Leaders in 2023?

 

The world rebooted in 2022 from a working culture to a working mentality. How organisations took the decision to come back from Covid and go full speed into recovery 

The leadership meaning has changed, leaders have gone from being people who take care of the financials, and operations of the firm to being a servant of the firm. From giving instructions to taking feedback, from a search to give and receiving better feedback to finding how an employer and an employee help each other thrive better, from being a good delegator to exhibiting confidence in the work of the team. So what is ahead for 2023, how are leaders going to describe themself after 2023!?

There are answers which are derived from what leaders had to face in 2021 and 2022, and yes there is a change in thinking in leaders however difficult that sounds. Some of the them that I would like to bring in forefront for the leaders to focus in 2023 would be - 

Empathy Skills:

Reading a piece from Harvard on Mindfulness by Rasmus Hougaard, Jacqueline Carter and Marissa Afton, what a clear takeaway is the difference that draws compassion from empathy. They say that leaders need to lead with compassion and connect with empathy. As simple as it may sound it is one of the toughest skill that a leader needs to imbibe to succeed not only in 2023 but beyond. When told they don’t have to take the difficulties of the people they lead onto themselves, this is a huge burden lifted off their shoulders.

Empathy is so important for preventing employee burnout, both because it opens two-way communication and establishes mutual respect and trust between leaders and their teams. An empathetic leader can respond thoughtfully to facts and feelings or defuse negative emotions while acknowledging positive ones. The differnece in empathy and compassion can be illustrated below froma piece I took from HBR.

Leaders' Wellbeing: 

As the world has changed abruptly with keeping no pace with understanding of how the human race needed to adapt let alone leaders it can take a toll on mental health. Leaders are no exceptions to the same, however, when it comes to them it has been a difficult story as they need to ensure the compassion and empathy of their peers and subordinates along with ensuring they don't drop the ball. The bigger challenge has been the ignorance from leaders that all is ok and ignoring the effects of the lockdown, changing global economy, social unrest, ambiguity on the effectiveness of remote work and return to work. We Must expand the meaning of well-being.

Once we expand the definition of well-being, we must also understand that a healthy organization intentionally integrates well-being into its business objectives. Well-being must be incorporated into all aspects of your firm or business, from business development to client service, as well as to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, professional development and HR practices.That's what leaders need to account for the KPI or OKR of the firm. Without leadership focussing on well-being it won't transmit below, hence leaders need to ensure to understand what is ok and what is not Ok!

Confront the trust crisis

One of the most important parts of organisational success is Trust. As per reports from DDI, leaders need to reinforce the importance of building trust and how it is imperative. The importance of including questions on employee engagement surveys on trust, so that leaders can begin to understand how they are doing. Ever-changing environment and the challenges of evolving within a role need to be backed by the trust from leaders to subordinates. Encouraging employees with trust brings in a very good work culture and helps the morale of the team.

Trustworthy leaders are also better able to retain the talent they work so hard to attract, develop, and keep, which in times of quiet quitting and moonlighting will be essential.

The Challenge of Virtual and Remote Teams

Covid19 shook the world of workplaces and formalised the concept of Remote teams and Virtual teams. For leaders, it was the start of questioning Objectivity. Leaders used to leading from the front and having a hands-on approach found it tough in comparison to leaders who believed in results. Organizations worldwide have created new norms that acknowledge that flexible work is no longer a temporary pandemic response but a long-lasting feature of the modern working world. Companies will want to be thoughtful about which roles can be done partly or fully remotely—and be open to the idea that there could be more of these than is immediately apparent. Adding to this a large number of Jobseekers citing a search for remote work as a major motivator becomes a big reason for leaders to look at 2023 and beyond on adapting and accepting the concept of remote work efficiency. According to DDI - only 27% of the leaders say they are very effective at a leading hybrid/virtual teams. They would need to start with connecting a bond or sense of connection at work, emphasizing the importance of a team and a sense of belonging in the team. Those sudden realisations that it was the sense of bonding and spontaneous bursts of interactions at the workplace that helped co-workers bond.

As we enter a new age of work, a network of teams will outgrow employee relationships that were previously hierarchical. Hence Leaders would need to find a bridge to build a network that can outgrow individual and collective growth. The fact is Hybrid work culture is here to stay. I read an article in Forbes where they asked the right set of questions that the leaders need to ask - does your organization have the culture to enable true flexibility in work performance? How will you support your employees, from their daily work through to their mental health, in a trusted and collaborative way? And what else is possible for you and your teams that would not have been possible in the previous work environment?