10 Leadership Skills For The Future

Insights From Guests on Humanity At Scale: Redefining Leadership Podcast

We talk a lot about change. But one thing that doesn’t get said enough is this:
Leadership isn’t just happening in a new environment—it has to operate differently because of it.

The world leaders are navigating today is more complex, more distributed, more emotionally charged, and more unpredictable than anything we’ve seen before. And yet, we’re often still leaning on leadership instincts that were shaped in a very different time.

So I started to explore what’s coming next by asking all of the guests on my Humanity at Scale: Redefining Leadership podcast the same question:

What leadership skill will be more important in the future?

The answers were varied, but together they tell a powerful story about how leadership is shifting—and what it’s going to take to lead effectively in the years ahead.

And if you want a deeper look at that future, don’t miss my latest podcast episode with Vivienne Ming. She’s a theoretical neuroscientist and entrepreneur who’s work sits at the intersection of AI, human potential, and purpose—and our conversation unpacked what it really means to lead in a world that’s changing faster than most organizations can keep up with.

I hope you enjoy this edition. If you do, I’d love for you to subscribe and share it with others who might benefit. Let’s dive in.

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Future Leadership Skills: 10 Insights from Bold Thinkers

The world is changing faster than most leadership models can keep up with.

Organizations are becoming more distributed, more diverse, and more emotionally complex. Technology is evolving in unpredictable ways. Employees are rethinking their relationship with work. Customers now expect companies to take public stands on issues that once felt far outside a brand’s domain.

In the face of this volatility, it’s clear that the skills that made someone an effective leader in the past won’t be the same ones that define great leadership in the future.

So where is leadership heading?

To explore that question, I ask every guest on the Humanity at Scale: Redefining Leadership podcast the same thing:

What leadership skill will be more important in the future?

The responses aren’t rehearsed. They come from experience, intuition, and reflection—each one a glimpse into how thoughtful leaders are sensing what’s next. On their own, they’re insightful. But when you step back and look at them together, they reveal something bigger.

In this edition, I’ll share the answers from my first ten guests—and unpack what they tell us about the leadership environment we’re heading into, and the kind of leader we’ll need to become.

10 Thoughts About The Future of Leadership

Here are the responses from my first 10 podcast guest to the question: What leadership skill will be more important in the future?

1. Charlene Li: The ability to ask great questions

Charlene is a longtime advisor to executives navigating disruption and the bestselling author of The Disruption Mindset. On the podcast, we explored how leaders can thrive through transformation rather than resist it. Her answer to the future of leadership was clear:

“Your ability to know all the answers… will become less and less valuable. Being able to ask really great questions that will lead your team to the right answer—that’s going to be the most important skill.”

2. Don Norman: Breadth

Don is a legendary design thinker, co-founder of Nielsen Norman Group, and author of Design for a Better World. In the episode, we discussed human-centered design, systems thinking, and ethical responsibility. When asked about the leadership shift, he said:

“Being able to understand that we’re in a complex world and understand many different components of it… we should encourage people to maintain their culture and their way of living.”

3. Erica Keswin: Being an active listener

Erica is the author of Bring Your Human to Work and The Retention Revolution, and a workplace strategist focused on connection and culture. Our conversation looked at rituals, belonging, and creating human-centered systems. Her essential skill:

“With all this technology, everybody is multitasking and no one really listens and gives people their full attention.”

4. Fred Reichheld: Loving your teams

Fred, creator of the Net Promoter System and author of Winning on Purpose, has spent his career helping companies connect loyalty to purpose. The podcast focused on customer trust and how love—and not profits—should drive performance. He offered this for the future:

“Leaders who love their teams in my mind are the ones that feel committed to help them lead lives of meaning and prosperity… putting them in a position to earn standing ovations from customers.”

5. Kurt Gray: Explaining your thoughts and feelings behind something

Kurt is a professor of psychology and neuroscience and author of Outraged, which unpacks why we fight over morality—and how to bridge divides. We discussed how leaders navigate ethical tensions and moral polarization. For him, one skill stands out:

“Leaders will need to say how this decision is motivated by this desire for protection of their team and their organization. And I think that’s going to be ever more important.”

