We are privileged to be living in times of disruptive change, writes Ben Verwaayen, the chief executive of BT Group.

Economic empires are rising and falling before our very eyes, transforming the prospects of hundreds of millions of people. Traditional economic and social models are disintegrating. And as the old certainties dissolve the way we think about leadership needs to radically change.

In the whirlwind of globalisation the world is getting smaller and larger at the same time. It becomes smaller as technology makes distance disappear, and larger through the new opportunities being afforded to the populations of the fast developing world.

The change we see extends way beyond the boundaries of global companies and their workforces. It also changes the agenda of government, culture, social institutions and academia.

Of course periods of disruptive change have happened before in history. But all too often in the past rapid shifts in economic power have been accompanied by political upheaval and human misery.

To navigate the current change in a more constructive way requires a more inclusive style of leadership than has ever been possible before. In yesteryear barriers of time, space, technology and convention curtailed the exchange of ideas between world leaders.

The liberating technologies of the current age raise the possibility of an entirely new "alliance of leadership". A dialogue which is not restricted to business people or politicians, but engages leaders form across governments, companies, cultural institutions, academia, and critically from every corner of the world. We need to engage in debate between thought leaders across society and across nations.

This is why the WEF is so important as a forum in providing a bridge across the physical cultural and intellectual barriers that have kept people apart in the past. It offers the potential for aspirational leaders to engage in confronting change with the shared goal of creating a prosperous and peaceful future for those who follow.

Disruptive change is not only inevitable it is welcome as it brings with it opportunity for hundreds of millions of people who have previously been excluded from the benefits of a global economy. Increasingly the world’s brightest minds can be enrolled in the process of wealth creation, and real competition on the basis of merit can develop far beyond the boarders of the traditional beneficiaries of the global trading system.

We need as leaders to be clear about what success looks like. To understand that established models of one nation’s success at the expense of their neighbour will be less relevant in the future than it has been in the past.

All around us we see the life cycles of planning, design, product and plant falling. The professional life span of leaders is falling as well. So it will take courage to demonstrate leadership beyond the confines of our own business, university, institution or political domain. But the challenge is clear, the need is pressing and the time to create powerful new alliances of leadership is now.

– Ben Verwaayen
CEO, BT
Read Ben’s blog on The Times Online