The 2020s enterprise looks like nothing that has come before it — while highly digital in its delivery and operations, it is built around an open and experimental culture. A technology-driven enterprise needs the human touch like never before. This is not a contradiction. As the Great Resignation unfolds, it’s clear that organizations need an inspired, forward-looking culture that attracts and energizes talented people. Look no further than Amazon Web Services as the ultimate 2020s enterprise, and for more insights on what it takes to lead in this era, we turn to Maureen Lonergan, vice president of training and certification of Amazon Web Services, and a leading advocate for workplace diversity.
The 2020s has given rise to demand for new types of leadership qualities. “Global, interdependent economies, the strong focus on digital transformation, and accelerated, disruptive shifts across all industries has made it more important than ever for leaders to be lifelong learners — and foster this mindset throughout their organizations,” Lonergan says. “In environments that encourage a continuous learning mindset, people have permission—and are actively encouraged—to learn and experiment without fear of failure.”
Being part of AWS, Lonergan says embracing and boosting technology skills is a crucial role for 2020s leaders. “Our latest Global Digital Skills Study found that 85% of workers report that they now need more technical knowledge to do their jobs due to the pandemic,” she says. “There’s ample reason to go all in on technical skills development.” Increasing digitalization will result in 97 million new roles by the year 2025, she notes, adding that “these jobs provide not only an increase in income, but are also in growing industry sectors that are more resilient to sudden disruption.”
This is where inspired, forward-looking leadership is key. “Bridging the skills gap will require intentional, sustained effort by the private and public sectors — and we’ve got work to do,” Lonergan says, noting that AWS has its own commitment to help 29 million grow their cloud computing skills by 2025. “Our goal is to make cloud skills training accessible to anyone, anywhere—and so far we have trained six million people globally in this effort.”
The 2020s leader needs to open up enterprises to diversity, as there are important opportunities for women and minorities in the burgeoning digital economy. “Women have played an important role in computing as far back as the eighteenth century — look at Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, and Katherine Johnson to name just a few pioneers in the industry,” she says. The challenge, she continues, is participation by women in the IT industry has been on the decline. This is due to structural barriers such as unconscious bias, isolation, supervisory relationships, promotion processes, and competing life responsibilities. She urges women and minorities advancing in digital-driven careers to “embrace risk taking, mentoring, and creating work-life balance.” She provides additional advice to help create a culture that nurtures women and underrepresented groups to thrive in IT careers:
Lonergan provides six key pieces of advice of which every business leader of the 2020 needs to be mindful:
- Learn and be curious — and urge this in everyone. “Invest in and nurture an environment that places employee upskilling and experimentation at the forefront,” she says. At AWS, for example, a key leadership principle is “learn and be curious” — which urges people across the organization to “take risks safely and know that it’s okay to fail. Failure is not fatal — it’s fundamental. Providing this type of environment is critical for disruptive innovation.”
- Adopt a “learner mentality”: Such a mindset “has been critical to shaping who I am and my overall career success,” she says. “I’m always striving to learn something new from every person I meet and the things I read. And I don’t stick to learning things that are directly related to my work; for example, during the pandemic, I taught myself how to play guitar.”
- Remember that balance is critical. The 2020s leader needs to prioritize personal well being, time with family and friends, and what’s important at work, Lonergan says. Everything else is secondary. “I run every morning before I start my day, and I’ve run several half marathons this year and my first triathlon.”
- Build up the people around you. Be thoughtful “about creating a diverse workforce and an inclusive environment where people can thrive and grow in their careers,” Lonergan advises. “This can mean mentoring others, empowering people by asking them to take on stretch projects, making sure everyone gets a voice in meetings. There are so many ways this can take shape but it doesn’t happen by accident. You have to be mindful of the impact you have and be proactive in how you leverage your role as a leader.”
- Encourage community approaches: Lonergan urges that leaders actively seek out and nurture communities that build employee confidence — and promote diversity. “We must proactively engage and encouraging executive sponsorship of formalized employee communities,” she says. “Promoting allyship among employees helps employees adopt a healthy sense of self- and professional-worth. Stronger, more resilient and more engaged employees perform better as individual and as teams.”
- Bear in mind leadership is a state of mind, not a formal title: “Being a leader is not a title; it’s a way of being in your personal and professional lives that is others-focused,” says Lonergan. “It’s not as simple as taking a training or attending a seminar,” she says. Instead, it’s about “how you show up in the world—with a curious mindset, willing to learn from failure—is the key to any door you confront.”