As the needs of the employees have changed over the years of disruption and the right mental health along with other EVPs have gained the top priority positions in the list, change in the leadership style became an imperative. In this episode of our podcast series, James shared the new traits of leadership and the differences between traditional and present day leadership.

According to him, empathy is the essence of leadership today. He said, "Leaders need to understand that there is no need for employees to stay logged in throughout the day and that the outcome matters over time span.” He further added that today, people are working from several locations and time zones. So, this calls for a difference between the traditional leadership and team management in a hybrid environment.

James noted that the changes were unprecedented but will continue to exist probably forever. Earlier the stress busting process included activities such as tea breaks, watercooler chats, small cleberations and many others. But today employees speak with  2D screens instead of people some of whom may have never met and don’t expect to meet soon. So, unless the leaders realise the effects of these changes on the workforce, they will tend to lose the key talents. 

Yet another trait of the leaders, according to James, should be to be inclusive. For the employees, an inclusive workplace enhances “a sense of belonging and hence, their sense of commitment to the organisation increases and that’s when commitment turns into compliance resulting in what we're trying to drive today.”

To listen to the full episode click on the ‘Play’ button below.