Leadership Skills In Today's Digital Age

The world as we see today has witnessed a significant shift towards the digital age. And the organizations have emphasized more on digital transformation to keep pace with the changes all around. Digital transformation can be disorienting and can create panic. Still, if the leaders are confident about the changes and how they will benefit everyone, adaptation becomes easy.

Leaders like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, have embraced the digital change and adapted to it very swiftly with their excellent leadership skills. This has made them stand out as leaders. And with the advent of technology, they have upgraded their skills that go hand in hand with the changes necessary.

Enhanced and improved skills have enabled the conviction of doing things by the influential leaders of today. What exactly are these digital age leadership skills that set them apart from the rest?

Leadership skills are the skills required to engage with, motivate, and persuade people to align with a vision, goal, or objective. And a leader thinks long term, approaches strategically, knows the customer, builds success through employees, influences, and gains authority through behavior.

Leaders must also create conditions that enable digital maturity, attract the best talent, and bring out the best in the talent they attract.

But before we delve into the skills that will make you a standout leader, let us look at the traits that a good leader possesses.

The Traits:

1. The desire to lead:

It is a well-known fact that leaders always pave the way for their followers. And the desire to lead is a leadership trait that is of tremendous significance. Without the willingness to lead, it becomes difficult to become the leader of your team or your organization.

Without the desire, you won't be able to put in the effort to acquire the skills for the present digital age to motivate others and complete all tasks.

2. Commitment to the mission of the organization:

Being committed to the vision and purpose of an organization takes a lot of effort and firm dedication. And, it is this commitment that makes a leader different from others. They instill effective communication and a cheerful willingness in everyone that enhance organizational and personal growth. Skillful leaders build this willingness through trust and understanding the perspective of the members of the organization.

3. Integrity:

A successful leader always possesses the trait of integrity. Integrity can be defined as being true to their word, being authentic, and having the behavioral power you would like to see in your employees.

Leaders with integrity are sincere, they maintain consistency in their work. They know their own and other's limitations, are honest, and accept responsibility for their mistakes.

Leadership Skills that you need in this digital era:

Now that we have emphasized the three critical traits of a leader let us focus on leadership skills that will help you be a great leader.

1. Learning and Relearning :

At the pace at which our world is changing, adaptability remains the best bet for leaders in the current business scenario. Digital disruption has been on the rise, and adaptive leaders understand the importance of being relevant in the game and keep their learning curve steady. Leaders must learn new workflow tactics and behaviors to understand business and work processes in today's digital world. Here is what, Sandeep Joshi, a leadership speaker has to say on being an adaptive leader in the present corporate world.

Adaptive Leadership is the art and science of leading with certainty in uncertain times. It’s undoubtedly the future of leadership.

In the very same way, it is necessary that you go back to the basics, relearn and start fresh with a new approach and tactics given the digital transformation. This will give you a new perspective about the changes that are happening and help you deal with the phase shift. It is one of the best ways to develop your leadership skills.

2. Having that creative edge:

Creativity has no boundaries and gives every person innumerable opportunities to explore things. And a creative leader is the one who can think out of the box, has emotional intelligence, and create possibilities that fit right in with the massive technological phase shift.

As a leader, getting creative at work also encourages your employees to be more open about placing ideas and thoughts upfront. This trait of a leader provides more credible odds to your organization to blend in well with the changes.

3. Being Collaborative:

Individual contributors and talent can turn out to be important across any organization. But when there is team play going on, it becomes tough for your competitors to take you down. But this sense of collaboration will only come into action from your leadership.
It is integral to employ a team that operates cohesively. And to create an environment where collaboration is present, you have to be outgoing, compassionate, have digital understanding, and communicate and take pride in your employees. You have to ‘do’ more rather than 'tell' others what they need to work on.

4. Technological Proficiency:

As the world is changing at a rapid pace, technology has taken over everything. And technological advancement has now flourished in the corporate industry as well. A technically skilled leader sees the bigger picture that technology can play in an organization. It is one of the critical skills that a leader should possess.

Technically able leaders possess knowledge about organizational strength, the products and services, and the capability to solve technical issues and help others adjust to new innovations. This skill will help you portray yourself as a leader for the future who is well equipped with thoughts and ideas with excellent problem-solving expertise.

5. Teachable Skill:

Growth begins with the leaders and their attitude towards the digital shift. It is like gardening. A garden does not spring to life on its own. It requires planning, hard work, and the right environment. It needs to be learned and taught. Leaders need to understand the fact that employees will only know when you will teach them well.

In that same way, the growth of an organization needs planning, vision, and strategies. As a leader, you should have that teachable skill to pass on what you have learned from your experiences. Implement that spirit of growth for your future leaders and cultivate an environment that focuses more on teaching and adapting.

6. Agility:

In today's fast-paced corporate and ever-changing digital environment, it has become imperative for everyone to adapt to it swiftly. This will be only possible if you, as a leader, are open to changes and have an agile mind. Agility is defined as the ability to think and understand quickly. And this needs one to practice and develop their knowledge about everything.

The sound and clear mind of a leader can work well across cultures and motivate staff. And leadership agility gives you the skill to make intelligent and effective decisions in a rapidly changing technological world. It means being flexible and forward-thinking towards the better development of your organization.

You may also read: 8 Leadership Styles With Their Pros and Cons

Don't Worry, You will get there.

It is not easy to develop any skill overnight. Patience, hard work, communication skills, and perseverance are the keys here. Just give yourself some time to process the changes going around you. Learn from it, explore and embrace the unending possibilities that you will get as a leader.

You will be able to provide opportunities for your employees with these furnished skills and prepare them. Prepare them well for the upcoming future that holds limitless openings to grow.

This article is written by Anjan Pathak, a Co-founder and CTO at Vantage Circle. He is an HR technology enthusiast, very passionate about employee wellness, and actively participates in corporate culture growth. He is an avid reader and likes to be updated in the latest knowhows of Human Resource. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com