Leadership today looks very different from even a few years ago. Managers are expected to navigate constant change, rising pressure and growing complexity, often without clear authority or stable structures to rely on. At the same time, decisions move faster, mistakes are more visible and teams look to their leaders for clarity and confidence in uncertain situations.
In this article, we explore five essential power skills that help managers lead high-impact teams in modern organisations. Drawing on insights from Kate Sullivan, it shows how effective leaders build trust, maintain momentum and develop others, not through control, but through judgement, emotional steadiness and purposeful influence.
7 minutes
Leadership today feels quieter than it once did, but also more exposed. There is more information, more communication and more visibility, yet less certainty about how work will unfold. Managers are expected to move quickly, stay composed and bring people with them, often without the comfort of clear authority or stable conditions.
Artificial intelligence has accelerated this shift. It has made drafting, analysing and sharing information easier, but it has not reduced the need for judgement. In many cases, it has raised the stakes. Decisions travel faster. Misjudgements linger longer. The leaders who stand out are not those who do more, but those who bring clarity, steadiness and intent to the moments that matter.
To understand what this looks like in practice, we spoke with Kate Sullivan, a global people, learning and talent development leader. Rather than focusing on trends or personality traits, she highlights five practical capabilities that consistently help leaders maintain momentum when work becomes complex or pressured.
Power skill 1: Leading in complexity rather than certainty
What has changed most in how leaders need to operate?
Kate explains that many leaders are no longer working in systems where authority neatly translates into outcomes. Work now cuts across functions, locations and priorities, often with shared accountability and unclear ownership. In this context, leadership is less about having all the answers and more about creating enough clarity for people to move forward together.
Many managers struggle because they act before fully understanding what is getting in the way. They move quickly to solutions without pausing to ask what is slowing progress. Is it unclear direction, competing expectations, unresolved tension or simple overload?
Effective leadership now begins with reading the situation properly. This means understanding where a team is, how decisions are really being made and where assumptions are drifting apart. From there, the focus is on shaping the conditions people need to work well: clear priorities, simple coordination and early course correction.
Momentum is easier to lose than many leaders expect. Those who can steady direction and expectations, especially when control is limited, make a noticeable difference to performance.
Power skill 2: Emotional steadiness under sustained pressure
Pressure has always been part of leadership. Why does it feel different now?
According to Kate, pressure today is more continuous and more visible. Leaders rarely get a clean break between challenges and many decisions are made in front of others rather than behind closed doors. In this environment, emotional intelligence becomes highly practical.
What distinguishes strong leaders is not whether they feel pressure, but how they respond to it. When leaders become reactive, their thinking narrows and the emotional tone of the team often follows. When they remain steady, they give others space to think clearly.
Emotional steadiness appears in small moments: pausing before responding, noticing when emotion is influencing judgement and choosing tone carefully. Leaders often underestimate how much their presence affects confidence, focus and trust.
People perform better when they believe their manager will stay fair, thoughtful and composed when things are difficult. That belief is built quietly over time through consistent behaviour.
Power skill 3: Influencing without relying on authority
Why has influence become such a central leadership skill?
Many outcomes now depend on people who do not report directly to you. Stakeholders, partners and cross-functional colleagues all shape results and authority alone rarely gets work over the line.
Kate notes that some leaders approach influence as persuasion, trying to convince others rather than align with them. In practice, influence grows from clarity of intent, understanding what matters to different people and behaving consistently.
Strong leaders are deliberate about engagement. They think carefully about who needs to be involved, when and for what purpose. They invest in relationships early, not only when problems arise. When disagreement surfaces, they stay curious and measured rather than defensive.
Over time, this approach builds trust. When leaders are experienced as clear, fair and reliable, alignment becomes easier. When they are unpredictable or avoid difficult conversations, progress slows. Influence comes from how leaders show up, not what they push for.
Power skill 4: Developing others without creating dependency
Why is developing others such a defining capability today?
Leaders can no longer do everything themselves. The pace and complexity of work mean success depends on how well others can think, decide and act with confidence.
The temptation is to step in quickly, solve the problem or take work back. While this can feel helpful in the moment, it often creates dependency and limits long-term growth.
More effective leaders take a different approach. They help people make sense of situations rather than telling them what to do. They share perspective and judgement while staying clear about expectations and follow-through.
Development is not just about encouragement. It is purposeful, structured and reviewed. When done well, it builds confidence, improves decision quality and frees leaders to focus where they add the most value. Leaders who can grow capability without lowering standards are increasingly valuable.
Power skill 5: Sustaining focus and intent over time
How do leaders maintain momentum in demanding environments?
Kate emphasises that modern leadership is a long-distance effort. Constant change, competing priorities and ongoing pressure can easily fragment attention and dilute purpose.
High-performing leaders are deliberate about focus. They return regularly to what matters most, reinforce priorities and protect time for important work. They resist the urge to chase every new issue at the expense of strategic progress.
They also communicate intent clearly and repeatedly. Teams perform better when they understand not only what is required, but why it matters. Consistent messaging helps people make better decisions independently and reduces unnecessary friction.
Sustained performance depends on this combination of clarity, discipline and follow-through. Without it, even talented teams struggle to maintain direction.
Leading with purpose in uncertain times
The challenges facing managers today are unlikely to disappear. Complexity, visibility and pressure are now permanent features of working life.
The leaders who thrive are not those who rely on authority or charisma. They are those who read situations well, stay emotionally steady, influence thoughtfully, develop others and sustain focus.
These five power skills do not require dramatic gestures. They are built through daily choices, consistent behaviour and careful attention to how work really happens. Over time, they create the conditions in which high-impact teams can flourish.
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