Critical thinking is the No.1 skill that is expected of leaders today, Leading Now CEO Kelly Lockwood Primus told attendees on stage at the second-annual Convenience-Store Women (CSW) Event Nov. 4-6 in Charleston, South Carolina. Leading NOW is the educational content partner for CSW.
Speaking at a session on the topic of leadership skills that matter most, Primus outlined five characteristics of leadership that are now important in the workplace. These defining qualities include:
- Critical thinking
- Embracing uncertainty and navigating discontinuity
- Persuasion and influence
- Aligning and motivating
- Humility
When it comes to critical thinking, Primus said asking questions is key.
Primus, provided examples of this style from company’s succeeding today, including Jensen Huang, founder, president and CEO of Nvidia, Santa Clara, California.
“Huang uses this as his leadership style,” she said. “So don’t stop asking questions.”
Primus encouraged attendees to adapt the skill of implementing the concept of question storming, which is an opportunity to help leaders do a better job of critical thinking resulting in better decisions.
“Question storming is an activity that is different from brainstorming ideas,” she said.
When it comes to the skill set of embracing uncertainty and navigating discontinuity, Primus said this skill set is reactive to everything that has happened since 2020.
With so much happening in the last five years, including COVID, the Great Resignation and inflation, the challenge becomes how to navigate all of this, she said.
To adapt strategies to respond, Primus said it’s important to recognize at what level the challenge is and to delegate.
“It’s important to trust your team that they can handle this,” Primus said.
When it comes to serious and significant issues, Primus said leaders need to be all in.
Leaders in these situations must demonstrate empathy for the people affected by the problem and must focus on doing what is right, she said.
At the closing of her session, Primus encouraged attendees to embrace not just one or two of the skill sets, but rather all five.
Leading Now is based in Millis, Massachusetts.
“It’s very important as a leader that you have these skills,” she said.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.