Leadership has to be value based.

Rajeev Vasudev, Egon Zehnder, global CEO, answers questions on leadership:

Q: How is the nature of leadership changing in a volatile world?

A: “The task of leadership has become more difficult. It has become much more challenging but I think leadership has not caught up with the change in expectation in today’s world. There is a mismatch between what is expected of the leaders in the volatile world and what leadership was traditionally. That needs to evolve as well. If you are not motivated by a bigger purpose beyond self then you are unlikely to be a successful leader. The leadership has to be value based.”

Q: What traits should leaders display?

A: 1. Adaptability is one of the most important criteria for leadership today.

    2. Curiosity, which is all about being open to new ideas; constantly learning not just about industry or environment, but also about self.

    3. Insight: Today, leaders are being bombarded with information. The ability to synthesize and to separate the signal from the noise is important . It is very important to have inclusive leadership today.

    4.  Resilience: The ability to go through ups and downs and staying focused.   Volatility will happen, that’s the new normal