Humility is not the first attribute that springs to mind when one looks at history's great leaders. But it will be one of the key requisites of leaders in coming years, according to Mr Peter Dolan, president and incoming chief executive of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Mr Dolan will share his thoughts on what is required of leaders today and in the future at the inaugural lecture tonight of a series on leadership being hosted by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).

Entitled "A Formula for Leadership in the 21st Century", the lecture will be chaired by Dr Ivor Kenny, former director-general of the Irish Management Institute. Other speakers include Mr Michael Buckley, group chief executive of the AIB Group, and Mr Michael Foley, group chief executive of Aer Lingus.

While some may see humility as a sign of weakness, Mr Dolan says the complex nature of today's business organisations will require this attribute.

"There is a need for a leader to recognise in these incredibly complex organisations, leadership is really about team leadership, not only one individual," he told The Irish Times. "And being the conductor of the team at the top increasingly will become the most important part of the job."

Leaders of the future will need to manage energy, he said.

"I think the role of leadership is to create energy, to conserve energy and to channel that energy," he said.

Most people tend to think of leadership in the context of channelling energy and focusing on an organisation's resources, said Mr Dolan.

"Maybe the more interesting are the other two components, creating energy and conserving it," he said. "Leaders have to constantly pay attention to, and actively manage, the energy level of the organisation and be a catalyst for creating a positive buzz and revving up the energy of the organisation."

In terms of conserving energy, Mr Dolan highlighted the obstacles, barriers and bureaucracy that take up workers' time and that must be addressed.

"All of us in all of our jobs have things we do every day which get in the way of us spending productive time," he said.

"Equally as important to leaders as channelling energy and creating it is to look for opportunities to conserve the organisation's energy as a precious commodity that needs to be managed every day."

Leadership is also about perseverance and "iron will" resolve to accomplish objectives, according to Mr Dolan.

"Mediocrity comes as a result of people who get to a barrier when they're trying to accomplish some goal and, because it becomes difficult, they actually back off and change what the objective was," he said.

A component of resolve is defining purpose and mission, he said. For Bristol, this not only means enhancing human life on a patient basis, but also dealing with global healthcare issues, he added.

The company's recent announcement of a number of initiatives to help fight the HIV/ AIDS epidemic in Africa is an example of this purpose, said Mr Dolan.

"We really think this is an example of next-generation leadership," he said.

Last week Bristol-Myers Squibb said it was making its anti-HIV drugs available in Africa below cost and announced a transparent price structure as part of its "Secure the Future" programme, which aims to prevent and treat HIV and help local communities ravaged by the disease.

"We also said we'd provide emergency patent relief to ensure the patents we have in Africa don't prevent inexpensive therapy," said Mr Dolan.