making a true connection. “The listener has to see themselves in
you,” said Baron. “And that’s the vulnerability piece. In my generation
we felt leaders had to know everything, but if we approach
leadership that way now, we will lose our people,” said Baron.
“Vulnerability is a key feature in loyalty now – the exact opposite
of what we were taught.”
That’s not without its boundaries, of course. “When I say ‘vulnerability’
I’m not talking about emotionally vomiting on your
people,” said Baron. Instead, if an employee comes in and says
they’re struggling financially, for example, a successful leader will
be empathetic and admit (if it’s true) that they’ve been there and
they know what it’s like. “It reminds them you’re human, too,”
said Baron.
Owning mistakes and imperfections inspires more loyalty and
respect than denying them. “If you’re really honest with yourself
and know your strengths and weaknesses, that’s very attractive to
today’s workforce,” said Ray. “When leaders do make a mistake,
they recalibrate and move on.” It’s essentially the agile method of
product development, but on a human scale.
An element of that vulnerability is being completely transparent
about anything the organization is going through. “For years on
the leadership side there was this feeling of secrecy and not being
able to share everything with every group,” said Poirier. “Now
there’s more demand for transparency.” In fact, with social media
and instant communication, there’s really no way around it, “people
are sharing everything now.”
Employees are proving resilient with the tougher news that
leaders used to be reluctant to share. “They’re saying, ‘I can take
the bad news and the tough stuff as long as I know what’s going on,
as long as I can take ownership of what’s going on,’” said Poirier.
EMPLOYEE-CENTRIC AND FLEXIBLE
Successful leaders have tended to recognize – and embrace – that
employees have lives beyond the organization. They’ve introduced
policies in support of families, mental health, vacations and other
aspects of most people’s lives. “Leaders today need to create an
employee-centric value proposition,” said Ray. “They’ve got to be
thinking about the employees they want. We always hear about
a customer-centric vision, but you’ve got to have an employeecentric
vision as well.”
That means thinking about work-from-home and flex time,
of course. That means going beyond and considering the unique
needs of your own teams, like Google’s four-day workweek or
NASA’s naptime. “They’re looking for a leader to be more flexible
about what they’ll allow, rather than being more rigid,” said Poirier.
THE RISE OF EQ (THANKS TO THE RISE OF AI)
All of those pieces – the authenticity, vulnerability, storytelling
skills and flexibility – reflect a leader with a strong emotional intelligence
(EQ). An ability to make very human connections will be
more and more important as, paradoxically, AI comes to the fore.
“AI can learn everything a person knows and this is vital for HR
to keep in mind,” said Baron. The point of distinction between
hiring one person over another doesn’t come down to knowledge,
since machines can be programmed to do tasks. “You can train AI
to absorb skills and the knowledge, but you can’t train it at an emotional
level,” said Baron. “A lot of leaders think EQ is a tool you use
to understand your people. And it is, but there’s a proviso – EQ
is actually a tool to use on yourself first. If you’re not, you’ll come
across as inauthentic and it will seem manipulative.”
CAN A LEADER CHANGE?
While this kind of leadership may come naturally to some,
command-and-control enthusiasts may have a hard time adjusting
to the best practices of managing a modern workforce. People can
change, of course, but they don’t always like it. “I’ll be working with
a founder of a family company in his or her 60s or 70s. That person
will say, ‘What we’re doing works, and it’s worked for over 40
years,’” said Baron. “I’ll say, ‘Yes, you’re right. What you’ve done has
worked, but what you’ve just said is the death rattle. It’s “worked”
in the past tense and you are actually digging your own grave.’”
Change may be uncomfortable, but it’s also inevitable. Successful
organizations simply can’t afford to stand still. “It’s brave to open
yourself to change, to be vulnerable, to be transparent, to be purpose
driven,” said Baron. “And tomorrow’s leaders are going to have
to be courageous.” n
cover story
SUCCESSFUL LEADERS HAVE TENDED
TO RECOGNIZE – AND EMBRACE –
THAT EMPLOYEES HAVE LIVES
BEYOND THE ORGANIZATION.
roystudio/123RF
32 ❚ APRIL 2019 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
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