Leadership: The most in-demand skill of 2021

At Luxe Talent & Retail Academy (Luxe Talent Spain's Training Academy) we have detected that Leadership is one of the most in-demand skills for 2021. It is an essential quality for teamwork and strengthens the rest of the skills

What does Leadership in 2021 entail?

With the passing of the COVID-19 crisis, businesses and society has been forced to undergo a transformation in record time. In this process, we are witnessing how certain skills are required to overcome these periods. And the main one is: Leadership. When the rudder is out of control, a leader is needed to guide his or her team decisively and skilfully. 

Managing resources is not enough anymore. Profiles with leadership that go beyond are needed. Leaders who are capable of self-management, transmitting energy and motivation. And in addition, organise their teams so that they have the autonomy to manage themselves. In other words, a leader has to transmit the confidence that his/her team can work with or without him/her in a satisfactory way. 

Top 3 characteristics for good leadership

In 2018, we talked in one of our previous blogs about the qualities of a good leader. However, in these times of sudden changes, it is necessary to review the vision of leadership and update it to the current times. 

From Luxe Talent, we want to give you 3 tips to improve your leadership in these times:

1. COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE A LOT:

Good communication is the foundation of good leadership. We must keep in mind the importance of communicating regularly, and even more in times of uncertainty such as the ones we are living through. 

As Patricia Lajara, Vice President of HR at Ralph Lauren, told in our MASTERCLASS:

"even if you don't have all the answers, you have to communicate, even if it's just to say that you don't have them". 

Communication must be continuous and organised, but not overloaded. Short and concise communications, leaving room for active listening.

2. INNOVATION; TRIAL-ERROR:

There has been a lot of discussion this past year about innovation. In the face of unpredictable situations, creative solutions. But a leader cannot stand alone: as we mentioned in the previous point, active listening is essential. With it, you will be able to develop creative solutions based on the needs and suggestions of your team. From there, you will be able to draw up an action plan. 

There is no leadership without teamwork.

3. INCREASE YOUR FLEXIBILITY:

We are going through extraordinary times, so we need to adapt our actions to the circumstances. Our teams expect more personalization, they expect us to study each of their individual cases. As Patricia Lajara said at our last MASTERCLASS:

"Each employee is different and has his or her own circumstances. Therefore, as far as possible, we must adjust to them". 

You should also pay special attention to reviewing your processes, as you should avoid overloading work in certain teams. With the structural changes that companies have had to make, added to the situation, there have been situations of work overload in some employees. This is a factor to which special attention must be paid in order to avoid the so-called burn-out syndrome.

Through this exercise you will improve engagement, because by better managing talent you will improve its performance and the well-being of your teams.

What do professionals of the sector have to say?

At Luxe Talent & Retail Academy (Luxe Talent Spain's Training Academy) we conducted a survey to find out what were the most common concerns in companies in these times of crisis. Here is a sneak peek of the most striking results we obtained:

If you want more tips follow us on our social media: LUXE TALENT on Instagram, LUXE TALENT on LinkedIn, or in our academy RETAIL ACADEMY on Instagram, RETAIL ACADEMY on LinkedIn.

Original blog translated from the Spanish site.