Accelerated transformations, organizational inertia, and a lack of engagement on the part of employees… these are just some of the challenges posed by the new reality of companies! In this complex environment, Leadership, that ability to inspire and drive change, becomes a key skill.
Although the term is commonly used, the notion of leadership is still too often misunderstood. So, what exactly is leadership? Why is it at the center of concerns? What makes a good leader? How to establish or strengthen one’s leadership? What are the key skills for tomorrow’s leading managers?
Following our special leadership webinar (video replay below), here is the summary of our findings: Experiences from our coaching sessions (Abeille Assurances, Galeries Lafayette, Petit Bateau…) with Anne Clotteau, Founder of Thank you & Welcome, leadership expert for talenco, and Jean Baptiste Gouin, President of talenco.
- Leadership and management: what exactly are we talking about? (definition)
- Development of leadership: a particularly strategic issue today
- Leadership is revealed in difficult situations and is measured by its impact.
- How can the impact of leadership be measured using operational indicators?
- What key leadership skills should I develop to be a good leader?
- The future leader manager: simple, clear and bold!
Leadership and management: what exactly are we talking about? (definition)
Leadership is often confused with management because it involves professional skills (hard skills) which involves managerial expertise. But it also relies on relational and human skills (soft skills) related to being able to know how to behave… and contrary to common beliefs, these social and behavioral skills, which every manager should develop today, are not innate.
For Anne Clotteau, «Leadership is defined by the abilities of a person (or a group) to inspire, motivate, guide and unite around an ambition, an objective, common projects, regardless of their hierarchical position.
For Jean Baptiste Gouin, « Leadership is measured by impact that we have on others. A leader is a person who is followed for their ideas, for their actions., by voluntary adhesion ».
Development of leadership: a particularly strategic issue today
In today’s turbulent and ever-changing environment, we are witnessing a change in the relationship to work. The successive crises have highlighted The crucial role of leadership in getting employees on board in a context of complexity in the work environment. There is a need for leaders :
- Engage the teams, In a country where the value of labor has fallen in the minds of the French in the last 3 decades and where employee engagement is at its lowest,
- implementing cross-cutting projects, with multidisciplinary teams,
- working together in a collaborative mode on complex and strategic issues.
In this uncertain context, the role of the leader is more important than ever. giving a vision, setting the framework, the strategy, giving benchmarks, knowing how to make decisions, taking risks…
For Jean Baptiste Gouin, « it must be moving from a transformation undergone to a chosen transformation, And it is the leader who will make this possible. We need leaders who bring about transformations and who will embody them. ».
Leadership is revealed in difficult situations and is recognized by its impact.
Like a ship’s captain in a storm, true leadership is revealed in a chaotic and moving environment. A true leader is recognized by the various impacts he generates:
Generating trust This is the foundation of leadership; it starts with self-confidence, which allows one to reassure others.
Anne Clotteau reminds us that « Trust is gained in drops and lost in liters ». This confidence is based on 3 main factors mentioned in the book « The trusted advisor » (Charles Green):
- credibility (competence, expertise),
- legitimacy (in accordance with its values)
- and the proximity (to be true, to say things).
Creating cohesion and commitment In an era marked by divisions and individualism, the world of business needs leaders to develop team cohesion and to bring everyone’s actions together towards a common vision.
Demonstrating assertiveness: Once trust is established, the leader must be able to impose a certain authority over teams, people, and especially over systems in order to move things forward. This concept involves knowing how to: making decisions and to know to show of audacity !
Give it some vision This concept is essential to management and leadership, because to follow a leader, you need to know where he is going.
Demonstrating exemplary behavior and authenticity : « The leader must be consistent between what he says, what he does, and who he is.». This means managing and acting with authenticity, being true and sincere, and not hiding your emotions.
For Jean Baptiste Gouin, « Management that leaves everything in the hands of the employee is a source of stress. It is important to set a framework and provide spaces of freedom that will allow the employee to flourish within a given framework. ».
Operational indicators allow measuring the impact of leadership
The best way to measure the impact of one’s leadership is to conduct a « 360° » to become aware of the perception of others.
Leadership is also measured by The transition from vision to execution and to its impact on concrete results.
For Jean Baptiste Gouin, « Monitoring and guiding the execution are key skills to develop as a leader. This is a great opportunity to develop your leadership skills. ».
The effectiveness of leadership can still be measured within companies by means of KPIs which can provide clues: employee engagement rates, talent retention rates, customer satisfaction or loyalty scores (NPS), collaboration and team dynamics criteria, performance indicators…
Anne Clotteau points out that these only KPIs are not enough to identify a good leader, since they also apply to the manager, whose role is focused on processes, operational management to achieve objectives, and KPIs within a given framework.
The 2 roles don’t overlap, but we’re not looking for the same thing:
«Leadership has an inspirational dimension, a vision, a way of mobilizing everyone while seeking to influence and transform. Leadership is not a title; it is earned!».
What key leadership skills should I develop to be a good leader?
The development of leadership involves a few indispensable skills.
Charisma… but not only that!
Charisma is one of the dimensions of leadership, but it is not a sufficient condition.
Yes, we can find charismatic leaders who embody a clear vision, an authentic presence, who create emotional mobilization and whose very strong convictions generate trust within the teams.
But an excess of charisma can lead to leaders who are too authoritarian and self-centered, which will weaken their influence in the long run… Charisma therefore amplifies the leader’s impact but does not replace fundamental skills.
Emotional and relational skills
For Anne Clotteau, the essential qualities and key skills to look for in order to bet on tomorrow's leaders are:
- l’Empathy, listening, relational skills to encourage teamwork, identify and develop talent,
- the capacity for influence, to create something by, to adapt (that’s key!),
- Knowing how to express oneself singularity, Having convictions… and living by them.
Cognitive skills
For Jean Baptiste Gouin, in addition to interpersonal skills and communication, leaders must develop their capacity for vision, from’courage, from’analysis, of conviction, of decision-making, of taking risks…
A leader must be authentic, take responsibility for their choices and take risks, and this is even truer today in a fluid and ever-changing society where stability is needed.
In any case, leadership skills are developed. Great leaders are great workers and who have the demanding responsibility of setting an example.
The leadership of tomorrow starts with working on your own leadership: getting to know oneself better through its uniqueness, its ability to dare and challenge the status quo in order to then embark on and mobilize the members of its team.
The future leader manager: simple, clear and bold!
« The leader must bring simplicity and clarity to organizations so that everyone knows where they need to go and how to get there! »
Jean Baptiste Gouin
« No matter their hierarchical rank, age, or seniority, they must dare to lead, affirm what they believe in, display their individuality, and allow themselves to be an intrapreneur. DARE! »
Anne Clotteau
