4 Leadership Trends 2017 – Are You Ready?

There are four leadership trends coming in 2017 – are you ready?

2016 has been quite the year – major disruptions, political instability, business mergers, and fast changing workplace dynamics.

The rapid pace of change is not going away, rather it is the new normal. Rather than be afraid of the future we can focus on what we can control and what we can influence.

Let’s take a look at the four leadership trends and how they will impact you personally, professionally and in your leadership approach:

2017 Leadership Trend #1 – Robotics and AI are a reality as reported in the World Economic Forum’s future of jobs industries such as manufacturing are now integrating robotics in 2017 and the financial industry’s new breed of Fintechs (financial technology firms) are using robotic advisors to speed up customer solutions. What does this mean for you?

Are you ready to leverage technology in 2017? What are your plans to do more with less by increasing automated solutions?

2017 Leadership Trend #2 – Employee recognition will be where the rubber meets the road with talent retention. In 2017 employees are demanding recognition, A Gallup study shows that the most impactful recognition comes from the CEO and the executive level. 2017 is the year that performance and recognition are embedded in daily leadership approach. What does this mean for you?

Are you planning to inspire your teams through upgraded recognition? Is your C-Suite on board? If not how can you influence them to be?

2017 Leadership Trend #3– There is no going back. The solutions for the future are not found in the past – the trend for 2017 is to use historical data to influence the creative solutions needed for the future but not replicate patterns of the past. The skill development focus for 2017 needs to be on building creativity and helping people move forward. Leadership development is a major focus for companies in 2017 and solutions include online options for leadership skills training coupled with custom coach approach to ensure what is learned can be applied directly to the job. What does this mean for you?

Are you stuck in the past? Are your leaders stuck in the past? How can you and your team focus on creativity in 2017?

2017 Leadership Trend #4 – Focus on shared leadership – 2017 is the year that companies truly pay attention to what the Millenials/Gen Y’s have been asking for. A new book penned by a twenty four year old on retaining Millenials speaks to the frustration that Millenials have in regards to the workplace. The focus on shared leadership is an imperative for 2017. Shared leadership is about enhanced leadership skills for all and equal value given to everyone’s input within the company. Just like crowd-sourcing is used to enhance customer delivery solutions shared leadership uses employee crowd-sourcing to build strategy, build employee programs and more.  What does this mean for you?

Do you crowd-source your teams for company solutions? Do you value the opinions of all of your employees?

These leadership trends are going to be of major impact in 2017 – use the checklist below to help you refine or create your goals for 2017.

2017 Goal Setting Checklist – Use This for Personal, Professional or Leadership Goals

1. Set your goals by imagining it is December 31st 2017 and work backwards month by month with top goals per month.
2. Create a vision board either on a poster board or using an online vision board tools and place the goals from your answers to checklist item #1.
3. Test the true desire to achieve your goals by noticing your emotional reaction to the goals – do they excite you, inspire you and give you a boost of energy?
4. Guide your teams and employees to set their goals for 2017 and add them to your coaching conversations.
5. Reward your self monthly for the goals you have achieved and publicize as appropriate to your family, friends or teams.
6. Focus on one major goal that if you were to achieve it by the end of 2017 you would feel a sense of major accomplishment – set the monthly and weekly mini goals to get to the major goal.
7. What new skills, what new learning, what support do you need to achieve your goals? A coach? a training program?
8. Commit to signing up for what you need for support and resources to meet your goals.

There you have it – some leadership trends – what they mean for you and a checklist to help you set or refine your 2017 goals.