Indeed, while change may be inevitable in the
contemporary business world, that does not mean it has to be disruptive. Under
the right leadership, change can be a catalyst for growth, evolution, and
innovation. And that’s why, now more than ever, it helps to be a soothsaying
leader.

What is a Soothsaying Leader?

You may not yet have heard of “soothsaying”
leadership, but odds are that in these volatile times you’ve encountered the
need for exactly the kind of foresight that such a leadership style requires. A
soothsaying leader doesn’t seek to avoid or mitigate the impacts of change,
whether within the organization or in the marketplace.

Rather, such a leader prioritizes change,
particularly the effort to identify and prepare for internal and external
trends before they can become disruptive or damaging to the organization. Thus,
the soothsayer leader fosters a proactive rather than reactive corporate
culture, privileging agility and responsiveness over the status quo.

In closely monitoring emerging trends, these
future-oriented leaders aren’t just protecting their companies from being
caught flatfooted in periods of significant change, but they’re also staking an
important leadership position within their industry. And there’s perhaps no
better way than this to keep the organization healthy and its competitive
positioning strong.

Mind the Data

If you want to be an effective soothsayer for
your business, then the first thing you’re going to need to do is to focus on the data. To detect and understand
relevant changes in the market, the industry, or your company, you must know
how to collect, analyze, and translate salient data into actionable business
strategies.

For example, data analytics can alert you to
significant shifts in consumer demand. This can enable you to begin modifying
both your product portfolio and your brand strategy to align with and even to
lead and direct this evolving trend. For example, today’s consumers are far more socially conscious
than in decades past, and organizations that were able to establish themselves
effectively as leaders in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) or the
green/sustainability movements early on now have a definitive advantage in the
marketplace.

The Role of Inclusivity

In addition to harnessing the power of data
analytics to support a forward-thinking leadership model, one of the most
important things you can do to be a soothsayer for your team is to emphasize
workplace inclusivity.

Groupthink, after all, is a persistent threat
in any team environment, but that risk increases as diversity decreases. If you
want to be a future-focused, agile, and proactive leader, then you need to build an inclusive and diverse team that
provides an array of perspectives and experiences.

Consider, for example, the issue of gender
identity and its implications for marketing. It is only in recent years that
the concept of gender fluidity and non-binary persons has arrived at the front
of social discourse and consciousness, perpetuating the marginalization that
too many in the LGBTQ+ community have traditionally felt. Today, however,
binary gender can no longer be considered an unquestionable given, whether in
marketing, business, or leadership

Soothsaying leaders, in other words, will
understand and act upon the implications of these important social, cultural,
and marketplace innovations. Future-oriented business leaders in the fashion
industry, for instance, may lead product design and creative marketing teams in innovating and promoting gender-fluid apparel
for a rapidly changing market.

Teambuilding as a Soothsayer

Any experienced leader knows that there’s a
profound distinction between work groups and cohesive teams. Leaders also
know, though, that bridging this gap, transforming groups into teams, is no
mean feat.

Soothsaying leaders, however, have a unique
advantage in achieving this pivotal goal because their forward-thinking
attributes can be leveraged to unite individual group members in a shared
vision of success. This is an outstanding way to ensure that a disparate group
gels into a highly-functioning team than by ensuring that your employees are
all pulling in the same direction, all striving toward a shared target of what
tomorrow will, should, and must look like.

The Takeaway

The world of business today is one marked by
uncertainty, one deploy inflected with the unexpected. But that does not mean
that change has to be either disruptive or damaging. Indeed, soothsaying
leaders can transform inevitable market and workplace evolutions into
opportunities for innovation and improvement. All that is required is the
cultivation of a future-oriented leadership style that privileges both data and
diversity. In this way, the soothsaying leader leverages the power of numbers
and the perspectives of their people to help define what tomorrow will look
like. Armed with such knowledge, the forward-focused leader builds a business
strategy that is proactive, agile, and innovative, all key ingredients for
long-term success.

About the Author: Luke Smith is a writer and researcher turned
blogger. Since finishing college he is trying his hand at being a freelance
writer. He enjoys writing on a variety of topics but technology and business
topics are his favorite. When he isn’t writing you can find him traveling,
hiking, or gaming.