How to Develop Leadership Skills That Actually Drive Results for Your Team Today

We are at a crossroads as leaders today, with mixed messages dominating the scene.

Leaders who’ve learned from past mistakes take the time to build strong cultures and engagement among their teams, knowing it leads to better companies – and results – in the long run.

Other leaders fall victim to increasing pressure and outside demands for immediate results. The loudest voices in their heads are the corporate boards and private equity firms demanding consistent, year-over-year profit. Leaders know that in some cases, if those results don’t come, they’ll lose their jobs. Feeling that, they make rash decisions to meet the moment, firing employees without cause to make a statement, or exerting a top-down management style that pulls against their best instincts.

As a result, those leaders might make stakeholders happy in the short term but lose the confidence and trust of their teams. The result? It’s nearly impossible to build a stronger company that lasts through volatility.

What Employees Want Most from Their Leaders Today

It probably won’t surprise you that the current workforce – fueled by a new generation looking for new kinds of leaders – craves more connection, meaning, and support than ever before. There’s also no question that all employees, across generations, appreciate leaders open to greater flexibility and autonomy. Achieving all that’s asked of leaders is no small feat. At times, it may even feel like there’s a personal cost – in your own stress levels, impacts on health, and sense of well-being.

While the culture has gradually changed, lingering effects of the old archetype remain. Plenty of leaders still try to emulate a command-and-control approach. Especially when the inevitable pain points inside a business emerge, poor leaders tend to turn up the heat, thinking pressure or criticism will motivate. In our survey alone, 16% of leaders were still placed in this command-and-control leadership style category. Yet, when we and others ask employees, we get the same answer. The old approach isn’t just outdated; it’s actively harmful to both people and organizations.

Employees consistently identified communication-centered behaviors – gratitude, empathy, transparency, context, and development-focused conversations – as the characteristics that separate exceptional leaders from merely good ones.

What Does It Mean to Develop Leadership Skills?

Leadership development is often misunderstood. Many organizations measure it by training hours completed, certifications earned, or promotions received. While those indicators may matter, they don’t actually prove leadership growth.

Real leadership development involves behavior change. It’s the ability to consistently demonstrate new habits, mindsets, and actions that positively influence others. And critically, communication is the operating system through which every other leadership skill is expressed.

Without strong communication, even the best ideas struggle to gain traction. The acclaimed author and psychologist Daniel Goleman, who wrote the 1995 book Emotional Intelligence, arrives at similar findings on the importance of heart skills, including highly effective communication, in leadership.

“My research, along with other recent studies, clearly shows that emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership,” Goleman continued. “Without it, a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won’t make a great leader.” 

Why Developing Leadership Skills Matters More Than Ever

The demands placed on leaders have changed dramatically. Employees today expect more than direction and oversight. They want context, growth opportunities, transparency, flexibility, and meaningful human connection.

Research conducted by The Grossman Group and The Harris Poll found significant differences between exceptional and outdated leaders.

Employees rated exceptional leaders:

• More than 8x higher in expressing gratitude and recognizing contributions
• Nearly 7x higher in demonstrating empathy and understanding
• More than 7x higher in communicating with transparency and context
• Significantly stronger in supporting employee growth and development

Again, the gap between exceptional and outdated leadership is clearly a communication gap. External research also supports this conclusion.

Researchers at Stanford have found that leaders routinely underestimate how much communication employees need during periods of uncertainty and change. Leaders often believe they have communicated enough when employees are still searching for clarity and context.

Similarly, studies examining empathy in leadership have linked empathetic management practices to stronger employee engagement, trust, retention, and business performance.

Another study we conducted with The Harris Poll found that the constant pace of change – often facilitated by top leadership – and a variety of new demands contribute to widespread burnout among employees and managers. 

For thriving employees in the survey, the top indicator was a “manager invested in my success.” Other key indicators were leader empathy and approachability.

The stakes are high. Leaders who fail to evolve risk losing the trust, confidence, and support of their team. That’s not because those leaders lack technical expertise, but because they continue leading with approaches employees no longer respond to.

Examples of Leadership Skills Worth Developing Today

Not all leadership skills carry equal weight in today’s workplace. Rather than chasing every competency imaginable, focus on the skills that employees consistently identify as most impactful. Our leadership research highlights six differentiators that separate exceptional leaders from the rest:

1. Lead with Gratitude

Exceptional leaders consistently acknowledge effort, contribution, and progress. Senior leadership creates a culture where employees want to come to work and be at their best, promoting both emotional and physical well-being.

2. Listen and Empathize

Exceptional leaders listen to understand, not simply to respond. Senior leaders create environments where individuals feel encouraged to share honest feedback, take risks, and be vulnerable in front of one another.

3. Foster an Inclusive Culture

Exceptional leaders understand the unique backgrounds and experiences of employees. They lead by example by being accountable, and they focus on building genuine trust.

4. Communicate with Context

Exceptional leaders explain not just what is happening, but why, communicate with transparency, and act on employee feedback.

