Chris Williams, COO, Interaction Associates, a leading provider of training & consulting services to build collaborative leadership culture.
The pace of change is rapid. In fact, change is so rapid that it requires new perspectives and knowledge to solve problems and deliver robust solutions. Our communities, families and organizations need effective leadership.
However, leadership is not about a position or a title. Waiting for those at the top to make the decisions and “lead” won’t guarantee success. Leadership shows up in many ways: asking difficult questions, taking the initiative and convening diverse stakeholders to align on current perceptions of a problem. Leadership is about guiding a group forward. It starts at the personal level. First, each of us must make the decision to lead.
Here are four timeless leadership skills to lean into:
1. Active Listening
We can’t work together effectively if we don’t first understand each other.
Active listening creates the connection. It’s the foundation of mutual understanding and trust in the workplace. It builds bridges between diverse perspectives, which is especially important in a post-election year when emotions may run high.
The attributes of an active listener include:
• Giving full attention during conversations
• Being reflective in your responses to summarize and confirm your understanding
• Asking open-ended questions to encourage deeper exploration
• Avoiding interrupting to allow another to express themselves and feel heard fully
• Leaning into empathy by respecting others’ emotions and perspectives
When leaders actively listen, employee sentiment, engagement, and retention increase.
A good example of active listening in action is Microsoft’s hybrid work policy. Through active listening, Microsoft leadership understood that employees desired ownership and autonomy over their schedules and changed their policy accordingly.
The change: moving away from rigid models like requiring everyone to be in the office on specific days. Instead, they allow teams to decide what works best for them, providing flexibility while maintaining structure.
2. Effective Communication
Effective leadership always involves clear and concise communication. In a hybrid, multi-generational workplace, this is even more important (but also more challenging).
Today’s leaders face several hurdles, including:
• Decentralized workplaces with a mixture of in-person, remote and hybrid employees
• A historic five generations in the workplace at once, each with their own communication preferences and proclivities
• The emergence of new technologies like AI and the increase in asynchronous communication pose real challenges to effective and efficient communication
Companies can help their leaders succeed by providing targeted training programs to build practical skills around effective digital communication, presentation and meeting facilitation.
3. Collaboration
Important company deliverables are rarely the result of a single individual. They are more often the result of a high-quality team with strong collaboration.
Collaboration unites people with diverse skills, experiences and perspectives. It sparks creativity and inspires new ideas, ensuring that the best ideas rise to the top.
That’s why effective teams will be the core unit of productivity. Effective teamwork requires strong collaboration and cooperation; therefore, leaders must be skilled at leveraging the diverse strengths and perspectives of others.
But what does effective collaboration look like? Here’s a starter list:
• Clear roles, responsibilities, goals and communication norms
• Openness and encouragement around idea-sharing and active listening within teams
• Regular check-ins and celebration of success to highlight “wins” of the team, maintain morale and boost connection
This dynamic is clearly on display at Starbucks. Under Brian Niccol’s leadership, Starbucks is introducing various changes to its 39,000 stores. A few changes Starbucks is making include eliminating the non-dairy milk upcharge, simplifying the menu, bringing back the self-serve sugar and milk station, handwriting names on cups and reclaiming the “third place” it used to be known for where people spend time between home and work. The changes are multifaceted and far-reaching, but they didn’t originate from the leader alone.
These ideas likely emerged with input from a leadership team that engaged with team members and store managers to gather insights. This collaborative approach enabled quick, agile problem identification and problem-solving. Furthermore, it increased buy-in and the likelihood of a successful implementation.
Whether you’re leading a global coffee company or a local small business, inspiring collaboration within and among your teams will be essential for thriving in the months ahead.
To get started, involve team members in the conversation, encourage diverse perspectives to surface overlooked factors, define the problem clearly and outline action.
4. Change Management
The only constant is change, and today’s pace of change is frenetic.
That’s why leaders can’t continue doing the same things they did five years (or even five months) ago.
Leaders must be comfortable navigating change proactively, engaging stakeholders and addressing resistance. One of the most critical things a leader can do is guide and help others through change.
This is especially true as new GenAI solutions accelerate change and introduce new uncertainties into the workplace.
Many people are fearful or uncertain about what this new technology will mean for their own future, so managing change effectively becomes central to empowering people to be their most productive, innovative and forward-thinking selves.
Practically, this requires engaging employees in decision-making processes and clearly communicating how changes will impact them and the organization.
Leading Well
To lead well this year and into the next, leaders can’t be leaders in name only. They will need to embrace and embody the role, going back to the basics to support their people, teams and organizations.
In a year that will be marked by rapid technological advancement, a multi-generational workforce and a new political agenda, these timeless skills become more critical than ever.
In this way, a personal commitment can expand to a genuine connection with teams that promotes active engagement, diverse perspectives and a willingness to evolve as methods and markets inevitably change.
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