The pandemic sparked a new era of leadership. As employees struggled with challenges from health concerns to remote work adjustments, leaders responded with increased empathy, flexibility and understanding. The “nice boss” emerged as the gold standard of leadership.
Fast forward to today, and the tide has shifted. Across industries, managers are now abandoning empathetic leadership in favor of more direct, results-oriented leadership styles. What is driving this change? And how can leaders and employees successfully navigate this new reality?
What Is Behind The Shift In Leadership?
Economic Pressures Drive Results Focus
Companies face intense pressure to deliver results despite a relatively strong labor market. In practice, this means bosses are moving away from the empathetic style of leadership. Instead, they are focusing on driving measurable business results, even if it means less flexibility and fewer employee perks.
Cost-Cutting Signals A Cultural Change
Corporate cost-cutting initiatives have accelerated the trend away from employee benefits and rewards. These budget decisions often serve as the earliest indicators of shifting cultural priorities within organizations. When companies begin eliminating incentives that were once considered standard, it signals a fundamental revaluation of the employer-employee relationship.
Middle Management Is Starting To Vanish
Middle management, traditionally the buffer between executives and frontline workers, is shrinking dramatically. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 20% of organizations will use artificial intelligence to flatten their organizational structure, eliminating more than half of middle management roles. This flattening of organizational hierarchies means fewer advocates for employee concerns and more pressure to deliver measurable results.
Remote Work Paranoia Fuels Tougher Management
The rise of remote and hybrid work has also contributed to tougher management styles. Microsoft research finds that “85% of leaders say the shift to hybrid work has made it challenging to have confidence that employees are productive…This has led to productivity paranoia, where leaders fear that lost productivity is due to employees not working, even though hours worked, number of meetings, and other activity metrics have increased.”
How The New Approach Is Playing Out
Results-Oriented Style Takes Center Stage
Today’s leadership style emphasizes clarity, accountability and results above all else. Business leaders have been setting higher expectations and showing less tolerance for underperformance. This approach prioritizes measurable outcomes over employee experience and often comes with increased monitoring and performance metrics.
Return-To-Office Mandates End Flexibility
Return-to-office mandates exemplify this shift. Despite employee preferences for remote work, companies increasingly require in-person attendance, with some policies becoming more strict and requiring workers to be in the office five days a week.
Performance Metrics Demand Results
Performance management is also becoming more rigorous. Companies are reviving traditional performance reviews, setting more aggressive targets, and being quicker to address underperformance.
Communication Adopts Directness
The language of leadership has changed, too. Executives are increasingly direct in their communications, using phrases like “step up or step out” and reminding employees that “everybody’s replaceable.”
How To Navigate The New Workplace
As leadership styles shift from empathetic to results-driven, employees must recognize that today’s workplace requires a different mindset and approach.
Proving Your Value In Quantifiable Terms
In this new environment, your perceived value depends mainly on your ability to demonstrate concrete contributions to the bottom line. This means:
- Tracking accomplishments meticulously: Keep a running document of your achievements, quantified whenever possible.
- Speaking the language of business impact: Frame your contributions in terms executives care about, such as revenue, efficiency, cost reduction, risk mitigation and customer satisfaction.
- Increasing visibility for your work: Don’t assume your contributions are being noticed. Establish regular check-ins with managers to discuss progress and accomplishments.
- Becoming fluent in critical metrics: Understand which key performance indicators matter most to your role and how they connect to broader business goals.
Developing “Recession-Proof” Skills
As AI capabilities expand and companies remain vigilant about headcount, developing high-demand skills becomes crucial:
- Technical proficiency: Regardless of your role, understanding how to leverage AI tools and data analysis can distinguish you from your peers.
- Problem-solving abilities: Employees who can identify issues and implement solutions without extensive oversight become invaluable.
- Cross-functional capability: The ability to work effectively across departments becomes more valuable as organizational structures flatten.
- Relevant business acumen: Understanding how your organization makes money and its competitive landscape helps align your efforts with strategic priorities.
Mastering New Workplace Politics
The political landscape within organizations has shifted alongside leadership styles. Navigating these changes requires:
- Knowing how to read the room: Pay close attention to what behaviors are rewarded versus merely tolerated in the current climate.
- Building strategic relationships: Identify and cultivate connections with influential decision-makers who can advocate for your contributions.
- Projecting confidence and capability: Particularly in remote or hybrid environments, how you present yourself in meetings and communications significantly impacts perception.
- Balancing visibility with boundaries: While making your contributions known is essential, be strategic about when to take on additional work and when to protect your capacity.
Deciding Whether To Stay Or Go
For many employees, the new workplace reality prompts difficult decisions about adapting or seeking outside opportunities. Here are some considerations:
- Alignment with values: Does the current environment allow you to work in ways that align with your core values? If not, what compromises are you willing to make?
- Your career trajectory: Does your current role offer growth opportunities and skills development to help you achieve your long-term career goals?
- Work-life integration: Can you establish sustainable boundaries within the new expectations, or is the current pace unsustainable?
- Market alternatives: Research whether your industry as a whole is shifting or if other companies offer environments more aligned with your priorities.
Future-Proofing Your Career
As a forward-thinking employee, continue preparing for future shifts:
- Building a professional network: Maintain connections outside your current organization to stay aware of industry trends and opportunities.
- Developing more portable skills: Focus on acquiring capabilities that transfer across roles and industries.
- Maintaining financial flexibility: Build emergency savings that allow you to make career decisions from a position of choice rather than necessity.
- Cultivating innate adaptability: The ability to pivot and learn quickly will serve you regardless of how leadership styles evolve.
Is The ‘Nice Boss’ Gone For Good?
Rather than resisting this swing away from the “nice boss,” leaders and employees benefit from strategically adapting. For leaders, this means having high expectations while recognizing that sustainable performance requires supporting employee well-being. For employees, it means embracing accountability, developing greater self-sufficiency, and demonstrating value. The organizations that thrive will be those that find the sweet spot, combining clear expectations and accountability with respect for employees as human beings. Wouldn’t it be nice for the phrase “It’s not personal, it’s just business” to one day transform into “It’s not just business, it’s personal”?
A version of this article appeared on forbes.com, posted on May 19, 2025
EXPERD, Human Resources Consultant, Jakarta – Indonesia