So, there’s a need for more personalized training and mentorship to ease the transition into management roles. Leaders will also need to show leadership is a sustainable career path by demonstrating work-life balance and creating cultures that prioritize authenticity, empathy and wellbeing.

Stephanie Neal, director of center for analytics and behavioral research, DDI

Manager effectiveness

We can expect to see manager effectiveness as a focus area in 2025, as many organizations are asking fewer managers to make a bigger impact on the bottom line. We saw the start of this with Amazon’s decision to eliminate middle managers that launched the trend of “unbossing” this past year. However, leaders will soon realize eliminating the manager role isn’t the solution to manager effectiveness.

Organizations will leave behind traditional performance management systems and implement a wider adoption of AI tools to support the manager – modernizing their approach to develop high-performing teams that drive meaningful business outcomes.

Cheryl Johnson, CTPO, Betterworks

Shifting focus to middle managers

Focus on your middle managers, who perform balancing acts by juggling leadership, projects and people. In 2025, a critical focus of our people managers will be supporting our mid-level managers who are expected to deliver on their own objectives while also serving as selfless leaders, project managers and emotional mediators.

Successfully balancing these competing needs requires building resilience, a healthy level of optimism and a strong sense of self, enabling our employees to grow and thrive in dynamic and demanding environments.

Dessalen Wood, global chief people officer, Syntax Systems

Furthering employees’ careers

In 2025 and beyond, 1:1 experiences will be at the forefront of talent management at a time when 54% of employees rate their employer’s commitment to furthering their career average or poor. Personalized digital workspaces will reshape how organizations engage, develop and retain their employees. From performance nudges and learning recommendations to tailored benefit suggestions and volunteer opportunities, employees will expect a level of personalization similar to the social, search, and shopping apps they use daily.

Delivering these experiences at scale will become critical for upskilling, reskilling and maximizing employee engagement – ultimately creating a more dynamic and productive workplace. Organizations and leaders that embrace this shift will set the standard for future success.

Celia Fleischaker, CMO, isolved

The role of leadership and mental health

While progress has been made in recent years toward reducing the stigma around mental health, more can be done as we look ahead. HR and benefits leaders are well-positioned right now to normalize mental health conversations by actively discussing mental health and taking steps to continue eradicating this stigma. By sharing their own experiences, they have an opportunity to create a safe space for employees moving forward, which can be amplified by establishing Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for mental health and diverse communities.

To further maximize this effort, proactively encourage engagement with Employee Assistance Program (EAP) as well as training to ensure managers, supervisors, and others are aware of culturally sensitive communication and can recognize signs of mental health challenges. As leaders, ensuring all employees, regardless of background, have access to mental health support is both a moral and business imperative as we turn the calendar to 2025.

Keri Robertson Fuenzalida, DO FACOEP medical director, Health Advocate

The rise of human-centric leadership

Leaders will focus more on creating environments where empathy, flexibility, and wellbeing are integral parts of company culture.

Emotional intelligence and compassion are becoming highly valued leadership skills, with many organizations now training managers on fostering emotional connections and trust.

Carmen Amador Barreiro, community lead and organizational psychologist, Oyster