5. Connect Strategy to Employee Growth

Exceptional leaders help employees understand how their work contributes to larger organizational goals. They are intentional about consistently communicating company strategy, and they involve employees in change so they can feel a part of the transformation.

6. Enable Employees to Meet the Moment

Exceptional leaders invest in development, resources, and opportunities that help employees succeed. They encourage collaboration across the organization and ensure the right people are chosen for the work involved.

The Meta-Skills That Foster Exceptional Leadership Across the Board

While working to become an exceptional leader, also keep in mind the foundational leadership skills required for success across all of your work: communication, leader awareness, and learner agility.

Communication

As I’ve emphasized, communication is a cornerstone of great leadership. Sadly, too many leaders view great communication as a “nice-to-have” rather than an essential skill. Our research with The Harris Poll found exceptional leaders are 7.28 times more effective than outdated leaders at adjusting their communication to meet employee needs. They're intentional about consistently communicating strategy and ensuring transparency.

Leader Awareness

One of the things we find consistently in our research is that leaders believe they are communicating much better than their employees feel they are. If you asked most senior leaders to rate themselves on how well they listen, the scores would be high. We have been told for years that listening is a core leadership skill. Most of us believe we are good at it. We nod in meetings, ask follow-up questions, and keep personal check-ins on the calendar.

And yet the people working for us tell a different story. Our Harris Poll research finds what separates exceptional leaders from good ones is better listening.

Learner Agility

The ability to adapt, learn, and evolve is increasingly essential in a rapidly changing business environment. From what we’ve seen, leaders who take this to heart are the ones who get lasting results.

How to Develop Leadership Skills: A 9-Step Practical Roadmap

1. Get an Honest Baseline

Most leaders dramatically overestimate their effectiveness. The fastest way to improve is to understand how others actually experience your leadership. This requires honest feedback, not assumptions.

Tools such as 180º assessments can provide objective insights into communication strengths, development opportunities, and leadership blind spots. Remember: you can’t improve what you don’t measure. 

2. Start by Picking One or Two Skills to Develop

A common mistake is attempting to improve everything simultaneously. Leadership growth works much like physical fitness. Trying to improve strength, endurance, flexibility, speed, and recovery all at once usually leads to burnout and inconsistency.

Choose one or two development priorities, and your focused effort will produce faster results. For example, here are some skill sets many leaders decide to start with:

• Listening and empathy
• Strategic communication
• Coaching conversations
• Executive presence

3. Define What “Better” Looks Like

Instead of simply saying, “I want to become a better communicator,” key in on specific observable behaviors that you’ll work on, such as:

• Ask three open-ended questions before offering advice.
• Provide strategic context in every team meeting.
• Conduct monthly development conversations with direct reports.
• End meetings by clarifying next steps and accountability.

4. Build a Daily Practice Cadence

Small, consistent repetitions matter more than occasional breakthroughs. For example:

• Begin meetings with recognition.
• Schedule weekly one-on-ones.
• Practice active listening during every conversation.
• Reflect on one leadership interaction each day.

5. Create a Feedback Loop with People Who Will Tell You the Truth

Improvement accelerates when feedback becomes continuous and genuine. Identify a small group of trusted colleagues, peers, or team members willing to provide candid observations. These are the people you trust to tell you the truth, not simply what you want to hear. The most effective leaders actively seek feedback before problems emerge.

Ask questions like:

• What should I continue doing?
• What should I do less of?
• What’s one thing that would make me more effective as a leader?

6. Use Real Conversations as Your Training Ground

Every difficult conversation, coaching discussion, team meeting, and change announcement becomes an opportunity to practice leadership skills. For instance, if you want to become more empathetic, practice empathy in actual conversations.

Further, if you want to improve strategic communication, start explaining context more effectively in meetings. If you want your team to feel safe to share candid reflections, start with some of your own.

Then ask team members this: What are some of the biggest challenges that you're carrying right now? How might I help?

7. Find a Thinking Partner, the Coach Who Checks Your Blind Spots

Even experienced leaders benefit from an outside perspective. One reason executive coaching works is that it creates space for reflection, accountability, and strategic thinking. A trusted advisor, mentor, or executive coach can help identify blind spots, challenge assumptions, and accelerate growth.

Many leaders discover that breakthroughs occur not because they receive answers, but because someone asks better questions. This is how executive advising and coaching create significant value.

8. Curate Your Inputs

Leadership development is heavily influenced by what you consume. The best leaders intentionally expose themselves to diverse perspectives, research, case studies, and leadership conversations.

Build a deliberate learning system that includes:

• Books
• Industry research
• Leadership communities
• Executive interviews
• Podcasts

My latest book, The Heart Work of Modern Leadership, is built around the research outlined above and equips leaders with the skills needed to close the gap between good and exceptional today.

If you’re a fan of podcasts, I highly recommend Partnering Leadership by Mahan Tavakoli. We discuss the hidden cost of good leadership today, and you can listen here.

9. Regularly Measure Progress

Most leaders evaluate employee and leader development far too infrequently. Instead, review progress quarterly.

