Leaders help break new ground, develop the best players on a team and smooth the path for the others to come along. People still need to believe that what they are doing makes a difference. Leaders help to articulate and communicate not only where an organization is going but how to get there. People still need to feel cohesion and a sense of collective identity as they pursue an adventure. Leaders are the ones who help to catalyze that shared feeling, image and set of values.
People respond in complicated ways to the ups and downs of any journey.
Leaders are there when needed to help them move constructively through these responses. Leaders of any era have always had to buoy spirits, explain difficulties, celebrate gains and capture imaginations. It's true that much has changed over the years, but many oft-cited discontinuities are simply shifts by degree. Product development, executive decisions, company life cycles and technology penetration are all happening faster than ever. Massive deals are completed in weeks or days rather than months.