Adapting to Rapidly Changing Demands
S. Chris Edmonds is a sought-after speaker, author, and executive consultant. He’s the founder and CEO of The Purposeful Culture Group, which he launched in 1990. Chris helps senior leaders build and sustain purposeful, positive, productive work cultures. He is the author or co-author of seven books, including Amazon bestsellers Good Comes First (2021) with Mark Babbitt, The Culture Engine (2014), and Leading at a Higher Level (2008) with Ken Blanchard.
There is a perfect storm going on in many workplaces today; the demands on leaders are rapidly changing – but the mindset and skillset of leaders has not shifted or adapted to these new requirements.
As just one example of the many changes that have occurred in the workforce recently, according to Pew Research, many Americans who began to work from home due to Covid procedures actually wanted to continue to work at home – as many as 54% of those whose job responsibilities allowed for remote work.
Leaders of organizations today are faced not only with evolving performance requirements from aggressive global competitors but also with generations with widely differing preferences. This is seen with:
- Remote contributors with team members working from all corners of the globe
- Older workers keeping their jobs longer and working alongside Gen-Z employees
- Technological advances and imperatives that don’t always work as designed
- Differing spiritual beliefs
- Differing lifestyles, etc.
Managing one or two of these demands is doable for a talented business team and a competent, inspiring leader.
Managing ALL of these powerful and divergent demands at the same time is beyond the experience, skills, and confidence of most teams and most leaders today.
Leaders of organizations today are faced not only with evolving performance requirements from aggressive global competitors but also with generations with widely differing preferences.
Outdated leadership methods like command-and-control, empowerment, and even complexity theory no longer effectively serve the needs of businesses, team members, or customers around the globe.
This new era – one we’ve already entered but haven’t yet fully acknowledged – requires leaders to be:
- more nimble, open, and cooperative.
- Expert communicators – both face-to-face and remotely.
- Coachable themselves and skilled at coaching others.
- Active listeners
- Relentless givers
- Adept relationship builders
- Purpose-driven performers.
And leaders must consistently help their team members to be the same – active listeners, relentless givers, adept relationship builders, and purpose-driven performers.
Leaders must also demonstrate authentic care in every interaction. They must become our best role models. Perhaps most important, through modeling and a mentor-first mindset, they’ll need to inspire people to be the best versions of themselves – at work and at home.
And they’ll need to do all of this… at the same time.
If your leaders have not yet been impacted by this perfect storm, they will be soon. Leaders can evolve and serve better only when they accept that outdated approaches no longer work.
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