Changing technology, finding the most skilled workers, and maintaining a good work-life balance are going to be the fundamental challenges for CEOs in the coming years.
According to Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post and Thrive Global, Bill George, longtime CEO of Medtronic and currently a leadership professor at Harvard
Business School, and Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite, there are four skills that top their list of leadership essentials (the group published these recommendations in a post on LinkedIn Learning today).
- Purpose
- Ability to empower employees
- Willingness to learn new things
- Active engagement on social media
Of the number-one skill on the list, Huffington says: “Many people think of purpose as something that’s fixed, but purpose is actually a skill, one that can be built and nurtured throughout an organization so that everyone within the company has internalized what the company stands for beyond profits and growth.”
Purpose also helps attract and retain talent, particularly among gen X and millennial workers who rank company culture, CEO transparency, and authenticity as important in places they want to work.
All four skills aren’t the only ones needed to drive businesses forward, but as these CEOs note, “Business leaders who are good to themselves, good to their employees, and good to the world aren’t just good people; they’ll actually be what’s best for their business over the next five years.”
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