Defining Leadership Qualities Needed in an Uncertain Future of Work

In our dynamic world driven by automation and AI, leaders face unprecedented challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized the need for adaptable leadership, especially in this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment.

What does this mean for leaders like you? Besides mastering key leadership skills and keeping up with technology, it’s essential to reassess the relevance of your leadership definition. Likely, the definition of effective leadership has changed.

In our agile leadership methodology detailed in Leaders People Love, we define agile leadership as the ability to be relevant and effective regardless of context. Leading with a sense of ease and authenticity is also one indicator. A powerful first step to getting started is to equip yourself with an agile mindset and skills.

In this post, we show you the leadership qualities you need to cultivate, so you’ll steer your organization toward sustained success in this transformative era.

The Fundamental Leadership Qualities

As we define important leadership qualities in this article, you’ll find that many of them are evergreen, especially human-centered ones, and will remain relevant in the future of work.

1. Leadership is Influence

John Maxwell said, “Leadership is influence,” highlighting its crucial role in leadership effectiveness. Influence manifests in various interactions, both online and offline, from emails to day-to-day communication.

Leaders exert influence in activities like casting vision and coaching teams for higher performance. With strong influence, setting direction for an evolving future becomes easier. Ultimately, a leader’s ability to inspire employees toward a shared vision defines their greatness.

Level up your ability to persuade and influence with Leadership Storytelling.

To influence, a leader needs to demonstrate integrity, empathy, and strong interpersonal skills. Empathy is often one of the essential leadership qualities that will elevate leadership influence. With positive relationships and superb communication skills like active listening, one can influence even without a formal leadership position.

Understanding what motivates people, managing emotions, and deciphering power dynamics are crucial leadership abilities for increasing influence, so to be an effective leader, spend time understanding others and listening.

Actions For You:

• Enhance your ability to inspire through emotional intelligence (EQ). According to Daniel Goleman, renowned for EQ, it’s what sets great leaders apart.
• Continue your self-awareness journey so that you can be others-aware. At ACESENCE, we help clients achieve this through our CliftonStrengths assessments, feedback, and corporate training.
• Build trust with your team by developing a trustworthy leadership brand. We teach this in our Leadership Storytelling Course so check it out.

2. Leadership is Thinking Critically and Strategically

Many leaders thought providing the answers meant they were good leaders. In the past, leaders could demonstrate value by being the “smartest cookie in the room,” but it’s now increasingly challenging.

Today’s fast-paced and ever-changing workplaces demand a new strategic approach; one that taps into the collective wisdom and ideas within the team. To do so requires you to lead with vulnerability.

Leaders must know that today, leading by being the “smartest cookie in the room” is highly unattainable. Admitting they don’t have all the answers and embracing vulnerability is a better way to go.

Popularized by Brene Brown’s “Dare to Lead,” vulnerability isn’t about weakness but rather the strength to admit you might not have the perfect solution at the time and need the collective wisdom of your team.

This shift in leadership style isn’t about diminishing your expertise. Instead, it’s about leveraging your strategic thinking to create a collaborative environment where everyone’s voice is valued. This is the true recipe for success in today’s dynamic world.

Read Chapter 10.3 (page 100) “Leading with Vulnerability” in Leaders People Love.

ActionsFor You:

• Review your personal development roadmap. Despite time constraints, effective leaders prioritize developing soft skills, persuasion, influence, and strategic decision-making abilities.
• Attend leadership advancement programs at least a few times a year to learn from experienced professionals and build a network of peers with similar interests. At ACESENCE, we have a few online programs that suit busy leaders like you.
• Agile Thinking and Leadership Foundation Program– an introduction to agile leadership and practical steps to get started
• Agile Thinking and Leadership Intermediate Program – Putting into practice your learning from our bestselling book, the “8 Paradoxes of Leadership Agility.”
• Agile Thinking and Leadership Advanced Program – a 21-day challenge where you’ll expand your leadership qualities, and styles and effectiveness by using the 8 Paradoxes as well as the Five Inner Voices of Leadership Agility.

