Our Future Leaders Will Need To Be Compassionate and Emotionally Intelligent - Are You Rethinking Leadership in this New Reality in the Right Way?

If there is anything that you will have discovered from the magnitude of the events, so far, of 2020 is how significantly interconnected and vulnerable we are.

In the face of the pandemic ‘business as normal’ has been challenged head on. The events have tested our business systems more so than anything else in recent memory.

It has shown us how our businesses are more interconnected and dependent on technology, communication tools, and supply chains.

Businesses have had to adapt to lockdown, social distancing, and other obstacles. Those in a position to do so have adapted - working remotely and adopting new technology to rapidly speed up digital transformation.

For this global interconnectedness to function, as effectively as it should, a certain type of leadership is needed. A leadership with moral backbone and the ability to inspire and guide this increasingly complex world into the future.

So, I think, now is the moment where we stand up and demand more from our leaders and leadership as a whole. In this strange transitional period we need to ask:

What caliber of leaders do we need for our tomorrow?

What set of skills should such leadership possess?

Evidently politicians and business leaders alike have struggled to respond effectively to the current climate. Which leads me to believe, conclusively, we should not prize the same kinds of leadership qualities that we have in the past.

We no longer require leadership caricatures "the big tough guy", "the smart guy who says he has all the answers."

These leaders led us in the direction of absolution. Our fate both in societal and business systems have been in the hands of the few.

The problem with this kind of leadership is that it doesn't work. Those kinds of leaders are fallible because they’re human and prone to mistakes, ego and other flaws.

And when people disagree with them, too many react out of emotion, ego, and uninformed opinion than that of informed intellect and sound judgement. It is this shortsighted perspective we need to move away from. And fast.

This is due in part because it's no longer just about your organization or community. It’s the other systems that interact with them. We have now seen this play-out in real-time.

The globe is beautifully made up of largely similar but different cultures, traditions and behaviors. As such, it demands; tolerance, respect, collaboration and fairness among its citizens across the board. That is the etiquette of global citizenship.

Ok, so now we know what we don’t want but what about what we need?

I believe we need to start to prioritize the following 6 leadership qualities:

1.Passionate

The leaders of tomorrows ‘New Normal’ will be passionate. They will harness an intense enthusiasm. This strong desire enhances commitment, efficiency, productivity and ultimate team success.

Passionate leaders inspire their teams and those around them. It is this intense enthusiasm which explains why the majority of successful leaders regard their work as a passion not a job.

2.Persistent

‘New Normal’ leaders will need to persevere in face of opposing obstacles and challenges.

Persistence is about continuing with a course of action despite the difficulty and/or opposition. The courage and ability to continue pursuing a goal, in spite of greater challenges along the way.

3.Systems-thinkers

Leaders of the ‘New Normal’ will need to understand how the big picture works. How individuals fit within their departments and where they overlap for teamwork.

This type of "systems thinking" will be required in two ways:

First, they will understand that everything is connected and that their choices and priorities should articulate that. Future outcomes are a reflection of today's choices and actions.

Business systems are combinations of things that should exceed the sum of their parts. A business is more than its products and people; the interconnection between these helps the business thrive. Leaders of tomorrow will need the capacity to connect the dots. The ability to carefully observe the links and understand their broader implications.

It is the same with human relationships.

The actions of a leader almost always has second-order effects on the whole system. So the ‘New Normal’ leaders will be aware of that and make decisions based upon that of the greater system, not just short-term results.

The second point is that leaders will understand that “systems thinking” applies to their teams. The team they lead will be smarter than them. Which means they will need to be both intellectually honest & humble. The leaders of the ‘new normal’ will unlock the potential of the team, instead of being the one who has all the ideas and calls the shots. This means that they will need to be both intellectually honest & humble.

4.Intellectually Honest

Leaders of the ‘New Normal’ will be intellectually honest. They will not attempt to navigate the murky waters of intellectual dishonesty where one finds them peddling misinformation.

Leaders will instead be providers of truth, useful and correct information. As industries become more complex and connected - a reliance on collaboration is needed to make business systems work. At the heart of collaboration requires transparency and honesty.

5.Intellectually Humble

Leaders of the ‘New Normal’ will need to be humble. Leaders can only facilitate and draw new connections if they are open to it. This requires the leader a level of humility to help a team of people who will be smarter than them to unlock its full potential.

What is meant here is that they will need self-awareness to the extent of their own knowledge. They will need to be open and willing to change their minds when new information is presented and humble enough, open and receptive to different views as well as new sources of evidence.

We need leaders who are adaptable. When it comes to leadership, flexibility is the new strong.

6.Empathy

Leaders of the ‘New Normal’ will need to be empathetic.

It’s increasingly becoming impossible for one to isolate him or herself from those who look, speak or behave differently. You will need to look outward for unique and diverse inspiration or collaboration, than limit yourself to inward sources only.

Leaders of the ‘New Normal’ will need leaders that are kind, human and understanding of other's situations and feelings - empathetic. Leaders that are trustworthy, respectful and respected by overwhelming majority.

Leaders of the ‘New Normal’ will not only be required to solve problems confronting them, but will need to address root causes of such problems, be it problems caused by; systematic injustice, inequality or any other societal challenge that usually triggers unrest.

The ‘New Normal’ Leaders will Influence

When leaders demonstrate the 6 qualities above they have the capacity to motivate individuals and teams to behave in a certain way. Unlike managers, influencers have the ability to inspire their followers into taking action.

The ‘New Normal’ Leaders will inspire Teamwork

Unifying different functions around a shared objective is one of the ways these new leaders should be judged upon. It is through the collaborative effort of the group that teamwork comes alive.

Being a compassionate and emotionally intelligent leader for a team entails; having the capacity to ensure that interdependence among team members - towards a single destiny is created and preserved.

This style of leadership challenges preconceptions about those in positions of influence and authority. This ends the need for an all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipotent leader. This dated and flawed concept of leadership will be replaced in time.

The leaders of tomorrow, who will establish themselves in the ‘New Normal’, will be connectors and facilitators, they will need to be an active listener, good communicator, conflict manager, better at delegating, consensus driven, inspiring and a leader by example. It will be through their empathetic strength, that their teams will align with them by default.

It will be systems-thinking leaders that see the ‘bigger picture’ of the business system, the sum of its parts, how each individual, or its department's contribution affects the operational flow of its system.

These leaders will ally themselves to their team. Compelled to know what makes their team tick. From building rapport with their highly skilled team to acknowledging the full extent of each individual's capabilities. Thus replacing the need for micromanagement. It will be through facilitation leaders will motivate their teams toward their shared objective.

Leadership will become more about inspiring, uniting and ensuring that their team functions together as a unit. It will be empathetic leaders that provide a sense of direction and purpose, understanding that indeed; "In the absence of reason visions collapse". And that it is vision that provides direction.

Imagine if every leader of every company was a systems thinker who was intellectually honest, humble, practiced empathy and being charitable.

It is these ‘What If’ scenarios in profound times as we are currently witnessing that will challenge and change our perspectives on leadership as we know it.

This may sound like a fantasy, to some, but to those of you that resonate with this let it shine. Speak of this desire for change, share it, or be the change for it is only then that we can shape the future together.

The ‘New Normal’ is for those that can dream it and it will be together that we will make it. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”?

This is the leadership needed now and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.