With all the buzz around Artificial Intelligence lately, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that humans still make up the majority of our workforce—unless, of course, your entire operation is run by robots whirring and whirling about, building widgets and gadgets. Until the day Sally the robot and her mechanical colleagues are the only ones reporting to work each morning, we must continue to lead and inspire humans, fostering a positive work culture in the process. And we must have leaders ready to step in to do just that.
A recent article from EHL Insights, The Future of Work: The Power of Human-Centric Leadership Explained, noted, “Despite all the talk of how technology will eventually take our jobs, the future of work is, for the moment at least, human-dependent. And people remain a business’s greatest asset. To keep employees as happy and productive as possible, leaders must treat them with compassion, kindness, and humanity.”
While Sally the robot may not need compassion, kindness, and humanity, your team certainly does. And as your business grows, these traits become even more essential. It's critical to ensure that both your current leaders and the next generation understand how to embody these values.
Preparing your leadership team—and those who will follow—is vital to establishing, nurturing, and maintaining the culture you've built for your company. It's common for high-performing individual contributors to be promoted into leadership roles, only to realize that their performance is no longer measured by their own works but by how well their team performs. This shift can seem drastic when it happens, and many new managers and leaders may not be ready or know how to make this transition.
Like any new responsibility, stepping into a leadership role typically requires skill development. Here are a few areas to focus on:
Focus on the Team: Becoming a leader means shifting the focus from your own achievements to those of your team. This change can be daunting for new leaders, but training and coaching—focusing on awareness and guidance—can help with the transition.
Leadership Skill Development: The best leaders are always learning. Prioritizing continuous improvement and asking, "What can I do better?" is key. Humility—the ability to recognize that there's always room for growth—is also an essential quality for great leaders. Leaders should be seeking out trends, new skills, and training to refresh those they already must accomplish this. Constant learning is vital for the leader, as well as modeling it’s important for the entire team.
Feedback: Feedback from direct reports is one of the most valuable tools leaders must understand what they’re doing well and where they can improve. In a culture of trust, teams will willingly provide constructive feedback, helping leaders better meet their needs. Setting up processes, such as surveys and other tools can facilitate this. Feedback of this nature is like free advice on how to become the leader your team requires—and applying it can have immediate, positive results.
Make the Decision: The simplest and most powerful step is really the first and more important one to make to become a better leader - deciding to do so. Once you've made the decision to grow, your mind (and heart) will open to ways of doing just that. If your intention is to be the best leader you can be and build a thriving team, then taking the steps toward that goal—and regularly reminding yourself of it—becomes much easier.
Our teams are still human, and so are you, their leader. Sally the robot may well be coming in the distant future, but today leading with heart and motivating with kindness remain as important as ever for a great organization’s culture. And in today's competitive landscape it matters all the more—both for capturing market share and attracting the top talent you want and need to help you succeed.
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