a legacy, not by doing

the same thing over and over again, but by designing your

organisations to adapt to high-speed change and quick response in

VUCA situations.

Leaders need to change their traditional ways of leading, personal re-

skilling, and managing their organisations. Future leaders are designers. They