Presented at The Architects Mental Wellbeing Forum.
HENRY REED Director, Georgia Henry, recently presented a Rethinking Leadership session at The Architects Mental Wellbeing Forum. Session attendees received valuable insights into culture, leadership, and emotional intelligence and were challenged to reflect on their experience of leadership and their behaviours as leaders.
Change has become a constant part of our lives over recent years. For some organisations the ability and willingness to adapt to change has brought positive opportunities with the ability to grow, restructure, diversify, and engage employees differently. Many organisations have managed this extremely well, while others have struggled as they continue to prioritise results over people.
The changing nature of work and workplaces demand new thinking around the experience and impact of leadership, with leadership capability and culture remaining key contributors in attracting and retaining quality employees and maintaining and increasing organisational productivity though an engaged workforce.
A deliberate focus on human capability and the ability to lead culture and change effectively has enabled many organisations to mitigate risks, develop their competitive advantage, and thrive in uncertain times.
Shifting focus from prioritising results and outputs to prioritising people involves moving from a management mindset to a leadership mindset and requires a healthy dose of emotional intelligence (EI), a key characteristic of a good leader.
Emotional intelligence heightens our self-awareness and our awareness of others so we can appropriately manage our behaviours to have a positive impact on others and to inspire performance. Being emotionally intelligent provides the confidence to be authentic at work, and it enables us to consider the impact of decisions on people through emotional reasoning.
The benefits of prioritising people over outcomes are infinite and are fuelled by the energy, effort, innovation, relationships, support, and flexibility created by people within teams and organisations. The powerful possibilities and opportunities created by aligned, connected, and emotionally intelligent leaders who inspire the performance and abilities of employees and who are guided in the direction of organisational vision to deliver strategic objectives are limitless, and hold great benefits for organisations.
The changing nature of leadership and the rethinking of leadership actions and mindsets indicate a willingness of current leaders to embrace the following notions and positively prioritise human connection.
Leadership is about influence, actions, and behaviours rather than position, title, or power
The way leaders make employees feel will impact their behaviours, decisions, and performance
Leadership capability needs to be developed to meet changing work environment, influences on work, and social expectations
Anyone can lead from anywhere in the business
Emotional intelligence is an essential leadership capability to develop.
At HENRY REED we support leaders to design efficient workplace culture, inspire performance, and deliver results.
To find out how HENRY REED can support your organisation book a time to have a confidential discussion with Georgia Henry, Director or call 1300 266 995. For culture and leadership news, resources, and event information subscribe to our monthly newsletter or connect online.
Thank you to the Association of Consulting Architects for engaging HENRY REED to present at The Architects Mental Wellbeing Forum.