critically discuss why and how leadership needs to change for the digital age. (In other words explain what makes a great leader in the new economy).          

Answer may cover the following (utilise discretion as answers will vary)

The types of leaders required in the digital age

The characteristics leaders of the digital age must have in order to be successful 

How leadership needs to change for the digital age ie what makes a great leader in the new economy is discussed below. This includes the types of leaders that are required in the digital age and their characteristics in order to be successful are also shown below including the ability to communicate with purpose and empowering their teams to be able to work with autonomy and freedom 

Step-by-step explanation

Critically discuss why and how leadership needs to change for the digital age.

Leadership in the digital age needs to communicate with purpose and give direction. In the digital age, our daily lives are increasingly immersed in technology, and it becomes easy to lose perspective on the important things that matter. Leaders should create a compelling vision and communicate clearly for all to know what the team wants to achieve ("This is what great leadership looks like in the digital age", 2021).

In the digital age the leadership and experience are not the same. Leadership now is not so much about what the leaders know or the experience that the leaders have, but it is more about how they think, behave and act("5 Essential qualities for a leader of the Digital Age...", 2021).

For the digital age, the leaders need to empower their teams to be able to work with autonomy and freedom ("This is what great leadership looks like in the digital age", 2021). The team members should be given the ability to be able to take decisions  because with digital technology everybody has access to information at all times and therefore the ability to make decisions should be given to every members of the team. The leadership needs to create leaders at all levels and create accountability and participation. 

The leaders in the digital age need to encourage every member of the teams and organizations to give their ideas, views and understandings in order to achieve a common goal 

Leaders that are required in the digital age

Good and effective leaders in the digital, age are not tied to a certain location, but they can be mobile. To be a great leader in the digital age one has master the art of nomadic leadership whereby leadership is no longer limited to the corner office in some building somewhere ("5 Essential qualities for a leader of the Digital Age...", 2021). Digital age has created changing boundaries and people can lead from anywhere.

Leaders need to understand the importance of diversity, inclusion and having an open mind in order to navigate the challenges of technological disruptions in the digital age ("This is what great leadership looks like in the digital age", 2021).This is because technology has shattered the barriers and the distances between industries, societies and places has been reduced making the world to be more interconnected than before 

Leadership needs to have an open mind and be open to new opportunities that may come because there is a rapid rise in sharing economy, online marketplaces and digital platforms for ride sharing ("This is what great leadership looks like in the digital age", 2021). This means that as result of these new developments new businesses and industries are likely to emerge from innovations and technological developments and therefore the leaders should be open to the new opportunities

The characteristics leaders of the digital age must have in order to be successful

The leadership needs to be adaptable and be able to handle pressure and constant changes and to make decisions with agility. Because of the fast changes as a result of the technological advancements the projects that an organization or team is involved in can lose usefulness very quickly("This is what great leadership looks like in the digital age", 2021).

With the digital age and technological advancements, the speed at which things are done increases and the speed at which things are done can mean the difference between success and failure.Therefore the leaders need to make their teams to be agile and be able to deal with sudden changes.

In the digital age there are very rapid ongoing developments and a leader cannot take ownership of everything that happens ("This is what great leadership looks like in the digital age", 2021). He or she cannot know it all. Therefore the top down approach can no longer be sustainable in the digital age.