There are four leadership development themes that are our top priority for 2024, in response to the needs of our clients and today’s leaders. These are:
- ESG (environmental, social and governance)
- Inclusive leadership
- Measuring impact
- Performance leadership
These themes have emerged as being a high priority for our clients, and so are top of our agenda. Let’s take a closer look at each one.
ESG
92% of business leaders believe integration of sustainability issues is critical to business success. We need leaders who are of the mindset that making money and being environmentally and socially conscious are not mutually exclusive.
Forward-thinking companies align their core mission with societal needs. This will not only enhance their social impact, but will also resonate strongly with consumers, making them more likely to build loyal customer bases and generate long term growth. Critically, these should not be seen as issues
in need of a quick fix; this kind of approach will only end up wasting money and creating more polarisation. They should also not be ignored. Leaders who transition from a reactive stance to one of proactive, purpose-driven action, will find themselves better equipped to navigate challenges, attract and retain top talent, foster innovation and generate positive cultures.
To embed this at the heart of organisations requires a new set of skills from our leaders; expect to see this in our all our solutions next year.
Inclusive leadership
Inclusive leaders need the skills to prioritise diversity, equity, and inclusion; to create environments where all individuals, regardless of their backgrounds, feel valued, respected, and heard.
We’re at a point in history in which people are finding their voices and using them to apply pressure to organisations and leaders who are lagging behind social and demographic changes. The demand for equity is growing louder by the day.
We’re explicitly focusing on enhancing leaders’ abilities to recognise and challenge biases, promote diverse talent, cultivate a culture of belonging, and effectively communicate across diverse teams.
“We’re in the midst of a chaotic and uncertain time in which the workplace is literally being reinvented and leaders are being asked to step up in new and different ways.”
Jennifer Brown, ‘How to be an inclusive leader’
Measuring impact
Organisations want a leadership development solution that delivers change in all the areas they want, whilst being able to demonstrate business impact. They want better leaders who can deliver organisation-wide impact. They want a programme that will improve performance and impact their bottom line.
While this has always been a priority, you’ll see a few new features in the way we measure the success of our programmes next year. We’ve designed a tool that measures the shift in capability before and after the programme, and an alternative 360 feedback process that supports leaders to embed healthy, transparent feedback cultures.
This leads us onto our fourth and final focus for 2024.
Performance leadership
The expectations and demands that are put on today’s leaders are seemingly endless. Recent years have brought immense cultural shifts, and leaders are working in an environment that is vastly different to what they have seen before; the rise of AI, hybrid and remote working, flatter heirarchies, covid-educated talent, and a multi-generational workforce are all challenges faced by leaders today.
The challenge, then, for many L&D and talent teams is delivering a leadership programme that actually creates better leaders who can improve cultures and deliver increased business results.
That’s why we’re making it even easier for our clients to see the impact of our programmes, the behavioural shift in leaders and how this translate into improved cultures, performance and visible results for the organisation.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Leon C. Megginson
While we’re talking about leadership development in 2024, we also thought we’d mention The Ivy House Academy.
Bright, driven people from a variety of sectors can come together, develop critical leadership skills and build powerful networks through The Ivy House Academy. Those who know Ivy House know we have two award-winning programmes, which now sit in The Academy – but with a few new developments for 2024.
The Master Programme – our flagship programme for emerging talent – will be blended across all cohorts in 2024. We heard the feedback from organisations about how much they value a face-to-face element in a training programme, so consider it done.
The Fundamentals is an evolution of our Life Leader programme that is designed around the four foundational skills that underpin effective leadership. We know that the most powerful way to create behavioural change is 1:1 coaching, which is now included for every delegate.
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