Looking for a new leader? 

Maritime headhunters can help you find the perfect candidate to fill your high-level leadership position. They will save you time, money, and resources, and use their years of experience built on trust, guaranteed results and transparency to take care of your recruitment for you so that you can focus on the core aspects of your business. 

If you’re seeking to fill an executive role right now and want to hire the right person, there are at least 9 C-Suite skills you need to hone in on for in your next hire. A leader in a high-level maritime position must be resilient, emotionally intelligent, and technologically competent in 2023 when the demand for remote workforces and data-driven decision making is stronger than ever. 

In this article, we take an in-depth look at the 9 C-Suite skills all leaders need to master.

Digital Transformation 

Anyone who takes on a leadership role in 2023 and beyond must be able to keep up with the latest changes in technology – which are coming thick and fast.

A leader needs to be able to navigate digital disruption with competence and agility. The types of technology they need to be familiar with include Artificial Intelligence, robotics, blockchain and more.

They also need to have an eye for trends, as well as to be able to spot threats before they become serious. 

Sustainability 

The world is changing, with more and more businesses recognising the importance of both environmental and social sustainability. 

This means that any leader must be tasked with the ability to understand these issues on a fundamental level and implement sustainable strategies as a matter of priority – rather than a mere PR stunt. 

A leader must be able to tackle environmental and social sustainability issues head-on and lead by example, taking proactive charge and accountability so that the whole team is onboard. 

Naturally, all companies have big decisions to make when it comes to sustainability, and it’s up to a leader to develop a sustainable strategy, persuade everyone that it’s going to have a measurable impact, and then implement it. 

Remote Work 

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way the world works in more ways than one – and it accelerated the need for remote workers. 

Today, more than 64% of the world’s workforce is remote. While this can be hugely beneficial for employees, with research suggesting that remote workers are happier and more productive than full-time office workers, it presents fresh challenges for leaders.

These problems might lie with a lack of communication, team spirit and coherence. 

Leaders need to be able to demonstrate their ability to manage remote teams effectively through:

• Clear paths of communication
• Workable KPI’s
• Delegation
• Fostering teamwork and morale 
• Managing expectations 

Ultimately, they need to keep everyone on-track and goal-oriented so that deadlines are met, and projects are completed. 

Emotional Intelligence 

Managing a maritime team isn’t easy – but it’s a whole lot harder if a leader lacks emotional intelligence.

Having high-level emotional intelligence allows a leader to stay calm and focused when issues arise in the group. It also enables them to adapt their communication style accordingly to each team member so that everyone feels listened to, understood, and needed. They engage their employees, thus encouraging them to work for the team. 

What’s more, emotional intelligence ensures that a leader has the ability to deliver criticism in a constructive manner so that misunderstandings don’t get in the way of progress. 

More than anything, emotional intelligence means you’ll be getting a leader who takes responsibility and who always holds themselves to the highest standards. This trickles down to the rest of the team who in turn take ownership of their actions. 

Maritime headhunters can help you find emotionally intelligent leaders who are able to build strong relationships among your team members so that everyone works together towards the same goal. 

Innovation 

A major role played by any leader is that of innovator. If a leader can’t innovate, it means they can’t plan ahead. As such, your company could be left behind while other companies are innovating much faster – and much better – than you are. 

Companies look for leaders who are innovative, creative, and forward-thinking. They see trends before they catch on, they find solutions to problems you perhaps didn’t even know existed, and they come up with concepts and ideas that allow the company to develop new products and services. 

Innovation drives companies forward. When you hire a leader who innovates, you’re hiring someone who has the ability to take you to the next level. 

Agile Leadership 

Sometimes the business landscape changes slowly, other times it changes quickly. Unless you hire a leader who has agile leadership skills, sudden changes can derail them, the team – and the company. 

Agility is a key skill that all of the world’s best leaders in the maritime industry have. They can quickly realize when a situation is changing before reacting on the spot. 

Not just that but their ability to think quickly means they can make sudden decisions without losing time. They observe, they decide – and they act. 

Global Mindset

The maritime industry is global – which necessitates a global mindset among leaders. 

We’re now in the fourth global industrial revolution, which means that companies have cross-cultural environments. This means that a leader must communicate with markets across the world who have different cultural approaches, which requires different communication styles. 

Further, a global mindset entails a knowledgebase of various cultural customs in different parts of the world. A leader needs to understand how to engage with different executives and businesses in different parts of the world and they need to embrace various cultural differences.

This is essential for building trust with worldwide companies, therefore improving your company’s standing on the world stage and developing new and vibrant relationships that benefit you in the long term. 

Resilience 

Setbacks happen. How a leader responds to setbacks and bounces back is not only an insight into their character – it’s also an insight into how well your business will fare.

All the best maritime leaders are hardened, experienced individuals who have been knocked down before and got back up. They have the ability and the know-how to deal with uncertain times, disruption and competition and they can weather turbulent storms while maintaining morale across the team. 

Data Analytics 

Making data-driven decisions is expected in 2023 now that more companies are making use of the wide abundance of data, tools and KPIs. These tools help avoid personal biases and ensure we’re making decisions that are in the best interests of the business at large. 

Leaders who understand, analyze, measure, and take action on data can make better, more informed decisions that take their company forward. They have the right technical skills that help them draw conclusions from the information presented to them, as well as the ability to use software, read reports and so on. 

And while intuition and instinct are worthy skills, it’s only by having access to metrics that a leader can make decisions that are based on tangible data.

How Maritime Headhunters Can Help: Final Thoughts 

The maritime industry is looking to the future, with data and emotionally intelligent leaders who are resilient, innovative, and globally minded.

Maritime headhunters can help you find the perfect leader today, giving you access to a wealth of talent, while working at speed and with discretion so that you’re able to keep moving your business forward.