Why the future of work needs stronger leadership

Being a leader of an organization can be an enriching experience. You have the potential to positively influence the teams you collaborate with to achieve mutual success. But there are several ways to approach being an effective leader. Many entrepreneurs and managers feel that the traditional firm hand is the epitome of business leadership. There’s a sense that this authoritative style of leadership is synonymous with strength. Yet, this doesn’t necessarily reflect reality. There are leadership approaches that are more collaborative in nature. These tend to elicit a greater sense of voluntary and meaningful engagement from workers, which can boost productivity, improve retention, and drive innovation.

How the pandemic has affected leadership?

The pandemic brought a new economic reality and it forced organizations to level up their digital transformation efforts to stay afloat. Some have entirely shifted their focus in order to meet new consumer needs, which has led to the urgent demand to reeducate and retrain employees to take on new roles.?

Facing workforce shortages and unusual work environments, the early phases of the pandemic saw leadership swinging to meet employees where they were. Since then, many organizations’ leadership teams have swung back and forth creating confusion. Leadership scores have suffered and engagement has dropped.?

On one hand, we are witnessing organizations that are walking the extra mile, granting employees what they want and actively attracting top talent. And on the other hand, some companies are stuck in their old ways, demanding to recreate the pre-pandemic reality and therefore suffering the effects of the #greatresignation. Investing in your leadership could be the key to getting back to balance. It’s clear that the #futureofwork requires a new leadership model and the organizations that figure this out the earliest will be the ones ahead in the race.

The impact leadership has on employee engagement and experience

Leadership is critical to how employees experience work and their level of engagement. It’s important to bring up the job demand-resources dual process model that assesses the level of job resources and demands put on an employee and its impact on engagement. Leaders are responsible for ensuring that employees, teams, and departments have the resources they need to thrive even when work demands are high.?

In addition, it’s always a good idea to gather data about employee experience on a regular basis and address any managerial (and leadership) issues that are contributing to a negative employee experience. If you want to learn more about how to measure employee experience, check out our blog on the topic. (“Inspirational leadership as a work resource might lead to positive attitudes, such as happiness at work.” Salas-Vallina and Fernandez,2017, p. 628)

Solutions to the problem - emerging leadership trends

Participative leadership is a style that is defined by a commitment to all colleagues being involved with key decision-making. It’s a more democratic approach to the process than authoritative or delegative leadership, in which a single figurehead is driving all elements of the operation. While participative leadership keeps mutual consent in decisions at its core, this doesn’t make the role of the leader obsolete. A participative leader facilitates the collaborative processes, provides guidance in the resolution of conflicts, and keeps their team on track toward efficient outcomes.

That said, a single approach to participative leadership is not suitable for all situations. As such, there are 4 key types of participative leadership. It’s important to know which to utilize for each team or project. These types are autocratic, democratic, consensus, and collective. Read more in detail about those four types here.

Transformative leadership is all about preparation to navigate this transformative time we are going through and outpacing competitors. We are talking about actual behavioral changes that will make the future of work a success. Historically, employers have the tendency to stay in control. But increasing measures to control workers is not the answer to today’s challenges. The leaders of our future need to inspire, support, and coach their employees. In this endeavor, trust is the secret ingredient of transformative leadership. Trust is capable of turning challenges into opportunities and this is what resilient organizations are all about.

If your organization is heavily invested in a remote working model, it’s essential to recognize the specifics that a remote leadership style has. As with any element of business, your leadership style influences how well remote work functions in your company. Indeed, you may find the approach you have previously taken to in-person operations is not well-suited to virtual employee interactions. It is vital to pay careful consideration to the leadership style and characteristics you utilize for these circumstances.?

Bottomline

The pandemic and the Great Resignation have certainly accelerated the need for a change in leadership. The reality of the future of work is more human than ever—in all its complexity. It’s pushing organizations to prioritize adaptability, empathy, and inclusivity. It’s also actively creating a culture of belonging and nurturing an environment that’s beneficial for both businesses and individuals.