Check out Leadership Agility Force, and receive short implementation pointers in your email.

3. Leadership is Honest and Trustworthy

“Leadership is an honest business,” a client of mine said, and I fully agree. Ultimately, the best leaders I have worked with, who are also successful leaders, are often role models and lead by example.

Congruent with the worldwide research of resilience and engagement conducted by Marcus Buckingham and the ADP Research Institute, with the vision of assisting leaders in becoming more engaged and resilient in their own lives, as well as suggesting methods for developing engagement and resilience among workers, they found that:

• Employees who trusted their team leader completely were 14 times more likely to be fully engaged.
• Those who trusted other coworkers, the team leader, and senior management were 42 times more likely to be highly resilient.

Trust is everything. Employees thrive when they feel safe and supported.

Leaders must cultivate a culture of trust, where concerns about unethical behaviors like verbal abuse or micromanaging are mitigated, allowing individuals to perform at their best without fear of backlash.

Recognizing the value of trust, effective leaders prioritize creating an atmosphere where employees feel secure and valued.

Read “Trust as a Leadership Branding” Chapter 8.2 (page 67) from Leaders People Love

Actions for You

• Conduct a leadership brand audit. You can start by writing down the traits of leaders whom you admire and benchmark your brand against the ideal.
• Discover the Leader of Impact branding exercise. Complimentary with your copy of Leaders People Love. Reflecting on your leadership brand: What do people say about you when you’re not in the room?

“Be a leader people welcome in the room.”

-Syukri Azman on Episode 22 of Agile leaders Conversations

4. Leadership is Human-Centered

Beyond empathy, good leaders bring human connections back into day-to-day management in workplaces. They remind us it’s safe to bring the human side into organizations. A human-centered leader is curious about other human beings in his/her workplace.

With a focus on mental health, good leaders understand that taking care of employees is one of the most fundamental ways to show human-centeredness in leadership. Integrating wellness into organizations through policies is only one example.

Human-centered managers understand that disturbances affect each employee differently. Ultimately, it’s about examining the answer to this crucial question – what will it take for the human beings in my organization to flourish?

Inspiring leadership stems from guiding others to achieve greatness rather than individual performance. Invest time in understanding your team’s strengths, motivations, and aspirations.

Lead with a human-centered approach to foster high employee engagement and talent retention.

Actions for You:

• CliftonStrengths assessment for yourself and your team. You can use other instruments but be careful not to “pigeonhole” people or overgeneralize what they can or cannot achieve.
• Invest in management training like coaching skills, performance planning, giving constructive feedback, and increasing psychological safety.
• Engage regularly in conversations with employees to widen your perspectives.
• Look out for differences and appreciate them. With a mindset and belief that “you are different from me – hence you are valuable.”
• Does your team have a high-functioning way of working? Check out the Leadership Agility Force for a conversation guide to design a Way of Working. that builds high-performing teams

5. Leadership is Nurturing More Successful Leaders

Great leaders know that they cannot do it all alone – they need to bring out the best in people. They know that their primary role is to unleash people’s potential, not stifle it. In doing so, they inspire a sense of enthusiasm and ownership within the organization.

Did you know that out of the thousands of leaders who have taken the Agile Leadership Superpower Quiz by ACESENCE, 25% are Developers?

That means helping people grow and develop is naturally motivating for them. So the question is, what will it take for you to bring out the best in people? Is your current arsenal of management skills sufficient?

To answer that, let’s take a closer look at the future workforce.

Given that millennials will soon comprise the majority of the workforce, it is worthy of understanding workplaces that will attract and inspire them.

According to 2021 Fortune Best Workplaces for Millennials, a survey involving 300000 millennials in the United States, and a study about how millennials want to work and live by Gallup, here are the findings of what millennials want:

1. Fair pay and personal meaning 
2. Leaders who support a diverse and inclusive workplace, including benefits that go beyond parenthood
3. Ethical leaders who are open and transparent
4. Employers who care about their well-being

What does this mean to you as a leader?

Leadership development programs must adapt to meet the evolving demands of Millennials and Gen-Z. Their preferences for coaching over traditional management styles necessitate a review of existing approaches to ensure effectiveness in nurturing their skills and attitudes toward leadership.

