The world is changing fast, and businesses must adapt to the demands of the times. Businesses need leaders that can see their companies through the uncertainty.

As the business landscape shifts, leaders need to stay on top of the developments that either threaten their companies or present opportunities. Here are four leadership trends to watch in the years to come.

1. Focus on Change

No longer is it enough to simply direct a business through times of change. The concept of change leadership emphasizes that leaders must be a part of the evolution, using vision and inspiration to encourage the business to anticipate and embrace change. Doing so will allow people to direct change instead of just reacting to it.

2. Challenges of Flexibility

Teams have greater flexibility to work remotely and set their own hours. There are many benefits to allowing employees to work from home, including increased satisfaction and decreased costs. Businesses also have access to a wider pool of talent than ever before.

However, companies also face many challenges with these flexible models. Leaders must ensure worker productivity and develop and manage new types of workflows. Developing a cohesive company culture can be difficult when employees are not located in one place. The most successful leaders will be those who can adapt and reap the benefits of remote work while mitigating the difficulties.

3. Employee Wellbeing

The wellbeing of employees is an increasingly greater focus for businesses as they find that taking care of their human capital leads to more productive and satisfied workers. Leaders should develop programs that address both the physical and mental health of their employees.

Managing with employee wellbeing in mind will become imperative as the workforce continues to demand it. Those businesses that are unable or unwilling to keep up with this trend will find it difficult to hire and retain the best workers.

4. Ethical Accountability

Businesses will need to do more than pay lip service to the growing demand for ethical accountability in corporations. Stakeholders will only accept meaningful change. 

In addition to addressing obvious areas, leaders will also need to eliminate areas of unintentional ethical lapses. Reducing competitiveness in the company culture can help to do this.

Leadership must develop clear procedures for how to handle unethical behavior and follow those procedures consistently.

As the business world continues to see unprecedented change, leaders must anticipate and adapt when faced with the unexpected. Those that can will see their businesses flourish.