Managing Leadership Skills 2024

If you're an aspiring leader and wondering what skills you need to develop to be exceptional in your role and conquer the above challenges, here are five skills you should concentrate your efforts and attention on:

Adaptability - To build adaptability as a leader or manager, concentrate on cultivating a mindset of continuous learning. Try to embrace change and view new market trends or challenges as growth opportunities instead of seeing them as threats, and encourage your team members to do the same. Being agile and resilient will help you easily flex your approach and pivot your strategy where necessary. One important way to develop adaptability as a skill is to rethink your attitude towards failure, and use setbacks and negative feedback (regardless of the source) to help you grow as a leader.

Emotional Intelligence - Emotional intelligence (EQ) is another essential skill needed by today's leaders. Qualities associated with emotional intelligence such as curiosity, lifelong learning, motivation, and self-awareness, are highly prized by organizations and will be in demand for the next few years. This is particularly because workplace relations in 2024 are so complex that they require much more than raw hard skills and talent. You need to develop EQ traits such as self-awareness, a growth mindset attitude of lifelong learning, and being empathetic and establishing healthy work relationships through your communication. 

Communication - Business communication is at an all-time low. Approximately 75% of employees see communication skills as the number one essential attribute for leaders. Poor communication costs U.S. businesses an estimated $1.2 trillion annually. This is why it's essential to focus on communicating effectively, through active listening, using multiple (and the most appropriate) communication and collaboration tools, and being mindful to use your words to empower, motivate, and inspire with confidence. Also consider that what may be interpreted in one way might be construed offensively or not be comprehended at all, by others. 

Artificial Intelligence - AI has rapidly taken over multiple industries globally over the past year, and organizations are now facing challenges of how to incorporate AI into their specific industries and workflows. It can be a challenge, especially when considering how to navigate data protection and security concerns and adhering to AI ethics, but it is achievable with the right knowledge, training, and support.

Change Management - 73% of employees report moderate to high stress levels as a direct result of changes in their organization, resulting in 5% worse performance than the average employee. This makes building change management skills such as effective communication, analytical skills, cross-functional collaboration, and strategic thinking, a high priority for aspiring leaders this year.