Understanding their differing visions and desires for development is crucial in fostering their growth as leaders.

Actions for You:

• Help teams use their strengths every day to increase engagement and profitability. A comprehensive Gallup study showed that “strength-based development” leads to:
  • 10% to 19% increase in revenue
  • 14% to 29% increase in profit
  • 3% to 7% higher customer engagement
  • 9% to 15% increase in employee engagement
• Develop coaching skills and basic facilitation skills in your managers and anyone in a leadership position. Go beyond telling, one of the least effective forms of developing leaders.

Read the section on the Developer in Leaders People Love.

6. Leadership is Inclusive and Cocreating

A great leader creates an environment where diverse views can come together. This is important because a report from McKinsey showed that companies with gender diversity and ethnic diversity on their executive teams are 25% and 36% more likely to outperform others, respectively. 

Despite the strong business case for diversity on executive teams, progress is slow. In 2019, only 15% of executives were women, and 14% were ethnic minorities, according to McKinsey’s data. Over a third of organizations in the dataset still lack women on their executive teams.

What leaders need to look into is how to create a workplace culture in such a way that diverse voices are heard. Every person’s contribution needs to be valued.

Introducing diversity in numbers alone, however, is exclusion. The lack of inclusion leads to silos of employees, failing to capture the perspectives and ideas of minorities.

Actions for You:

• Move beyond the traditional view of diversity to a more expansive view, which includes “diversity of thought, perspective, experience, and background.”
• Establish a values-based culture that values diversity and inclusion as key factors to success.
• Learn and share about unconscious bias. The more we learn, the better our chances to overcome the stereotypes that stifle innovation and creativity.
• Empower people by giving them a voice (i.e., letting them give feedback without judgment.)
• Create inclusive work processes, so everyone has a voice. Help each group of people learn about one another, fostering mutual respect and understanding.

7. Leadership is Future-Oriented While Safeguarding the Present

“How do I ensure my business succeeds today while preparing for the future” is a typical coaching topic clients bring to our conversations.

Planning for the future is crucial for business survival, a timeless challenge that’s especially pertinent today.

Effective leaders balance present success with creating a better future, ensuring their team feels confident and engaged while adapting to new challenges.

Rather than solely focusing on the present or past, great leaders maintain a longer-term vision, making incremental improvements toward organizational growth.

Actions for You:

• Get comfortable with ambiguity. According to McKinsey‘s report on skills that citizens need in the future of work, Coping with Uncertainty came at the top in a few categories.
• Invite new ideas and change. Innovation comes from being open to new possibilities and being willing to change your mind. Go beyond the growth mindset and embrace the agile mindset.
• Learn from the past, but not be imprisoned by it. In order to be successful in the future, think like an Agilist. Make sure as you are failing, you are “failing forward.”

8. Leadership is Adaptable and Resilient

Expanding on the leadership definition above, a forward-thinking leader mindful of current challenges is adaptable and resilient.

Effective leaders know that to navigate complex times, they need to roll with the punches. This means that they need to quickly adapt their plans and strategies when things don’t go as planned.

They also need to bounce back stronger from failures quickly. With an agile mindset, they are always on the lookout for the next opportunity to challenge the norms, break boundaries, and improve existing processes and workflows.

An adaptable and resilient leader with strategic thinking bounces back from adversity quickly and motivates others to stay the course.

A leader with good leadership challenges the norms more often in the uncertain business world, but doing so comes with its difficulties.

Actions for You:

• Stay connected to the world around you. Leaders need to always elevate their mindset and learn from the best in their organization, industry, and community.
• Be willing to experiment with new ideas. If things don’t work out, learn from the negative example and move on.

9. Leadership is Being a Catalyst for Change

Future-resilient leaders embrace change positively, recognizing its potential to inspire and drive successful organizations. They facilitate positive change with a human-centered approach, leveraging interpersonal skills to navigate complexities.

Every individual, regardless of their role, is empowered to contribute meaningfully to the process. Self-awareness is key for leaders to effectively navigate change, fostering an environment where it’s valued among team members.

