At the beginning of every year, one encounters a rush of editorial pieces offering suggestions as to what trends one can expect to encounter during the course of the year.
After a while, one feels tempted to ignore these articles and get on with work. But there is a lot of wisdom in ensuring that you are aware of evolving trends. Here, then, are three reasons why you need to be aware of the latest trends in your field.
#1 Trends inform your strategy
Trends are not about the past. They’re about the future. They give you an understanding of what’s happening in the here and now as well as what’s likely to happen in the not-too-distant future.
That’s why they can inform your strategy, which is all about the future and about what lies ahead for your business. If you have an understanding of what lies ahead, you are better able to plan to align with the appropriate trends so you can capitalize on the opportunities that the trends present.
#2 Trends help you to be a more effective leader
In a world where “everyone’s a leader”, few understand that you can’t lead people further than you’ve gone yourself so, if others are more informed about trends than you are, they’re essentially leading you, not the other way around.
Because leadership is about taking people to a better future, as a leader, you need to be the one who knows about emerging trends so you’re well placed to guide your people as you together build the business to create a better future for all in the company.
#3 Trends help you stay relevant
Few people fully understand the significance of being relevant. When you are no longer relevant in the world, you no longer have a purpose here. Knowing what trends are continually emerging in your particular field makes others see you as relevant and look to you for guidance. When they no longer consider you relevant, they will not seek your advice nor look to you for guidance and leadership, and your influence will be a thing of the past.
When you lose your relevance, you lose your influence, and a leader with no influence is simply of no use at all. Influence is becoming more and more important because the command and control model of leadership is swiftly falling into disuse. That model had no need for influence – as a leader, you gave instructions (commands) and those beneath you were simply required to comply. If they didn’t, there was trouble.
Today, that’s no longer the case. As a leader of remote workers, for example, you have absolutely no control over how those workers plan and work. If you have no influence in their lives, you will not get the results you want from them. They’ll do as they please and when they please. But if you have great influence in their lives, they will bend over backwards to please you and meet the targets you collectively agreed on.
How to use trends
Trends are more easily spotted looking backwards than looking forwards. But, by looking at past and existing trends, you will be able to do a certain amount of predicting as to where those trends are heading – a bit like anticipating the parabolic curve of a missile’s path through the air. Trends don’t just abruptly stop and start. They emerge gradually so there’s really no surprise and they get bigger and bigger, depending on how they are embraced by people.
If you train yourself to see trends as early warning lights alerting you to what’s coming, you will be better able to adjust to the trends and indeed take advantage of them.
By carefully watching trends that influence and affect people, you will be better placed to manage your talent. They will feel understood and will be more engaged and productive.
Knowledge of trends is therefore not a nice to have but is of strategic and operational importance for anyone with a passion to be an effective leader!
Attend our “Game Changing Skills, Qualities and Trends 2023” Masterclass next week on Thursday, 16 February. Click here for more details and to register.
Alan Hosking is the Publisher of HR Future magazine, www.hrfuture.net and @HRFuturemag. He is an internationally recognised authority on leadership competencies for the future and teaches experienced and younger business leaders how to lead with empathy, compassion, integrity, purpose and agility. He has been an Age Management Coach for two decades.
In 2018, he was named by US-based web site Disruptordaily.com as one of the “Top 25 Future of Work Influencers to Follow on Twitter“. In 2020, he was named one of the “Top 200 Global Power Thought Leaders to watch in 2021” by peopleHum in India. In 2022, he has been named on the Power List of the “Top 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership in 2022” by LeaderHum.
