Don’t look now, but over the last few years the way in which people expect to be led has changed beyond all recognition. Actually that’s not quite true, nearly 30 years have passed since Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner first released the results of their study into leadership and since then The Leadership Challenge has been successfully helping generations of leaders to get the most out of themselves and their teams.

However, whilst The Leadership Challenge has been transforming the outlook of many leaders it is fair to say that in a number of organisations leadership and hierarchy have still very much been a top-down affair. But the employees of today are very different from those of yesteryear. Forged by the recession and brought up in the internet age, employees are now looking for a new leadership style, one which is collaborative rather than dictatorial and empowering rather than rule-bound.

So the challenge for leaders nowadays is that whilst they still have the responsibility for setting the vision and values of the organisation, they also have to manage their teams in a completely different way. Leadership nowadays is as much an affair of the heart as it is of the head with leaders having to engage their people in the aims and values of the organisation. Challenging, empowering and inspiring people to make the most of their own talents will in the long run create an organisation which is both outward looking and inclusive.

Changing the way we act and interact within the office will not come easily to some. Not only will leaders have to brush up on their leadership skills, employees too may have to learn to adjust to a more open and collaborative way of working. But the benefits far outweigh any monetary cost or time spent in training. With empowerment comes ownership and employees who are far more proactive in taking control of customer queries and creating solutions. And when employees are inspired to greatness they are far more likely to actively look for ways to improve both the product and service to the benefit of customers and of the organisation.

There is nothing new in trusting, empowering and challenging your employees; after all Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner have been preaching the same message since 1987. What is new is that this way of working is no longer an option. Customers demand high levels of service, employees expect to be given the freedom to deliver great service and organisational investors are increasingly at leadership and culture when making investment decisions.

If you’d like to learn more about leadership development and the leadership traits required to engage employee hearts and minds in the future of your company then feel free to get in touch at www.questleadershipdevelopment.com.