The world in which we live today is vastly different from the one that existed even just a couple of years ago.
Leadership has never been one-size-fits-all. Neither is it simply just about having a particular leadership style, an inspiring vision and superb communication skills.
This has become even more apparent in the post-COVID era. We live in a time of VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity). As the world continues to undergo these changes, our leadership skills are being tested and some more traditional leadership models are becoming out-dated and irrelevant.
Good news! Fortunately, you can take some easy first steps toward adapting your leadership skills in this new world.
Changes In Leadership Development
The ongoing effects of COVID, Brexit, Ukraine, and rising inflation have led to challenges in recruitment and retention and rising wage expectations.
In this post pandemic era many commentators have noticed a dramatic shift in the workplace dynamic between leaders and their people.
All of this leads to a switch in power in the employer/employee relationship in favour of the employees.
Titled ‘The Great Resignation’ a poll of 160 HR leaders (Nov 2021) by Willis Towers Watson found that:
• 77% were having problems finding and keeping employees
• 19% per cent of respondents said they were not yet struggling but may do in future
For many organisations it’s time to re-think how we engage our people.
Forward-thinking leaders acknowledge that they can only achieve positive results with new approaches to management and leadership.
To build high-performing Leaders, leadership development has had to change focus and methodology to face our organisations’ present and future needs.
We can share with you some easy first steps toward adapting your leadership skills to this new world.
In considering the challenges and opportunities brought about by a global pandemic, there are three factors:
- The pace of change – who would have thought we could adapt to remote and hybrid ways of working so quickly?
- Traditional models of leadership do not meet today’s or future needs of organisations.
- Heroic leadership style is no longer relevant and Leaders must present a more human-centric, purpose-driven agenda.
How Can I Meet The Challenges?
To meet future challenges will mean embracing a shift in leadership philosophy and skills.
Applying these skills into actionable practice will require focused development of your mindset, time and resources.
Some key questions to consider …
• Maintaining and developing your culture will be key.
Are your leaders equipped to do this effectively?
• Employees control the workplace agenda now.
How will you communicate your expectations, manage divergent thinking and stay close to what your people want from work?
• Expect change to define the next decade.
How can you harness innovation and creativity throughout your organisation to meet the challenges our world will bring us in the next decade?
Welcome to The Future – The Futurist Leader
What are the 4 key steps to becoming a future-focused leader?
A few areas you might want to consider are:
• Leading authentically – We can develop as authentic leaders by identifying our purpose, our core values and our strengths. Fundamentally, you need to develop a keen sense of self-awareness and identify your purpose.
• Purpose – Studies have shown that we feel energised, motivated and expanded when we have a sense of purpose. Developing a solid strategic narrative connecting people to their purpose and how they can contribute helps Leaders to guide conversations with their teams about why their work matters.
• Strengths – Research by the Corporate Leadership Council found that when managers focus on the weaknesses of an employee, their performance declines by 27%. In contrast, when they focus on an employee’s strengths, performance improves by 36%.
• Inspiring and empowering others – By effectively communicating your vision, you can create a culture of empowerment and learning. Developing a healthy balance of challenge and support and a deeper understanding of your people’s intrinsic motivation will provide a high-performance culture and more engaged employees.
At Co-Creation we have developed a specific programme designed around emerging learning and development techniques and bringing together a wealth of thought-provoking content built around the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to become a future-focused leader.
If you would like to know more about the programme or have an informal chat about how this could benefit your organisation’s leaders, please call us: 0161 969 2512, or email: info@co-creation.group