Five Factors that Will Shape Talent Development and Leadership Choices in 2023
In a post pandemic world what it means to work, to be a part of a team, and to lead continues to be reshaped and redefined. 2023 promises to be a year that takes recent trends and reaffirms them as more permanent shifts. Workplaces in 2023 will, in fact, be less about “places” and more about people – people who want to work well and be well.
What Role Does Talent Development Play in Organizations?
As organizations look at their structure, policies, culture and leadership and engagement strategies, their decisions will inevitably be influenced by their most important resource – their talent. No longer can decisions be made at top levels and simply cascaded down. Employees have a voice and they are continuing to use that voice to influence critical decisions – particularly those that impact them directly. With that in mind, here are the five factors that we think will shape talent related decisions in 2023:
Flexibility Remains Hot – Whether it’s hybrid, asynchronous, or gig workers, flexibility will continue to be the name-of-the-game for employees looking to get-the-job-done while balancing their personal priorities. While the number of “in office” days may creep up, worker flexibility is no longer a demand, but a requirement. Employers looking to retain their talent will need to continue to meet employees where they are in supporting a flexible world-of-work. And where-they-are is a moving target that depends on where and how they prefer to get the job done.
Millennials and Gen Z Will Significantly Shape our World-of-Work – Newer generations look at work differently – they want to do work that aligns to their personal sense of purpose – and they are willing to look around to find it. They value diversity with respect to age, religion, gender, and race and they value diversity of thoughts and opinions. They are tech savvy and independent. The implications? Organizations and leaders will need to tackle recruitment and engagement using strategies that reach newer generations where they live – tech enabled and with a broader view of what matters most.
Upskilling and Skill Acquisition –Ensuring organizations are prepared for the future and can execute against their strategy is key to their survival. But it’s also key to the satisfaction of their employees. Highly skilled employees will retain greater control over their professional development and continue to thrive. According to the World Economic Forum, eighty percent of highly skilled employees are satisfied with their job, and two-thirds feel listened to by their managers.* The balancing act will be to upskill in a way that supports organizational performance but doesn’t lose sight of employee well-being.
Reshaping of Teams –The decline of in office collaboration and the rise of flexible work has had an impact on what it means to be a “team.” As individuals embrace personal choice around how work gets done and folks continue to work remotely, teams will be defined less by their physical footprints and more by the thumbprint of their results. Key will be shedding the inefficiency of larger networked teams in favor of more temporary and looser coalitions of employees who come together, collaborate, and return to some state of independence to get-the-job-done.
Reimagination of Leadership – Leadership doesn’t need to be redefined – it needs to be reimagined. If teams aren’t coming together in person, require less oversight, and priorities are shifting, where then, does that leave our leaders? Certainly not out-of-a job but with a role that is much more nuanced. One that compels them to shift-their-mindset from visionary to visible. Sound like a step down? It’s not. People want to be led by humble, authentic, real human beings. Leaders who they see-and-know and who see-and-know them. They want to work for someone they know cares not only about company success but about their personal satisfaction as well.
The existence of these trends may be clear, but what about the actions organizations and leaders need to take to respond? Not-so-much. Being responsive to what employees want will require organizations to change policies, modify training, alter benefits, and enhance communication. But it will also require a mindfulness around the micro interactions between leaders and their teams.
What are the implications for these trends and others? And how can leaders energize their people to get-the-job-done while not sucking-their-souls? We can’t wait to share our ideas about these questions and more as we head into 2023.
Join us for our first webinar of 2023 – Leadership 2023: Reigniting the Spark in Your Teams Without Burning Them Out. Register at https://leaderconnect.com
World Economic Forum https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/upskilling-why-businesses-need-to-bridge-the-skills-gap/
