A Blueprint for Building the Best Leaders

The success of any organization relies heavily on effective leadership. It’s a well-known fact that leaders capable of inspiring and motivating their teams make a huge difference for everyone involved and the business as a whole.

However, of late, there are two additional requirements for leadership to be considered effective: driving innovation and upholding diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives.

With the rapid development of AI, agility has emerged as a critical skill. Required skill sets are also involved to include new requirements, so, frankly speaking, there isn’t anything as a definition of efficient leadership.

How to Go About Identifying Potential Leaders

Rather than going through a checklist, businesses would do well to look into their company culture: where it is and where they want it to be. Present trends don’t allow for much creativity, but there are always perks to add variety.

However, it is critical to understand that coaching for executives should start with incorporating the human factor. Instead of focusing on material incentives, businesses need to understand that this pace of change is wearing employees down.

With new tools popping up on a daily basis and with more and more people relying on AI instead of their brains, soft skills are in high demand.  Organizations focusing on this aspect when identifying individuals with leadership potential stand a better chance of building a motivated workforce.

Training and Development

Coaches would like us to believe that leadership skills can be learned. While that may apply to hard skills, soft skills are a different matter entirely. Effective communication may be one notable exception to the rule, as “communication” has come to imply using apps and other digital tools to connect with colleagues.

However, even in this aspect communication between leaders is critical. Unlike small- and medium-sized companies, large companies need to be inventive when it comes to aligning different departments and roles.

Because of this, integration has emerged as a critical element of business operations. More effective managers are typically experienced in this matter and know how to bring balance and unison forth.

Another crucial trait a good leader possesses is emotional intelligence. Rather than skill, this is an innate ability as it is a matter concerning the soul rather than the brain. However, some elements can be learned. Effective communication and active listening are among those.

For businesses that think long-term, however, finding the right candidate graced with the dying art of empathy is the best approach.  

Interim C suite leaders often prove to be the best candidates as they know ins and outs of the company culture and organizational procedures. If they’re known to have inspired employees in the past, even better.

These people only need to be trained in the skills they’re missing and already know many employees. This eliminates the need for extensive onboarding and tutoring, and these are just the two notable benefits.

Continuous Learning

A “culture of continuous learning” has become a standard. With digitalization taking rapid strides and AI changing the very definition of many roles, the trend isn’t surprising.

Sometimes, merely keeping up with the developments is overwhelming; that’s why leaders need to come up with effective solutions to prevent burnout and qualm employees’ worries (which typically refer to AI taking their jobs).

That being said, businesses need to provide ample opportunities for leaders to expand their skills and allow them to craft their leadership style autonomously.

Is Mentorship Still the Best Solution?

Businesses often assign mentors to new hires, leaders included. For organizations that can’t find suitable candidates within the organization, this may still be the best approach.

Experienced leaders can help newcomers integrate into the company culture faster. They also break the ice between leaders and their teams.

For businesses who promote leaders internally, a different approach may be a better solution. Candidates who have already built a reputation don’t need a shortcut to employees’ hearts. Word of mouth is often the best push new leaders can hope to get.

Visionary Thinking

Many businesses have moved from looking for leaders to looking for visionaries. This vague term sounds good, but its concept is difficult to grasp.

Typically, what is inferred by this is that leaders should pioneer company vision and motivate teams to work towards common goals. The trick is in team members’ feeling like part of the bigger picture, which has emerged as one of the greatest challenges of the modern workplace.

Another aspect that is allocated to visionaries is encouraging innovation. The latter means different things to different businesses but one common trend is to invest efforts into creating a sense of purpose among employees… which brings us back to emotional intelligence and active listening.

Collaboration is typically the universal foolproof test in this regard. Leaders who manage to align teams with a shared vision have the potential to exceed in their role.

As for the rest, use your imagination. With so many new trends out there, concocting novel solutions can help businesses become trendsetters. Why not aim for that?