In today’s organizations, leaders and managers must learn to be effective conduits of information, both tangible and non-tangible alike. Successful organizations will be a continuous looping and re-looping of information, feedback and adjustment. Organizations will have to flatten right out so that information is being transmitted quickly and efficiently. Managers will be the eyes and ears between where the work is being done and where the strategy is evolving. Power lines for informed decision making will have to be free of bureaucratic static and barriers, and it will be up to managers to become experts at mitigating the bureaucracy that often weighs down efficiency.
This level of communication will require a special connectivity among organizational leaders. It will require the type of connectivity that only comes with an understanding of human energy that leads to connectedness – how it works; how it evolves; and the behaviours needed to get there. For that we need to look to the neurosciences and the plethora of evidence that is coming forth using advanced neuro-imaging technology within the realm of cognitive behaviour (among others). And then we have to develop the necessary cognitive and behavioural skills in our leaders. These skills are paramount to leading with high levels of connectivity, and these skills must be continuously accounted for and supported through the overarching organizational culture.
These skills can be referred to as Positive Presence skills, but what they really are all about is an awareness of holding our human energy field in harmony with those around us. It is relatively easy to learn and just as easily measured through workplace behaviour. In his 2010 book “The Heart-Mind Matrix”, Joseph Chilton Pearce refers to studies showing that when our energy is positive we are experiencing positive thoughts and feelings such as kindness, happiness, optimism and love….and on the flip side when thoughts and/or feelings are negative (like, anger, frustration, jealousy, and cynicism) … our energy is also negative. Pearce also explains the linkage between positive energy (positive thoughts and feelings) and the increased ability to ‘connect’ and ‘mesh’ with others of like energy…. an increased ability to work together, if you will.
We now have the science to prove that the motivation and passion that we associate with employee engagement, and the focus and clarity that we associate with optimum productivity, and the emotional intelligence that we associate with influential leadership – they only occur within positive human energy. We also know that the tangible indicator of human energy is behaviour. That being said, the Number One KPI for future leaders will be individual leader behaviour, the kind of behaviour that displays only within positive human energy.
Successful leadership of the future will require a complete culture shift to a new leadership mindset of connectivity. 
It’s a simple question – what is the difference between leading and managing? While many of us can explain the difference between the two, the fact remains that many of us go about our daily behaviour simply ‘managing’, without making the attempt to lead others. But today’s employees will not settle for “managing” behaviour. They are demanding more, and if they don’t receive what they consider to be “leadership” behaviour, they will go somewhere else to find it.
All leaders we must realize that for people to truly follow your lead, they first must believe that you, as their leader, have their best interests at heart. This belief is grounded in a positive emotional connection between the leader and the followers. This connection is created in the daily experience of the leader’s behavior and mindset. This connection is sustained in the consistent daily experience of matching the leader’s words to the leader’s behavior. It is in this positive connection that engaged employees have a sense of ownership and personal connection to their work that results in higher levels of productivity and organizational performance.
It is not uncommon in today’s business culture, to find organizations where someone is in charge of engagement as though you could assign it or delegate it. A culture of engagement is nothing more than the total sum of each individual employee. Employees, who are encouraged, encourage others more often. When it has a deliberate and recognized application at the top of corporate hierarchy, it is exponential as it flows to the front line. Therefore, if it doesn’t occur at the top, it limits what will occur in the rest of the organization. All leaders want an engaged workforce, and many leaders think they have one, when actually they don’t. 
While employee satisfaction is still a goal for many organizations, it is no longer sufficient to achieve and sustain high levels of performance in today’s economically strained environment. Just as technology has increased the borders of our markets, it has also increased competition for the best and brightest employees. Gone are the days when a paycheck, the employee of the month award, and the gold watch at retirement were sufficient motivators for people to perform at their best or to remain loyal and dedicated to the organization Employees today seek to work for a company and leaders with whom they feel proud to be associated and who treat them like active contributors. They want to work for leaders who appreciate the value they add and rely on their passions and talents to every extent possible.
The climate that we work in today is getting increasingly more competitive and our organizations are more complex and ambiguous than ever before in history. Each day the markets in which we compete grow and change. In this increasingly competitive culture, it is imperative that we link proven strategies to robust execution so our teams will be more productive. The key to this link between strategy and execution is what we are calling “tactical capacity.” Tactical capacity is a set of specific leader behavior skills together with strong cognitive skills that connect on an emotional level with your team members to drive performance. 
Many of us have heard the phrase “one bad apple can ruin the whole barrel”. This adage
Leaders of the future will have to do far more “inside” work than was required of their predecessors. They will have to understand what their personal behaviour preferences are and then understand the behaviour of those they lead. To not do this work means there is good chance they will lose 75% of their followers due to incorrect and inappropriate behaviour. So, behaviour quality management is here to stay and can be summarized in a four-step process.
When we accept that the nature of today’s work environments is inherently complex, ambiguous, fast-paced, constantly changing and requires a continuous high level of excellence, then we must acknowledge that workplace ‘stress’ is here to stay and our job now is to learn how to best manage, lead and work amid the chaos.