This blog post is the sixth and final part of our six-part Evolving Workplace series. To hear more thought leadership, check out series episodes on the Remarkable Leadership Podcast.
At the Kevin Eikenberry Group, our focus is on developing leaders. Over the past few weeks, we’ve studied the Evolving Workplace and what all that change might mean. We started with how we got here, then focused on where we believe business and technology are going and what organizations and individuals need to do to prepare themselves. All of this was context for this, the final installment. What does it all mean for leaders in the next 1-5 years?
Leaders. Managers. Supervisors. Whatever you call the role, we are at the center of change and progress. Organizations rely on us to execute their strategies; individuals look to us. But what do leaders in the second quarter of the Twenty First Century need to focus on to be effective and successful?
Here are five areas in which we’ll have to be competent:
1) Embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration
AI is rapidly transforming various aspects of work, from automating routine tasks to enhancing decision-making processes. Leaders need to understand and leverage AI tools to improve productivity and innovation within their teams. This involves reskilling employees to work alongside AI and ensuring ethical AI implementation.
One of our biggest tasks will be learning and unlearning the skills ourselves, and coaching employees not to take the answers AI provides at face value but applying their knowledge and judgment.
2) Navigating Multigenerational Workforce Dynamics
Are you familiar with the term, “Generation Alpha?” That’s the latest demographic block entering the workplace. Technically it’s anyone born in the twenty first century, although it usually means those born in 2010 and later. The point is that, while we’ve had multiple generations in the workplace since, well forever, we have more older workers than ever before. That means more distinct generations working together. This is not just a question of age and work experience, but technology literacy, social dynamics and learning styles.
Leaders will have to not only learn to communicate across generations but must facilitate the conversations and help develop systems to make work happen.
3) Coming to grips with what it means to be professional
Dress codes. Reporting structures. Working from home or reporting to the office. How workers talk to each other and interact with customers. What do people expect of their employer and vice versa?
Leaders, particularly middle managers, will find themselves in the middle of a maelstrom of changing norms and expectations. It’s not just generational, but each company will decide for itself what their culture is, and how employees fit in—or don’t. Our role as coaches, not just for performance but for career success and cultural fit, will be more important than ever.
4) Enhancing Virtual and Hybrid Team Management
The prevalence of remote work has made virtual team management a critical skill. Even if you supposedly work in an office-only environment, you will have people who aren’t in the same place as the rest of the team. If you have even one worker who is remote, or only comes to the office occasionally, you have a remote team. Leaders must establish clear communication channels, build trust without face-to-face interaction, and utilize technology effectively to manage dispersed teams. Organizations will depend on leaders to engage their team regardless of location, and keep people engaged. Succession planning will be hugely impacted by the ability to maximize talent wherever it sits. This includes setting clear expectations, fostering team cohesion, and ensuring equitable participation among all team members.
This matters for leaders, because if we don’t develop a pipeline of talent, our own career trajectory may be stalled.
5) Developing Agility and Flexibility in Leadership
In an era marked by rapid technological advancements and market fluctuations, leaders must be flexible, embrace change, and foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation. This approach enables teams to quickly adapt to new challenges and opportunities, maintaining a competitive edge.
No kidding.
The problem with talking about mindset, is that we often look at it wrong. You don’t just decide to change your thinking because you want to. A lifetime of habits, experience and social norms dictate how we tackle our roles as leaders. But with the rate and scope of changes we are facing now and for the next few years, we’ll need to adopt different ways of thinking to tackle different problems.
It’s important that we understand what is required to deal with a specific set of circumstances. The answer might be right up our alley or require a completely different set of coping skills than we’ve used in the past.
A great new resource is Kevin Eikenberry’s newest book, Flexible Leadership. This resource, and the training and resources attached to it, are designed to help leaders recognize the dynamics of a given problem and then apply the correct actions to address it.
It introduces the concept of “flexors,” specific actions to address problems depending on whether the source of the problem is clear, complicated, complex, or chaotic.
Whether you take advantage of our tools and leadership development opportunities or find other ways to address your competence and mindset, these five trends will likely determine your stress level, and ultimately your success, in the constantly evolving workplace.
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