Michael Casparij
November 12, 2019

Why do we talk so much about the “future of leadership”?

... Det er nu der er behov for at justere bevidsthed og mindset! "Fremtidens lederskab" er efterhånden blevet et ”buzz-word”, men kan vi vente på at der kommer en opskrift på, hvad det er og hvordan vi bør lede i fremtiden?

For me, the answer is a clear NO, because the future is NOW and the good news is that we already have the tools within us.
We just need to become aware of them and adjust our mindset to the present we are leading in!

If we were to briefly state what the task of the “leaders of the future” is, it must be to adapt their leadership to the skills, behaviors and attitudes that will be required tomorrow.
It’s about sharpening our senses and being aware of what’s happening around us and adapting to the developments that are constantly taking place.
The challenge lies in making ourselves – and those we lead – aware of, and comfortable with, the fact that development is happening far faster than it is natural for humans to evolve.

Are we lost in our priorities?

When I look around the landscape, I fundamentally believe that we have lost our priorities when it comes to creating healthy and sustainable growth in companies.
The 3 main focus areas of growth, employee satisfaction and customer loyalty are out of balance, and due to time pressures and expectations of quick results, the focus is rigidly on growth and profit – and to a lesser extent, what creates it!

The balance between well-being and profit

I have no doubt that the balance between well-being and profit is key to our success or failure – also in our leadership

I am convinced (and can see from several of my courses) that if we start focusing on employee well-being, customer loyalty and thus the foundation for the economy that can create growth will come all by itself.
It is also the prerequisite for attracting and retaining the workforce we need to achieve our business goals.

Only 16% of employees in Denmark are engaged at work.

The reality is, unfortunately, that this balance is extremely poor.
In Gallup’s latest “State of the Global Workforce” report, only 16% of employees in Denmark are engaged at work.
73% are disengaged and 11% are actively disengaged, which is directly detrimental to workplace culture and well-being.
These are staggering figures, and an incredible amount of money is spent on salaries for employees who have so much more potential.

Analysis from Bain & Company shows that engaged employees are 44% more productive than satisfied employees and if we manage to create inspired employees, we can increase productivity by 125%.
So there is a lot of money hidden in good leadership.

We need to work on awareness and shift our mindset

So how do we realize the huge potential of motivating our employees and increasing productivity and well-being?
It requires us to work much more with awareness and mindset and realize that it’s time to “unlearn and relearn” much of what we currently know about leadership.

Awareness is, among other things, looking into habits and behaviors, as well as being clear and conscious about the answers to two simple (but difficult) questions:

“Who am I? And what is my purpose? “

It’s also the awareness of what drives your employees: where do they draw their energy and what drains their energy?

Here we use Play Your Talent, a unique digital tool that easily and effectively uncovers your organization’s talents and makes it possible to increase inner motivation and engagement.

It is also necessary to change mindset and, for example, make meaning more visible, be an inspiration as a leader and ensure that each employee activates and uses the talents that energize them – and create value for the company – every day.