6. Liz Wiseman: Situational awareness

Liz is the author of Multipliers and Impact Players, and a leading voice on how great leaders amplify the intelligence of those around them. We talked about how leaders can thrive in complexity by creating space for others to think. When asked about future leadership skills, she highlighted:

“In a really rapidly changing environment, being able to see what’s happening around us and to acknowledge it and build collective understanding—I think that’s a pretty critical skill.”

7. Nikki Kresse: Adaptive leadership

Nikki serves as Chief Experience and People Officer at Lifespace Communities, where she leads both resident and team member experiences. Our discussion on the podcast centered on how to connect purpose to daily work at every level. Her take on what’s ahead:

“Future leaders are going to have to be really flexible. They're going to have to learn fast and create environments where individuals really feel like they can contribute and grow and succeed.”

8. Renee Cacchillo: Agility

As CEO of Safelite, Renee leads a large, distributed organization built on frontline service. We explored how to lead with purpose, scale culture, and stay human in a highly operational business. When asked about the future, she said:

“The ability to be agile, the ability to embrace that change, is really huge. Change is constant.”

9. Ryan Hogan: Self-disruption

Ryan is a Navy officer, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Hunt A Killer. On his episode, we talked about resilience, perseverance, and how entrepreneurship and leadership often come down to confronting discomfort. His advice for the future:

“The ones that will win… are the ones that are constantly disrupting themselves.”

10. Tania Israel: Integrity as wholeness

Tania is a psychologist and author of Beyond Your Bubble and Facing the Fracture, with deep expertise in dialogue and conflict resolution. We explored how to lead through division and hold space for disagreement. Her reflection on the future:

“Integrity comes from this word that means wholeness. It’s for people to be able to embrace that wholeness within themselves and to bring other people together as a whole.”

The Leadership Environment Ahead—and What These Answers Reveal

Reading through these ten responses, it’s clear they’re not just naming different skills—they’re pointing to the same underlying shift.

These aren’t just updates to the old model of leadership. They reflect something deeper about the environment leaders are stepping into—and the very different set of demands that come with it.

When I stepped back and looked at what these responses are telling us about the future leadership landscape, three patterns stood out:

• The world is faster than your expertise. Leaders were once rewarded for being right. Now they’re rewarded for staying curious. As systems grow more interconnected and unpredictable—from generative AI to cultural polarization—leaders can no longer “know” their way forward. The best they can do is learn in real time, in public, and with humility. Charlene Li and Liz Wiseman both touch this reality: better questions and sharper awareness are no longer nice to have. They’re survival skills.

• Power flows through trust, not control.The old architecture of leadership—plan, direct, execute—is collapsing under the weight of disconnection and distrust. Hybrid work, employee activism, digital surveillance—these aren’t anomalies, they’re structural. Kurt Gray’s reminder to explain one’s intent is not a soft skill—it’s a critical trust-building behavior. And Fred Reichheld’s call to love your teams? It’s not sentiment. It’s a system of emotional safety that fuels performance. Command-and-control is giving way to earn-and-inspire.

• Complexity punishes rigidity—and rewards coherence. In a world of constant change, sticking to what used to work can quickly become a liability. What’s needed instead is coherence—a clear throughline between values, decisions, and behaviors that can flex without breaking. Nikki Kresse and Renee Cacchillo emphasized agility not as speed, but as values-driven adaptability. Ryan Hogan underscored the need for self-disruption, showing that leaders can’t delegate transformation—they have to live it. And Tania Israel framed integrity as wholeness, reminding us that coherence isn’t about being consistent for consistency’s sake—it’s about staying centered while navigating change.

