Leading an organization as a C-level leader comes with tremendous responsibilities. A leader has to manage strategic priorities, innovate, effectively communicate vision and drive results.
According to a report by Deloitte on 21st-century leadership challenges, organizations are in need of a new type of leader. These new requirements include:
1. Leading Through Complex And Uncharted Challenges
The emergence of new technology and the increasing rate of change creates a new wave of uncertainty and business anomalies. Organizations require leaders to navigate through large-scale macroeconomic changes. Leaders must not lose focus of their goals and mission while engaging their organization to deliver faster results. The cliched statement of doing more with less has now changed to "doing more with more uncertainty."
The pace of change is hard to comprehend because the gap between the information we as humans can retain in our conscious memory ("magic number 7") and the rate of information growth is increasing exponentially. Moore's law, which states that processing speed doubles every 18 months, was proposed in 1965 and still holds true even after 35 years. This puts more pressure on leaders, as they must be able to consider the bigger picture even in uncertain times.
Growth hacking, although popular in startups, can be beneficial to larger and mid-sized organizations. A growth-centric organization focuses on using cost-effective tools and strategies to gain and engage customers. Modern marketing platforms give businesses an edge over their competition and improve efficiency.
While growth is the primary concern, however, beyond that, profitability will predict your business longevity.
2. Having A Higher Degree Of Influence
Developing skills to influence others has always been a prerequisite for leadership. However, the demand for influencing across multiple demographics (i.e., millennials and Gen Z) requires leaders to extend their influence using a combination of profits and purpose instead of only focusing on profits.
The millennial generation is over 70 million strong and only 7-8 years away from taking over most C-level positions. Additionally, the virtual meeting technology market is expected to grow at a 9% compound annual growth rate from now to 2025.
A new level of leadership is required to locally and globally manage a diverse workforce. Leaders must take advantage of executive/boardroom presence to extend their influence. Executive presence (EP) is a combination of the verbal, non-verbal and emotional capabilities of an individual. An executive with higher EP may have an edge over those with lower EP in influencing a local and virtual workforce, making global corporate decisions, attaining new strategic directions and gaining new leadership opportunities.
3. Effectively Managing A Workforce Of Both Humans And Machines
The constant influx of new technologies and AI-driven uncertainties are demanding that leaders increase their tech knowledge and lead through changes. McKinsey reports 50% of current work activities are automatable. This could have severe implications for a leader if they aren't able to manage both machines and people.
According to Gallup, companies with engaged employees outperform their competition. Managing talent is an art of influence combined with the science of emotional intelligence.
As an executive, you need to be at the forefront to communicate and live your culture. Culture gives your employees a reason to connect to your vision, mission and objectives. Furthermore, 91% of employees feel communication from their executive is the most critical skill. Effective communication can help you solve performance issues, resolve conflicts, motivate the workforce and position you as the leader.
Your employees are the most important asset of your business.
Coaching And Leadership Development
Leaders must be prepared to balance these challenges and continue to grow their organization. A leadership development coaching intervention can help in executing bigger corporate strategies, making hard business decisions, forming new partnerships and alliances and overall helping C-level leaders meet the demands required of them.
Here's how:
• Leaders can leverage training to increase their tech knowledge and take advantage of digital, data and AI opportunities.
• Proactive coaching and consulting can help leaders identify and capitalize on underutilized assets, overlooked opportunities and underestimated sales forecasts
• Leadership coaching can help you attain gravitas by improving your impact, increasing your confidence and growing your overall leadership presence.
• Coaching can help you think through how to develop a strong and lasting culture. It can help you identify gaps in your core values and your execution of them.
With a combination of new skill development and training, you can enable business growth and expand your reach as a 21st-century leader.
