Strong and effective leadership is critical to the success of any organization. Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, businesses had already begun to experience new leadership trends, many of which were later catalyzed by the pandemic. The pandemic also brought new ways of doing things that every business must adopt to remain operating. The year 2021 will certainly prove to be one with new, innovative and evolving leadership methods. .
The following are three leadership trends that every business leader should be ready for in 2021:
Creating a positive culture in Remote working
Though remote teams faced numerous challenges in 2020, business leaders will be looking towards creating a positive culture, as remote working is likely here to stay in many industries. Leaders will be using technology to communicate in person with remote teams. Virtual communication will help team leaders learn the body language of their team members and check in to see why they are disengaged.
It is also fundamental to assess whether employees are experiencing cyberbullying in virtual environments. Leaders will have to be innovative in managing interpersonal conflicts within the team. Team leaders will have to be compassionate and show empathy to their remote teams, as people face many psychological and emotional challenges.
Well-being Leadership
Traditionally, business leaders have taken economic outcomes to be the only indicators of business success. However, “Well-being Leadership” has recently become a driving force in the performance of businesses.
The Well-being Leadership approach balances all eight outcome components. These include the economic, cultural, psychological, material, environmental, spiritual, physical, and social components. Although financial strength is key to the success of an organization, leaders will also have to ensure these eight components work together for maximum outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the best leaders into prioritizing the importance of being concerned about the wellbeing of the people, communities, and even the environment.
Eradication of Unethical Behaviors
The pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic can unfortunately tempt or unknowingly employees to act in an unethical manner. It’s the responsibility of leaders to identify ways of eradicating ethical blind spots. Some of the unethical behaviors by employees are not intentional. Judgment deterioration may cause good employees to engage in unacceptable actions.
Authoritarian leadership may also drive individuals toward unethical behaviors as employees tend to get the job done without considering the means and costs associated with the work.
Leaders will have to adapt to the above trends and accept these trends in order to push their organizations towards positive outcomes. Stakeholders and employees also need to understand that they have a role to play for their organizations to meet their objectives in 2021.