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As many companies enter a period of low growth and restructuring, building strong teams, institutional loyalty and creating a value-based environment will be the driving qualities of leadership in future, predicts Damien O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Egon Zehnder International, in an interview with the Indian financial magazine Business World. According to O’Brien the current crisis has ruptured the bond of trust between companies and their consumers and employees. Top leaders can only restore this trust by living out a set of values that their employees wish to aspire to. In other words, value-based leadership, whereby motivation lies beyond compensation, will be more important than ever, especially when it comes to retaining top talent. “When your company goes through restructuring, the first casualty is the exit of your best people. Uncertainty or leadership changes break bonds of loyalty and the best people always have options,” warns O’Brien. He advises leaders to reduce unwanted attrition by identifying the key people they want to retain and make them understand that they have a future in the company by empathizing with their feelings and using personal interactions to develop staff loyalty. Overall, O’Brien highlights the danger of adopting a short-term approach to talent and downsizing fast in downturns. “The long term requires skills that you cannot manufacture overnight, so the primary focus [of companies] should be on their people,” O’Brien concludes.