Six Shifts Every Leader Needs to Make Before 2030

The role of leadership in organizations has undergone significant  transformation in the past five years. As a result, what leaders have relied on in the past decade to drive results and enhance performance will not be enough to achieve success in the coming decade. Recent research from global consulting firms and publications such as McKinsey & Company, Forbes, SHRM, and my firm SDS Global Enterprises, and many others leaves no doubt that the workforce is in transition and that leaders must adopt new ways of working and leading if it wants to attract and retain top talent and foster workplace cultures where all talent can thrive. These studies along with the more than 20 audits, assessments, focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and coaching sessions with more than 10,000 workers and leaders at all levels and in organizations of all sizes, sectors, and industries around the world have uncovered several common workplace challenges that are keeping senior executives up at night. They include:

• Rising costs of living and the threat of a recession.
• Labor shortages due to low unemployment and the Great Resignation/Reshuffling.
• Returning to the office amid Remotopia and a hybrid work culture.
• Keeping up with technological advances (AI, digitization, emerging technology, etc.).
• Mental health, employee well-being and psychological safety.
• Upskilling and reskilling new skills that drive innovation.
• Messaging and responding to conflating social, political (geopolitical), and legislative issues/pressures in a polarized climate.

Underpinning these challenges are six shifts that leaders must make in order to enhance the employee experience, meet the needs of today’s top talent, and those entering the workforce through 2030.

