With a new year comes new resolutions, but is it really necessary for leaders to adopt new practices? Anne Phillipson extols the virtues of tried and tested tools
It's that time of year again. We reflect on the past 12 months, look ahead to the next calendar year with all its untold possibilities, and consider what changes we want to make.
‘Top 10’ lists have already started appearing, guiding us on everything from books to read, podcasts to listen to, and fashion trends to follow. Gyms will be gearing up for new membership intake in January, and the chocolate and biscuit aisles in the shops will be backfilled with workout gear and healthy living merchandise.
While I am certainly not against making plans for professional improvement, I’m not convinced we need a list of 'new' leadership practices for 2023. That’s because the foundations of effective leadership remain constant:
- having a clear vision of the future that inspires your people to want to work hard;
- engaging your team by playing to individual strengths and organising the team to work well together; and
- delivering the results that matter for your business.
Authentic leadership means that you know yourself, your strengths, and your values—and you can build a team around you to compensate for any gaps.
A leader builds a reputation around what others can consistently expect from them, which ultimately builds trust.
That's it. That's what leadership is all about.
Where the requirement for change and flexibility comes is the ability to pay attention to external changes and then adapt your vision and focus accordingly.
As market conditions change, an effective leader anticipates the knock-on effect on their business and responds proactively. Effective leaders question how their approach should adapt when the context changes. They always hold true to their values, however.
Leaders should communicate even more in times of change, ensuring the team is informed, and spend more time listening to ensure that the team's questions and concerns are fully understood.
No one knows what 2023 has in store for us. None of us anticipated that 2020 would bring a global pandemic that would dramatically change our working lives. Even when faced with unprecedented change, however, effective leaders worked through the ambiguity by responding to the evolving circumstances, engaging their teams, and re-aligning their business plans to adapt to the new environment.
All of this built new leadership muscle to deal with a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. Those muscles will serve leaders well as we face new challenges in 2023 – whether they relate to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the cost-of-living crisis, energy price fluctuations, or some as yet unknown mega trend.
That old saying, 'the only constant is change', is true—but when it comes to leadership, there's really nothing new.
Anne Phillipson is Director of People & Change Consulting at Grant Thornton
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