Shaping the Future of Work: 3 Leadership Trends for 2025

What does the future of work look like for leaders in 2025—especially in a climate of continuing uncertainty, pressure on managers to do more with less, and a charge to understand and adopt new business technologies like AI?

Whatever the future holds for leaders in the coming year, one thing is certain: Organizational culture and business results are better when people thrive in their work.

In the latest Global Culture Report by the O.C. Tanner Institute, we learn how employees thrive at work when they experience feelings of fulfillment and security about the future. It’s what happens when they have their basic needs met (adequate pay, health benefits, etc.), and experience growth opportunities, flexibility, and appreciation for their contributions.

But what about the leaders of an organization? What helps them to thrive? And how can they create a workplace culture where all employees can thrive and do their best work?

The 2025 Global Culture Report identifies three key elements to thriving at work that are as critical to leaders as they are to employees: flexibility, career development, and skill building.

Following are three leadership trends for 2025 that align with each of these elements and why they have the potential to help leaders and their organizations thrive in the coming year.

1. Leaders see increased value in offering more flexibility and adaptability

Leaders who choose to remain more flexible in their decision-making may not simply be a new trend, but a key strategy to helping their organizations thrive in 2025. That’s because most decisions don’t need to be black and white.

According to Forbes, the future of work in the coming year is no longer a final destination but an evolving journey of learning and adjustment. Instead of seeking definitive solutions, leaders must embrace discovery as an ongoing process. 

Forbes also contends that leaders who already recognize the need to be open to new ideas, emerging technologies, and shifting employee needs, must apply the same flexibility to all workplace trends, creating solutions that are less rigid and more like evolving frameworks.

The 2025 Global Culture Report, also noted that organizations should clarify what flexibility means for all employees and give leaders autonomy to work with their teams to determine the best ways to achieve equitable flexibility. Employees respond best to the kinds of flexibility that allow them to manage their own time, better balance their lives, and find greater fulfillment.

A recent example of leaders becoming more flexible in the workforce was when the Covid-19 pandemic forced CEOs to offer employees more ways to work outside of the office, including remote or hybrid work options. After the pandemic ended, many of those leaders found it was advantageous to continue to offer employees some flexibility in where and when they worked. In one survey, 82% of leaders said they planned to increase flexible work options over the next two years.

The results of greater flexibility are significant. For example, the O.C. Tanner Institute found that leaders who support equitable flexibility see a 6x increase in employee sense of trust and 10x increased odds of positive conflict management.

To learn about other workplace culture trends to expect in 2025, watch our recent webinar, 5 Workplace Culture Trends for 2025.

2. Leaders are asking for more career development options

In addition to flexibility, career development is another essential element to thriving at work. And it’s not only rank-and-file employees who can benefit from career development opportunities such as leadership training, career mentorship, and professional growth. Leaders are looking to grow their own skill sets and expertise to help them counter expanded duties and growing lists of initiatives.

For the third consecutive year, Gartner reports that leader development remains the top priority in 2025 for HR leaders. Their data confirms that the continued focus on development stems in part from managers feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities.

O.C. Tanner’s global research also substantiates this demand for leader development. Furthermore, providing development options is not only convenient, it’s motivational. When employees have access to leadership training through work, it increases the odds of engagement 4x. And when employees have access to career mentors through work, it increases their odds of engagement 5x.

Business News Daily published a list of 10 Development Goals for Better Leadership. Among them are notable areas of focus like “Improve your emotional intelligence,” “Be adaptable to change and growth,” and “Show appreciation, recognition, and empathy for your team.” They also highlighted why becoming more self-aware helps leaders choose the leadership development goals best for their unique situations.

3. Leaders look to build skills like forging genuine human connections

Career development leads us to the closely related leg of thriving at work—skill building. DDI, a leadership consulting firm, predicts that the most important skill in 2025 and beyond won't be technical prowess, but the ability to forge genuine human connections. Developing genuine trust and relationships with the people they manage is a skill, one that takes practice and dedication.

The firm explains that human connection is the most powerful tool for navigating issues like AI integration, hybrid work challenges, demand for versatile talent, and a looming leadership pipeline crisis. They forecast that the leaders who will thrive in 2025 are the ones who can inspire resilient, innovative teams through trust and genuine connections.

O.C. Tanner’s research confirms that people can develop emotional intelligence (also called EQ). This multi-faceted set of interpersonal skills has become extremely useful throughout workplaces and industries where it can quickly increase trust, innovation, and the bottom line. To learn more about the elements that make up EQ, read our Global Culture Report research on Applied Emotional Intelligence.

One leadership firm found that skills focused on connection particularly matter now. Inspiration and influence, learning, adaptability, and building talent and teams all reflect a leader’s ability to connect person to person both within and across their organization even as it changes.

Of course, a fantastic tool for building connection is employee recognition. Tools like O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud® platform can help leaders to deliver personalized recognition moments at scale.

Leaders can best address these trends through people-centered strategies

All three of the trends above can be exponentially more powerful when leaders take a people-centered approach to implement them.

A people-centered approach for flexibility might mean looking at issues like hybrid work through the employee’s perspective; asking questions like, “How will flexible work options help this person feel more in control of their work?” or “Why will they feel more engaged and listened to if they are offered more options?”

For skill building and career development, a people-centered approach means allowing employees to choose what skills they want to build and how to build them. Or it could involve offering a variety of opportunities and providing a clear development path with tangible steps.

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For more leadership and workplace insights, see the 2025 Global Culture Report.

O.C. Tanner is the global leader in software and services that improve workplace culture through meaningful employee recognition experiences. Learn more at octanner.com.