Research from DDI and The Conference Board tells us that the biggest leadership trend is trust. According to the DDI study, The Skills That Help Young Executives Excel are actually more empathetic then in the past. As young professionals continue to emerge in leadership roles it’s important to implement effective management skills for the current trends.
Effective leadership trends and concerns you should be developing:
- Driving for Results. In terms of personal dispositions, these winners were highly ambitious. And their motivation tended to be intrinsic. Their goals were multi-dimensional and consistent with their heightened sense of personal purpose and social justice values. Similarly, their results orientation was as strong for their business as it was for their community endeavors.
- Driving Inclusion: Receptivity to feedback and curiosity were demonstrated at high levels, especially in the pressure of the simulation. Additionally, the winners tended to demonstrate behaviors such as the use of open questions and a learning mindset. These behaviors also resulted in higher levels of inclusion. And as a result, the winners showed more robust business strategy formulation and stronger execution alignment, accountability, and engagement of employees.
- Listening and Responding with Empathy: This cohort of winners listened and responded with empathy more consistently during the simulation. Subsequently, they showed skill at managing complex interpersonal interactions, influencing, and engaging and mobilizing others.
- Leading Virtually. Both the judge’s interviews and simulation for the 2021 DDI competition were conducted virtually. This clearly showed the winners were skilled at virtual leadership.
Trust and inclusion seem to be the biggest attributes young professionals can build. Whether choosing how to implement AI, resolving team conflict, or changing the nature of work, leaders who prioritize building trust will better retain, and capitalize on, the talent they need to drive success for the future.