When leadership development becomes a problem: These are the signs you should look out for
In times of upheaval, the ability of employees to respond agilely and flexibly to new requirements and challenges is becoming increasingly important. This applies to the currently rapidly advancing digitization, ever faster changes in the market situation, or unexpected challenges such as the global pandemic and its consequences. The biggest multiplier in companies for the transfer of appropriate competencies to all employees, are the managers. But what about leadership development?
According to a McKinsey study with more than 500 CEOs, only 11 percent of companies are confident that their leadership development initiatives are producing the desired results. The study "Revamping Leadership Development" by Skillsoft and HR.com confirms this finding. Only one-fifth of employees surveyed said their managers or leaders lead effectively. But how can you tell that it's time to rethink leadership development in your company? Seven tips on what to look for when designing a new program.
1) Lack of results in innovation and business growth.
In today's increasingly digital, fast-paced and competitive business environment, companies are unable to grow or gain competitive advantage without a leadership development plan. Leadership development and learning programs must be aligned with the company's strategy and goals, and ensure that new leaders are prepared to meet the demands and changes.
Tip: Look for courses, programs, learning content, and resources that enable leaders to continuously develop competencies in managing change processes. This should include topics with a focus on innovation, agility, resilience and emotional intelligence.
2) Management newcomers have a hard time
A manager taking on management tasks for the first time is under enormous pressure. Without the right preparation and coaching, she is likely to fail. This, in turn, affects performance goals, employee engagement, productivity and the culture of the work group.
Tip: Don't wait until employees advance to management to build them up as leaders. Developing junior staff is an important factor in retaining employees and equipping them for future roles. Building skills in the context of employee development, teaching responsibilities, entrepreneurial execution, and leveraging emotional intelligence, are critical to the development and success of a rookie manager.
3) Hierarchical structure with command and control
Studies show that there is a shift in leadership competencies in companies and that leadership responsibility is being extended to more employees. Companies are flattening their hierarchies from top to bottom with the help of highly collaborative and cross-functional teams to drive innovation.
Tip: Managers come in many forms. They either preside over a functional area, a team, or just a one-off project in your organization. Empower leaders with learning opportunities that cover qualities like agile working, humility, leading teams, and customer-centric leadership.
4) Leadership development only for a very small group.
An old-school manager who makes all the decisions alone is no longer contemporary or effective. Modern companies are agile and team-oriented. However, leadership training in the past was often very comprehensive, costly, and not related to the context of the learner. Today, the environment in which leadership development takes place has become very transformed and democratized. As a result, future leaders can be supported at different levels of their career journey.
Tip: Provide learning content that supports managers throughout their career path and is specifically tailored to the needs of different leadership types: Novice managers, project managers or subject matter experts, mid-level and senior managers. Making leadership learning content available to all interested individuals democratizes learning and supports an inclusive, continuous learning culture.
5) Customer satisfaction declines (CSAT scores)
Managers in a customer-centric corporate culture recognize the special demands and needs of their clientele, understand customer processes and treat them with appreciation. For them, the customer always comes first. When your employees interact with customers, it is an experience for the customer that impacts your company's brand, reputation and revenue. If your employees are ill-prepared or act unhappily in their role, their interactions with customers can be unproductive or even damaging.
Tip: Empower your leaders to listen and deliver the best customer service. Learning solutions on emotional intelligence, coaching, employee development and empathy can mean that leaders who deal directly with customers can lead teams better and increase customer satisfaction.
6) No succession planning
A lack of succession planning can put your company at risk if, for example, one or more managers fail to perform, retire or suddenly leave the company. Successful companies evaluate these plans at regular intervals, train their employees across the board and develop their leadership skills, entrepreneurial knowledge and a holistic understanding of the company.
Tip: Provide a broad-based leadership development training program to develop employees with leadership potential and address any leadership challenges that may arise.
7) Trainings are put on hold
Even during times when business is good, training can be put on hold due to budget constraints, lack of availability of training managers, changing business needs, and more. However, simply switching from classroom training to online instruction is usually not helpful. Rather, the key is to tailor learning content more specifically to target groups and their needs.
Tip: Seek out leadership training that is specifically designed for a digital experience and is appropriate to complement the activities offered by training leaders. Digital leadership content should be able to be integrated multimodally and include hands-on, scenario-based learning.
Democratize leadership development
"With an agile mindset, leaders can build the competencies in their teams to quickly respond to changing situations and requirements, overcome obstacles and thus successfully develop the company even in turbulent times," explains Andreas Rothkamp, VP DACH region at Skillsoft. "To do this, it is essential to democratize leadership development and build competencies among an expanded employee base. Today's digital offerings enable training content to be tailored precisely to the relevant target group and its needs in short, hands-on units."
Source: Skillsoft
