Companies everywhere have been struggling to find top talent. Yet, when they do hire quality employees, they often don’t prioritize career growth or flexibility to nurture and retain their talent. Much has changed in the face of challenging world events, including the hot leadership topics and workforce trends that companies must stay ahead of to retain top talent.

What Should Companies Prioritize in 2023 to Retain and Grow Talent?

For the past eight years, we’ve identified trending leadership topics by examining the content shared by the 20 top influencers on Twitter. Based on this year’s analysis, the hot leadership topics identified for 2023 signal a shifting workplace. This is a new era in which employees’ needs and expectations for balance and well-being will require companies to do more with less. Starting with the themes social influencers mentioned most, here are the first three hot leadership topics for 2023.

1. The Struggle to Create Positive Work Cultures

Work culture has taken its biggest hit in decades. With more employees dispersed than ever, in-person workplaces are seeing their talent drawn to greener pastures. There’s a risk of toxic “bubbles” building within companies that inconsistently offer employees flexibility or positive experiences. And this has quickly raised the stakes for what it means to be a “best place to work.”

According to more than 450 CHROs participating in DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2023, workplaces will continue to become more diverse, flexible, and dispersed, hence challenging what it means to have a unified company culture. As a result, leaders will play a more vital role in creating positive and magnetic work cultures for their teams. More inclusive and empathetic leaders can prevent toxic cultures from emerging and better foster and sustain the positive work connections that help retain key talent.

2. From Ideal Employee Experiences to Real Commitment

Changes in the world outside of work have fueled a strong desire from employees to see companies commit to new modes of operation. For many, this looks like a push toward sustainability-driven social causes, but it’s also about getting more commitment. Employees and consumers are voicing a stronger desire to see companies embrace changes to address major challenges in business and society.

How can companies find the best path to business success while also growing a talented workforce that wants to remain through challenges? Will more companies adopt a four-day workweek? A reduced work schedule may better meet the needs of the modern workforce. However, companies that decide to move forward must offer more than an ideal employee experience and better working methods. People want to see real change, not a return to the old way of doing things.

3. Management—The Burden Fewer Want to Bear

A growing sense of crisis and change fatigue has been sinking in for leaders, many of whom are overwhelmed by talent losses amidst rising inflation and hiring costs. As a result, companies are seeing increased risk to their most critical talent pool that can’t be satisfied solely by increased pay. Considering how crucial leadership is to retaining talent, companies must quickly prioritize leadership development and support before they experience critical losses at higher levels. This may mean extending leave time and other benefits to reduce the growing risk of burnout for leaders, who have historically been rewarded by bonuses alone.

Get the rest of this year’s 10 hot leadership topics on DDI’s blog.