What does the landscape of future leadership look like?

Now that 2020 is well underway we still see people considering the bigger changes; a new decade brings deeper reflection than other New Years, and conversations in the industry are still very much around what to expect, what to prepare for, and how to move forward.

We know how quickly the world can change – but there are consistent themes in the way all businesses are moving.

Some of the most important topics you need to consider in your future leadership plans are:

• Less formal hierarchy
• Empowerment and autonomy
• Virtual communication and teams
• Purpose and value-led leadership; Community
• AI and technology led business

Let’s explore each of these points further:

Less formal hierarchy; we are seeing people moving away from the traditional pyramid of power in most industries; where once communication was very linear, with the workforce communicating only with their team leaders, who spoke to the managers, who spoke in turn to senior managers, who communicated with those at the top of the food chain, entire layers of middle managers are being stripped from the hierarchy – and businesses are functioning better without them. Messages are being shared more efficiently, communication is quicker, more impactful and the teams at the bottom are building stronger relationships – thus greater trust – with their senior leadership team.

Being able to communicate directly leads to quicker decisions, faster action, fewer mixed messages and fewer frustrations – from every direction.

Empowerment and autonomy; as a direct result of this quicker, more effective communication teams are being managed less, but lead with courage and trust. Being allowed to make their own choices and use their experience to make suggestions for the direction the business is growing means that leaders are seeing better results from their team, and teams are seeing more respect from their leaders.

Virtual communication and teams; the global economy is open to everyone – and we see more people home or distance working, very successfully; we no longer need to bring teams together in large, expensive office blocks – instead we see leaders managing a wider-spread team of distance workers and communicating virtually with teams across the globe, still maintaining a team ethos.

Purpose and value-led leadership; the sole focus of many businesses used to be purely financial growth and profit. For most of the next wave of employees new to the workforce, financial gain isn’t enough of a motivator. People are looking for more purpose from their work; such a significant majority of our lives is spent working that people need their work to mean something. So organisations with value-led missions, who are conscious of their impact on the environment, on doing good within their community, on supporting value-led goals and allowing their workforce to contribute to more than financial goals brings greater contentment and is more likely to see your team thrive.

AI and technology led business; as the fourth industrial revolution rolls out we see, once again, a worry that technology, automation and artificial intelligence may replace many roles, pushing skilled workers out of their jobs, replacing the human workforce with automated processes. Whilst there is, inevitably, some of this occurring in every industry it’s important for you to protect the human face of your organisation, and embed these technologies in a way that enhances your team, rather than simply replacing them. Embrace technologies and AI whilst investing in the evolution of the skills your workforce bring, and support their growth and learning so that they are able to use the experience they offer in new ways, leading your business forward in an ever-changing global environment.