Clear vision is standout quality for top leaders in 2017

As the national unemployment rate has steadily dropped into single digits over the past two years, competition for talent has become more acute. This poses a number of challenges to Irish businesses. For those organisations that are struggling to hire star performers, the only avenue to take is to develop their current team and ensure they’re empowered to succeed to the best of their ability.

However, companies that are managing to attract highly-valued employees are in a precarious position, as they’re constantly aware that competitors are circling, ready to pick off a disengaged employee at a moment’s notice. The only response to these challenges is to develop strong, authentic leadership, and to ensure that it cascades throughout the culture of your organisation to every people manager role. There’s a lot of truth in the saying that people don’t leave their jobs – they leave their boss.

Every year we analyse the data from our annual trust index survey to determine the key leadership trends for the year ahead. The standout trend from this year’s programme has been the importance of clear vision at the senior levels of an organisation. In 2017, employees are no longer content with passive leadership, which is viewed as reactive and ineffective. Passive leaders are perceived as bobbing along, adrift, at a time when the waters are beginning to seem choppier than ever. Active leaders can provide employees with the confidence to know that they can focus on the task at hand, assured that the big picture has been taken care of, and that their leaders have a roadmap for the years ahead.

Voices heard

However, this doesn’t mean that employees want to be left out of the loop. Staff in the very best organisations constantly reiterate the value of robust communication practices that make them feel their voices are being heard and considered by senior leaders in their organisation. When these systems work effectively, they can create positive feedback loops, where employee suggestions percolate to the very top of an organisation, factor into the decision-making process, and are then broadcast to the overall company. Transparent communication around decision-making processes means that even if suggestions aren’t being acted on, employees are fully aware that they have at least been considered.

The benefit of providing regular communication is that it provides leaders with the opportunity to hone one of the most essential traits that survey respondents value: credibility. By being accessible and consistent, in a reliable, honest manner, Irish leaders can earn the lasting trust of their employees, who in turn will feel empowered to share their best work and feel confident to suggest their ideas. By working to create a culture of trust, your organisation will be able to attract, retain, and – most importantly – develop high-quality talent.