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In 2025, business disruption, hybrid teams, AI in decision‑making, and economic volatility demand a new set of management skills. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 predicts that roughly 44% of core worker skills will change by 2027, and about 23% of jobs worldwide will be reshaped by then. A McKinsey study also shows that organisations with leaders who embrace data analysis, empathy, agility, and digital fluency outperform their competitors and adapt more quickly. Great Lakes Institute of Management helps you build these in-demand skills through strategic, tech-rich programs like PGPM, PGDM, and Executive MBA program tailored for future-ready leadership.
In 2025, conventional management approaches like planning, organising, leading, and controlling will no longer be adequate. Today's leaders must also be adaptable, empathetic, and curious. According to LinkedIn's 2024 Workplace Learning Report, L&D leaders prioritise communication, leadership, and analytical thinking. These attributes now rank highly among the top 10 management skills that employers value.
Also, Gen Z is changing the expectations as they prefer being purpose-driven in the work rather than being inside the stern hierarchies. Institutions such as Great Lakes Institute of Management are aligning their curriculum to be in line with this change in order to bring leaders to a world that is digital, people-centric and strategic.
Adaptive leadership is the ability to modify one's approach to dealing with a situation depending on the moment and be able to adapt to meet the conditions, respond to the team dynamics and environment. Leaders have to facilitate teamwork without controlling, trust without being there and be capable of working despite not being there.
The intuition is not quite dead, though, when it is referred to along with the insight. It is the new gold standard, whether it is financial projections or people analytics; data-driven decision-making is where it is at. Leaders ought to learn to read dashboards, understand what to ask and act on insights.
The Great Resignation and the constant flow of talent have proved one thing: it is the managers who quit companies, not workers. Leadership that is not subject to emotional intelligence can make even the most talented teams go off track.
The contemporary manager is multidimensional and a jack of all trades. A person who can easily navigate through the debate on marketing, operations, finance and technology. There are different minds, different minds do things differently; integration is the winner.
Below are the five most sought-after business management skills in 2025, and how the Great Lakes Institute of Management equips professionals to master them:
Why It Matters:
Leaders must rise above temporary firefighting in a business environment where volatility is the norm. They need to be able to think critically, predict changes, and develop strategies that strike a balance between short-term thinking and long-term planning.
How Great Lakes Helps:
Case-based learning that encourages critical thinking and scenario planning
Capstone projects simulating high-stakes business decisions
Simulations and boardroom exercises that train learners to think like CXOs
Programs such as the Post Graduate Program in Management (PGPM) are especially tailored to shape strategic leaders.
Why It Matters:
Managers must now interpret the data to take appropriate action. Understanding dashboards and analytics, as well as how customers react to financial metrics, has emerged as a key leadership skill.
How Great Lakes Helps:
Specialised modules in Analytics, AI/ML, and Data Visualisation
Hands-on exposure to tools such as Tableau, Python, R, and Power BI
Industry collaborations for live analytics projects
Whether you choose PGPM, PGDM, or e-learning certifications, analytical thinking is central to the Great Lakes experience.
Why It Matters:
The ability to influence decisions across teams, clients, and senior leadership is a game-changer. Managers must master clarity in communication, storytelling with data, and alignment across stakeholders.
How Great Lakes Helps:
Communication labs and presentation modules as part of PGPM and PGPM-FBE
Real-world pitching opportunities during VC panels and start-up showcases
Team-based learning that trains students to navigate group dynamics and persuasion
Great Lakes understands that leadership presence is not taught in theory; it is practised.
Why It Matters:
The modern leaders are not just managers, but they are also teachers, listeners, and motivators. When they possess emotional intelligence, they create safe and inclusive settings where organisations do not feel neglected or unmotivated to come back after failure and are willing to do their best.
How Great Lakes Helps:
Behavioural labs and leadership assessments to build self-awareness
Group work, feedback loops, and coaching are embedded into coursework
Dedicated sessions on conflict resolution, inclusive leadership, and feedback culture
These aspects are deeply woven into programs such as PGXPM and the Family Business track, where interpersonal leadership matters deeply.
Why It Matters:
The only thing you can always count on is change, and it can be a new competitor, a sudden shortage of supplies, or a technological innovation. What this implies is that leaders must be agile, encourage experimentation and have direct oversight of their pipelines of innovation.
How Great Lakes Helps:
Courses in Innovation Management, Agile Thinking, and Start-up Ecosystems
Exposure to GenAI, AR/VR, and future-ready technologies
Collaborations with incubators and start-ups for real-time project work
While executive programs give senior leaders knowledge of cutting-edge technology and agile tactics, the Great Lakes PGPM-FBE concentrates on innovation-led entrepreneurship.
Here are five actionable ways to start improving your management skills in 2025:
Great Lakes Institute of Management offers hands-on programs for every career stage:
PGPM and PGDM for early- and mid-career professionals
PGXPM for senior leaders
E-learning courses in strategy, analytics, and digital transformation
Get out of your comfort zone. Take charge of a cross-functional project or communicate with marketing if you work in technology, or finance if you work in operations. Agility is the result of this type of exposure.
Start with tools such as Excel, Tableau, Power BI, or SQL. Practise making real business decisions based on numbers, no matter your role.
Learning happens in conversations. Engage in manager communities, alumni groups, or industry forums. Ask questions, share failures, and seek diverse perspectives.
Self-journaling or creating feedback loops regularly is one of the foundations of emotional intelligence, as it can only be developed this way.
In terms of preparing to deal with the challenges of leadership in the future, these behaviours are two of the most critical fundamentals.
The modern business environment has changed the idea of leadership as it is no longer limited to the management of activities, but the creation of trust, the use of technology, and strategic and compassionate leadership. Great Lakes reflects this philosophy through a suite of programs that are industry aligned, such as one‑year PGPM (offered to an experienced professional), PGDM two‑year (offered to an early career student), entrepreneurship PGPM‑FBE, and PGXPM (these programs are offered to senior-level professionals). Both formats are designed in such a way that they foster flexibility, human acumen and technology literacy to enable the students to build credibility and influence in 2025 and beyond.
Effective managers are created, not born. Select a course of study that will equip you to handle the leadership challenges of the future.
