(Expansion) – We live in a time of constant change and adaptation in companies that can be seen everywhere: the home office has been consolidated as part of the labor scheme, the digitization and automation of processes accelerated and the organizational culture has become more flexible.
With all this, it is estimated that the world skipped five years in the process of digital evolution and without a doubt, in all this transformation, leadership has been a key piece, but the way in which it is carried out also had to be reformulated. to cope with the uncertainty and it has made us wonder how to be a great leader in these times?
For a year now, the leadership of many has been put to the test. As CEOs, general or area directors, we have had to make important decisions quickly, mitigate chaos, take care of the emotional health of our employees, think strategically and also lead the transition to the digital field, all in record time.
As we can see, the new forms of work require job skills that were not necessary before, but that today are vital for most middle and high positions; Competences such as the ability to work remotely, digital skills and intra-entrepreneurship are essential to maintain productivity in companies.
According to a survey by evaluate.com, to more than 8,000 leaders and managers of Human Resources and General Managers of different companies in Latin America, where they asked what skills required a change on the part of the directives of the companies, without a doubt the traditional leadership was the most important, given that the concept of leadership in this new normal was completely out of context; In addition to this competence, teamwork by objectives and effective communication capacity were also discussed as the main weaknesses to be strengthened to achieve organizational objectives.
In this sense, the ability to understand changes and adapt to them are the hallmark of leaders who will prosper, as stated in the report “Leadership in the new reality”, carried out in 2020 by Ernst & Young (EY) and by Therefore, if we reflect on this new role of the leader, we can also better define the characteristics and expected behaviors, and thus seek to consolidate our teams with transformational leaders, a leadership style open to change, with an affinity for technology, which rejects operational tasks , is agile, oriented to innovation and continuous improvement, as well as collective compliance.
In this new reality there is no longer room for authoritarian and unsympathetic leaders; On the contrary, as the head of a team we have to create synergies between the members of our area and others, promoting consensus to quickly create medium and high impact changes. In addition, in an environment as volatile as the one we live in, it is important not only to know how to adapt, but to create and anticipate.
Another key aspect to take into account is to further humanize our work dynamics and leadership in teams; Although as leaders we must show strength, it is also important to recognize that each of us is a human being and we are not exempt from external factors that can affect us emotionally.
In the same way, it is key that in this new form of leadership we can empower others, especially those under our charge, because one of the great lessons that this situation has left us is to realize that, as leaders, we do not we have the ability to handle everything; so the only way to survive during and after this pandemic will be to let go and allow others to make things happen and above all to value their decisions.
In this way, the focus must be on the development of the people who make even the unimaginable possible, as it is the only way to ensure a culture of collaboration.
Once you have reflected on this, are you ready to know the type of leadership that exists in your company? Remember that the success of any company in the new normal depends on this.
Editor’s Note: Gabriela Rodríguez is the Regional Director for Latin America for eval.com. Follow her on. The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
