Leadership 2025: What companies and their teams really need

Leadership 2025: What companies and their teams really need
Attracting talent, creating balance, shaping change - results of the ARS & MDI management survey

What makes good leadership in times of change? The ARS Academy and MDI Management Development International got to the bottom of this question about the challenges and needs of managers. The quintessence of the study: tomorrow's leadership is characterized more than ever by humanity, flexibility and strategic thinking. What is important here is a mixture of technological know-how, a clear focus on talent and - last but not least - a healthy dose of humanity.

Retaining and attracting talent: A mission impossible?
"Finding and retaining the right employees is like trying to pan for gold - challenging but rewarding," the study concludes. More than two thirds of respondents (67%) cite recruiting and retaining talent as their biggest challenge. This is particularly true for small companies, while larger companies rely on technology and flexible working models to remain attractive. For both, successful leadership thinks long-term - about the employees and the organization. Further training, technological changes and team-building measures, especially in larger companies, are the clear favorites.

Work-life balance: practice what you preach
"We want the best for our teams", say almost all respondents - as many as 93% attach great importance to the work-life balance of their employees. However, there is a clear discrepancy when it comes to their own behavior: only 71% of respondents rate their personal work-life balance as important. There is still a lot of catching up to do in terms of the role model function and self-awareness of managers. They cite remote work/home office and flexitime as the most important measures for work-life balance. In addition, regular employee appraisals and awareness of company goals and work tasks are seen as beneficial for the mental health of their workforce.

Leadership skills: Empathy versus technology
In addition to leadership skills (59%), communication skills (62%), problem-solving skills (48%) and emotional intelligence (43%) are the top skills that will determine the success of managers in the coming year, according to the study. In addition, technological skills are also becoming increasingly important. However, the picture here is still quite traditional: training and further education on trends, developments and skills play a greater role than digitalization and, above all, AI strategies, which still have significant development potential at 40% and 30% respectively. A certain degree of skepticism prevails here when it comes to the respective strategies and implementations.

Leadership style: gender differences
When it comes to situational leadership style, there is equality between the genders: around half of the female and male managers surveyed adapt their leadership style to the maturity of their employees and lead situationally. In addition, the study reveals significant differences in support for the democratic leadership style: female managers (34%) involve their employees in decisions more often than male managers (around 20%).

ESG & diversity: visible differences in size
The concept of sustainability is now often anchored in corporate culture: 43% of all companies surveyed have integrated ESG (Environmental Social Governance) management into their corporate strategy. However, the link between the achievement of ESG targets and management bonuses is still rather low: around 6% of companies with 1 to 250 employees and around 17% of companies with more than 250 employees offer bonuses for the achievement of ESG targets. The difference is even more pronounced when it comes to anchoring diversity in the corporate strategy: only around 18% of companies with 1 to 250 employees include diversity in their strategy. For larger companies with more than 251 employees, however, the figure is already 43%.

The future of learning: tried and tested dominates
When it comes to learning methods, companies are still predominantly conservative: face-to-face seminars (76%) and on-the-job training (62%) are still considered the most effective learning methods. Online seminars and e-learning courses are rated significantly lower by managers at 33% and 19% respectively. AI-supported tools such as ChatGPT and the like still play a minor role among the effective learning methods at just under 16%. This shows that although companies are open to new, innovative methods, they still clearly trust the tried and tested.

Assessment and outlook
ARS and MDI experts point out that the combination of human skills and technological know-how will be decisive for success in 2025. Leadership needs both heart and mind - and the ability to keep pace with the ever faster world.

About the study design
The study was conducted by Marketagent in October 2024 as an online access panel. A total of 146 managers took part, 42% of whom were men and 58% women. The primary place of work for 87% was Austria, 10% Germany and around 3% Switzerland. Almost half of the participants work in companies with between 1 and 250 employees, while the other half work in companies with between 251 and over 10,000 employees.

Our team of leadership experts will be happy to provide you with further insights and individual interpretations. The detailed results of the ARS & MDI survey are available on request.

MDI Management Development GmbH
Mariahilfer Strasse 51/1/6 Mariahilfer Strass
Wien 1060
Österreich

https://www.mdi-training.com/

Frau Aline Motz-Depoorter
066488181031

marketing@mdi-training.com

About MDI Management Development International
MDI is a global leader in leadership development with 60 years of experience. With offices worldwide and a network of over 250 international consultants and trainers, MDI offers training and consulting services in various languages. The company designs and implements tailor-made programs for executives at all levels, high potentials, experts, project managers and sales staff - locally, internationally and globally.

For further information please contact:
Aline Motz-Depoorter
Head of Marketing
MDI Management Development International
marketing@mdi-training.com
www.mdi-training.com

About the ARS Academy
The ARS Academy is Austria's largest private provider of specialist seminars and is represented in all federal states. Around 1,000 selected top experts from business, practice and law pass on their knowledge in around 1,200 different events to around 18,500 participants every year. Whether it's the latest legal changes, the latest trends or basic knowledge for career advancement - with 15 specialist areas, the ARS Academy offers a broad spectrum of seminar content and industry topics, covering every training requirement. The seminars can be attended as face-to-face events and often also as online seminars in the virtual classroom. On request, the training courses can be booked as in-house seminars.

Further information:
Alexandra Zotter
Head of Marketing & Communication
ARS Academy
Schallautzerstraße 2-4, 1010 Vienna
press(at)ars.at
Phone: 01/713 80 24-50

This release was published on openPR.