This week’s guest on The Employee Experience Podcast is Peter Cheese, CEO of The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

In his book The New World of Work, Peter Cheese explores the evidence behind the shifting landscape in workplaces across the globe.

Leadership is one pivotal part that’s seeing plenty of transformation, and a key driver is that what employees expect of them is changing.

In the past, traditional models of leadership were more about command and control, Peter says, and centered on “the all-seeing, all-knowing leader”.

But now that we’re in times of great uncertainty, he explains, there’s simply no one who can know or experience everything that’s happening.

“This means that leaders are going to need to deal with uncertainty, but they’ve also got to be able to listen and learn from others,” he says,

adding that it will require taking a “collective view” underpinned by diversity of thought and reshuffling stakeholder priorities.

“There are also much greater expectations of leaders in terms of their visibility and their behaviors. What’s interesting is that many of these trends were emerging before the pandemic, but crises accelerate those things.”

For example, people are more eager to see the human side of leaders.

Peter says they “now expect to see leaders visible through lots of different communication channels”,

and also to work with a leader who’s consistently empathetic and understanding, and who shows integrity. 

“I think the dial is unquestionably moving. If people see that you're still trying to behave in some sort of autocratic and command-of-control form of management, where you're not listening and you’re not showing that you care for your people, then I don’t think you’re ultimately going to succeed.”

Listen back now to learn more about the growing importance of visible leaders, greater social expectations in the workplace, shifting short-term strategy to long-term investment, and why diversity of thought will only become more critical to organizational success.

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