The World Has Changed. Your Leadership Style Must Change Too!

Leaders must demonstrate flexibility in their approach to leadership

“They don’t want to work!”
 
You’ve heard this from an exacerbated colleague, haven’t you? Their frustration is directed toward a younger generation of employees who have different values, perspectives, and approaches to work than they do.
 

 
Contrary to popular belief, this younger generation of employees want to work. But first, they must be inspired.
 
Traditional, command and control models of leadership don’t build the engagement these employees want from their managers. Managers who’ve relied on an authoritative, directive leadership style struggle the most in this new paradigm because they’re not used to building an emotional connection with the individuals they’re charged to lead.
 
Savvy managers who’ve realized that they can’t change a generation of workers, but can change their leadership style, are experiencing far greater success with engaging and retaining employees because they’ve recognized that a hammer isn’t the only tool they have in their leadership toolkit… and not every challenge presents itself as a nail. The tools they’re reaching for include empathy, sociability, and curiosity. These tools address the whole-life needs employees want from their employers.
 
To succeed in this post-pandemic world, leaders must demonstrate flexibility in their approach to leadership. This doesn’t mean compromising standards or having half-hearted, desperate attempts at “kumbaya moments.” Rather, it means investing in trust-building skills so the workplace relationship between a manager and their team is strong.
 
Here are three ways to go about building that level of connection:

Learn What Empathy Really Is

Empathy gets a bad rap. Too many believe that it’s not just a soft skill … it’s a “too soft” skill for the workplace. While empathy is commonly thought of as agreeing with someone’s point of view, that’s not the case. You can have empathy and disagreement with someone.

Empathy is simply recognizing someone’s opinion and how they arrived at their perspective. To take it a step further, those who are really good at empathy recognize that while they might have different experiences than more junior employees, they can still identify with their employees’ emotions. This recognition builds connection.
 
Leaders must spend time thinking about their team members as individuals to demonstrate empathy. Consider how and where they grew up, their educational experiences, and what their day-to-day existence looks like. If a leader is able to envision what someone else’s life must be like, they can find opportunities for relatability and connection points.

Share Leadership

When many hear the word “leadership,” they think “management.” Leadership and management are two different concepts. Leadership is about people; management is about things. Anyone, at any level of an organization, can lead because it’s about an individual’s ability to influence outcomes and inspire others. When managers recognize that they need a team of leaders to achieve all the demands clamoring for their attention, they disseminate decision-making authority and empower individuals to take action. Sharing leadership is delegating authority, not responsibility. As a manager, the ultimate responsibility is on your shoulders. But you’re able to drive results faster and build greater engagement when you involve the full strength of your team.
 
A leader can commit to spending time each week to share the mission, vision, and goals of the organization and what their focus is. It’s also useful for leaders to ask their team where they see opportunities, and how they can express greater initiative.   

Ask, Listen, and Learn

A relationship is based on two people and their willingness to work well with one another. It’s therefore in every manager’s best interest to better understand the individuals they’re working with by asking their perspective, listening to the way they think, and using engagement opportunities to learn. In other words, lead with curiosity and recognize that there are infinite opportunities for two-way learning, and you’ve got just as much to gain through inquiry as your team has to learn.
 
To put this behavior into practice, leaders should schedule one-on-ones with each team member for reverse mentoring. Ask them what technology they’re using that you might not be aware of, or what practices they learned in school that you may not have picked up. This isn’t the time to judge – it’s the time to be extremely interested in the things you don’t know. When you invest in learning from others, you’ll be surprised by how much growth you can experience from those around you.
 
While managers can’t change others, they can change their approach to leading and managing. By doing so, they unlock a whole new level of trust that they can leverage for easier collaboration, better teamwork, and greater results.

Author Bio

Angie Morgan Witkowski is a New York Times bestselling author, leadership coach, and keynote speaker. Angie learned how to lead in the Marine Corps – an experience that inspires her work. Her most recent book, Bet on You: How to Win with Risk examines how to enact risk in meaningful ways. Connect Angie Morgan Witkowski