More than ever, companies need leaders who can harness ingenuity and foster engagement. It’s not enough to be a technical expert or a visionary strategist. You also need to invest in your people skills to empower and enable your employees. These skills take different shapes in three areas: in small groups, across distinct networks (like teams and units), and across your entire organization. Here are the most important skills to develop in each area. In small groups and one-on-one interactions, prioritize listening. Asking good questions, empathizing with, and empowering your employees will allow you to draw wisdom, insight, and creativity from them, solve problems collectively, and foster a sense of psychological safety. Across networks, focus on collaborating and influencing. Agility and innovation depend on cross-functional cooperation and the ability to build and work through informal relationships. Across the organization, concentrate on culture-shaping and aligning. To empower, motivate, and inspire people on a large scale, you need to communicate a compelling direction or purpose and act as a cultural role model in your day-to-day leadership.
This tip is adapted from “The Leadership Odyssey,” by Herminia Ibarra et al.
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