“Brains, soul, heart, and nerve” are the four leadership capabilities world government leaders need to cultivate to meet the new dawn of the fourth industrial revolution.

That’s according to Prof. Klaus Schwab, the Founder & Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

Speaking at the World Government Summit, Schwab warned world government leaders that the “unsinkable could become sinkable” if they do not develop their leadership capabilities to cope with the coming changes.

He said the fourth industrial revolution is “so crucial and so overwhelming in terms of changes it will bring to us”.

“I feel [these are] necessary leadership abilities we need to cultivate in new fourth industrial revolution,” he stressed.

He explained: “We need our brains - what is essential is to develop contextual intelligence. We are living in fast changing systems and we have to be able to connect the dots. The second dimension is soul - to have a vision, long-term vision as we find in this country [UAE]. When everything is changing, we need people leaders who have a compass, which shows them the way into the future. The third is the heart. We have to embrace this change with passion.

I know change creates different feelings in different people… feelings of fear and resistance… particularly for people in governments who are used to very stable environments. But change means opportunities so we have to feel passionate about change”

Most importantly, he said, leaders “need good nerves”.

“At the WEF meeting in Davos, the key message was that the unsinkable could become sinkable and become a reality so we need good nerves.”