Navigating the Shift: The New Era of Human-Centered Leadership
Earlier this year, Josh Bersin, a well-known researcher, analyst, & writer dubbed 2024 as “the year of breaking paradigms.” He, among many other human resources & people operations leaders highlighted that leadership as a practice finds itself at a pivotal juncture. This era is characterized by rapid technological advancements like artificial intelligence & shifting workforce dynamics, & it demands a radical reimagining of leadership roles with a pronounced emphasis on human-centered skills.
The Shift Toward Human-Centered Leadership
The transformation to human-centered leadership is no longer optional for organizations that want to thrive & grow. The skills that worked to manage performance & elicit results a decade ago (like setting clear goals & managing downward) are still important, but they’re not enough on their own. Leaders must now take a people-centric approach to retain & engage their teams. In fact, according to The Josh Bersin Company, organizations where leaders prioritize growing their people are five times more likely to exceed their financial targets and two times more likely to retain their top talent.
This shift is driven by a variety of factors, including labor shortages, the portability of digital skills, the rise of employee activism, hybrid work models, & the demand for pay equity. In order to build teams that thrive through changing market factors & the pressure for increased efficiency, leaders must nurture an environment where empathy, inclusivity, & collaboration flourish. And, when senior leaders spend time with their teams & exhibit empathy & care, those teams are two times more likely to be “innovators & market leaders” as compared to their peers.
Prioritizing Skills & Continuous Learning
The evolution of Human Resource practices demands a departure from traditional job-centric models to a more fluid, skills-based approach. In 2024, skills initiatives take center stage, emphasizing the importance of falling in love with problems rather than preconceived solutions.
This perspective is critical for leadership development, urging leaders to focus on cultivating a growth mindset & embracing challenges as opportunities for learning & innovation.
Inspired by Carol Dweck
One way that The Perk teaches these mindsets, behaviors, & skills is through the CLEAR Leadership Operating System. When we looked at the different leadership concepts & methodologies out there, we saw that many times the concepts are so complex that leaders feel overwhelmed trying to incorporate them into their daily routines. With CLEAR, we make it “practical, accessible, & behavior-based.” (This is a real quote from one of our partners!)
We start by teaching the leadership mindsets that are crucial to cultivate an engaging, people-centric culture that achieves results, & then build upon that concept with the CLEAR framework – an acronym that stands for Curiosity, Listening, Expectations, the A of “Yes, And,” & Recognition.
At the end of the program, leaders are able apply these to a wide variety of situations--from individual 1:1 meetings & performance reviews to cross-functional initiatives, from performance management & goal setting to employee engagement initiatives.
The Urgency of Human-Centered Leadership
The essence of leadership in 2024 is unequivocally human-centered; after all, the one thing all teams have in common is that they are comprised of people! In a business world where change is rapid & oftentimes surprising, leaders need to energize resilience & lead through behaviors that foster trust, competence, & strategic vision. This approach is vital in addressing the increased levels of stress & burnout among employees, & when leaders are able to empower their teams & build trust, they are more likely to recruit & retain strong talent & maximize their performance in the organization. This multiplies the likelihood of achieving strong company outcomes & higher levels of team innovation.
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