Many leaders make decisions today based off ideals and values founded in the 1980s and 90s.

Has too much communication undermined natural confidence and action? The question is often posed that with all the social media accounts possessed today, everyone sees life through a different lens to the person of the 1980s or 90s. Most people will view for 30mins per day. Over 17.6% of the world’s population use Instagram. Over 500 million tweets are shared per week and a mere 1.84 billion people are on facebook.

The figures are impressive but what it does mean is that it is easy for many people to watch the lives of others but also to have their own natural confidence undermined as there always appears to be others doing more and having better lives.

So the question is asked – has all this communication undermined many people’s natural confidence and actions?
There are two parts to this discussion. There was a reason why “Little Britain” was so popular and funny. As with all great humour, it is close to the truth. In the UK, it was well known that many had narrow mindsets and could be less than open minded. However, this era also laid the ground for a great generation of business leaders to emerge and prosper. Did it help, in the development of talent, to have less open communication? As many could not see more, did they know less and therefore felt more confident in themselves and their abilities?

The counter argument is that people today are far less narrow in focus, are more global, more aware but are they also less confident. There are many debates which swirl around in relation to the mental robustness of the young. Parents are blamed; schools too. Social media is blamed as is society and development programmes. However, perhaps the truth is far simplier; that we have simply not developed new structures and frameworks for the modern era?

Leaders are exposed to many discussions about almost every possible topic from D&I to Brexit to sustainability to L&D to economics. There is research which says that leaders will hear over 130 new ideas per week but will only act on less than 5%. The vast majority are either not heard or listened to. The argument, rightly or wrongly, suggests that leaders have the confidence to filter out what they will listen to and act upon and that much of the decision making is based on ideals and values founded in their youth.

This means that many executives are making decisions in 2021 based off values and ideals founded in the 80s and 90s. It also suggests that confidence was grown in a very different era.This then raises a whole number of new questions which does suggest we need to create new frameworks and structures for those coming through today to prepare them for a time yet to come.