What do tomorrow’s business leaders need to succeed?
In these uncertain times, do our business leaders need different skills to succeed from those in previous generations?
Resilience, Strength, Commitment
It’s an absolute must now, as it always has been, for business leaders to be resilient and show strength (emotional, mental and maybe physical) as well as a commitment to succeed. However, things change far more quickly now thanks to technological advancements, so our business leaders need more.
Recent studies indicate that senior positions should be filled by leaders who have backgrounds in technology, such as professionals who have been app developers or software developers. Those skills would certainly enable them to have good oversight on the technical side of the business, provided that they keep those skills updated. But what else do they need?
Some Traditional Skills are Still Required
Leaders still need traditional leadership skills, such as the ability to engage and take people with them, the ability to motivate and to communicate well. Imagine a new CEO sitting in one of the reception chairs, just chatting with colleagues as they enter the building - that’s a sign of a good leader.
Whatever other skills they need, successful leaders must care about people and their welfare. Of course, they don’t need to be down in the weeds, but they do need to have an oversight of what is going on with their people. For example, the CEO doesn’t need to know that someone has changed furniture suppliers to someone like https://www.bestbuy-officechairs.co.uk/reception-chairs/ That’s the kind of thing that they should delegate (another essential leadership quality), but they do need to know whether staff generally are feeling devalued and stressed and what their managers are doing about it.
Positivity and Creativity
Senior leaders need to present an air of positivity, no matter how they feel. They can do this in many ways. For example, getting to know their staff and chatting to them in the lift or canteen go a long way toward helping them feel valued. Little things like asking them about their children, partners, or cats can make a massive difference.
Leaders also need to be creative and think outside the box. People will ask difficult questions, and if the leaders at the top don’t handle those questions well, their employees will lose faith in them.
Our future business leaders definitely need a wide range of skills, both traditional and new.