3 Leadership Traits That Can Help Shape the Future of Work

# What happened At the 20th annual Women of Power Summit in Las Vegas, senior leaders discussed how leadership expectations are shifting. Speakers emphasized that leaders now need to balance measurable business results with a stronger focus on people, trust, and the ability to navigate change.

Nicole Ulmer Hill, VP of Service at ADP and a member of ADP's Women in Leadership Board, participated in a panel titled "The Next Generation of C-Suite Leaders." Panelists centered the conversation on concrete leader behaviors that help organizations prepare for the evolving future of work.

# The three traits that matter Panelists framed their guidance around three practical traits: courage, curiosity, and clarity.

• Courage

Leaders face decisions about technology adoption, workforce changes, and trade-offs where there's no perfect answer. Courage enables decisive action, advocacy for teams, and movement through uncertainty rather than paralysis.

• Curiosity

The business environment keeps changing. Curious leaders pursue continuous learning, seek different perspectives, and look for new opportunities. Curiosity helps organizations stay agile and identify innovations before competitors do.

• Clarity

Complexity increases friction. Leaders who communicate a clear vision, set priorities, and align teams around shared goals reduce confusion and increase confidence and execution.

Hill summarized the approach: "The leaders who will shape the future aren't those who have all the answers. They're the ones who lead with courage, stay curious enough to keep learning, and provide the clarity that helps others succeed." That combination links action, learning, and alignment.

# Leadership beyond titles

# What organizations can do now The summit discussion points to a few concrete actions organizations can take:

• Invest in leadership development programs that teach decision-making under uncertainty, curiosity-led problem framing, and communication that creates alignment.
• Create opportunities for employees to lead initiatives without formal promotion, so leadership skills are practiced and assessed in real work.
• Make clarity part of managerial expectations: require clear priorities, outcome-oriented roadmaps, and regular alignment checkpoints.
• Reward behaviors that show courage and curiosity, such as responsible risk-taking, cross-functional learning, and constructive experimentation.

# Bottom line