We live in a modern, heavily industrialized and mechanized business environment. An increasing number of jobs that have previously been done with good old elbow grease is being automated. Never the less, one of the main success gauges for a company is its human capital. Simply put, companies that invest in leadership development perform better than those that do not. Although the demand for skilled labour is in high demand, businesses are having trouble finding adequate personnel. On the upside, leaders can be made and moulded. This means we can rely less on looking outside for employees. We do have to be willing to invest our resources in developing leaders. About 50% of managers do not have the knowledge and experience to fulfil these needs. But, 96% showed interest in a leadership development program, according to studies. Here are some tips on how and why we should invest in leadership development in our company.
1. Attracting and keeping talent
A satisfied employee is a productive one. Managers play a key role in making this a reality for all involved. Effective leadership can increase employee’s engagement and will certainly offset a potential cost of replacing them. Inspiring and showing them the positive impact through their contribution is a method used by the best managers. Compare that to a bad manager who will never utilize these methods, and will be unable to attract or keep high-performance employees. No matter the industry we find ourselves in, our company should always focus heavily on our people. They are a key part of our brand and, if satisfied, they will become the word bearers in promoting our company anywhere they go. Employees can be a walking and talking marketing opportunity. Companies are recognizing that potential and are making internal investments in order to capitalize on it. This way, external talent will come flocking in.
2. Chain of inspiration
The best leaders inspire others to be even better. These programs enable us to see the enthusiasm and motivation of our employees as soon as possible. A healthy competitive environment is what motivates and creates strong bonds. Some might feel uneasy leading other leaders out of fear of not being up to the task. Most of the times, it is just misplaced insecurity talking. Leaders are not really in a competitive state relative to one another, when talking about one company. They should be complementary. With this presupposition, any leader can learn from the other. Any one of them can lead another. Their skills are simply complementary and fill each other’s potential shortcomings. The benefits that it brings might not be that obvious. So, we should have a bunch of leaders and none of them has the same frame of mind? Exactly. If that were to be the case, we would end up with an echo chamber of ideas. This way, everyone can provide something useful and new to a brainstorming session. And that is one of the crucial aspects that a leadership development program should focus on.
3. Uninterrupted communication
One of the main aspects of defining a company and its path is the way communication is being handled. Important on so many levels, both vertical and horizontal, it defines our culture. Failing to define clear paths of communication can result in mistakes which can evolve to conflicts. At the end we end up in a hostile working environment, scratching our heads wondering how it all came to pass. Another part of being a great leader is being able to communicate through anything business life throws at us. Communications is not only about transmitting a message. It is also about detecting and preventing gaps or conflicts from all perspectives involved. What these training programs should enable is for the leader to adapt messages depending on the actors involved. Everyone has their learning style and it is not easy for one leader to adapt on the fly and meet them all.
Companies can perform a lot better if their teams are strong and efficient. The glue that keeps them all together is adequate leadership. Minimizing mistakes means minimizing the potential for conflict. Maximizing results means maximizing our bottom line at the end of the year. It is as simple as that. Implementing leadership programs will ensure that these vital business aspects are met in a professional manner.