Thought Leadership

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Multi-Dimensional Thinking And Collaborative Mindset Key To Business Leadership In An Unpredictable And Interdependent World

By Roger Hayes

The NEW normal for 21st Century leadership is a sophisticated combination of contextual, emotional and social intelligence, making the most of advanced communications and influencing skills. These include navigation, networking, negotiation and narrative development, not to mention learning, listening, linking and leadership skills, all dealt with in the book using evolving theories and case histories from around the world. For instance we need to reset our navigations system and gain a clear  perspective on how to negotiate the changing landscape. One of the most important learnings is to know what we don’t know, rather than rely on intuition.

Authentic and responsible leadership is the overlap of studies in ethics, strategic communications, public diplomacy, reputation and branding, sustainability , international relations and social psychology, hence the need for leaders not only to know the limits of their own knowledge and listen to specialist advice, but’ join the dots’  from their own experience, perspectives and skills.

Scandal and scarcity have forced leaders to perform against far wider criteria-co-creation, sharing the future, tapping into all available networks to boost social capital, so as to innovate and share value. This will help rebuild trust in business and narrow the gap between stakeholder expectations and the selfish individualism of much of business. The modern corporation is more and more expected to lead for stakeholder as opposed to purely shareholder value, to take a longer term view, so as to create a more equitable balance between profit and purpose.

The collaborative enterprise has the potential to be a powerful force for global economic growth and sustainable social progress. But to achieve this, business leaders need a broader and deeper set of strategic and soft skills. Are the business schools and universities up to the task? The combination of scarce resources and a more interconnected world places a premium on how we behave. Business has the potential for transformative wealth creation, but needs to broaden its mindset beyond boundaries and disciplines.


Dr. Roger Hayes is a leading international public relations and public affairs professional with 30 years experience in trade associations, corporations and consultancies and has also advised governments. For the past 10 years he has been a Senior Counsellor with consulting firm APCOWORLDWIDE, based in London. Roger Hayes completed his Doctorate in Public Relations and Public Diplomacy in a Globalised World at Henley Business School (2012), conducting research in eight countries. He is a regular speaker and contributor on these topics. He is a Visiting Fellow at Henley Business School (for which he has run workshops in Indonesia, Malaysia and South Africa) and Greenwich Business School, where he teaches on the International PR MA programme. Roger is an accredited E. U. trainer. He has just written a book titled Reframing the Leadership Landscape- A Culture of Collaboration, with Dr. Reginald Watts. You can purchase the book with a 35% discount using code G15JLC35 here