Just because your colleagues in the future workplace will include artificial intelligence and bots, doesn’t mean that human leadership skills won’t be necessary. In fact, leadership skills will be vital to success. Tomorrow’s fast-moving, interconnected and technology-driven world will require leaders to adapt to the new realities of the 4th industrial revolution in order to succeed. While some individuals are born with innate leadership abilities, the leadership skills of the future workplace can also be learned by individuals with a passion for doing so.
Due to the speed of change in the future workplace, leaders will have to agile and able to embrace and celebrate change. Successful leaders during the 4th industrial revolution will see change not as a burden but as an opportunity to grow and innovate.
Just as employees will need a healthy amount of emotional intelligence, it will be critical for leaders in the future workplace to be able to perceive, understand and manage emotions—theirs and their team’s.
Tomorrow’s leaders will need to find a balance between confidence in their own abilities and decisions, and being humble about their place in the organization. Future leaders will take all the unique skills of the team working together to drive initiatives and leaders won’t be viewed as the critical cog to success. Tomorrow’s leaders will encourage others to shine.
Leaders will need to earn the respect of their team by holding themselves accountable. The workplace of the future will become more transparent and collaborative. In this environment, it’s crucial for a leader’s actions to be in alignment with the company’s goals and objectives.
In any organization there are multiple stakeholders and a future leader will need a big-picture vision and be able to understand how each stakeholder, whether it's employees, suppliers, shareholders or another, will be impacted by decisions. This requires a leader to strategically determine how to meet all stakeholders' needs effectively.
There won’t be a clear roadmap to follow in the workplace of the future. This requires a leader to have the courage to face the unknown and navigate difficult circumstances. Possibly even more essential is the courage to change course in the event the situation calls for a new strategy.
Leaders will need flexibility in the future to accommodate the shifting demands of workers, workspaces, and tools. What resulted in success in the past won't be the formula for tomorrow's success, so leaders need to flex to accommodate the new reality. And, the reality is expected to shift regularly, so leaders won't be able to be complacent.
The 4th industrial revolution fuelled by technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, internet of things, big data, augmented reality, and more. Just about every industry and company will change because of technology. Leaders will need to understand and have conversations and make decisions about technology.
