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The changes to the business landscape and the ushering in of the New Normal and hence, the New World of Work, present a whole host of opportunities for organisations to develop a culture of innovation and inclusion whereby all employees are engaged. This new window of opportunity that has opened in the world of work can only be maximised to its full potential if leaders are equipped with the necessary skills.
Recent global research indicators point towards the fact that the top three leadership traits that will see organisations successfully navigating the New Normal are:
- Adapting to change
- Innovation
- Collaboration
Adapting to Change
According to the recent Deloitte European Workforce Survey, 40% of employees experienced difficulties in adapting to changes in the workplace brought on by the pandemic.
“Change is the only constant in life. One’s ability to adapt to those changes will determine your success in life.”
Benjamin Franklin
But, while change may be an intimidating reality, in truth, it is an inevitability. Since, companies will either adapt to change and survive, or resist change at the risk of becoming obsolete. While adaptability in the workplace has become ever more important for employers, adapting to change does not come easy to everyone since people react to change in different ways. When change management is not handled effectively it can cause a whole host of emotional reactions from slight discomfort to extreme panic or fear.
Strategies for coping with change
- Take into account the positive aspects of change
- Prepare for imminent change
- Embrace change
- Adjust your mindset to incorporate a new perspective
- Set new goals under the new circumstances
- Communicate any concerns you may have
- Focus on those things that are within your realms of control
- Make notes around what you perceive as the worst-case scenario
- Above all, give yourself a break and relax
Innovation
Innovative leadership is primarily concerned with improving the longevity of a business and innovative leaders are those that make every effort to enhance existing business models to include large-scale changes that help the business to adapt and improve. Innovative leaders use research as well as practical experience to help businesses transition to the next level.
Innovative leaders therefore help to ensure that a company does better than their competitors by applying time, energy, and resources in the development of more efficient and effective methods of operation. This can include implementing changes at all operational levels, from experimenting with and implementing new technologies to investing in upskilling employees. Innovative leaders are those who are willing to be brave in the execution of implementing changes on behalf of the company that result in outstripping their competitors.
Characteristics of Innovative Leaders
Most innovative leader share some of the following common characteristics:
- Strategic
- Customer focussed
- Create a culture of trust
- Focussed on organisational health
- Geared towards employee satisfaction
Collaboration
Collaborative leadership is a management practice that seeks to bring staff, managers and executives out of their silos to work together in pursuit of common company goals. In a collaborative setting the sharing of information is organic with each individual taking responsibility for the whole. Collaborative leadership greatly differs from top-down organisational models whereby a small executive team is responsible for the dissemination of information.
According to Harvard Business Review, collaborative leaders constantly seek a diversity of ideas and opinions from their team members to solve problems and build strategies. This has the resulting effect of making employees feel more engaged and trusted and in this respect employees are more likely to take ownership for their work.
In fostering a collaborative culture, let the empathetic leader take the stage
Research the world over points to the fact that empathy is a critical characteristic that today’s leaders must embrace in a collaborative culture, since the ability to connect with and understand various perspectives has risen to the surface in the wake of the New Normal. The pandemic radically changed the relationship between employers and their employees as well as between managers and their reports. And those leaders who emerge as empathetic, who use their emotional intelligence skills to guide them, connect with people at a different level. This makes a world of difference in terms of positively engaging with employees and keeping them motivated, especially when staff are working in a hybrid setting or remotely.
To be empathetic as a leader involves how one listens as well as how one acts. An empathetic leader is not demanding, instead they encourage their teams and colleagues to join them in their quest. In the post-pandemic scenario, those leaders who are empathetic are the ones who will maximise the latent potentials within their teams and get the most out of them.
Reference sources: Indeed.com|Slack.com