How to develop leadership competencies for a changed world

1. Developing self 

This domain reflects leaders’ commitment to continual personal growth and self‑mastery. It encompasses the ability to manage one’s emotions, energy and priorities while demonstrating discipline and accountability. Leaders think critically, challenge assumptions and approach situations with curiosity and clarity. They think creatively and explore new ideas and diverse perspectives to generate fresh insights.  

Ethical reasoning guides their choices, helping them uphold integrity and navigate complex dilemmas responsibly. Learning agility enables them to rapidly acquire new skills and adapt to evolving demands. Ultimately, leaders model a growth mindset, showing resilience and openness essential for long-term leadership success. 

2. Achieving outcomes

This domain focuses on leaders’ capacity to deliver results in complex, fast‑changing environments. Leaders make sound decisions grounded in data, judgment and foresight. With strong problem‑solving capabilities, they break down challenges, identify root causes and craft effective solutions. Their sense‑making abilities help them interpret ambiguity, connect disparate information and anticipate emerging trends.  

They build resilient teams and organizations that demonstrate grit and get jobs done despite unfavorable conditions and setbacks. Technical expertise forms the foundation for credible leadership, allowing them to guide teams with confidence. Collectively, these competencies drive purposeful execution, accountability and sustained organizational impact. 

3. Collaborating with and developing others 

This domain highlights leaders’ ability to build strong relationships that enable collective success. Effective collaborations foster trust, encourage shared ownership and promote cross‑functional alignment. Leaders communicate with clarity, empathy and influence so that messages resonate and inspire action. They use influence ethically to mobilize stakeholders and shape outcomes without relying on authority. People engagement skills help make individuals feel valued, motivated and empowered to contribute their best.  

The ability to develop people is central to long‑term organizational capability, as leaders coach, mentor and create opportunities for growth. Ultimately, this domain supports a thriving, high‑performing team culture. 

4. Stewarding the organization 

This domain emphasizes leaders’ responsibility to safeguard and strengthen the organization’s long‑term health. A global perspective enables leaders to understand geopolitical dynamics, emerging trends and cross‑cultural nuances that influence strategy. Leaders drive team and organizational development, shaping structures, capabilities and cultures that enable sustainable performance. The ability to optimize resources enables time, budgets and talents to be allocated effectively and responsibly.  

Leaders remain steady during crises, making decisive choices and guiding teams through uncertainty. Building inclusivity creates environments where diverse voices are welcomed and harnessed for innovation. This domain reflects stewardship, foresight and commitment to the good of the wider organization. 

5. Driving transformational change 

This domain equips leaders to navigate disruption and guide organizations into the future. Adaptability enables them to remain flexible, pivot strategies and thrive amid volatility. Transdisciplinary thinking pushes leaders to integrate knowledge across fields, fostering breakthrough solutions. Innovation fuels continual improvement and experimentation, creating value in new and unexpected ways. AI and digital fluency empower leaders to leverage emerging technologies, automate processes and unlock data‑driven insights.  

Proficiency in change management enables transformation initiatives to be adopted effectively by supporting people through transitions. Together, these competencies help organizations evolve, remain competitive and seize new opportunities in an ever‑changing world. 

How can organizations act?

Organizations can take three steps to develop future-ready leaders.  

Step 1: Update the leadership competency framework 

An organization’s leadership competency framework defines the competencies that leaders will need to perform their respective roles and responsibilities effectively. With the 25 identified leadership competencies in the table above as a reference, organizations can review their leadership competency frameworks for the following purposes:  

• Identifying critical and emerging areas of work that their leaders will need to lead and direct 
• Distilling key leadership qualities required for navigating the organization’s evolving operating environment 
• Prioritizing and selecting the most critical competencies from the table to incorporate into their leadership competency frameworks 

Step 2: Incorporate the selected leadership competencies into learning and development (L&D) systems and processes  

Organizations need to review their L&D systems and processes so that learning opportunities, coaching mechanisms and on-the-job learning processes are aligned with the leadership competencies prioritized in step 1. This alignment is essential for leaders to build the required competencies through structured learning, guided practice and real-world application. 

Research on adult learning suggests that adult learners learn most effectively through the 70-20-10 framework¹, which includes a combination of formal and informal (learning from others and on the job) learning experiences. 

Formal learning

Classroom and e-learning programs aligned to the development of the selected leadership competencies can be sourced from leading learning providers in the marketplace. Where suitable external programs are unavailable, in-house learning content can be developed to meet organizational needs. 

Learning from others

Coaching and mentoring programs can also be developed to help leaders learn from others in the organization who already demonstrate the identified leadership competencies. 

On-the-job experiences

Leaders can be equipped with on-the-job learning checklists to help them monitor development of their leadership competencies. Regular check-ins with direct supervisors provide important milestone updates on the developmental journeys of these leaders. These check-ins can be augmented with regular 360-degree or 180-degree (peers and subordinates) feedback, providing additional insights to support the journeys. 

Step 3: Incorporate the selected leadership competencies into HR systems and processes

An important aphorism in HR is “what gets measured gets done; what gets rewarded gets done well.” To strengthen development of the selected leadership competencies among its leaders, an organization can seek to incorporate the competencies into the following HR systems and processes. 

Talent acquisition and leader selection

The identified leadership competencies can be prioritized in candidate recruitment, assessment and leader selection processes so that potential leaders, especially those of younger generations, are aligned with the organization’s leadership expectations. 

Performance management

Beyond assessing performance outcomes, appraisals can also evaluate a leader’s demonstrated competencies based on the organization’s leadership competency framework. When combined with supervisor check-ins and feedback mechanisms described in step 2, these appraisals provide valuable data points to track the efficacy of leadership development within the organization.  

Rewards

Organizations can reinforce key leadership competencies by embedding them within their rewards and recognition frameworks. Beyond rewarding leaders for business outcomes, reward mechanisms like bonuses, promotions, recognition programs and career‑advancement opportunities can explicitly reward leaders who consistently demonstrate the desired competencies.  

Talent deployment and succession planning

Leadership competencies can guide talent deployment so that leaders are placed in roles where they can excel and grow. By assessing leaders’ strengths and development needs, the organization can match them to assignments or projects that both leverage their capabilities and provide opportunities for targeted development. Competency‑based talent deployment enables critical roles to be filled with leaders whose behaviors align with strategic priorities. It also strengthens succession planning by identifying high‑potential leaders ready for expanded responsibilities. 

Identifying the most critical leadership competencies for the organization and incorporating them into the leadership competency framework and L&D and HR systems and processes is a key priority. By doing so, organizations can better position themselves to drive resilience and long-term value despite growing uncertainty and supply chain volatility.