Digital Literacy the Most Important Skill for Leaders-ReportThe report by DDI also added frontline leaders are responsible for more than 80 percent of an organization's workforce and are directly connected in executing an organization's strategy

Today, the definition of leadership has gone much beyond than just hiring and managing employees.

Global leadership consulting firm, Development Dimensions International (DDI) recently released a report,India's First-Time Leader Report: Surprising Insights into the Path to Frontline Leadership,which explores the anxieties, challenges and mindsets of first-time leaders. The report says, "In our work, we've seen a common theme of anxiety—felt both by frontline leaders and the people around them." The report also added frontline leaders are responsible for more than 80 percent of an organization's workforce and are directly connected in executing an organization's strategy.

5 Most Important Skills for a Leader

According to the report, digital literacy is the most important skill that leaders need. In today's time, when the world runs on internet and everything is getting digitized from finance and banking to communication, having digital knowledge does give a person an edge. Moreover, literacy in this space also makes the person more productive leading to greater efficiency and influence on the people around him.

To Be or Not To Be

A common thought or mindset among people looking at making a career in the business world is that having a degree in Master of Business Administration (MBA) is paramountly important. The report refutes the thought and instead claims MBA's don't create better leaders. The report reads, "Frontline managers with an MBA showed only a minor increase in leadership behavior over those with bachelor's degrees in business who did not go on to achieve an MBA." The report further states it is wrong of organizations to assume people have all the important skills just because they possess an MBA degree. Moreover, it also reads, "They (organization) may be failing to provide enough leadership training for these groups, assuming that their MBA education had already covered it."

Women Surpassing Men

Even though building an egalitarian world seems to be an ideal every organization wants to accomplish, the reality is very few women are in top managerial positions. According to a report by Credit Suisse Research Institute (CSRI) titledThe CS Gender 3000 in 2019: The changing face of companies,the percentage of women on board globally now stands at 20.6 percent. The numbers are shocking, nevertheless, true. The report supports the above argument when it says, "One of the reasons often cited for the lack of women in leadership is that they may be naturally less qualified leaders."

The report proving the contrariness of these "natural assumptions" concluded women perform equally compared to men with regards to hard skills (judgment, planning and decision) and outperform men in soft skills, excelling in the areas of coaching others, facilitating change and building trusting relationships.