Forbes Business Council official member Merilee A. Kern, MBA, is an internationally regarded brand analyst, strategist and futurist who reports on noteworthy industry change makers, movers, shakers and innovators across all B2B and B2C categories. Kern is founder, executive editor and producer of “The Luxe List,” as well as host of the nationally syndicated “Savvy Living” TV show. Connect with her at TheLuxeList.com.

It’s fairly indisputable that a prospering company or organization wouldn’t be enjoying any notable measure of success without highly effective leadership. Potent leadership is, in fact, often a primary driver of business innovation, development and growth overall.

Commanding a team, department or company at-large isn’t about the prestige, accolades, lofty titles or that sweet corner suite. Rather, genuine leaders are able to establish and sustain a mindset that profoundly resonates with the masses — one that galvanizes committees, groups, companies and organizations in a common mission.

Toward this end, it’s imperative for leaders to identify their superstar players across all departments while also staying in-tune with the proverbial “pulse” of their workforce overall. But, this is easier said than done amid a widening gap among the C-suite and “everyone else” that’s sure to make doing so a bit more complex. A recent Forbes online article cited that “an important challenge facing U.S. leaders is the growing generation gap in attitudes and capabilities between themselves and workers soon to be entering the labor market,” as asserted by Rob Anthony, a professor of management at the Boston campus of Hult International Business School. This Forbes article also offered results of a study conducted by organizational advisory firm Korn Ferry, which put “the average age for CEOs at 58, chief HR officers at 55 and CFOs at 53. At the other end of the spectrum, the post-millennial Gen Zers are in their early 20s and will soon command the largest share of the U.S. labor force.”

Relative to mindsets, this widening age gap will also surely breed emotional rifts that can further alienate an inflexible or stubborn C-suite. Another Forbes online article underscored the importance of leaders ensuring every employee understands their organization’s purpose. This Forbes report noted that, “in the past, most employees focused on their paychecks and job titles. Times have changed. Purpose matters more than ever before. Individuals who have a clear sense of purpose are more likely to stick around and love their jobs.” This particular article also cited a study finding that “nine out of 10 workers were willing to make less money to do more meaningful work.” So, a leader with his or her ear to the ground, with a keen understanding of what will motivate a team, can be a make-or-break differential.

Nimble, Organized and Ready

Leadership requires influencing others to accomplish the company’s mission, and a key is to provide employees with adequate tools to be flexible, organized and purpose-driven. This is according to Ken Thompson of AlignOrg, who thinks experienced leaders curate great and well-equipped teams through strategic planning, organizational design and change management.

“Organizations today don’t have the luxury of stability since they’re an ever-increasing change in markets, customers and technology,” Thompson notes. “Organizations who are ready for this change, who are organized enough to respond to these changes and who can operate as a tight cohesive unit will not only better survive seismic shifts in the market, but also actually thrive in the face of such profound competition and other evolution.”

Leaders Are Activists

In our brave new world of rapid change and complexity, there is no single person who can really direct an intricate business. A lone individual can only encourage those involved to think differently, which is a key argument as to why leaders can be considered activists. This is particularly true for those who promote change and coordinate the efforts of others to help them achieve goals without actually “controlling” them.

Chris Stewart, CEO of brightbeam, is a deep-rooted leader, activist and 20-year supporter of charitable and education-related causes. Stewart leads brightbeam’s network of education activists under a single mission: to demand better education and a brighter future for every child.

Stewart fights to provide millions of families with the tools, knowledge, skills and confidence to fight for their own children’s ability to receive a quality education. As far as Stewart is concerned, the future of education in this country shouldn’t be grounded in empowering parents, but rather by putting them in power.

Stewart upholds that same premise when it comes to leading his organization, which he does through a distributive leadership model. “If leadership provides direction, it should come from many where the collective wisdom prevails, rather than just one dictatorial voice,” Stewart says. This mindset led Stewart to establish a chief leadership team at brightbeam. To lead today, in a world where there is an abundance of passionate, talented people who want to make a difference, Stewart knows he doesn’t have to be the smartest person in the room just because he holds the title of CEO.

A Winning Leader’s Key to Success

Andrew Wyatt, head coach at Andrew Wyatt Leadership LLC, acknowledges that the modern business landscape has clearly shifted but also notes that, as the saying goes, “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” That is why he thinks it’s vital for a leader to avoid focusing on trends or on sentiments that are ever-changing and instead focus on principles, which largely remain constant.

According to Wyatt, winning leadership requires a ruthless application of one key leadership principle in particular: that effective leaders guide from the inside-out. Meaning, before any leader can successfully lead others, one must lead themselves. Wyatt offers these three ways to accomplish this: 1) establish your credibility, 2) build your following and 3) lead with impact. And, the order of execution is apparently vital.

Customer Speed

Hari Abburi is a transformative thinker and leader who believes in centering leadership “at the speed of the customer.” This is a non-ego-driven approach that directly concentrates on what a customer is thinking and experiencing in the present. In this chase to understand how customers transfer their experiences from an unrelated situation on to a company, Abburi views leadership narrowing down to a few critical elements: curiosity, visual thinking, ability to articulate a clear purpose, using design as a key principle for everything done does and simplicity of execution.

“I have worked and lived in several countries and with responsibilities for over 50 countries and have seen patterns emerge, notes Abburi. “Curiosity is the best attribute a leader can have, as it drives the kind of imagination that solves problems and spurs innovation.”

Pursuing New Markets

Great leaders throughout history are known for not shying away from new processes, technologies and, most importantly, new markets. Instead, they have an inherent ability to “see” emerging trends that others do not.

Orna Azulay, founder and president of Abington Speech Pathology Services Inc. and the RemoteSpeech.com teletherapy platform, significantly expanded the reach of her company by approaching an existing therapy protocol in a new and more effective way.

An experienced business development professional, when Azulay opened the business 20 years ago, she saw a business opportunity in a big HMO provider who was looking to have relationships with satellite clinics. Although speech teletherapy was still a new idea in the market, Azulay knew the potential and persuaded more clients to share her vision and come on board.

Filling in gaps is how great leaders realize great businesses. Thinking outside the box, trying new things, even amid naysayers, and trying to fulfill that empty niche in sustainable and scalable ways can catapult one’s company to incredible heights.

It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Great leadership is an art that requires a combination of several skills and qualities to be successful. Ruth Shlossman, Castle Negotiations CEO, urges the importance of thinking long term as a leader.

“Developing a 10-year plan to withstand any expected or unexpected circumstances is how great leaders stay afloat,” Shlossman says.

Now that we are entrenched in a fresh new decade, it’s a great time to recalibrate your leadership approach to be one that’s more aware, sensitive and adaptive to those inevitable threats, weaknesses, trials and tribulations.

Being an agile, opportunistic, customer-centric and activist-oriented leader with planning prowess makes the difference between realizing success versus true greatness.   I&FMM