[Trend Report] Leadership 2021

5 Essential Leadership Competencies for the Year Ahead

At a conference of more than 500 leadership development professionals, 91% said their leaders were struggling to lead right now. None described their leaders as thriving.

In the five years that we’ve been asking executive coaches and leaders about the challenges they will face in the coming year, their answers have been remarkably consistent — volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and change. But, the coronavirus pandemic revealed a pace of change unlike anything leaders have faced before. And while the pandemic will hopefully subside, the pace of change will not.

The more than 120 coaches in the AIIR Global Coaching Network spent thousands of hours advising leaders and teams at top companies throughout the pandemic. Based on their experience, and on decades of leadership research, we identified five leadership skills that helped the most successful leaders adapt during the coronavirus crisis, and that will continue to be crucial in 2021 and beyond.

2020 was a year in which many leaders felt like they were being crushed under continuous waves of change. As we supported our clients, we were struck by the ways in which so many of them rose to the challenge. And, as we move into the new year, we are energized by the opportunity leaders have to apply the lessons learned during the pandemic in a way that fundamentally reshapes how we live and work in the coming year.

Dr. Jonathan Kirschner
CEO, AIIR Consulting

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