No matter the size and structure of your team, if you’re looking to grow a business, you’ll eventually need to take on a leadership role in some form or another.
This could be managing a single freelancer who helps you with your non-core tasks or overseeing a team of people you’ve hired.
Whichever it is, though, one thing’s for sure: leadership best practices are evolving as the working world changes.
Here’s what we see as the most important leadership skills for the future.
10 Leadership Soft Skills for 2022
By looking at the trends that have been taking place in the past few years plus the forecasts for what’s to come in the workforce, you can begin to make predictions about which of your professional tools you’ll need to sharpen.
1. Remote Communication
According to Upwork’s Future Workforce Report, 73% of all teams will have remote workers by 2028.
So, it’s safe to say that the ability to effectively communicate with remote workers is going to be vital.
This includes getting familiar with the latest and greatest tech and software, such as Zoom and Slack.
But it also includes tailoring the way you communicate in order to:
- Be more proactive in communicating
- Assess and adopt to meet communication preferences
- Prioritize video calls over non-video
- Pay attention to your tone and body language
- Encouraging banter and chit-chat
Poor communication can lead to conflict and frustration, especially in a virtual setting. So, it’s important that you prioritize it.
2. Adaptability
In the modern workforce—particularly since the pandemic started—change has been the only thing you can consistently depend on.
That’s why adaptability is incredibly important in leadership.
This isn’t easy for everyone: change can be unsettling for many people. But learning to adapt on the fly is crucial.
3. Stress Management
Here’s a staggering fact: in 2019, 94% of American workers reported experiencing stress at work. And this was before the pandemic took away shook up our world and threw us all into a tailspin of uncertainty and change.
Being able to manage your own stress can help create a calmer work environment for whoever it is you’re leading. And while you can’t control the way others feel, you can certainly influence it with your own demeanor.
Take steps to manage your own stress, then lead by example.
4. Active Listening
One of the worst things a leader can do is simply wait for their turn to talk rather than actively listening.
By actively listening, you’ll be able to get a better gauge on the people you’re leading as well as more clearly understand their emotions and what they’re trying to say.
- Approach conversations with the goal of learning
- Avoid multitasking during conversations
- Clarify to get all details
Work is often busy so this isn’t always easy, but it’s an important skill to master.
5. Honesty and Transparency
Honesty may be one of the most valued attributes in leaders. It can be extremely polarizing.
For instance, if people feel like they can trust a leader, it goes a long way in creating strong, respectful relationships.
But on the other hand, though, a lack of trust between an employee and a leader can be one of the quickest ways to sabotage a relationship, lower morale, reduce productivity, and generate undesirable results.
Always be honest and transparent. Say what you mean and do what you say. If you want your team to act with integrity, you need to do it first.
6. Accountability
As an extension of honesty, being accountable is extremely important as well. But it’s not always easy.
Taking responsibility for your actions can be uncomfortable and challenging. And taking responsibility for the success and failure of your team is even more difficult.
But as a leader, the buck stops with you.
A great leader will give credit when the time is right and take the blame if they need to.
Accountability is one of the best ways to build trust.
7. Mentorship and Coaching
Research has found that 76% of people believe that mentors are important, yet only 37% report having one.
And, as the world continues to change and evolve, having a mentor is going to become increasingly important to workers.
So, becoming a stronger and more dedicated mentor and coach to the people you lead will help create even stronger relationships and inspire those people to work even harder on behalf of your business.
8. Emotional Intelligence
It can be hard enough to read and manage people’s emotions in person. When you move into a virtual setting, those difficulties grow exponentially.
For leaders, finding ways to be more emotionally intelligent will be a key component of their ability to manage remote teams.
A few ways to do this are by:
- Building more personal relationships with team members
- Taking time to communicate with people in an informal way
- Seeking feedback often
- Being mindful and paying attention to verbal and non-verbal cues
This will take proactive effort and ongoing attention but it’ll make all the difference in the world.
9. Performance Management
If you want to avoid underperformance, burnout, and misaligned expectations, you need to implement a strong performance management system.
And this isn’t just a “nice-to-have”—it’s a necessity: more than 75% of people believe feedback is valuable.
Great feedback is:
- Structured, consistent, and recurring, whether monthly, quarterly, bi-annual, or annual
- Clear, specific, and formalize, focusing on “what” rather than “how”
- Two-way, both providing feedback but also requesting feedback from your team on ways that you could help better support their success.
- Focused on results rather than hours allocated, especially in a remote work scenario
Your performance management system could be the difference between a strong and fruitful working relationship or a disastrous one.
10. Influence
Here’s the thing about leadership: your title doesn’t really mean anything if people don’t respect you or want to work with you.
In order to lead a team successfully, you need to have influence. And in order for you to have influence, people need to respect you.
How do you gain greater influence with people?
In his aptly titled book Influence, Professor Robert Cialdini says six specific triggers can automatically influence human decisions:
- Reciprocity
- Consistency
- Social proof
- Liking
- Authority
- Scarcity
Mastering these triggers will help you better influence the people you lead and bring out the best in them.
Whether you lead one single freelancer or an entire team of employees, one thing’s for sure: keeping your leadership skills sharp and up-to-date is going to be vital in 2022 and beyond.
And if you’ve got a remote employee or team that you’d like to find a professional workspace for, a flexible office can be a perfect solution to help increase their productivity, engagement, and satisfaction.
To learn more about why flexible office space is the perfect option for remote employees and satellite teams, get in touch with us today. Our team is available to speak with you.