CEOs are working continuously to navigate a dynamic landscape of competing priorities, and the outlook for leadership in 2024 appears to be no exception. The leadership strategies for 2024 is poised to hold challenges such as market turbulence, inflation, recession, and supply chain disruptions resulting in sleepless nights for those in leadership. Amidst this anticipated turmoil, the key to successful people leadership in 2024 lies in strategically prioritizing emotional intelligence.
Nearly 40% of global CEOs think their organization will no longer be economically viable in 10 years’ time, if it continues on its current course.
Inflation, war, civil unrest, devastating storms, virtual worlds, board expertise, artificial intelligence, the leadership skills have never been more challenged as it is today. Decades-long trends that made for a predictable world are weakening and new ones are emerging. These trends for leadership in 2024 could be destabilizing; however, they can also be an opportunity that opens new ways to grow. Are we differentiated and fit for growth? Is our technology holding us back? Do we have the right portfolio of businesses?
Dylan Mulvaney, speaking at the Forbes CMO Summit, recently advocated for corporations to “choose people” over profit. While Mulvaney misunderstands that profit is the primary way to secure a company’s financial future, including the livelihoods of its employees, there are a multitude of ways a company can also humanely care for the wellbeing of its talent pool.
Leadership trends for 2024
The leadership legacy rests on the ability to lead the reinvention of organization to capitalize on change and deliver returns to stakeholders. To have effective leadership strategies. Accomplishing everything you envision calls for a new equation for how business gets done.
Know your superpower
Think of any company you admire, and you can likely rattle off one or two superpowers that make it uniquely successful. Toyota and its Toyota Production System. LVMH and its exquisite craftsmanship and the entrepreneurship of its brand leaders. Disney and imaginative customer experiences. A distinctive capability can lift a company out of the mire of clogged, commoditized markets and on to the high ground of outperformance. Exceptional implementation is part and parcel of building a new capability.
Rely on company values
CEOs often prioritize data in decision-making, but there are instances when a pivot is necessary in the absence of concrete data and the certainty it brings. In such moments, it becomes crucial to lean on company values for the clarity they offer in otherwise uncertain situations — guiding teams and charting a path forward.
Leading with clarity establishes a robust foundation for making the myriad small decisions required each day.
Beyond geography
As Niels Bohr once said, it’s very hard to make predictions, especially about the future. As CEOs watch the changes unfolding in the global geopolitical order, all agree with the sentiment. What comes next? One thing is for sure: events have an uncanny way of defying the expectations of experts. In the face of that, management teams and boards should consider black swans and gray rhinos in their scenarios and build geopolitical resilience that will serve them well, no matter which side of the coin comes up.
Exponential leadership strategies
Having a well-oiled, profit-making machine is good for today, but a poor strategic plan for delivering long-term value. Your choice is stark: either change the company to enable survival or risk having change forced upon it. Exponential leadership strategic thinking grounded in data-driven analysis can help you stay ahead of business model disruption stemming from innovation, regulations or new competitors.
Trusting employees
In 2024, the most effective approach to instill trust in your employees begins by prioritizing internal hires when expanding your team. Numerous studies highlight that internal recruits exhibit higher levels of loyalty, experience enhanced retention rates, and boast a remarkable 75% success rate in adapting to new job roles compared to their external counterparts.
Employ technology to give ROI
Leadership in 2024 should have technology at the core of business model reinvention. But for all of the leaps forward in computing, many companies struggle to realize return on investment (ROI) from technology. The leadership skill comes to play when one succeed at unlocking digital value and know how to employ technology that makes the difference. They are outcomes obsessed and view breakthroughs, such as generative AI, as a tool that can deliver specific financial targets.
Model self-awareness and flexibility
Self-awareness in the C-suite hinges on robust emotional intelligence, enabling adaptability to the evolving pace of work.
In the post-pandemic era, the CEO’s role has transformed into leading a reinvented workplace — a dynamic organization fostering personalized relationships with employees, embracing broad flexibility regarding when and where they work, and shaping a new company culture. Leaders are compelled to re-engineer how they connect, communicate, and collaborate.
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” John Kennedy
Prioritize profit and people
The most influential economist of the 20th century, and Nobel Prize laureate, Milton Friedman, staunchly asserted that “the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” Undoubtedly, the financial stability of a company is the linchpin for job security, extending assurance to the individuals.
However, work extends beyond its financial dimensions; it encompasses a profound human aspect. It is the place where individuals devote 40+ hours a week, uniting towards a common goal, product, or service. This shared commitment forges a distinctive relationship. And, as with any relationship, there is a fundamental need to care for the members within it.
What CEOs think about the trends to follow for 2024?
Chris McCarthy, CEO at Skillable
Promoting diversity and inclusion should be table stakes for all organizations today. But that should expand to personalizing the career experience for all people and their individual needs. This includes those with specific accessibility requirements, plus people with different neurodiversity, genders, races, and backgrounds. To create a seamless learning experience that meets everyone where they are, using skills data (that is, data collecting from their everyday work plus learning) can ensure you deliver personalized recommendations for courses, simulations, and content that match with each person’s learning preferences, levels, and interests.
Viviane Paxinos, CEO, AllBright
“2024 is about embracing diverse leadership styles. Prioritizing feminine leadership qualities like empathy, vulnerability and active listening will foster innovative and resilient organizational cultures.”
Katy Wright, CEO, FCB London
“Be prepared for change, be agile, be creative, be honest, be open, focus, create and embrace opportunities but most of all prioritize your people.”
Paul Newsham, CEO, Payroll Compliance Authority
“Talent droughts and enforced moves back into offices will swell the proportion of contractors in 2024. Leaders should review where their staffing risks lie.”
