Leadership Trends from 2022 and What Is about to Change

Quotes

“It’s like a new pair of shoes. If you have to have the current pair of shoes, they become obsolete in six months. Why not wait six months and buy a great pair of shoes? It’s the same thing in leadership. If you keep changing just to change, you’ll be obsolete very quickly.” – Jim Robinson, (3:47)

“We don’t need more rules. We need a few rules. What if you get rid of all the rules? Chaos ensues and you become obsolete. So it’s really important we pay attention to what noise is versus what the fundamentals are. If you shut out all that noise, you’re going to win.” – Jim Robinson, (14:11)

“I need all that diversity and different levels of education so we can drive a result for our buyer or client. We’ve always practiced that. We didn’t create a new set of rules to say, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do on this.’ It’s been at our very core that we are diverse in what we do.” – Jim Robinson, (24:43)

“If you don’t get your core values right, it’s a starting point for your company, but a stopping point for the growth of your employees. You have to make sure your core values are clearly defined…Make sure they’re not a stumbling point, but a growth point.” – Jim Robinson, (30:51)

Leadership Trends from 2022 and What Is about to Change

On this episode of Service Evolution, host Shawn Black sits down with Jim Robinson, the CEO of CGP Maintenance and Construction Services, as well as an author, speaker, certified business coach, and chairman of a nonprofit. Throughout Jim’s 37 years as CEO of CGP Maintenance and Construction Services, he has garnered extensive experience guiding teams through periods of change and managing how seamlessly they adapt. Throughout this episode, Shawn and Jim discuss how leadership trends in 2023 are going to differ from 2022 and how those developments will impact the industry as a whole.

Remaining Strong in an Ever-Changing World

When considering a paid leave policy, businesses should assess what a typical policy looks like within their industry and then exceed that normality. By exceeding what’s normal, companies make themselves more favorable to potential hires and foster employee loyalty by offering more than their competitors. Companies also need to consider the totality of the industry they operate in. Are there certain things the industry requires that can impact their paid leave policy?

For example, companies in the hospitality industry may not be able to close their doors to clients during the holidays. Therefore, there’s going to have to be an aspect of the paid leave policy that communicates not every employee will get the holiday off as paid leave. However, there are things companies can do to combat resistance to paid leave parameters, like giving the employees who worked the holiday a higher hourly rate for that specific shift.

“We give more than what the normal in our space is. We’ve always done it that way. We’ve always made it a little bit more interesting than what our verticals are.” – Jim Robinson, (5:31)

Keeping Employees Motivated

As leadership trends change from year to year, it’s critical the basic fundamentals stay the same. This provides a solid foundation for leaders to fall back on during times of adversity. If leaders are constantly altering policies and principles to stay current, their leadership will rapidly diminish because there is no consistency in their direction or expectations.

“It’s like a new pair of shoes. If you have to have the current pair of shoes, they become obsolete in six months. Why not wait six months and buy a great pair of shoes? It’s the same thing in leadership. If you keep changing just to change, you’ll be obsolete very quickly.” – Jim Robinson, (3:47)

Technology will always present new opportunities, however, that doesn’t mean core belief systems have to change. New innovation is most successful when leaders figure out how to seamlessly adapt it into their already existing and unwavering company values. When leaders get caught up in the unrefined commotion of trends, they deter productivity because they are focused on being relevant rather than being efficient.

“We don’t need more rules. We need a few rules. What if you get rid of all the rules? Chaos ensues and you become obsolete. So it’s really important we pay attention to what noise is versus what the fundamentals are. If you shut out all that noise, you’re going to win.” – Jim Robinson, (14:11)

The Importance of Diversity

Having diversity on your team, whether it’s age diversity or skill and knowledge diversity, is an essential component to being successful. Ideally, inclusion is an organic and natural process because if it’s forced, it will be noticeable. Others are highly critical and will pick up on if you’re simply checking a diversity box rather than prioritizing having individuals from different backgrounds.

“I need all that diversity and different levels of education so we can drive a result for our buyer or client. We’ve always practiced that. We didn’t create a new set of rules to say, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do on this.’ It’s been at our very core that we are diverse in what we do.” – Jim Robinson, (24:43)

Moreover, diversity requires leaders to learn how to communicate with each individual or group differently. Younger generations will require different communication tactics than older ones in the same way that creative individuals will have to be spoken to differently than analytical, data-driven individuals. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to figure out how to have the most effective dialogue with the multitude of personality types present on your team.