Ask:

• What behaviors changed?
• What behaviors improved?
• What results are we seeing?
• What still needs work?

We believe strongly that what gets measured gets done. Development becomes sustainable when it is regularly measured and adjusted.

Five Mistakes That Stall Leadership Skill Development

1. Waiting Until Things Calm Down

Leadership development is often postponed until after the next project, reorganization, or busy season. The problem is that the moment rarely arrives. To truly change the culture of your organization, including employee engagement, commitment, and loyalty, it’s essential that you prioritize employee growth and development.

2. Trying to Develop Everything at Once

Too many priorities usually produce no meaningful progress. Employees get burned out and disengaged. Many “quietly quit.” As tempting as it may be to take on multiple priorities, focus always wins.

3. Confusing Learning with Development

Reading a leadership book is valuable, but that alone is not what creates new habits. Leaders need to practice them, and that’s where leadership training and coaching can be invaluable in moving the needle.

4. Avoiding or Ignoring Hard Feedback

Many leaders seek validation when they actually need insight. The feedback that stings often teaches the most, and the best leaders have the courage to ask tough questions about where they’re missing the mark.

5. Skipping the Crucial Conversations

Leadership growth doesn’t happen in theory, but through conversations. Prioritizing the following types of conversations is essential:

• Coaching discussions
• Performance conversations
• Team meetings
• Change communications
• Difficult feedback discussions

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the most important leadership skill to develop?

Communication. Every leadership capability is expressed through communication, making it foundational to influence, trust, alignment, and execution.

Can leadership skills be taught, or are leaders born?

Leadership skills can absolutely be learned. Research consistently shows that skills such as communication, emotional intelligence, coaching, and strategic thinking improve through deliberate practice.

How long does it take to develop leadership skills?

Meaningful improvement can happen right away, and lasting leadership growth is an ongoing process. Most leaders see measurable progress when they focus on one or two skills for at least 90 days.

How can I improve my leadership skills at work without taking time off for training?

Use everyday interactions as development opportunities. Practice active listening, seek feedback, provide context during meetings, and conduct regular coaching conversations.

How do you develop leadership skills in employees?

Provide stretch opportunities, coaching, feedback, mentoring, and opportunities to lead projects. Most importantly, give employees consistent chances to practice leadership behaviors.

What’s the difference between leadership development and leadership training?

Training delivers information. Development creates behavior change. Effective leadership development combines learning, practice, feedback, and accountability.

How do I know if my leadership skills are actually improving?

Look for observable behavioral changes that can be measured, such as improved employee feedback, stronger engagement, better team performance, and increased trust from colleagues and direct reports.

What are the most common mistakes leaders make when trying to improve?

The biggest mistakes include trying to improve too many skills at once, avoiding or ignoring feedback (especially tough feedback), and failing to practice new behaviors consistently.

How The Grossman Group Helps Leaders Develop

Leadership skills aren't built in a classroom. They're built in the moments that matter most.

For more than 25 years, we've helped leaders strengthen their effectiveness while navigating the realities of leadership: leading change, communicating strategy, building trust, aligning teams, developing employees, and guiding organizations through uncertainty.

Our work helps leaders understand how they're experienced by others, identify opportunities to grow, and translate leadership principles into practical behaviors employees can see, feel, and respond to.

We help organizations:

• Create stronger connections between leadership, employees, and business strategy so people understand where the organization is going, why it matters, and the role they play in achieving it.
• Build leadership capability across the organization through leadership communication training, development programs, and practical tools that help leaders at every level communicate with greater impact.
• Equip executive leadership teams to lead through change and transformation by building the communication capabilities needed to create clarity, reduce resistance, and accelerate adoption.
• Increase senior leadership team effectiveness by improving alignment, decision-making, communication, and the ability to lead as a unified team around business priorities.
• Strengthen individual leader effectiveness by helping leaders improve communication, build trust, increase self-awareness, and develop the behaviors employees consistently associate with exceptional leadership.

Whether we're advising a CEO and their team through a major transformation, helping an executive team increase its effectiveness, or developing leaders across the organization, our focus remains the same: helping leaders show up in ways that create stronger organizations and better business results.

Leadership development isn't about mastering a checklist of skills; it’s about becoming the kind of leader people want to follow.

Learn more about our leadership development consulting services and how we help leaders move from good to exceptional.

The Bottom Line

Leadership skills aren’t granted by a title. They’re built through intentional practice, consistent feedback, and repeated behavior change.

The most effective leaders recognize that communication is the operating system that carries every other leadership skill. Gratitude, empathy, strategic thinking, coaching, influence, and change leadership all become visible through the conversations leaders have every day.

The leaders who continue developing these capabilities won’t just keep pace with today’s workplace. They’ll create the kind of environment where employees thrive, grow, and do their best work.

Which leadership skill would create the greatest positive impact for your team if you improved it over the next 90 days?

—David Grossman

The leaders who thrive tomorrow are developing different skills today. The Heart Work of Modern Leadership shows you how to build the six leadership differentiators that help people, teams, and organizations perform at their best. Order from your preferred retailer today.