Keynote Sneak Peek: Cultivating Human Skills for Modern Leaders

2024 is the year of leadership transformation. At every CLN conference and exchange this year, L&D executives have agreed that leadership development is a key priority. Leaders are no longer simply those individuals who excel at the technical aspects of their jobs and delegate tasks to their teams. Or at least, they shouldn’t be. Modern leaders, from first-time managers to C-Suite executives, must also be equipped with the human skills that allow them to create psychologically safe environments for their teams.

Here are just a few crucial points that have come to light:

Authentic Leadership

Younger generations in the workforce (Gen Z and Millennials) respond to authentic leadership. These generations value having a sense of purpose, as well as being able to grow their own knowledge and skill sets continuously, at work. Authentic leaders communicate openly, fostering an environment of trust and championing the career growth of each individual employee.

Emotional Intelligence

While high emotional intelligence is an asset for any employee, it is truly the factor that sets great leadership apart from mediocre leadership. Emotionally intelligent leaders are able to discern various emotional states among team members and foster positive work environments by taking these dynamics into account when problem-solving. Additionally, emotionally intelligent leaders are self-aware, meaning they grasp how their own emotions have an effect on the people they lead and therefore act and make decisions with increased perception. They maintain and develop human skills such as empathy, communication, critical thinking, and adaptability.

Psychological Safety

Psychological safety in the workplace is a natural derivative of the presence of highly emotionally intelligent and authentic leaders. In a psychologically safe environment, employees feel empowered to share their ideas and opinions with the assurance that their input will be taken seriously. They can ask questions and discuss mistakes without fear of repercussions. Psychological safety, when implemented correctly, results in heightened creativity, innovation, and productivity.

At Corporate Learning Week Atlanta on October 7-9, 2024, learning leaders will come together to discuss best practices for building up cutting-edge leadership within the organization. Don’t miss our Day 2 Panel, “Cultivating Human Skills for Modern Leaders,” with L&D executives from The World Bank and JLL. Leadership development is a cornerstone of L&D in 2024 and 2025 – sign up now to ensure you don’t fall behind!