Aspiring to more of a leadership role in your organization or do you want to make sure you’re always in high demand in your field? Look no further.
Top business and career coaches offer their recommendations on the vital skills you need for leadership development– often, expertise and capabilities that were not important a decade ago.
Beyond commonly known attributes such as a strong professional social media presence or the ability to collaborate across departments is a new realm of character traits and skills for savvy leaders to acquire. Forbes reports that among these are emotional intelligence, authenticity, conversational navigating and executive presence.
“Executive presence is more than charisma; it shows up in how leaders trust and are trusted, how leaders communicate, how leaders develop strategy, and how leaders carry themselves under pressure,” declared Leslie Mizerak of Lead Coach Mentor to Forbes. “Executive presence can be developed through thoughtful and actionable development.”
Another essential talent is the ability to develop and manage a positive culture. MaryAnne Gillespie of Red Apple Coaching told Forbes that people are looking for a larger purpose, community involvement, and excitement and pride in their work. “Leaders have to have the skill of creating culture, maintaining it, and growing it,” she says.
And emotional intelligence, or EI, is a new, highly sought-after trait. “EI is the ability to be in tune with your own emotions and the emotions of others,” explained Gia Ganesh of Gia Ganesh Coaching to Forbes. “All businesses involve some form of communication and relationship management. EI gives us the ability to regulate our emotions and understand one another, thereby bringing out the best in each other and the best possible outcome for the organization.”
Closely linked to EI is the ability to connect personally and professionally to all levels of your team, rather than separating leadership from other staff. “Today, confidence and belief in leadership is directly correlated to engagement, productivity and retention,” Michelle Tillis Lederman of Executive Essentials stated to Forbes. “Access to leadership has been a trend in organizations. Leaders now need to let people see the person behind the curtain, not just the position.”
For more information and a list of additional necessary skills, please visit Forbes and read “13 Leadership Skills You Didn’t Need A Decade Ago That Are Now Essential.”