What CEOs Expect in Tomorrow's Leadership Development
What CEOs Expect in Tomorrow's Leadership Development
Being a responsible business leader isn't all about making sure that an enterprise is operating efficiently on a day-to-day basis. It also involves setting a foundation for continued success even after one departs. In the past, having a grand vision and ability to manage people was sufficient to help a prospective leader to get the CEO's attention. Currently, a future leader needs to display a lot of features and qualities for them to be on the radar of the top-level managers as tomorrow's leader. This is even though there is a drastic leadership shortage across the globe.As documented in the 2016 Global Human Capital Trends report by Deloitte, 86% of HR and business leaders agreed that leadership was a "very important" or "important" aspect in their organization. When asked about their readiness concerning the leadership pipeline, only 6% were confident of a robust succession plan while 51% were harboring a weak plan or had none. As the baby boomers go on retire and the organizational structure shift from the top-down model to a flatter structure, CEOs have been forced to re-look their expectations for tomorrow's leaders.What CEOs Expect From Tomorrow's Leaders
Superb Communication Skills
One of the most critical and paramount skills that CEOs expect to see in aspiring leaders is being able to communicate. Although it may seem a typical, the ability to relay your vision and wisdom concisely and purposefully says a lot about you. Being an excellent communicator comes with a lot of influence because when you talk, people listen and proceed to take action.Mangers want to see future leaders with the ability to present their ideas authentically and eloquently. An excellent communicator will also offer constructive positive and negative feedback to employees, as well as expound strategies and concepts clearly and concisely. And unlike some decades back when the means of communicating with workers were limited, today's digital channels have made it easier for tomorrow's leaders to have a broad range of options at their disposal.
Passionate and Committed
Modern CEOs want to see potentials that are ready to throw their heads, heart, and hands into the company. Going to work every single day is not enough to make you a leader, you need to show authentic passion. Managers pay attention to workers who are willing to bring everything they've got to the job and show genuine care to every task assigned to them. Committed workers ensure that they finish their assignments and projects on time, not because they are trying to show off, but because they are genuinely interested in seeing the company head in the right direction.
A Collaborator
In the modern flat structure, the ability to work with others is a key indicator of whether somebody can take a leadership position. CEOs expect tomorrow's leaders to collaborate well with best-in-class partners, especially those that might be deemed indirect competitors. A collaborative attitude will help employees work well with others to give clients the best possible experience.This is one trait CEOs expect to see in prospective leaders. Whether they're taking part in team activities or working alongside other organizations, this is a strength that can significantly benefit an organization.
People Development in 2020
Mangers expect emerging leaders to show interest in mentoring, coaching, and making others better. Developing people is not something that is enforced by HR; it is something that is engrained in the mindset of leaders. Aspiring leaders should have a growth mindset of developing and honing the talents of others in a company. Many leaders work with HR to utilize leadership development business simulations within emerging leaders or high potential leadership development programs.Servant leaders take time to listen to others and provide feedback politely. They will empower fellow workers to attain their goals, hold their hands under challenging situations, and help them develop. They identify hidden employee talents, gifts, strength, and personality and show them how they can use them to reach their full potential. They provide training, coaching, and mentoring to junior employees and thus help the organization fulfill its mission. Business training simulations can help greatly with capturing these needs.
Self-Driven
It is close to impossible to find a leader lounging around doing nothing. This is not something that develops as one gets in the leadership position. It is inherent and can be observed from far by someone else. Prospective leaders don't wait to be pushed around; they do what is asked of them. They seek opportunities, solve existing problems, and improve the utility of their working stations.Tomorrow's leaders need to go the extra mile to succeed. They need to understand what it means to make a sacrifice for the greater good. They also seem to have a remedy for a lot of situations and are sure not afraid of making tough choices and decisions without compromising their values or beliefs.
Reflect and Grow
An aspiring leader should demonstrate that they can reflect on failure and self-doubt, learn from them, and grow. Managers expect future leaders to learn from their mistakes and use the experience as a learning process. Future leaders should focus on personal and professional development and should understand that every hurdle along the journey trains you to overcome more challenging situations in the future. By showing that you can fail, reflect, and grow, you demonstrate that you can leave the past where it belongs and focus on making your team or company better. Corporate training simulations enable tomorrow’s leaders to try, learn, and apply the learning goals and objectives of leadership development training programs.CEOs expect prospective leaders to learn to cope with the nitty-gritty business issues and form decision making heuristics that can help them show ethical leadership and strategize on essential matters. In short, a future leader should have a potent combination of soft and hard leadership skills.Final SummaryConsidering the rapid evolvement of modern business, future leaders will increasingly stem from diverse teams in the coming years. CEOs who wish to set an outstanding succession pipeline for their pipeline should have a clear outline of the things they expect from tomorrow's leaders. And although the ones discussed in this piece are a fantastic starting point, they should be customized to your company's unique needs. For transformative innovation and business success to occur, strong leadership must be in place. Many of the most successful global companies have been using business simulations within leadership development for many years