Sparking New Leadership Thinking

The next era of leadership isn’t defined by tools or titles—it’s defined by how leaders show up in systems where expertise is unstable, trust is fragile, and complexity is unrelenting. Here are five leadership practices to help navigate that shift:

• Treat questions as your most strategic asset. In moments where urgency pushes for fast answers, deliberately pause to ask expansive questions. For example: “What’s the real decision we’re making here?” or “What are we not seeing that could change this?”

• Narrate your intent to build behavioral trust. When your decisions affect others—especially under stress—don’t just state the outcome. Say, “Here’s what I was trying to protect, and here’s what I hope this enables.” It creates clarity, even in disagreement.

• Design moments of shared sense-making, not just execution. Build time into your team rhythms to process what’s changing—not just what’s next. For example, start each quarter by asking, “What’s surprised us recently, and how are we responding?”

• Audit for coherence between your values and your operations. Pick one cultural value and ask your team: “Where do we see this breaking down in practice?” Then choose one visible change to make that value real again.

• Disrupt your own leadership before the environment does it for you. Schedule regular self-reviews: What default behaviors are serving you less well in today’s context? Ask a peer or junior colleague: “What do I need to unlearn?”

The Bottom Line

The leadership environment of the future won’t reward certainty—it will reward clarity of presence. Human-centered leadership isn’t a trend—it’s an operating system for complexity. Those who lead with trust, agility, and coherence will be the ones who move us forward.

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🔥 Spark Of The Week

An idea to make you rethink your leadership:

Unchecked complexity is a hidden debt that undermines growth and adaptability

Your Leadership Challenge: Stop allowing complexity to creep in and start being more intentional about driving simplicity

Complexity doesn’t shout. It creeps. A new approval step here, an extra feature there—and suddenly, the system that once felt nimble becomes slow, scattered, and fragile. The real danger? Most of this complexity is self-imposed—and completely avoidable.

👉 Read more: The Complexity Pandemic: It’s Time For Intentional Simplicity

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Humanity At Scale: Redefining Leadership Podcast

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Make sure to check out my podcast, where I reimagine leadership for today’s dynamic world—proving that true success begins with prioritizing people, including employees, customers, and the communities you serve. From candid conversations with executives to breakthrough insights from experts, Humanity at Scale: Redefining Leadership Podcast is your ultimate guide to leading with purpose and empathy.

Here are some recent episodes:

• The Ethics of Empowerment: How AI Can Make Us Stronger with Vivienne Ming. In this episode of Humanity at Scale, I sit down with Dr. Vivienne Ming, a visionary neuroscientist and AI pioneer, to explore how technology can elevate, not replace, human potential. Sharing her inspiring journey from homelessness to innovation leadership, Ming unpacks how purpose, ethical design, and a deep understanding of human complexity should shape AI development.
  

  
  Empathy, AI, and the New Rules of the Human Workplace with Erica Keswin. In this episode, I sit down with WSJ bestselling author, human workplace expert, and keynote speaker, Erica Keswin and we explore the future of human-centric leadership in a tech-driven world.
  

• Innovate or Stagnate: Mastering Leadership in a Dynamic World with Charlene Li. In this episode, I sit down with Charlene Li, Strategic Advisor and Keynote Speaker, Founder and CEO of Quantum Networks Group, and New York Times bestselling author, to explore how leaders can harness disruption as a catalyst for innovation.

• From Conflict to Connection: Rethinking Moral Disagreements with Kurt Gray. In this episode, I speak with psychologist and neuroscientist Kurt Gray, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at UNC, Chapel Hill, to explore how leaders can navigate moral complexity and foster empathy in organizations.
  

• Scaling with Heart: How Safelite Balances Growth, People, and Purpose with Renee Cacchillo. In this episode, Renee Cacchillo, CEO of Safelite, shares how the company became the dominant force in its industry by putting people and customers at the center of every decision.
  

• Why Smart Leaders Ask More and Tell Less with Liz Wiseman. In this episode, leadership expert and bestselling author Liz Wiseman shares powerful insights from her groundbreaking work on how leaders can amplify the intelligence of those around them.
  

The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

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Humanity at Scale is a movement to inspire and empower leaders to create humanity-centric organizations