The Dawn of a New Leader(ship) Era in 2023
Erin Owen, MBA, MCC
➤ Leadership Career Alchemist and Master Coach | I help leaders recognize their unique gifts and maximize their potential so they can make magic in the world
December and the holidays are upon us, and that means a new year is right around the corner. What does that mean for us as leaders? How do we prepare for 2023? The past several years has seen one continuous disruption and challenge after another. Adjusting, adapting and redirecting became critical behaviors during these chaotic and uncertain times. The complexities, demands and expectations of organizations increased dramatically as a result of all this turbulence. How do we thrive and remain resilient in uncertainty? It’s time to begin writing a new narrative, and embrace a new form of leadership in the new year. Consider how to further cultivate resiliency for you, your employees and your organization. I like to think of it as the dawn of a new leadership era. As we move into 2023, what can you do to empower and strengthen your organization? To help you answer some of these burning questions, in my December LinkedIn article I explore the top three challenges facing leaders today, who is this new leader, and leadership trends for 2023.
Top Three Challenges Facing Leaders Today
Given the current state of the world, it is no surprise that leaders are plagued with an array of complicated challenges. These challenges are overwhelming and all-consuming. A transformational leader is needed to keep up with, and succeed in this ever-changing sphere. A modern-day Florence Nightingale if you will. What are the challenges you and your organization are currently facing? According to Korn Ferry, ‘Top 3 Challenges Facing Leaders Today,’ the following list below are the perils currently plaguing leadership. You can read the full article by clicking here.
Challenge 1: Transforming the business while maintaining strong performance - To remain competitive, businesses must keep transforming: our organizational transformation research shows that a company’s ability to continually disrupt and reinvent itself is the key to unlocking extraordinary growth. Businesses must address the now and the next at the same time — a concept that, until recently, seemed to be a paradox.
Challenge 2: Leading the enterprise and the ecosystem - The global environment is more volatile, interconnected, and competitive than ever before. Indeed, over 85% of CEOs interviewed for our CEOs for the Future study told us the historical “line” between business and society is ever more porous. As a result, senior executives must respond to multiple stakeholders simultaneously: shareholders, employees, communities, and their environment.
Challenge 3: Delivering for people, planet and profit - Business and society are coming together. In other words, they suggested that businesses must achieve twin goals: creating economic value while generating social impact, both internal and external.
Who is This New Era Leader?
So, what does it take for a leader to survive and thrive in today’s chaotic, uncertain world? What skills and traits does this pioneer embody? What do they do differently? According to Korn Ferry, ‘Top 3 Challenges Facing Leaders Today,’ “To succeed in this new world, organizations need a new type of leader: The ENTERPRISE LEADER. This leader is defined by their ability to both perform - to run the organization - and to transform - to change the organization. They lead horizontally as well as vertically and have an impact on all the company’s stakeholders. They think expansively about the context in which their entire sector is changing, and deliver, not just across the enterprise, but across the entire ecosystem.”
Remember the managerial acronym VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity)? I bring this up because a brilliant documentary released earlier this year on Amazon Prime Video called It's VUCA: The Secret to Living in the 21st Century, explores what type of leader it takes to successfully lead and thrive in these chaotic times. This documentary is definitely worth the watch, and will help you as leaders unlock your potential. Click here to watch.
Top Five Leadership Trends for 2023
Before we embark on a new year, let’s examine the top five leadership trends for 2023. It’s crucial to examine these so that we as leaders can better prepare ourselves for the year ahead. What do you think some of the trends are? I know in my executive coaching business that most leaders actively work on quieting distractions so they have the mental and emotional bandwidth to think strategically while supporting their people and executing on the daily demands, all while the market and boards unrealistically (IMO) expect a return to previously high performance. And while they are often successful, they are also exhausted. I have not yet observed a systemic trend of top leaders stepping back strategically to re-evaluate what is truly needed by diverse customer & stakeholders while considering what is actually possible with the current quality of inputs, including talent. Instead most organizations seem to be trying to get back to where they were pre-pandemic, when in reality the entire terrain has changed.
According to Forbes, ‘Five Trends Leaders Can Expect to See In 2023 (And How to Prepare),’ the below leadership trends will reign supreme in 2023. The article asks some incredibly probing and thought-provoking questions to think about for your organization or business.
Trend One: There will be a greater focus on sustainability and energy security - The strain on the oil supply caused by the Russia/Ukraine conflict and the high cost of natural disasters has impacted businesses and government resources.
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Trend Two: Inflation and food insecurity will continue to affect consumers - Inflation is impacting nearly every aspect of our lives. For many, it's most apparent at the grocery store.
Trend Three: A growing investment in artificial intelligence and chip production could lead to new business opportunities - With the passage of the CHIPS Act in August, we saw the U.S. government invest in "reshoring" chip manufacturing and invest in research and development to support the defense industry and competitiveness of hardware and software supply chains.
Trend Four: The Great Resignation and 'quiet quitting' will alter the workforce - Amid the Great Resignation, many organizations are struggling to find and keep employees. If they can attract employees, they face the phenomenon of "quiet quitting," when employees do just the minimum to accomplish the job.
Trend Five: There will be an increased need for leadership development - There's an opportunity for organizations to develop leaders committed to continuous development and systems that reinforce development.
As we celebrate the holidays and move into 2023, I encourage you to think about what you can do as a leader to create a culture of performance, resiliency, and transformation in the new year. Determine what you can do to strengthen your organization and leadership team. What does it take to be a leader in this new world of work? In order to thrive and create lasting impact both environmentally and socially, you will need to shift your mindset and embrace the dawn of the new leader.
Erin Owen, MBA, PCC, JCDC/JCTC, CPQC (she/her/hers)
Executive and Leadership Coach