Leadership Has Always Moved with the Times
Leadership has always moved with the times. However, what is happening now feels different. The role is not simply changing; it is expanding. Leaders are expected to do more, be more, and navigate greater complexity than even a few years ago. The pace shows little sign of slowing.
That was the starting point for Redefining Leadership in a Changing World, a thought leadership webinar hosted by ILM on 7 July 2026. Bringing together employers, learners and industry experts, the session explored what is changing for leaders and what it now takes to lead effectively.
What Is Changing for Leaders?
In a live audience poll, attendees identified artificial intelligence (AI) as the biggest factor changing how they lead, followed by organisational culture, wellbeing, hybrid working and the increasing speed of change.
When asked what their people now expect from leaders, respondents highlighted fairness, wellbeing, psychological safety, trust and the freedom to speak up.
Viewed together, these results reveal the scale of today's leadership challenge. Leaders sit between growing organisational demands and rising employee expectations. Leadership is the bridge between the two, and that bridge is carrying more weight than ever.
AI and the Future of Leadership
Keynote speaker Heidi Thomas, leadership development professional, researcher and coach at The Oxford Group, tackled a question many organisations are facing: as AI adoption accelerates, how can leaders ensure responsible implementation, innovation and value?
Her answer reframed the debate. In an age of AI, leadership becomes more deliberately human, not less. AI can generate answers in seconds, but it cannot determine whether those answers are right for a particular situation, team or organisation.
As Heidi put it:
AI may provide the intelligence, but leaders provide the wisdom.
She identified three key risks:
- Automation Without Judgement - accepting AI-generated outputs without critically evaluating them.
- Adoption Without Trust - implementing technology without addressing employee concerns about monitoring, replacement or job security.
- Speed Without Ethics - prioritising efficiency while overlooking fairness, bias and accountability.
Each risk requires a human response. Leaders need curiosity rather than certainty, the confidence to ask better questions rather than provide every answer, and the ability to create environments where people feel safe challenging assumptions and raising concerns.
Her central message was clear: organisations should invest as heavily in judgement, communication and emotional intelligence as they do in technology itself.
What Practitioners Are Doing
The panel discussion brought these ideas to life.
Kay Knight, Qualifications Centre Manager at Avara Foods, described how hybrid working has transformed leadership into something that must be practised intentionally rather than assumed through position or proximity.
In a large, multi-site organisation, leaders can no longer rely on corridor conversations or informal interactions. Effective communication means not only sharing information but checking that it has been understood.
Her perspective on coaching was equally practical.
Coaching is not about having all the answers,' she explained. 'It is about creating the time and space for people to find their own.
Avara Foods has embedded this thinking into its culture, replacing annual performance appraisals with monthly one-to-one conversations. Reflection, Kay argued, is not a luxury but an essential leadership practice.
She also offered a simple definition of psychological safety: an environment where people feel comfortable saying, 'I think we have a problem,' or 'I made a mistake.'
Salvatore Maggio, Bar Manager at One Aldwych and a lifelong ILM learner, shared the learner's perspective. Through his ILM qualifications, he developed a more participative and coaching-led leadership style. He has seen the impact firsthand in stronger team culture, higher motivation and improved retention, including employees who had previously considered leaving choosing to stay.
Heidi concluded with a practical action every leader can take immediately: ask more coaching questions.
What options have you considered?
What else is out there?
Simple questions, she explained, can build confidence, psychological safety and innovation simultaneously.
Why ILM Is Transforming
ILM Product Manager Joe Ballantine explained why the organisation is transforming its qualification portfolio and why that change matters.
The redesign has been shaped directly by customer feedback, with employers and providers asking for greater relevance, continued flexibility and stronger alignment with workplace practice.
That feedback informed three core design principles:
- Simplicity
- Flexibility
- Stronger workplace impact
The first phase is already live. New leadership and management skills qualifications at levels 2, 3 and 5 launched in January 2026, focusing on competence development and portfolio-based assessment.
Coming in autumn 2026 are shorter, assignment-based development qualifications at levels 3 and 5, designed to support learning at the point of need. Refreshed coaching and mentoring qualifications at levels 3, 5 and 7 will follow shortly afterwards.
To support centres through the transition, the existing portfolio has been extended until July 2027.
Throughout, Joe's message was consistent: ILM is building the future portfolio with customers, not simply for them.
The Takeaway
Across every presentation and discussion, one message stood out.
Leadership capability has never been more important—or more complex. While technology continues to reshape organisations, success will depend on leaders' ability to exercise judgement, build trust, foster psychological safety and develop the human skills that technology cannot replace.
ILM's portfolio transformation is a direct response to this changing leadership landscape, helping organisations develop the capabilities leaders need now and in the future.
Find out more
Explore what the new ILM portfolio means for your organisation or provision ILM Leadership and management qualifications
Register your interest:
ILM Leadership and Management Conference – 6 October 2026
ILM Coaching and Mentoring Conference – 21 October 2026
