According to a report by Gartner, 24% of HR leaders feel that the leadership courses do not prepare the executives for the 'future of work.'
What is the 'future of work'? It is mainly referring to the changes that have already taken place in the business arena that we impact the workforce in the future. Since the pandemic, there have been unprecedented challenges that have continuously tested the abilities of the workforce. These include a highly competitive market, lack of adequate skills to meet the demand, high-stress levels of the force, and incapability to cope with the changes. To cope with all these challenges, it is essential to provide practical leadership development courses to build a force that can cope with future trends in work.
Future Work Trends
To understand what kind of courses will be effective in increasing the skills of the workforce, it is first crucial to understand the work trends. Gartner lists some critical work trends in 2023, which include the need to reduce the soft skills gap in Generation Z, solve data privacy, address stress levels and mental well-being of the employees, etc. However, the main problem arising from the 'future of work' trends is the need for more motivation and increased engagement with work. Leadership skills are lacking, and effective leadership is tough to find in the next generation.
Leadership Development for the Future of Work
To increase effective leadership and reduce the skill gaps in the next-generation workforce, it is crucial to develop leadership courses that address such issues. There is a new approach to leadership now provided by many companies who work on training leaders for the future. Today the work environment is changing continuously, and every employee should understand the importance of the human touch when it comes to making teams, motivating employees, and increasing adaptivity. These are the major shifts or trends that have occurred in the business world, which have created new responsibilities in addition to its core responsibilities. It is not about a professional relationship between the leader and the employee but also extends to a closer human connection between the workers. This is all because of the changes in expectations of the new workforce, which rely on more significant opportunities for knowledge gathering and attention to well-being provided by the organization they are working for. Therefore, leadership courses now teach executives how to navigate these different relationships by understanding the motivations and changing the behavior to suit the environment.
Leadership Development and its Priorities
Leadership development today is all about prioritizing different aspects of the business arena. This also includes the high levels of attrition in every company. Most employees are highly stressed because of the increasing responsibilities, which do not relate differently to their engagement with work. In this regard, the HR department can choose to support their employees through the change by providing an engaging and educative training program. On the other hand, the new generation is looking for opportunities to increase their confidence in their career growth. Any leadership courses provided by the organization should focus on career progression.
Recruiting in today's labor market can be complicated due to reduced skills and the ability to attract the right skills. It is recommended that HR should hire external agencies and leverage their technology platforms to reduce errors when it comes to recruiting. Use expert help to provide a great onboarding experience, especially in today's small and hybrid working market.
Conclusion
Leadership development today is all about focusing on your employees and looking at their well-being. A happy worker will contribute more to your organization; than somebody who is overburdened with responsibilities and highly stressed. Traditional planning about the workforce needs to be helping in the current business atmosphere. Therefore, every organization needs to take steps to reevaluate their operational systems.
