Leadership Skills: Qualities, Traits and Expectations in 2021
Leadership in the workplace has changed over the years - today, we’re calling on a new breed of leaders.
With globalization and technological innovation, walls and silos have all been lowered. Today’s pace of change is relentless. Companies that don’t keep up and don’t continue to be relevant fold. Meanwhile, technology has enabled new platforms, services and ways of consumption that never existed before to sprout up everywhere. And with the internet and social media, power has flowed into the hands of consumers and stakeholders, dramatically leveling the playing field.
In these volatile, and often uncertain times, effective leadership is critical.
The fundamentals of leadership skills remain, with the best leaders having vibrant and differentiated vision. They work hard, operate with honesty and integrity, and are committed to the success of their organization.
And though important, these leadership qualities are no longer enough. How you treat, engage, inspire, empower and care for people has now become core to a company’s performance and results. Being ‘more human’ is officially at the core.
So, leadership in the 21st century not only requires you to find your own authentic leadership style, but there is also an expectation that leaders have a strong team leadership framework in place for sustainable business success. The Covid-19 pandemic has proved that it is possible to have tremendous growth under the pressure of a crisis if the right people and culture is in place.
“Today’s environment of extreme dynamism calls for a degree of courage, judgement, and flexibility that only humans and teams led by humans can bring”
Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2021
Here are the top traits that we believe leaders need to develop, in addition to having a clear and compelling vision, clear values that guide behaviors, high IQ, personal presence and business impact:
EQ not just IQ
Leaders today must not only have a high level of IQ, but also emotional intelligence. This is understanding and integrating the needs of employees physical, mental, financial and social wellbeing into the design and flow of work. This means that there is a mutual understanding of a work-life balance, where employees are motivated to contribute their best.
Self-awareness and centeredness
A high level of self-awareness, physical, mental and spiritual health constitutes a strong foundation for centeredness and confidence. Being grounded as a leader is a felt sense that imbues confidence and trust in those around you.
Foster creativity and innovation
Helping employees understand their strengths, passions and seeing if there is opportunity to fit or align that into organizational needs and opportunities is a crucial part of leadership in today’s world. When employees do what they love, it leads to improved performance, creativity, innovation and employee happiness.
Allow for disruption
Only with disruption can you see opportunity and potential to propel a company forward. And to do this, there needs to be an environment of psychological safety as well as the cultivation of courage and an experimenter’s mindset.
Communicate generously
With the need to constantly adapt to change, it is critical to communicate generously through the organization. Without this, there will be confusion, inefficiencies and eventually a demoralized team. Over communicate and repeat.
So, where do you even begin? Begin with getting the right support to help develop self-awareness and hone new skills. Integral Coaching can help shine a light on an individual’s strengths and passions, help them manage self-limiting beliefs, help gain courage to continue to grow, and also encourage development towards being more confident leaders.