Following last year’s strong growth, the leadership index score fell by 0.5 points to 63.8 out of 100. Although nearly every leadership indicator declined, most remain higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The exception is that fewer leaders are providing constructive feedback, which dropped 1.5 percentage points (pp) to a new low of 16.6%. Leaders are potentially weighing up their team’s professional development against their emotional state in challenging circumstances, and deciding it’s not the right time to provide feedback that may cause more stress or emotional strain. Instead, leaders are focusing on communicating more effectively with remote workers and trusting them to do their jobs (up 7.6pp and 11.9 pp respectively).

Leaders have faced some big challenges with extended lockdowns and shutdowns, so it’s no surprise they’re struggling to support their teams as effectively as they did in the early days of the pandemic. As expectations of leaders have mounted and remote working has become the new normal for many workplaces, it’s possible that many leaders don’t have the skills to help their teams navigate these workplace changes. It’s important to remember that leaders are people too, and are feeling the effects of pandemic fatigue like the rest of the workforce. With many leaders feeling anxious (31.0%), depressed (23.5%) and isolated (18.6%), workplaces need to support their leaders’ mental health and wellbeing so they can continue to support their teams.