8 Must-have leadership behaviors for 2022

No matter how much we discuss - at the Board level - business transformation for our companies to be able to survive and thrive, it all comes back to our leadership and their ability to act and react. Trust, courage, resilience, radical transparency, emotional agility, openness, and empathy are essential characteristics for post-pandemic leadership. From the Board to the bottom of operation, we are all required to reskill and rethink our behaviors while profoundly understanding what is happening in the minds and hearts of our talents.

Companies have been dealing with a dwindling skill pool for some time, but the worldwide pandemic has hastened the talent deficit to the extent that no one could have foreseen. According to a recent Korn Ferry poll, 55% of professionals predict employee turnover would grow in 2022, and 31% said they would quit their job even if they didn't have another lined up. Companies are raising wages, giving more long-term incentives and perks, and paying sign-on bonuses, even for less-senior workers, to break into a tight labor market. But, mainly, companies are facing severe challenges to align their top leaders to the new environment and talent's needs.

What do leaders need to pay attention to?

No way back: the rise of professional nomads

People working everywhere, anywhere, and at any time are transforming the workplace right in front of our eyes. Professionals are on the move, Baby Boomers are retiring, and professional nomads seek change early and often. In fact, according to a Korn Ferry report, 32% of professionals do not believe they will ever return to the workplace full time. According to another poll, 36% of professionals want to change jobs soon since the epidemic has enabled them to re-evaluate what they desire and the changes they need. Workers are adopting agility in unprecedented numbers.

Walk the talk

Increased focus on sustainability. ESG and environmental problems are now firmly on the agenda of the boardroom. In 2022, there will be more significant pressure for companies to take action. More and more organizations realize that research alone will not bring them to where they need to go. Meaningful transformation requires changes in mentality and skill set.

Conundrum of connections

Relationships must be rebuilt. Due to the epidemic, we went from hour-long in-person meetings to condensed half-hour Zoom conversations – and virtual everything. Leaders must be more purposeful in establishing deeper relationships inside their organizations or risk people becoming more siloed. Organizations must foster a culture of listening, understanding, and inspiration for workers to feel more connected.

Transitioning from disruption to reinvention

In 2022, change represents an opportunity. Much of the previous two years have seen companies change what they did and how they did it simply because they had to, with little thought or preparation for the future. This disturbance, however, has a negative side effect. Companies that can leverage their workforces' agility and adaptability have a chance to reinvent themselves for a new century, finding answers to shortages, climate change, digital acceleration, supply chain difficulties, and ever-shifting customer expectations.

Keep, reskill and create new internal options

The people you have will eventually become the ones you need. Faced with talent scarcity, firms will emphasize internal mobility, reskilling and upskilling current workers to reduce attrition and fill specialist jobs. Some firms are increasing their training, development, coaching, and mentoring programs and establishing more on-the-job learning opportunities to fulfill their reskilling objectives, while others are investing in new technology to assist progress careers.

Caring and including

Organizations are increasingly prioritizing employee well-being. This is about far more than adding mental health programs or fitness-related benefits. A culture shift is essential. Leaders are required to address mental and personal wellness with team members, which is not an area of leadership development that many have previously prioritized.

To cast a giant talent net in the face of a persistent talent shortage, firms are relaxing employment standards such as four-year college degrees and fixed years of prior experience, as well as CV gaps. Furthermore, businesses are looking outside of their sector, among retired workers, and in other unconventional locations to locate the people and talents they need.

The whole world is watching

Employees and executives are taking on greater responsibility. As remote and hybrid working grow more common, executives know that by 2022, they will need to commit more effort to develop new workplace cultures. Welcome to the future of regular check-ins and ongoing feedback, where agile, collaborative staff will flourish. Increased responsibility is also affecting the C-suite. Corporate executives are under growing pressure to recruit and develop individuals from underrepresented groups, pay employees fairly, and take positions on social issues.

The transition from "me" to "us"

Collaboration and common aims The previous 24 months have seen unprecedented global instability and political turmoil levels. They've also given us the best that humanity has to offer, whether it's scientists who produced vaccines at breakneck speed or communities that banded together in times of adversity. We've all learned that it's beneficial to collaborate for the more significant benefit. A community not only gives us purpose; it also produces outcomes. We anticipate increasing collaborative working habits and shared objectives in the next year.