Five Encouraging Trends in Leadership
That are good for all of us
What can we say about the last two years? They’ve been tough on everyone, including leaders. They face more pressure, responsibility and unpredictable markets during a pandemic. Now of course, they’re also navigating the great resignation. Despite all this, there are encouraging developments around leadership. Here are five promising trends I see.
A move away from alpha style leadership
Why it matters: For many years we’ve looked at leadership through too narrow a lens. Narrow definitions of what leaders looks like shuts out those who don’t fit the mold. There are so many ways to reach an outcome. Leaders looks all sorts of way. Having diverse leadership styles on the team means we can leverage them for more benefit. The move away from a strong, tough style humanizes leaders which is good for everyone.
Signs: Instead only focusing on results, leaders consider what the team’s experience is like when interacting with them. Leaders are becoming more comfortable with embracing their natural style, even when it doesn’t fit the stereotypical mold. They know adopting a fake persona gets in the way of trust.They’re investing in therapy and coaching to help them find the best expression of themselves so they can be their best for others.
More leaders talking about mental health
Why it matters: It’s good to see that leaders are human. It’s great that they’re getting support. Talking about it helps remove the stigma, making it easier for others to acknowledge and address their issues. Bringing mental health concerns into the open can reduce burnout.
Signs: Most leaders I know have a therapist or have had one. Leaders are talking about mental health more often too. A good example is this conversation with Alex Lieberman, founder, former CEO and now Executive Chairman of Morning Brew. Others like Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Twitter founder Justin Kan are opening up too. Leaders talk to me about it too. They’re not only talking about their own but also the team’s well-being. Accompanying this trend is more investment in mental health services.
Having an exec coach is becoming the norm
Why it matters: Everyone suffers when leaders falter and fail. Leaders, especially the CEO, are the often loneliest employees at a company. Offering support to leaders is critical for their well-being — and ours.
Signs: People are coming to intro sessions with more understanding of executive coaching. Even better, companies are paying for leadership coaching. Three years ago, I had many more self pay clients. Now leaders have a budget or they ask for one, and get it. I also see more activity in the adjacent area of management training, another very good sign that companies are taking this kind of career development seriously.
Awareness that leadership and management are different
Why it matters: Some leaders don’t manage, they’re often more technical. We don’t treat them as leaders but they’re an important part of the organization. They need to know how to work across the organization just as much as other leaders. Human behavior impacts everyone’s work. The technical systems and the human systems are intertwined. They need to know how to navigate this kind of sometimes wily, unpredictable behavior too.
Signs: We know that they’re different but sometimes it’s easy to lump them together. I see more folks making the distinction. There are books like Will Larson’s book Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track. Lead Dev, renown for its excellent management conferences, now has content and a conference aimed at leaders who don’t manage.
Leaders as a first team rather than a collection of individuals
Why it matters: We’ve all been on poorly functioning teams. They’re miserable, stressful and make everything harder. This is true for leadership teams too. Dysfunction at the leadership layer adds friction, bring down morale and creates an obstacle to reaching results.
Signs: Well-functioning teams know we is stronger than me. They invest time and money in team coaching and leadership team facilitation. This is in addition to giving every leader an executive coach. I’m also hearing leaders talk more about building relationships with their peers. More companies are investing in a building a high functioning leadership team. My work with Leadership Archetypes and facilitating leadership team conversations is busier than ever.
Until next time, be well.
Suzan
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