7 Leadership skills for 2025

What should corporate leadership look like in 2025?

The responsibilities of a leader have dramatically changed from what they used to be. Now, top leaders are expected to manage a remote workforce, understand emerging technologies, and drive business impact – all while remaining inclusive, empathic, and creative.

It’s a daunting challenge!

However, if you can learn to lead with empathy, adapt to change, and use technology, you will thrive as a leader in 2025. Leaders will have to gain a host of new skills to be successful in the second half of this decade.

Let's unpack the top 7 skills all leaders need going into next year:

• Tech fluency: The path to digital transformation
• Virtual leadership: Learn how to lead hybrid and remote teams
• Emotional intelligence: Drive organizational change with empathy
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Cultivating inclusive and safe workplaces
• Agility: Leading through change and uncertainty
• Business development: Tie all leadership activities to revenue growth
• Constant learning: Developing a growth mindset
  
  

1. Tech fluency: The path to digital transformation

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In 2025, being “good enough” with technology won’t cut it. Executives have to be fluent in technologies involving AI and data analytics. This doesn’t always mean you have to learn software development or data engineering. It just means a leader should keep their eye on the ball, and do their best to comprehend this technology on a deeper level.

Good leaders use data to make wiser decisions, optimize processes, and stay ahead of trends. More tech-savvy leadership helps companies innovate faster and respond to market changes before competitors do.

How to develop tech fluency:

• Scroll through the TechCrunch startup page once a month to identify new tech companies and tools.
• Take courses in AI, Automation, and Data Analytics.
• Collaborate with IT and data teams to understand the impact of technology on every part of your business.

One of the most important technology advancements are immersive simulations. Scenario-based simulations allow companies to benchmark, upskill, and train employees across dozens of departments and initiatives.

Try a sim here to see how to use this new technology to reduce risk, increase revenue, and cut costs.

2. Virtual leadership: Learn how to lead hybrid and remote teams

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With companies still open to hybrid work and some to remote work, leadership of distributed teams is essential. Top corporate leaders must master the ability to communicate effectively – even when their employees aren’t in the office next door.

Leading virtual teams is possible, especially when leaders are able to nurture relationships. Even over Zoom or Google Meet, take the time to ask employees and team members how they are doing. Check in with them on their performance, progress, and personal goals. Good leadership requires true, empathetic connection with your teams.

Key skills for remote leadership:

• Develop trust that employees are working their hardest, even during remote work hours. This interview from the CEO of Slack shows how important – and doable – remote communication is.
• Practice “communication batching,” where you encourage your teams to check their email and messages less often. This can keep employees focused on their work, instead of getting distracted every few minutes.
• Check in with your team once per month on their preferred communication styles. Example: Do they like longer video calls? Or would they prefer fewer meetings?

3. Emotional intelligence: Drive organizational change with empathy

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For years, emotional intelligence was a buzzword. Now, it’s a measurable, tangible soft skill that’s essential for all leaders. Leaders with high EQ instill trust and loyalty through open and free-flowing communication. By navigating emotional needs at work, you can pave the way for honesty and expect the same from your teams.

The leaders that manage stress, conflict, and burnout with emotional intelligence will develop much stronger, resilient employees.

How to enhance emotional intelligence:

• Practice active listening and stay fully present in your team calls.
• Develop self-awareness and even ask your direct reports for feedback on your leadership style.
• Use immersive simulations to develop soft skills that drive emotional intelligence forward.

4. Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Cultivating inclusive and safe workplaces

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Diversity, equity, and inclusion will continue to be a strong driver in leadership. Leaders must have the ability to manage a diverse team and build an inclusive culture. The more you can involve others in your decision-making processes, the more everyone feels like their differences are appreciated.

For leaders, DE&I means committing to cultural awareness. If you want to develop and retain diverse talent and drive innovation, you must become a leader who makes employees feel safe and supported. Diverse points of view from various team members will give you a wide range of useful ideas, and ensure the company holds its competitive edge.

Key DE&I skills:

• Become aware of your own unconscious prejudice and bias.
• Implement diverse recruitment within your departments and teams, ensuring a wide range of talent gets a shot at landing management roles.
• Try to remove microaggressions from your vocabulary, and encourage your team to do the same.

5. Agility: Leading through change and uncertainty

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The last few years have unveiled that all companies must be adaptable. In 2025, leaders have to be agile – ready to shift gears in an instant. Agility is not just about reacting to changes but also about being ahead of the changes.

A great example of this is the rapid advancement of AI in the previous few years. Some leaders were ready for it, and others weren’t. Those who embrace change and stay on their toes are able to lead without having to know everything.

Ultimately, it is the ability to lead through uncertainty and disruption that will really distinguish great leaders. Whether it's a supply chain disruption, changes in consumer behavior, or other sudden crises, leaders must be able to flex and bend in 2025.

How to develop agility:

• Hold a monthly roundtable with your leadership team to discuss upcoming trends and possible challenges. 
• Build a plan of action for the worst-case scenarios in your department.
• Develop a solution-oriented mindset, instead of letting challenges get you and your team down.

6. Business development: Tie all leadership activities to revenue growth

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Most companies are now requiring their leaders to understand the business as a whole. You must be able to allocate your resources and attention in the right places – ensuring your strategic decisions drive profits and long-term company success.

Are your initiatives actually driving revenue growth? Or are they at least tied to it? If not, you may be spending time and money in an unproductive way. While there are dozens of ideas that would be fun and exciting to pursue, the good leader knows where to spend their time.

Usually, leaders are expected to tie their initiatives to some sort of return on investment for the company. By sharpening your financial acumen and understanding business development as a whole, you’ll be a much better leader. While you may not care about revenue growth in your specific department, it may help the company avoid mass layoffs in the future, or ensure security for your teams.

Tips to improve your business understanding:

• Meet with your board of directors – or upper management – to hear their concerns and goals.
• Work closely with your finance team to discover how your department influences cash flow and profit.
• Pair every initiative with business development when possible.

7. Constant learning: Developing a growth mindset

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The best leaders in 2025 will be constant learners. The “growth mindset” is an essential framework that every leader must have. For as long as technologies and markets continue to evolve, leaders have to stay current too. The only way to do this is by committing to learning new skills daily.

How to drive continuous learning:

• Read (or re-read) Carol Dweck’s classic book Mindset.
• Set aside time each week on your calendar for learning new leadership skills.
• Ask fellow leaders for their favorite resources, or skill-development materials, once per month to improve your range of knowledge.

The corporate world is always changing. New and existing leaders must change with it. By mastering fresh technology, leading with empathy, using data to make decisions, and more… you give yourself the best chance to become an impressive leader.

Now it's time to open up your leadership toolbox. Will you be ready to lead in 2025? Take out a notebook and write down the top leadership skills you need to acquire within the next year. Doing so could change the course of your career – and take your organization to the next level.