Graduation season is upon us and social media has been full of advice for fresh young graduates - what to do, what not to do, what to expect. Or to be precise, what not to expect. Unkindly, there's even been reminders of the number of highly successful and rich men in the world who dropped out of college - Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg to mention three. Yes, wealth appears still to up there as an ambition, so I get to think about the game of chances.
Billionaires seem to have become something of a role model but the odds of becoming one aren't that great. According to Forbes, there is one billionaire for every 5 million population of the world (one in 750,000 in America). Slightly better odds, granted, than putting money on the lottery. If you played the UK National Lottery, you have a one in 14 million chance of hitting the correct six numbers with a typical prize of £2m. In America, the odds of getting the first 5 numbers and the Power Ball is one in 120 million.
My 516 LinkedIn contacts apparently gives me access to 10,229,749 professionals. In the last three days alone, I'm told 15,000 people joined my LinkedIn network. So finding the one who could help a professional quest is almost literally needle-in-a-haystack stuff. Following 'blue-tick' Tweeps who have hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers (@MichelleObama has over 4 million) doesn't get you anywhere nearer to them, however much you might be in the know about what they're doing or thinking. And yes, I do follow a few 'blue-ticks'.
In a world of big numbers, I think about individuals. If role models are so visibly and publicly celebrated for the massive scale of their achievements, if multi-billion corporations make their founders rich beyond dreams in a matter of a few short years (or even months), how can we nurture, mentor and coach our young smart graduates to take their time to gain wisdom systematically, build experience and understanding of the world they choose to work in?
Not so long ago a young (late thirty-something) CEO and entrepreneur approached me to discuss coaching. As I talked about the sessions, what we might do during the sessions, how many he should consider having over how many months, how he should use the intervening time between sessions to improve his leadership delivery, I could see his eyes start to glaze. "But can't we just spend two weeks and you teach me how to become a leader?" he asked.
I've spent this week in the UAE - driving between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, observing the speed of travel in a country which sits in the midst of a conflict-torn region with huge numbers attached - of money and investment potential in some countries, of starvation, displacement and death in others and in expenditure in military hardware.
On the ground, people are still working in smaller professional circles - small teams, individual achievements, personal progress. Conversations and meetings are still taking place in small coffee shops (OK, many are part of global chains). Ambitions remain high, the buildings get taller, expectations can feel unattainable but in the end, they will only be achieved through working at personal and individual efforts. I am encouraged to hear more talk about the need to train people to lead and manage better, to educate. This is a region where 55% of the population are under 25.
Everything I do and think tends to be driven by a 21st century frame of mind. Leadership in the 21st century is different and change must take place - that is the mantra I repeat again and again. However, leadership skills are honed over time.
So when it comes to learning and building experience, I counsel patience as the virtue of developing personal leadership. I think about learning across generations - there are some exciting initiatives of reverse mentoring which allow those already in positions of power and experience to understand the sense of speed, innovation and risk required in today's world, while helping young aspiring leaders appreciate the value of building skills and wisdom over time.
I hope our new graduates see personal leadership as a goal, in walks of life which does not have to be always associated with big numbers but with big ambition, big responsibility, big hearts. There are seven billion people living in our world, most of whom are neither billionaires, on LinkedIn or lottery winners.
There is much to be done.
Billionaires seem to have become something of a role model but the odds of becoming one aren't that great. According to Forbes, there is one billionaire for every 5 million population of the world (one in 750,000 in America). Slightly better odds, granted, than putting money on the lottery. If you played the UK National Lottery, you have a one in 14 million chance of hitting the correct six numbers with a typical prize of £2m. In America, the odds of getting the first 5 numbers and the Power Ball is one in 120 million.
My 516 LinkedIn contacts apparently gives me access to 10,229,749 professionals. In the last three days alone, I'm told 15,000 people joined my LinkedIn network. So finding the one who could help a professional quest is almost literally needle-in-a-haystack stuff. Following 'blue-tick' Tweeps who have hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers (@MichelleObama has over 4 million) doesn't get you anywhere nearer to them, however much you might be in the know about what they're doing or thinking. And yes, I do follow a few 'blue-ticks'.
In a world of big numbers, I think about individuals. If role models are so visibly and publicly celebrated for the massive scale of their achievements, if multi-billion corporations make their founders rich beyond dreams in a matter of a few short years (or even months), how can we nurture, mentor and coach our young smart graduates to take their time to gain wisdom systematically, build experience and understanding of the world they choose to work in?
Not so long ago a young (late thirty-something) CEO and entrepreneur approached me to discuss coaching. As I talked about the sessions, what we might do during the sessions, how many he should consider having over how many months, how he should use the intervening time between sessions to improve his leadership delivery, I could see his eyes start to glaze. "But can't we just spend two weeks and you teach me how to become a leader?" he asked.
I've spent this week in the UAE - driving between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, observing the speed of travel in a country which sits in the midst of a conflict-torn region with huge numbers attached - of money and investment potential in some countries, of starvation, displacement and death in others and in expenditure in military hardware.
On the ground, people are still working in smaller professional circles - small teams, individual achievements, personal progress. Conversations and meetings are still taking place in small coffee shops (OK, many are part of global chains). Ambitions remain high, the buildings get taller, expectations can feel unattainable but in the end, they will only be achieved through working at personal and individual efforts. I am encouraged to hear more talk about the need to train people to lead and manage better, to educate. This is a region where 55% of the population are under 25.
Everything I do and think tends to be driven by a 21st century frame of mind. Leadership in the 21st century is different and change must take place - that is the mantra I repeat again and again. However, leadership skills are honed over time.
So when it comes to learning and building experience, I counsel patience as the virtue of developing personal leadership. I think about learning across generations - there are some exciting initiatives of reverse mentoring which allow those already in positions of power and experience to understand the sense of speed, innovation and risk required in today's world, while helping young aspiring leaders appreciate the value of building skills and wisdom over time.
I hope our new graduates see personal leadership as a goal, in walks of life which does not have to be always associated with big numbers but with big ambition, big responsibility, big hearts. There are seven billion people living in our world, most of whom are neither billionaires, on LinkedIn or lottery winners.
There is much to be done.
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