What skills and competencies will the leaders of tomorrow need to thrive and how do we attract and nurture this new generation of leaders and managers?
Research from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation Future of Jobs 2025 white paper suggests that we are entering a new age of leadership and management. Changing employee expectations, a volatile and rapidly evolving external environment together with the challenge of harnessing new technology are just some of the key factors at play.
The feedback from leading employers and search professionals tells us that the major shift has been towards people-focused leadership skills, a trend that will only intensify over the coming years. Leaders who are good coaches and enablers with the ability to ask the right questions at the right time will be in demand. They need to be good listeners, able to build strong teams and instigate new approaches to workforce related issues.
The focus will be on driving positive work place culture and collaborative approach while ensuring that accountabilities are clear.
The ability to build real trust, share their thinking, admit mistakes and encourage people to raise issues and uphold company values will increasingly come to the fore. A ‘wait and see’ mentality just won’t cut it anymore.
Future leaders will be expected to lead people through significant organisational change and be genuine thought leaders as well as doers and agents of change.
Technology is changing the leadership landscape. Understanding how new technology and artificial intelligence can be harnessed to boost productivity is key.
Four out of five managers are ‘accidental managers’ employees who have been promoted because they are good at their craft – but lack specific management training and skills to manage people. Perhaps that explains why 43% of line manages rate their own manager as ineffective!
A future UK jobs market must be one that develops and nurtures good managers and effective leaders. More investment in management training must be an urgent priority. Feedback from the ‘Good Recruitment Campaign’ highlights the importance of developing career route-ways, including clear and transparent performance management procedures and reviewing the recruitment and selection criteria and procedures to ensure they are producing the right pipeline of future leaders and managers.
For more information and advice contact Louise Hewett, Director of the REC and Managing Director of Hewett Recruitment – louise@hewett-recruitment.co.uk
