Say the phrase “leadership,” most people visualize a crisp suit, a frown, and someone yelling commands across a glass table. The image in that is old. The current state of business environment? It is as wild as an overloaded coffee cup first thing Monday morning. The modern successful leader cannot just assign chores and call it a day. What does it take to lead effectively today? Rita Field-Marsham points to resilience, empathy, and a clear sense of direction.

Not magic wand, not secret handshake—just humans. Actually, connection counts. Workers want leaders who pay attention to ideas and avoid nodding while surreptitiously glancing at their phone. Consider Tom, who guided a team through a difficult merger. He skipped the stuffy boardroom gatherings. Rather, he listened, set aside time for private meetings, and kept the team under current. Performance soared, but people felt heard as well. Not surprising, either.

Now the show is run by adaptation. Some ideas worked great a year ago. Your tried-and-true method could fail today. Excellent leaders remain agile, see the signals, and are not hesitant to throw out out antiquated behaviors. Consider it as organizing a messy closet—hard effort, heaps of unyielding mess, but oh, the relief later. You occasionally have to let go of holy cows, tidy fresh ideas, and be ready for public mistakes.

Transparency does not have to mean exposing your soul over every little choice. But hiding behind language or rigid memoranda simply encourages rumors and uncertainty. People seek simplicity, straight forward honesty. Not a smoke and mirror show. Just straight forward communication. Tell me if revenues fall, please. When difficult decisions lie ahead, explain why. Leaders start to bank more trust for rainy days the more they do this.

Though it seems like corporate buzzword bingo, empowerment is really letting people run with their ideas. Micromanaging is not a good idea. If you find yourself continuously staring over someone’s shoulder, you should not be astonished when they cease offering brilliant ideas. Real responsibility—and credit—allows one to develop loyalty quickly. Turn over the keys to someone and observe their driving.

These days, emotional intelligence is not a soft skill. It is a necessary yet difficult one. These are the people colleagues gather behind: leaders tuned in to moods, read the room, and know when to crack a joke or back off. Though you should not become Oprah, empathy and a little humility are more valuable than gold stars.

difficulties? One finds them everywhere. One day remote teams; then, unforeseen technological problems. The leaders who stay curious, roll with the punches, and chuckle off the tiny mistakes? Teams are kept together by them. Think more “Let’s figure this out together,” than “I always have the answer.”

Therefore, even if your coffee is still overflowing, chances are you are leading effectively in this whirlpool business environment if you are foregoing the command-and- control routine, dragging up a chair, and keeping things real.