The way we work has changed, and so has leadership. As a manager, you need to evolve, too. In today’s VUCA (Volatile. Uncertain. Complex. Ambiguous.) business climate, developing these five essential skills will help you lead your team more effectively. Mastering these skills takes practice and intentional effort.
1. Social intelligence.
A key component of emotional intelligence is social intelligence. Social intelligence is the ability to understand and tune into the emotional temperature of others. It's about reading the room, gauging the collective mood, and recognizing the emotional landscape of your team. Is everyone on the same page, or is there unspoken tension? Is there cohesion, or are there gaps in understanding? Are all voices being heard, or are some perspectives missing?
This is the ability to read your team’s emotional tone. Pay attention to unspoken cues—such as tensions, moods, and dynamics—and use that insight to guide your actions.
How to tune into the emotional dynamics of your team
Ø Conduct regular temperature checks with your team. At your next group meeting, try this exercise: Ask everyone to write down (anonymously or not) three things they love about their work that motivate them, and three things that are frustrating. After collecting the responses, take some time to review and synthesize the feedback. Then, share the common themes with the group. Talk about the positives and the pain points. Be open and honest; transparency helps build morale and trust within the team. You might not be able to solve every problem, but this is a magical way to make your team feel that their leader cares. People want to feel heard.
Ø Practice sharpening your emotional radar outside of work. Try observing conversations in public spaces like cafés. Pay attention to emotional undertones, reactions, and how people connect (or don’t). Notice the nuances in their relationships and look for non-verbal cues like facial expressions, body language, and even silence. Think of it as people-watching with purpose. Have fun with it.
2. Adaptive communication.
Adjust your communication style based on the situation and audience. Listen more, speak less, and build genuine connections by understanding how your employees prefer to be treated. This skill involves knowing how and when to adjust your behavior and leadership style to fit the situation. Successful leaders adapt their approach to meet the moment and boost overall team performance. Leaders need to know how to move hearts and minds. That means not just understanding how others feel, but using that knowledge to influence, motivate, and guide.
The golden rule — treat people as you would like to be treated — is outdated. It’s now the platinum rule: treat people as they want to be treated.
How to adapt your leadership style to others
Ø Make a concerted effort at relationship building. Whether you’re part of a team or leading one, carve out time for one-on-one conversations to understand what your colleagues care about, their priorities, and how they see the world. Empathize. Make a genuine effort to understand your employees and co-workers perspectives and feelings. Ask more and tell less and really listen
Ø Use tools like the DISC assessment and the Predictive Index to gain deeper insights into people’s personalities. These provide a new lens to see each other. Some people are down-to-business and task-oriented, while others are more people-oriented.”
Leaders often instinctively try to change someone’s feelings — by cheering them up or calming them down. Sometimes, simply acknowledging their emotions is enough. Letting someone know you understand their feelings without trying to change them helps in building trust.
Ø Engage in Mindful Reflection. Before a meeting or important conversation, set clear goals for what you want to achieve and how you want to be perceived. Afterward, review how well you met those goals and consider any tweaks for next time. This practice helps develop self-awareness and adaptability.
3. Flexible thinking.
When things feel unpredictable and uncertain, there’s a natural tendency to become rigid in your thinking, which limits your ability to weigh different solutions to problems. But to be an effective leader in challenging times, you must be able to juggle competing priorities and hold opposing ideas in your head.
This means embracing ambiguity seeking out new perspectives, and understanding the larger context. When leaders signal they’re open to new opinions, research shows that team members feel safer sharing their ideas, ultimately leading to more thoughtful decisions and stronger outcomes. Thriving amid uncertainty means leaning into it, not shying away.
How to boost Your mental agility
Ø Seek out different perspectives. Consider the different viewpoints on your team. Actively listening to others, especially those with diverse experiences and perspectives, leads to more creative and thoughtful solutions. Leaders in the past felt pressure to have all the answers, but the pace of technological change calls for a different approach. Asking good questions allows you to move beyond your hardened perspective and embrace very different possibilities and ways of thinking.
Ø Experiment with tools like mind mapping. Mind mapping is a technique for diagramming ideas and organizing information in a structure similar to a flowchart, showing relationships between them. You can take meeting notes in mind-map form; you can also experiment with it during group discussions and brainstorming sessions. It taps into your creative side and it helps you visually explore ideas and uncover connections that might not be immediately obvious.
4. Strategic disruption.
This is a skill that involves challenging the status quo. Rather than sticking to established conventions, leaders must identify and question outdated practices to explore new ideas that could improve outcomes. It’s not about breaking rules just for the sake of it, but rather questioning long-standing practices and pushing for continuous learning and improvement.
How to get more comfortable challenging the status quo
Ø Tap into the ideas and perspectives of others to open up new possibilities. Remember: People on the front lines and in different departments see things that you might overlook. Reserve the last 10 minutes of weekly meetings to ask everyone: What could we be doing better? This practice encourages team members to come prepared with suggestions. Even if you’re not officially running meetings, you can still contribute to a culture of innovation by offering ideas for improvement.
Ø Expand your network. Both in and outside your company with people whose worldviews are different from yours. Seek feedback from them and others who can help you uncover your biases and challenge you.
5. Resilient self-awareness.
As a leader, you’re expected to be always on call and constantly available to support your employees, whether with work issues or their mental health needs You’re expected to be dissociated from your humanity, but leaders are only human.
Self-awareness involves recognizing your own limitation and understanding when to seek support. This important leadership skill is not only about managing your own stress but also about setting a healthy example for your team. By being aware of your needs and boundaries, you demonstrate strength and self-care, which contributes to a positive work environment.
How to foster emotional strength and mental endurance
Ø Develop a strong support system. Seek resources both inside and outside of work, such as mentors, counselors, and peer groups. Having people who can offer constructive advice is invaluable — especially if they can help with real-time adjustments.
Ø Try this simple yet powerful practice. Regularly ask 4 to 6 people who know you best at work — your boss, peers, and direct reports — for feedback. Ask them: What am I doing well? And what I could improve? Give them a week to reflect, then follow up for their ideas.
Choose a couple of areas on which to focus, and then follow up with specific questions like: Five months ago, you told me to work on becoming a better listener. I’ve tried not to interrupt and to stay off my phone. How am I doing?
Repeat this process two to three times a year. You might fear that admitting weaknesses will make you seem less competent. But really, you’re modeling how to receive feedback. It makes you seem stronger and more human.
Ø Study your favorite athletes. Draw inspiration from how they manage their physical and mental states to perform at their best. Performing at peak is not sustainable. You need to know when to taper, how to recover, and how to build up endurance.
Developing these five key leadership skills isn’t just about your personal growth, it’s about shaping the future of work and inspiring those around you. Leaders are under new pressures to perform at higher levels and adapt quickly to changing demands. But while leadership today is harder, it is also more exciting. There is more opportunity to drive real change and to make a lasting positive impact.
To your greater success and well-being,
Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please
contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com or Mobile: 323-854-1713
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