Investment, Transparency Key to Creating Tomorrow’s Leaders  

Leadership in corporate America is being redefined. Stern omniscience and strict decision-making hierarchies are no longer expected, yet strong leadership remains as important as ever. The difference is all in the approach.

Today’s great leaders aren’t shoring up authority at the top. Instead, they actively distribute it throughout their organizations, empowering people to deliver their best work based on mutual trust and high levels of autonomy.

An autonomous workforce provides the agility to contend with rapidly evolving industries and promotes greater feelings of purpose and satisfaction.

Not every company approaches leadership and creating tomorrow’s leaders in the same way.

“At The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, we believe everyone is a leader. Whether someone is leading themselves, leading others, or influencing change across the organization, everyone has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership,” Shibu Varghese, executive vice president of people, culture and infrastructure at the medical institution, told Newsweek.

“We put our philosophy into practice through our Leadership Institute, an evidence-based, discipline-agnostic program offered to employees at all levels. This investment in our people has helped create opportunities for growth and contributed to remarkably low turnover across the institution.”

The organization has received multiple awards over the last half-decade for its talent development efforts.

Even the best-trained leaders don’t get it right 100% of the time.

“Leading today takes the courage to make difficult decisions and the humility to recognize you won’t always get them right. People don’t need a leader who pretends to have every answer. They need clarity about where we’re going, honesty about what’s hard, and confidence that their voices matter,” Nate Rempe, president and CEO of Omaha Steaks, told Newsweek.

Rempe and his team have instituted Change Adoption Framework: practical tools to identify barriers, improve communication, and reduce disruption and rework. “We owe our team members more than a new direction; we owe them the support to succeed,” he said.

Effective leadership also means adapting to change and the willingness to listen.

“You must be willing to keep learning as times and industries change quickly. The people you lead need a clear direction, but they also need to know that you value their judgment, skills and contributions. That means listening to those closest to the work and allowing them to take on meaningful responsibility,” Philip Friedman, executive chairman and CEO of CGS (Computer Generated Solutions), told Newsweek.

He continued: “At CGS, we give our business leaders the authority to make decisions. We agree on the goals, and they have the flexibility to determine how to achieve them and adjust along the way.”

Friedman believes that combination of trust and accountability gives people room to grow, while keeping everyone engaged and focused on delivering on their commitments.

Trust and accountability is a sentiment echoed by others.

“Leading today means recognizing that success is no longer about what you accomplish individually, but how effectively you help others succeed,” Jill Ehnes, president of Delta Faucet Company and North American Plumbing, told Newsweek. “When you give people clarity, trust and accountability, they’re empowered to do their best work and drive meaningful results.”

Delta Faucet Company encourages employees to think and act like owners by bringing forward ideas and opportunities beyond the company’s formal plan.

Ehnes said some of the best results come when you create an environment where those closest to your customers, products and operations feel empowered to turn insights into action.

Greg Minano, Interface’s chief human resources officer, agrees. “Strong leadership starts with creating a workplace where people feel valued and have the opportunity to do their best work. At Interface, we put that into practice by listening closely to our employees and investing in the leadership and workforce development programs and opportunities that help them grow and make an impact,” he said.

CGS and Interface rank highly on the list of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Leadership 2026, a ranking by Newsweek in conjunction with Plant-A Insights Group.