We talk a lot about leadership as universities. We preach it, teach it and probe it. We even try to grow it. We’ve plumbed every discipline – from CEOs to Shakespeare – for hints on what leads one to be a leader. And, even after all that effort, everyone still has trouble knowing it when it walks in the door.
Leadership, as they say, is truly in the eve of the beholder.
So, I find it exciting when someone wades into the discussion with a slightly different take.
Earlier this year, Telefonica, one of the largest private telecommunications companies in the world, partnered with the Financial Times to interview 12,171 Millennials (age 18-30) across 27 countries in six regions. The Telefonica Global Millennial Survey set out to define perhaps our most misunderstood generations.
Leadership discussions often centre on the past, on what made great leaders. Those lessons are concrete and easy to teach. As a university, however, we also look around the corner and see what will be needed from great leaders in the future.
This wide-ranging, technology-centred survey boasts lots of interesting pieces. One section, in particular, has remained with me since reading its findings. More breadcrumbs than blueprint, the section defines those prepared to lead tomorrow based not on lessons of the past, but on the needs of tomorrow.
The researchers define a subgroup, Millennial Leaders (ML), who they believe will drive change through technology. Members of this group share three strongly held beliefs: they are on the cutting-edge of technology; they can make a local difference; and they have the opportunity in their country to become an entrepreneur or bring an idea to market.
Notice how two of those three align with what we teach here at Western; and if we could ever fix campus wi-fi, then maybe we would qualify for all three.
That group is elite by the survey’s standards: only 11 per cent of respondents qualify.
So, who are they?
Four of the Top Five countries boasting the highest percentage of leaders are in Latin America, with Colombia topping the list with 27 per cent of its 150 respondents qualifying. Two Asian powers, Korea (2 per cent) and Japan (1 per cent), finish at the bottom. Canada has 13 per cent of its 151 respondent qualify as ML; that is good enough for No. 13 on the list, just below Poland and tied with the United Kingdom.
Here, we see the survey diverging from popular notions of the future. Rarely does Latin America enter into our conversations about innovation. China (7 per cent) was topped by every Latin American country, and, in fact, more than doubled percentagewise by all but Argentina (10 per cent).
Like their peers, Millennial Leaders are primarily shaped as people by family, school and friends. Nothing special there. All Millennials rank technology as the next-most influential element in their lives. However, 70 per cent of leaders define their comfort with technology as ‘excellent’ versus 40 per cent of their peers. That technology of choice, by a wide margin, is a smart phone, over a laptop, desktop and tablet.
But technology is not enough. Compared to their peers, these young leaders are not just plugged in, but optimistic and ambitious.
Nearly 70 per cent of leaders want to make it to the top of their chosen career, not much of a surprise. But the optimism is amazing to me, and truly sets them apart from their peers. These young leaders consider themselves ‘very optimistic’ about the future (61 per cent versus 32 per cent), believe their country’s best days are ahead (79 versus 67) and see themselves as global difference makers (74 versus 40). They also see a smooth transition from school into the workplace (61 versus 38).
These young leaders vote twice as often as their peers, and believe technology has made the political process more transparent and accessible.
In short, they are the future, because they believe in the future. And that’s certainly an element of leadership well worth considering.
