Jul 6, 2022
4 Business Leadership Skills That Matter the Most
The business leadership skills your team members need to succeed have changed. The most important skills used to be technical expertise, superior administration, and an ability to manage financial resources. While those skills are still important, they are no longer the most important for running a business in the 21st century.
According to Harvard Business Review Magazine July-August 2022 article “The C-Suite Skills That Matter Most” a leader’s social skills have become more important. After reviewing 5000 job descriptions posted between 2000-2017, the authors found leaders need four major social skills: creativity, communication, cultural agility, and empathy.
1) Creativity
Since computers and machine learning have taken over data gathering, business leaders today need to show more creativity, judgment, and perception. It’s not enough to gather information anymore, but leaders need to be able to come up with innovative ideas.
If you would like to your team to learn more about being creative leaders, consider Dr. Natalie Nixon, a creativity keynote speaker. She advises leaders on leveraging creativity as an innovation resource to rapidly achieve business goals.
2) Communication
Knowing how to listen and communicate has always been an important leadership skill. However, in this age of increasing technical complexity, diverse workplaces, and international offices, business leaders need to be able to distill information and share it with multiple audiences. Furthermore, social media has put leaders in the limelight, so they have to be able to speak to the public and listen to their input.
If you would like to improve your team’s leadership communication, consider communication expert Liz Wiseman, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Multipliers. Or Sheila Heen New York Times bestselling author of Difficult Conversations and a member of the Harvard Negotiation Project.
3) Cultural Agility
Today’s businesses are more multicultural than ever. Employees come from multiple generations, ethnic groups, and countries. Moreover, many companies conduct business in multiple countries. Leaders must be able to understand how to work with different types of people and groups to be successful.
If you would like your team members learn more about working with diverse groups, consider teamwork expert Paula Caligiuri a Distinguished Professor of International Business and Strategy and author of Build Your Cultural Agility. Or DE&I keynote speaker Wema Hoover who served as a former Chief Diversity Officer, Cultural Strategist, Executive Coach, and Employee Engagement Leader to many of the top Fortune 500 companies.
4) Empathy
Finally, business leaders must practice empathy to build better relationships, what the authors of the article call “theory of mind.” Business leaders are expected to be able to infer how their employees, colleagues, and clients think and feel in order to build trust and understanding.
If you would like your team to learn more about empathy, consider Dr. J.P. Pawliw-Fry, a top emotional intelligence keynote speaker and co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Performing Under Pressure. Or emotional intelligence expert Bill Benjamin, a thought leader on the subjects of leadership and peak performance.
If you would like to uplevel your organization’s leadership skills, call BigSpeak Speakers Bureau to hire a keynote speaker expert.
For More About Leadership and Leadership Skills:
6 Leadership Tips on How To Build Trust
5 Leadership Tips on How to Communicate Better
How You Can Be More Creative in Your Life
6 Ideas That Are Changing the Future of Work
Best Leadership Keynote Speakers
Top Leadership and Teamwork Speakers
Top Culture and Team Building Keynote Speakers