How to develop Future-Ready Leaders in the workplace

NewsOctober 21, 2021 12:01

By 2022, 40% of the core skills needed to perform current job roles are expected to shift while a further one million workers will be required to reskill by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum.

Based on the above numbers, retraining seems to be a top priority for many companies today. The need to develop and train your leaders to prepare them for the future of work is also highly crucial.

 

Why do leaders fail to take their organisations to the next level?

There are actually a couple of telltale signs that suggest the need for a revamp of leadership training and strategies, according to the report titled 7 Telltale signs that your leadership plans need a reboot.

Firstly, firms without a leadership development plan aligned with business measures and how managers can be trained to manage changes in a fast-moving digital economy would not be able to maintain a competitive edge in the long run. Companies need to ensure that leaders have equipped with skills training for change management such as emotional intelligence, agility, resilience, and innovation. 

Secondly, first-time managers without the right mentoring and preparation are being set up to fail due to the high pressure. A weak manager would affect performance outcomes, staff engagement, and efficiency as well as work culture. It is important to develop your employees long before they become managers in order to ensure strategic succession planning.

Thirdly, your organisation is highly hierarchical. Increasingly, firms which expand leadership roles to more employees to encourage collaborative and cross-functional teams are more likely to drive innovation. You need to empower your employees by providing them with diverse leadership and learning opportunities that include customer-centric leadership, team leading, humility, and agility. 

Next, leadership development is reserved for a small minority. The future workplace would be highly agile and collaborative. Hence, the revamped leadership development programs have been democratized to support any employee who wishes to seek support for becoming a future leader in their organisation. A blended learning model that comprises a mix of content with various learning modalities to meet the needs of different individuals would work well e.g. one on one coaching, team-based learning, or a combination of both.

Another telltale sign would be when your employees are unhappy or ill-prepared for their roles. Front-line leaders need to be equipped with the mindset to listen and provide good customer service. Good client experience would affect your company’s brand, reputation, and bottom line. So, it is fundamental for you to provide solutions in the form of soft skills training such as empathy, coaching, and emotional intelligence to ensure customer satisfaction. 

Also, there are no proper succession plans if the current leaders are no longer able to perform their duties. Successful companies would constantly review and cross-train their staff by providing broad-based leadership training to develop those with leadership potential to take on future roles when the need arises. 

Finally, putting face-to-face training on hold due to the pandemic. There is a need to seek suitable leadership training that is designed specifically for a digital experience that complements instructor-led activities. Good online training programs should incorporate opportunities for multi-modal engagement and scenario-based learning.

 

Other important skills for retraining your employees
Digital skills training is one of the top skills that is highly prized by many organisations these days as their staff work from home. Effective communication is also important as employees communicate via multiple digital platforms with their co-workers, clients as well as business partners. Technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning can also play a significant role in allowing employees to know what their co-workers are learning and also to understand whether the training programs are suitable for them.

As put forth by the Senior vice-president of the HR department of Sarawak Energy regarding skills training, “You need to create an employee value proposition, and let employees know how any change benefits and enables them in their work.” 


What are your thoughts about preparing your employees for leadership development that suits the needs of a future-ready workplace? Are there specific strategies or initiatives that can be put in place to encourage your employees to take on more leadership roles?