High performance leadership in 2025: top skills & development for today’s workplaces
Workplaces clinging to “louder, faster, more” leadership aren’t just under-performing, they’re at risk of collapse in our AI-charged, people-first era. That version of leadership has expired. The world of work has shifted - and leadership has to shift too.
According to sustainable high performance expert Anna Glynn, today, high performance leadership is about creating the conditions where people and performance can thrive - leading in a way that doesn’t lead to burnout, disengagement or turnover.
Let’s break down what leadership looks like in 2025 (and beyond) and what it takes to become a truly high performance leader.
Redefining high performance leadership
What is high performance leadership today?
Just ten years ago, leaders equated performance with pure outputs: sales, revenue, productivity, and profit. But today we know true performance stems from the conditions behind the numbers.
Anna puts it simply: “Engagement, wellbeing, resilience, and psychological safety are now recognised as the performance multipliers because they supercharge sustainable results.”
In other words, it’s not enough to just hit targets – you’ve got to build the culture and conditions that make high performance sustainable. In a world of constant change, Anna says this will be what sets great leaders apart.
“Leaders must now be culture creators and nurturers, not just task managers,” says Anna.
That means leading with clarity, confidence, and purpose. And knowing the foundations that make strong, consistent performance possible, even in high-pressure or high-change environments. It means building teams that feel safe to speak up, experiment, fail fast (and learn faster), and follow you out of trust, not obligation.
Leadership in a hybrid, AI-everything world.
Remote working and AI have rewritten the rules. Teams are dispersed. Work is always on. AI is everywhere. Attention is harder to earn.
Leaders must be more intentional about how they show up, communicate, and connect across physical and digital spaces.
You’re no longer the font of all knowledge, AI can handle that. Your role is to lead with your innate ‘humanness’, providing what machines cannot.
“While AI can handle data, process tasks, automate workflows, leaders bring clarity, context and connection. That’s your lane,” says Anna.
When AI frees up capacity, what should leaders do with it? According to Anna, it’s critical not to pile on more work but to refocus on what adds value and meaning. Help your team unlock truly human skills to do that - empathy, curiosity, creative problem-solving.
“Leaders must double down on what only humans can do: inspire, relate, trust, connect.”
Yes, digital literacy is important. But as Anna points out, “It’s not about being an AI expert.”
“It’s about being curious, open, and ready to help your team use tech in ways that unlock their superpowers, not bury them in new systems and stress.”
The top leadership skills for 2025 (and beyond)
So what does it take to lead successfully now? Anna highlights three core capabilities every high-performance leader must master, and she’s clear: “These aren’t nice-to-haves’ anymore. They’re strategic. They’re human. Dismissing them as ‘soft’ will cost you innovation, engagement and retention.”
1. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
EQ is the baseline, the engine room of modern leadership. It’s how you build trust, motivate, resolve tension, strengthen accountability, manage stress, have real conversations and create spaces where people feel seen and supported.
As AI handles more technical tasks, human-centred leadership stands out in its ability to build trust, navigate relationships, and foster psychological safety.
And it matters for performance, too.
“We need to be aware of the power of emotions. For performance, positive emotions lead teams to be more creative and innovative, which leads to better performance over the long term,” says Anna.
2. Resilience & Adaptability
“In a world of constant change and uncertainty, leaders need to be an example for their team of how to adapt with confidence, stay grounded, think critically, and look for opportunities when challenges arise,” Anna says.
This goes beyond grit or simply pushing through. It’s about modelling a growth mindset that embraces change and setbacks as learning opportunities and encourages progress even when the path isn’t clear.
And that’s where hope comes in.
According to Gallup’s Global Leadership Report: What Followers Want, the #1 thing people need from leaders is hope.
Hope isn’t about blind positivity. It’s about holding a vision for a better future, and helping others see how to get there. It means knowing things are hard now but offering direction and reminding people of their strengths when energy runs low.
“Teams are looking to their leaders not just for direction, but for belief in a better future,” Anna says.
3. AI & Digital Literacy
You don’t have to code. But you do need to understand how tech – including AI – can amplify your people, not overwhelm them.
This means guiding your team to use tools, new and existing, in ways that free up their time, harness their strengths, and protect their energy.
Taking high performance leadership from theory to habits
High-performance leadership isn’t a theory; it’s a practice. And according to Anna, the best leaders share a few key habits and behaviours:
They’re deeply aligned with the organisation’s purpose so their teams know what they are working towards.
They design roles around strengths, not just job descriptions.
They create psychological safety rituals where people speak up, share ideas, and learn from mistakes.
They foster growth-oriented mindsets, celebrating learning especially when things go wrong.
They prioritise energy and wellbeing, understanding what fuels them, taking real breaks and modelling healthy boundaries
They invest in meaningful connection - celebrating wins, checking in on weekends, and knowing their people beyond their roles.
“This style of leadership should feel right, it should feel human” says Anna. “After all, when you lead by treating people as you’d wish to be treated, work becomes a place to flourish, not merely function.”
Rethinking leadership development
As leadership evolves, so too must the way we develop leaders. Traditional training days and tick-the-box programs are no longer enough.
According to Anna, today’s leaders need:
On-the-job micro learning: Bite-sized, practical habits embedded into their daily routines.
Coaching and mentoring: Real-time support to stay accountable and supported as they apply what they learn.
Peer communities: Structured forums where leaders swap challenges, feedback and best practices.
Tech-enabled tools: AI tools and apps, like Maxme’s Hodie, that teach, coach and prompt better leadership habits.
System-wide alignment: Building processes, policies and cultures that reinforce human-centric leadership everywhere.
The future of leadership
Leadership has never been harder or more important than it is today. The role has evolved dramatically, and it’s no surprise that many leaders are burning out under the weight of expectation.
But Anna says the future is full of opportunity.
Over the next few years, the goal is to make human-centred leadership second nature. Emotional intelligence, psychological safety, and relationship-building won’t be the extra stuff; they’ll be the main stuff. AI will keep evolving, but human connection will remain irreplaceable.
“Leadership in 2025 and beyond is about treating people how you’d want to be treated, and building a workplace where everyone can be at their best,” Anna says.
“Great leadership in 2025 should feel not just effective, but good. We spend so much of our lives at work – it should be a place where everyone thrives.”
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Anna Glynn
Speaker, Author, Coach - Thriving Workplaces
With over a decade of experience in the financial services industry, including leading national sales teams, Anna translates the latest research into relatable and practical strategies that empower people and performance to thrive.
In her practice, Anna has worked with global teams across various industries, teaching them what leads to greater engagement, resilience, wellbeing and performance at work.
Anna's mission is to create workplaces where people can be at their best every day and are better off having worked there.
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