Embracing the Digital Workplace as a Leader

There is no doubt that the pandemic has put a strain on every aspect of life. As a result of the pandemic, digital transformation has also grown significantly faster, which has brought new leadership challenges such as employee motivation and difficulty in coping with new workplace design. These challenges demonstrate the need for leaders to adapt to this new system and rethink leadership.

Great leadership in the digital age depends on understanding people and their potential, taking into account new technologies and their impact on us, as well as recognizing the potential of their interaction. At its core, digital leadership should be accessible and engender trust at every touchpoint. Working digitally raises the standard for all the essential elements of leadership. Putting it simply, leading people in the digital era of the 21st Century implies focusing on the "people" aspect of the workplace. Here is what you can do to better grasp the mindset of leaders in the digital age.

Empathy knows no boundaries and can be expressed digitally.

For leaders to connect with their employees in the new digital age, they must put themselves in their employees' shoes. To understand the importance of empathy in the new work culture, Businessolver conducted a study and found that 76% of employees believe empathy cultivates more motivation. The study also revealed that 75% of employees prefer a company with an empathic culture over one with a slightly higher salary. This is the power of empathy when it is applied compassionately by leaders.??

Expressing empathy can be tricky while working in the digital workplace, but recognizing the deep uncertainty employees are experiencing is the first step. When communicating empathy via digital means, leaders should be aware that each employee is going through the pandemic's ambient stress differently. Their feelings may fluctuate on a daily basis. Since our post-pandemic future will see remote working becoming a fact of business, this will increase the demand for empathetic leadership. Our work structures are increasingly becoming digitized, but we need to ensure it still retains their human touch.

It’s the job of leaders to keep their teams connected and motivated in the new digital workplace. When you aren’t physically around your team members, motivating and keeping them connected can be quite difficult but not impossible. Make time in your schedule, once in a while, to celebrate your team member’s achievements or share their work milestones with other team members. By becoming more approachable, and showing kindness, leadership can reach its full potential.

Leaders in the digital space place greater emphasis on outcomes than outputs.

The belief that business is all about outputs has been held by many organizations for many years.??Leaders and organizations spend a great deal of time establishing systems to measure external outputs.?They measure sales, return on investment, cash flow, share price, and so on to determine the performance of the company.?However, business is truly about its people, not merely about numbers. People are the ones who make decisions, develop products, and implement plans. In the digital workspace, the goal of a leader should be to place more emphasis on the outcomes, i.e. employee motivation and productivity, that result in these outputs.

In this way, employees can connect more to the company, its results, and its mission.

Compassion and vulnerability do not make leaders weak

In the midst of the pandemic, especially in the digital workplace, employees are under increased stress, and they are already vulnerable. It is the leader's compassion that will make this new workplace strong. Leaders with emotional intelligence understand that vulnerability can be a powerful tool. They understand their vulnerability and know when and to whom to communicate. This also helps them empower and inspire their teams. Leadership in the digital age requires you to have the strength to share your thoughts with those you can trust. Simple acts can build that trust. Acts like keeping the camera on during a meeting let employees know that you are paying attention to them, sharing some of your struggles or even mistakes also help employees feel comfortable opening up to you.

Your approachability is the key

When you lead your teams digitally, it is not possible for employees to come to you every time they have a problem. Nor are they able to fly a thousand miles to meet you in person. They can, however, send you a direct message or an email. So, make this easier for them. You can start a weekly virtual tour where you can talk to employees about their workplace or personal issues. This will enable you to not only win the trust of your team members but also create a very healthy working environment. You can do this by creating a comfortable digital workplace that is open to all.

All of us have heard the mantra several times and in various ways - we live in a fast-paced world. Technologies are speeding things up. And we need to adapt quickly to these changes. What we also need is a new leadership culture to adapt to today's rapidly changing, technology-driven digital businesses, as well as leaders who have new outlooks, and have new ideas.

In this new digital age, leaders have the opportunity to inspire, engage, and lead people with clarity and optimism. Their efforts in the digital workplace, therefore, need to be focused on building communication skills through approachable behavior, encouraging employee autonomy, and most importantly, demonstrating empathy.