3 Leadership Trends That Are Not Going Away

There are three trends that are not going away in regards to leadership.
As a leader we can continue to deny the need to adapt to these trends or we can look at ways we can take advantage of these trends to help us be better leaders and more successful business owners.

The three trends are:

Technology adaptation- maybe you are a reluctant late adapter to social media, perhaps you have resisted the new tech updates in your company, or you may be struggling to work with a leader or co-worker who is not up to speed on the technology needed to do their jobs.

Wherever you are in your technology adaptation we cannot deny or ignore the fact that technology is continuing to shift the way we do business, how we do our jobs and how we work together.

Some people are afraid of what technology means in their industry and that it might put them out of a job. If you look at this fear I want you to think of previous technological advances and how they shifted reality but the world did not end.

For example in the airline industry, mobile device check in did not eliminate ticket agents at the airport, print your own baggage tag has not eliminated airline staff to help with luggage. Think of when you go shopping- self serve check out has not eliminated a person to help with the technology it shifted what they do.

It is time to embrace the technology trend to the next level – what does that mean for you? Think about it, embrace the willingness to learn and then do it.

Fast change- the pace of change is not slowing down any time soon, along with technological advances the speed of change is inevitable. This trend means that we as leaders need to be more adaptable, resourceful and proactive with our change responses. This means moving right on past the fear/immobilization and right into discovery, creativity and future focus.

For those who struggle with fast change find ways to shift your approach, get support from a coach or a mentor to help you put the change into context and to adapt your personality and work style to the changes.

With fast change we also need to plan times to detox from technology and speed of change, make our well being a priority by exercising, meditating or relaxing. The point is resisting the reality of fast change is not the highest use of your energy.

In order to consistently manage fast change we need to manager our energy and stay high energy while navigating for solutions.

Innovation- Leaders and companies who are innovators have the highest amount of creativity, energy and desire to learn and grow. Innovation means putting things together in ways that haven’t been thought of before. Google goggles is a great example of putting together goggles with blue tooth and being able to interact with your smart phone through your goggles. This innovation makes it easy to update social media, connect with people, get directions, share experiences and more.

Innovation looks different depending on the industry and there are many stories of innovative solutions. For example in the agriculture industry they found an innovative solution to tractor safety, they developed a new technology that allows tractors to be viewed or remotely driven via remote users. The same technology can automatically shut down a tractor if it is being driven by a driver who falls asleep.

In today’s reality innovation is easier than ever before because of technology. The key is having more leaders who are thinking innovation and who are challenging and rewarding their teams to innovate.

These trends are more prevalent than before and are creating both challenges and opportunities for leaders. The opportunity is to embrace the trends, immerse yourself in learning to be in line with the trends and leading others to do the same.