The leader of the future is a Connecting Leader—someone who connects to themselves, their team, their organization, and the outside world to deliver value on every level. This type of leader is critical in a business environment shaped by daily crises, sky-high complexity, and increasing expectations that organizations will solve the social and environmental problems governments and other institutions can’t. Connecting leaders understand those forces and envision the future to chart a way forward through constantly evolving workforces and workspaces to orchestrate teams, businesses, and ecosystems for impact. Always with a purpose-driven, human-centered approach that’s ever more critical in the face of AI-driven technological advancement.
At Heidrick & Struggles, we know what makes great leaders. Building on our 70+ years of delivering leadership insights, we did the hard work to develop and refine our point of view on the future of leadership—The Connecting Leader—integrating market research, proprietary assessment, consultant expertise, and client feedback. More broadly, we use best-in-class industry and behavioral expertise to create scalable, personalized development solutions, whether assessing top executives across sectors for impact and potential or crafting engaging experiences that transform leaders as they ascend within their organizations and industries. Delivering evidence-based leadership concepts, solutions, and results for maximum organizational impact—it’s all we do.
The future of leadership: The Connecting Leader
The world has changed, and leadership has changed. Connecting leaders who build human-to-human relationships will positively impact all stakeholders and collectively raise their teams, organizations, and ecosystems to the top in the short and long term. These leaders will leave a lasting legacy on the people they work with, the organization they work for, and the world we live in.
The connecting leader: Four imperatives for leaders today
The world has changed, and leadership has changed. Connecting leaders who build human-to-human relationships and can spot patterns and bring together resources will positively impact all stakeholders and collectively raise their teams, organizations, and ecosystems to the top in the short and long term. These leaders will leave a lasting legacy on the people they work with, the organization they work for, and the world we live in.
The connecting leader: Learning mindset
The ability and willingness to learn are the foundations of successful leadership in today’s world. This article offers tips on how companies can help leaders foster a learning mindset.
The connecting leader: Orchestrating ecosystems
Leaders today must be able to build connections within and across their organization and its ecosystems even as they change. This article offers tips on how companies can help leaders build the capabilities they need.
For senior executives focused on business transformation and accelerating growth.
For closing capability gaps among leaders who are critical to strategic priorities.
For next-generation leaders building the mindsets and skills to take on bigger roles.