1. Shifting from a Command and Control Leader to one of Autonomy and Empowerment
   Today, too many leaders still rely on a top-down decision-making approach, characterized by micro-managing, low risk taking, maintaining the status quo, monitoring compliance, and often suppressing individual initiative in favor of strict adherence to procedures. This style of leadership is increasingly becoming obsolete and unpopular amongst the new generation of talent which tends to be mostly workers under 40 (Generation Y, Z, and Alphas), BIPOC communities, women, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented groups in the workplace.
   They express a desire to work in an environment where they can openly share their ideas and perspectives without fear of retaliation; they want to be a part of decision making early on before it affects them downstream; they want to try new ways of doing things, even if that means challenging the status quo—blowing up the old way of doing things simply because it’s “always been done that way”; and they want autonomy in the ways they work and where they work. In other words, they believe that “work is not just where you go, it’s what you do.” The majority of them comment that they have proven that over the past four years when companies were shut down, forced to work remotely during COVID-19, that they proved that they could still get work done outside of the office (from home) and they enabled their employers to maintain business operations as a result.
   Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, they want to work for a direct supervisor that will invest in their growth, development, and advancement and that will ensure that they are treated fairly and respectfully. They want a leader that allows them to be their most authentic self and who will value their unique talents and strengths, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, age, culture, etc.
   While the Command and Control approach can ensure consistency and predictability, it stifles creativity and innovation, and can lead to worker disengagement and turnover.
   Leaders must embrace a leadership style that inspires and motivates employees, builds a culture of trust, respect, and collaboration and that enables them to thrive individually and as a team.
2. Shifting from Avoiding Change to Embracing Change Within
   Change is inevitable, and leaders must not only accept it but actively seek ways to better cope with it—both for themselves and for their team members. Our results from worker surveys are clear that change is happening too fast, too much, and ineffectively. Workers express greater levels of stress and pressure at work and indicate that changes seem to be haphazard and inconsistent. Many of them state that they don’t have confidence that the changes will achieve the stated end goal and they don’t see their direct supervisor changing, so they tend to resist or decide to “wait it out.”
   Change starts within and if leaders want their teams to embrace new policies, new ways of doing things, and even new mindsets, they must first do their internal work of change. One cannot lead where they haven’t been and they cannot teach what they don’t know. It’s not as much of “what they say” that matters, it’s what they do.” And workers see when leaders are not fully bought in to a change, yet the leader tries to convince the team to go along with it.
   Here’s a recent example. Amid the many companies that are now enforcing “return to the office” policies, one of my clients mandated all of its workers back to the office for 3 days a week after being on a remote working schedule for the past four years. The resistance was overwhelming and the resentment was deep, mainly because the majority of the staff couldn’t get a straight answer as to why they had to be back in the office when their billable hours were not suffering and the firm had exceeded its revenue goals for three years consecutively. The Partners really struggled with messaging their reasons.
   And we find this to be the case with many other clients across industries and sectors who are reverting back to mandatory in-person office hours. In order to get staff to fully embrace change leaders must always assess the temperature and the level of readiness for change first. It is important to articulate a compelling rationale, foster a culture for change and to make changes in phased approaches where possible.
   In the example I just shared, several of my clients did just that. They sought out feedback from their staff,  they communicated a detailed message with a clear explanation, and they did it in a thoughtful phased approach. As a result, they were met with greater acceptance and less disruption.
   The lesson here is that while change is necessary, leaders must be adept at navigating it themselves and modeling a change mindset for their staff. They must also foster a culture of collaboration and open communication.
3. Shifting Working Relationships from Transactional to Transformational
   Transactional relationships, focused on short-term and superficial exchanges are not sufficient in today’s hyper connected hybrid workforce. Workers want leaders that will invest in understanding their strengths, aspirations, and challenges, and that will foster deeper connections and a sense of belonging. Younger generations, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, value meaningful interactions with their leaders. This enhances their level of engagement, loyalty, and it promotes a supportive and collaborative work environment. Additionally, it contributes to innovation, creativity, and retention.
   Transformational leaders get to know you  as a person, understand what motivates you, tap into your skills, talents, and gifts. They provide great coaching, acting as a mentor and advocate.
4. Shifting from a Risk Averse to a Risk Ready Leader
   Organizations continue to tout the importance of achieving a competitive advantage through innovation. But the dichotomy is that 60% of executives consider their organizations to be risk-averse according to a survey by McKinsey & Company. Similarly, Deloitte’s Global Risk Management Survey found that 58% of respondents believed their organizations were overly cautious when it came to taking risks. These studies support the general consensus shared by thousands of workers in staff surveys, focus groups, and training sessions that my firm facilitated between 2020-2024.
   So what does it look like to be risk ready and how can leaders bridge the gap between wanting greater innovation yet remaining so risk averse
   Risk readiness involves the willingness and ability of an organization to take calculated risks. This doesn’t mean reckless decision-making but rather a strategic approach to exploring new opportunities, innovating, and adapting to change. For leaders, the challenge lies in creating an environment where employees feel safe, inspired, and empowered to take risks without fear of negative consequences.
   Here are some proven strategies of companies like Google, 3M, Proctor & Gamble, Salesforce, Amazon, LinkedIn, and others who have embraced a risk ready culture.
   – Provide a safe space for experimentation and for calculated risk taking. For example, allow employees to spend part of their time on projects outside their usual responsibilities
   – Establish innovation labs where new ideas are tested
   – Promote a culture where failure is seen as a learning opportunity and a step toward success
   – Celebrate employees who have taken significant risks regardless of the outcome
5. Shifting from Apathy to Empathy
   Empathy has undeniably become one of the hardest “soft skills” that leaders need to demonstrate. Think about it–working in a more polarized, diverse, hybrid and remote working world has made it ever-more necessary for leaders to access their capacity to demonstrate empathy. According to the 2023 Ernst and Young LLP Empathy in Business survey, the majority (86%) of employees believe empathetic leadership boosts morale while 87% of employees say empathy is essential to fostering an inclusive environment. Moreover, the Center for Creative Leadership indicates that leaders who demonstrate empathy improve their overall performance and that of their teams.
   From our focus group data, the need for empathy comes up when workers don’t feel listened to, understood, included, or safe to speak. When workers don’t feel that their leaders genuinely care about their experiences and lack a genuine enthusiasm to connect with them or to get to know them as a person, it affects their mental wellbeing, leads to disengagement, increased stress, poor morale, and a toxic work culture.
   Leaders must make the shift from being apathetic to practicing more empathy by active listening, demonstrating compassion, and making more substantive connections with their team members. This shift requires emotional intelligence and a commitment to putting people first.
6. Shifting from Fixed Mindset to Growth Mindset
   A fixed mindset, which views abilities as static, must give way to a growth mindset that embraces learning and development. A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. Leaders can promote this mindset by encouraging continuous learning and resilience. For instance, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella transformed the company’s culture by emphasizing a growth mindset, which allowed employees to embrace challenges and learn from failures. A growth mindset fosters resilience and innovation. Leaders who embody and promote this mindset encourage their teams to take risks, learn from mistakes, and continually seek new knowledge for improvement.

These six shifts will not only enhance leadership effectiveness but also positively impact the next generation of talent, preparing them for the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Written by Dr. Shirley Davis.

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