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Contemporary 21st Century Leaders Redefine Wealth
By Renee Moorefield, PhD

“Is life really a game of just survival? Must dog eat dog? Can there be no meaning beyond making money and acquiring power, both of which can be lost in a heartbeat? Is there a way that matters by which I can contribute, not just to my family, but to my neighbors, the truly disadvantaged, my peers, my country - the global village?

A growing number of business people have begun answering these questions in an altruistic manner. No longer is their goal solely to look out for number one - themselves - but now, it’s also to contribute to the greater good in a particularly novel way - through their business practices.”

- Daryl Paulson, Author and CEO of BioScience Laboratories, Inc.

As leaders, we’re overrun with a staggering number of decisions to make every day, choices that affect the future of our companies, whole cultures and our daily lives. We must tirelessly invent new products, services and, often, entire markets, but privately we long to lean on what worked in the past. We feel pressured by Wall Street for increased stock value each quarter, yet our gut tells us to keep an eye on our company’s fitness for the long haul. We try to stay focused on the business of doing business, but we can only do so by navigating difficult social issues. Likewise, we want to improve our health and our personal relationships, yet struggle with the weight of work on our shoulders. Every moment seems like a compromise, a juggling act, a constant “give and take” with no end in sight. To make matters worse, no one else can fix our dilemmas. No other company or leader seems to make decisions any better than we do. The stark truth is this: the world is constantly shifting right before our eyes, causing us to reevaluate our work and our lives, and we can’t succeed any longer using the uninspired approaches of our past. We can either stick our head in the sand or discover a fundamentally new way to see our problems, a new way to make decisions, a new way to relate to others, and, ultimately, a new way to direct our businesses and our lives. We must become a 21st century leader.

WHO IS A 21ST CENTURY LEADER?

21st century leaders, and the businesses they lead, come in all shapes and sizes. An example is Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw, owners of the wildly popular Zingerman’s Deli, a mid-sized Ann Arbor, Michigan company, achieving sustained growth year after year through passion, purpose and principled, well-managed strategies that benefit their business and local community. Another is Iqbal Quadir, founder of Bangledesh’s now largest phone company, using the savvy of business to not only provide communication services to over 50 million people, but also to encourage democracy in the region. A 21st century leader is Linda Distlerath, head of Global Health Policy at pharmaceuticals giant Merck & Company, collaborating with The Gates Foundation to guide a multi-year, $50 million strategy for mitigating AIDS in Botswana.

Leader, Dianne Culhane, head of Employee Communications at The Coca-Cola Company takes care of her health as an individual so that she has stamina, emotional grit and ingenuity to meet the world-spanning demands of her frenetic job.

The 21st century leader may be you, too, if you long to use your self and your leadership as tools to help business and humankind function on a higher ground. 21st century leaders strive to transform resources – human, financial, natural and otherwise – into relevance for business and society. Instead of treating new markets, breakthrough technologies and business profits as savior, 21st century leaders see these as instruments of a more authentic aim: constructive, long-lasting change. Instead of growing organizations and brands for the sake of reputation or size, 21st century leaders use the power of their organizations and brands for the sake of greater well-being and effectiveness no matter where they operate. These leaders stand apart from the success-at-any-cost management style of the last few decades.

They rise above conventional corporate logic to generate enlightened results. This isn’t purely altruistic or a public relations ploy as some people might think. 21st century leaders know that modern issues and business success are undeniably coupled; as a result, progressive, socially-conscious practices are the only strategy for sustained, healthy business performance. (See challeges and opportunties.)

Essentially, the 21st century leader is carving out a new consciousness for living, working and leading that stands the traditional model of business on its head and redefines wealth altogether.

The genuine effect is what I call “wellth,” a new ideal which embraces sound economics and good health for a more integral aspiration: the generation of sustainable value that’s positively felt by humanity as much as it is by companies. Through their wisdom, visions and deeds, 21st century leaders are creating new reference points of wellness and balanced growth from which to measure leadership and business success.

Author Renee Moorefield is founding partner of Wisdom Works, a Colorado-based firm specializing in leadership health as a strategy for conscious, sustainable business and society.

To learn more about the programs and services of Wisdom Works, call 303.772.9000 or visit www.wisdom-works.net. This article is adapted from “Driven by Wellth: the 7 essentials for healthy, sustainable results in 21st century business & leadership,” by Julie Maloney and Renee Moorefield, Ph.D. Order the book today at: www.drivenbywellth.com.

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