6 Trends in Business Management from 2019 that are Here to Stay.

6 Trends in Business Management from 2019 that are Here to Stay.

Being that we’re in the last trimester of the year, I thought it would be interesting to review the business management predictions made for 2019. It wasn’t a surprise to find that the predictions were not only consistent, but also accurate in describing how they would affect businesses. These are the 6 trends from 2019 that are here to stay:

  1. Multi-Generational Leadership

Keshila Shannon, VP of Marketing at 15Five (experts in feedback systems in businesses), points out that leaders need to learn how to manage the different generations that coexist in organizations: with more Boomers retiring every year, millennials are set to represent 75% of the work force by 2030. Their influence is critical in leadership trends in the coming years, including those of open communication, involvement with causes, achieving purpose and fulfillment, enthusiasm to learn, and having collaborative workspaces that value psychological health.

On his end, John Eades (author of Inc.com) reminds us that each employee is an individual, not a statistic. Given that these generations come from different cultural and economic contexts, some management styles that work with one group may not work for another. Therefore, Eades recommends concentrating on creating an environment where each group can feel valued and motivated to put forth their best effort.

  1. Time to Pick up the Pace

John Eades points out that “We live in a world of instant gratification. Customers demand results faster than ever these days, and the businesses that learn to keep up are the ones that will continue to grow. For leaders, ensuring that ‘picking up the pace’ doesn’t lead to a decline in quality will be crucial.”

  1. Adopting Continuing Education

Logan Derrick, author at TeamWeek Journal, notes that continuing education is necessary for just about any industry due to these emerging trends; we live in an ever-changing world, meaning that what works today may not be effective tomorrow. And as technology like AI and RPA is integrated into a company’s mainframe, employees will need to learn to adapt to the changes. Therefore, continuing education not only improves their commitment and loyalty, but it also helps give shape to the company’s future. According to Chad Halvorson, CEO of the company “When I work”, “Employee development has double the benefits: on one hand, it trains your current employees for possible future promotion; and on the other, it shows you which employees have aptitude for such a promotion.

  1. More Compassionate Leadership

It’s a common saying that “people don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses.” According to Keshila Shannon, the opposite is also true: an inspiring manager creates more team engagement. According to research by leadership development experts Dr. Brad Shuck and Maryanne Honeycutt-Elliott, “higher levels of engagement comes from employees who work for a compassionate leader—one who is authentic, present, has a sense of dignity, holds others accountable, leads with integrity and shows empathy.”

  1. Work/Life Blend

Rather than balance, the challenge is to find an adequate blend. Keshila Shannon notes that the key is flexibility and avoiding employee exhaustion: while this could involve flexibility in taking vacations and other days off, some employees simply want to have more activities during their breaks at the office. And, of course, there is the chance to work from home since for a lot of job functions, there is no reason to require people to go to the office every day, or for the work to be done between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Logan Derrick makes reference to a report by the webpage FlexJobs, which informs that at the end of 2017, approximately 3.9 million workers in the United States work remotely at least part-time. This is a 115% increase from 2005. Remote work is becoming more and more common, both for small and large businesses.

  1. Emphasize Accountability

Working remotely comes with the challenge of ensuring accountability. According to John Eades, the problem of accountability revolves around having competent and effective leaders. Therefore, the tendency is to provide more training and development so leaders can always hold themselves and the members of their team accountable to the standards and values of the organization.

Author: Conciliac team.

References:

John Eades, “The 5 Biggest Leadership Trends to Watch in 2019”, 2018, Inc.com
https://www.inc.com/john-eades/executives-are-paying-close-attention-to-these-5-leadership-trends-in-2019-are-you.html?cid=search

Keshila Shannon, “7 Intriguing Employee Engagement Trends For 2019”, 15five.com
https://www.15five.com/blog/7-employee-engagement-trends-2019/

Logan Derrick, “10 Management Trends to Watch For in 2019”, 2018, Teamweek Journal
https://blog.teamweek.com/2018/10/10-management-trends-to-watch-for-in-2019/