Actions for You:

Leaders who can orchestrate change effectively know that an organization achieves nothing without the commitment of its people. So they strive to design an employee experience that increases trust and buy-in.

Open and transparent communication, and expanding the range and modes of effective communication (hence the range of leadership styles) are just some leadership skills you can start with today.

Considering developing the following skills as they are instrumental in your endeavor to shift mindsets and increase buy-in:

• Storytelling skills
• Compelling writing skills
• Impactful presentation skills

We teach you how to develop the above skills, step-by-step in the Leadership Storytelling Online Course.

Review the effectiveness of your vision. For teams to be fully committed and successful, they need to feel like they are a part of something larger than themselves and that their work has meaning.

Leaders who can create this type of environment foster a sense of purpose in their team members and increase productivity and innovation. As Jim Collins described through his flywheel concept: Get the direction right because when you do, people can’t help themselves but be on your team to achieve significant, meaningful things together. That’s how you can enable change without chaos and fear.

10. Leadership is Leaving the World a Better Place than the One We Were Given

The epidemic has exposed several of our systems and institutions’ flaws. It allows leaders to build a more resilient and sustainable world.

As reported in the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, while the world appears marred by suspicion and misinformation, there is a silver lining for businesses. Here are the key findings:

• Businesses have become the most trusted institution with “a 61% trust level globally, and the only one seen as both ethical and competent” compared to NGOs, Governments, and Media.
• 86% of those surveyed “expected CEOs to lead on societal issues”
• 68% agreed that “businesses need to step in to fill the void left by the government and address these issues.”

The raised expectations of business put CEOs in a bind: they must now prioritize societal engagement with the same rigor, depth, and enthusiasm that they devote to profit.

The true recovery from COVID-19 will not be about reassembling things as they were; we must “build back better” to address the fundamental systemic vulnerabilities that the pandemic has exposed.

For businesses, building back better is about much more than corporate social responsibility: it is about future-proofing organizations for the “next shock.”

Looking beyond profit and revenue, do you have a vision that’ll leave the world a better place than the one you have?

Actions for You:

• Incorporate sustainability goals into your longer-term corporate vision
• Inspire people to share their aspirations for humankind and include these in your strategic plans
• Lead conversations around better jobs with equitable career growth and redesign jobs in a meaningful way
• Think about your leadership legacy – what are you leaving behind?

Continue to Refine Your Leadership Style and Skills

As the world changes, leaders must refine their skills, from envisioning the future to fostering fairness in the workplace.

A Last Word on What Leadership Isn’t

Given our ongoing work with leaders worldwide, we have noticed some leadership pitfalls that are worth mentioning. Here is a list of what Leadership isn’t. Leadership isn’t:

1. About having all the answers – It’s about inviting alternative ways of thinking with a team of leaders and experts so that you can address the world’s pressing problems caused by fundamental shifts.
2. Always Being the Hero – It’s empowering, coaching, and developing others to become better leaders themselves. It’s about enabling others to be greater than you, not just about you achieving goals.
3. Always standing in front – It’s about walking beside others. It’s about cocreating a rewarding collective human experience with other people.
4. Getting to the goal at all costs. – It’s about being ethical and considering the consequences of decisions not just in the short term but also in the long term.
5. Being right always. – It’s about learning from your mistakes and creating a fulfilling experience with a group of like-minded people.

Develop Leadership Skills with ACESENCE’s Leadership Agility Force and Be an Effective Leader in the Future of Work

The most important thing now is to continue developing your leadership skills. Go beyond leadership theory and put your learning into action.

Build small habits. Whatever works for you, take relentless action to inch forward every day.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Take advantage of Chuen Chuen’s extensive experience coaching leaders worldwide. Her deep expertise in designing agile leadership corporate training will benefit your teams. No matter which stage of leadership you are at, we’ll partner with you and meet your business needs. 

Explore our executive coaching programs, and corporate training courses. You can also hire Chuen Chuen as your speaker at events so that your organization will become agile, adaptive, and future-resilient.