5 Predictions Impacting Your Authority Building Activities

‘Do so because I told you so’ doesn’t really fly anymore [and arguably - hasn’t for a long time now]. However, if you want to get anything done and want to get the buy-in and/or the support for an initiative you need people to trust you and see you as an authority.

Question is - how do you do this especially when you don’t have (and maybe never want to have) the official title? This is what we discuss in this blog.

When you hear the word ‘authority’ - what comes to mind?

For most it’s a more senior figure, maybe a boss, maybe a parent, but at least someone who has an official title and somehow has power over us.

Well - that was the case when the world of work was still very hierarchical and jobs were created for a predictable and certain future.

And then technology happened and with that, the speed of change:

From flatter, leaner and less hierarchical organisational structures to an increase in the gig and freelance economy to a bigger push towards remote work and everything in between.

Truth told - days are over where tenure has determined who can call the shots.

These days - if you want to get anything done, with or - especially without - the title, people need to see you as an authority and that goes beyond credentials.

Good news?

Everyone can establish themselves as authority, no matter the role, title or level of seniority.

Even better news?

I’ll share with you my 5 predictions as to what to focus on in this episode! 

So let’s kick off with prediction nr 1:

Micro-specialisation

The world of world (in particular the online world which can’t be avoided anymore since we live in a digital-first world)  is noisy and more and more people enter your field / profession and contribute in the online space, no matter what it is. And that isn’t a bad thing - I’d argue it is essential for you to build your online presence and manage your digital footprint (which splitter alert is one of the predictions) if you’re serious about getting ahead.

However, what separates those who simply have a profile and those who’re leveraging it to attract career and business opportunities to them is their understanding of the importance to specialise. Not just in a particular field of the industry or profession but in working with a particular audience, delivering a particular result, leveraging a particular tool or method.

Now what do i mean with that?

Think about it - when i say I’m specialised in leadership - well, who doesn’t? 

However, when someone says they’re specialised in leadership for fast scaling SaaS businesses or leadership for emerging leaders in the FinTech industry or leadership for female executives in ASX100 companies - now we’re talking.

With more access to information and with that choice, we also become a lot more choosy and selective with what and who we want to engage and work with.

And if we have the choice - we of course want the one person who literally speaks our language and has shown a deep understanding of where we are, the challenges we face and how to overcome them.

This level of specialisation is what separates leadership coaches or consultant who can charge a premium from those who always have to undercut themselves to land an engagement.

Prediction 2:

Online profiles will see an increase in their relevance

It actually shouldn’t be a predictions anymore but still - there are a ton of - especially senior executives - who still shy away from building and managing their digital presence. However, working remotely and building a global workforce doesn’t go anywhere and especially up and coming talents are looking for leaders they can look up to, learn from and can be proud of working with and for. Often, they never or hardly see each other in person so being able to follow their online trail and updates and behind the scenes can not only attract the best talents but also keep them.

Plus - clients and suppliers are more selective who they partner up with so having the opportunity to do a little homework and get to know the leaders of the business can make or break the deal.

Finally - online platforms are usually the first point of contact these days. It’s become the yellow papers for businesses so not being where people are trying to find you is basically saying ‘we don’t need your talent and/or business’. If you’re not an Amazon, ebay or Google - this is probably not the case.

I just wrapped up working with an executive team in the MedTech, the medical technology industry where the stakes are high, because the risk is high and certainty / trust is low. This is the case for any new platform, innovation or idea to be honest but in order for them to launch to the market and go public with their world-first product in a very niche early detection software (sorry - i can’t disclose more details yet as they are only officially launching in the next few weeks when all the official test results come back), they wanted to make sure that their online profiles, more specially their LinkedIn profiles is up to date and truly represent the caliber of talents they have, the rigorous testing they have done and communicate why they are the only SWAT team who can launch something like that. Prior to use working together, majority of the exec team didn’t even have a linkedin profile, some had emoty ones and others had very outdated profiles which made them look very inexperienced and the exact opposite of trustworthy as the set up was literally the opposite to what they wanted to stand for. 

Prediction 3:

Trust will become the ultimate competitive advantage 

While trust isn’t anything new per se and has always been an essential part of any business transaction, it is an issue that has become increasingly important for consumers and employees since the onset of the pandemic.

This is the sentiment from various research reports, like Forrester’s predictions for the year ahead as well as Salesforce reveals that trust is becoming more important than ever before, with 74% of consumer saying communicating transparently is more important now than before the pandemic, and 68% saying they trust companies that act with society’s best interests in mind – a 9% increase from 2020.

The distrust is in consumer technology after companies reached an unprecedented level of popularity due to so many tech scandals, an inability to protect users from emerging risks, and lack of effective ethical measures in their digital environments, and security breaches to name a few.

But the loss in consumer trust goes beyond the consumer tech category, according to Forrester.

For the first time in several years, consumer trust in banks is also falling, with many consumers believing their bank lacks empathy and isn’t following through on lessons learned from the pandemic.

Consumer mistrust is also expected to rise around corporate climate change. Greenwashing is becoming an increasingly serious risk.

Increasing employee distrust – WFH surveillance

There is also a growing legal backlash in response to employee monitoring with Forrester predicting the firing of a C-level executive in 2023 for their company’s use of employee monitoring.

With work from anywhere largely in force, organisations are increasingly using artificial intelligence to track employee WFH productivity – a rising practice that is leading to increasing distrust among employees and could push workers to leave their employment or bring legal action.

So hopefully you can see with so many levels of uncertainty and with that, lack of trust, stepping up, sharing content, communicating beyond our role - this is what builds and makes companies earn greater trust with consumers and employees which then drives loyalty behaviours such as retention and advocacy.

Prediction #4:

EQ over IQ

No longer is it enough to be the best technician with the most amount of knowledge, expertise and credentials to lead a team, a project or a message.

It comes down to being able to communicate clearly, concisely and confidently with a more diverse workforce whilst juggling more balls than ever before and having to deal with a lot more complexity than ever before.

Not an easy undergoing to say the least but I’ve certainly seen an increase in enrolments into my executive coaching program through companies to support their leaders in their ability to step up and face this next world of work with so many more uncertainties and complexities.

In today's and tomorrow's world of work, the old top-down leadership style is no longer as effective as it once was and collaboration and (asynchronous) communication are getting more attention (for good reason), and they are looking for leaders who can facilitate these processes. 

With that, new leadership styles are required which also means a new way of training is required - more specifically - coaching and on the job training, in real time. Not in a class or board room with simulated situations.

Prediction #5:

Entrepreneurial skills are required in every role and more businesses will act like a start up, requiring additional skills to thrive in this very agile and constantly changing environment.

No matter the industry, every company feels the pressure to stay competitive and that means: lean and agile.

Legacy roles and skill sets won’t be accepted anymore and veery role will see a change of responsibilities but also an increase of required capabilities,

With the constant new additional features and launches of digital platforms, technologies and social media channels, there will also be less clear governance structures which means higher risk and again, risk will become a responsibility of the entire organisation, not just a selected few.

Also how work is delivered will see more of a shift towards working on projects across multiple teams and stakeholders rather than skill-based or task based responsibilities in a silo which again - requires strong communication skills.

So you see - all of my 5 predictions are not necessarily new but very much, gain more relevance as we go thanks to the ongoing changes and with that, sentiment and behavior that we’re seeing.