Companies have spent literally billions on assets such as equipment, software, buildings and so on. We have arrived at a place where most companies are able to be on equal footing with their competitors in terms of these issues. Yet - in the one area where they could absolutely step ahead of the competition, in the one area where their investment would see immediate and tangible returns many companies quite simply are failing. They either fail because they don't recognize the vital need this represents or because they see it but only pay lip service to providing it. I am talking of course about enhancing their leadership!
Need What Need? Many companies simply don't believe they have a need in this respect. They take the position that those capable technical people that they have elevated into leadership come with the prerequisite skills to lead. Nothing could be further from the truth. Eight of ten people who move into leadership and fail do so because they did not have those skills and were not given the opportunity to receive training in those skills. Moreover, they take their cues from the leaders above them who also have never been trained to lead. It may be comfortable but it is not leadership and it is not performance! Gallup did research in Germany where over 90% of leaders and managers thought they did a good job. Yet when their staff were interviewed fewer than 50% got a "competent" rating. Germany is not unique in this respect - just saying! We Provide Our Leaders With Training - Really! These are the companies that understand there is a need but either only provide lip service through training that is perfunctory at best or just plain far removed from the realities their leaders face. They provide courses that do little to connect with the needs of their leader teams and courses that they cannot measure in terms of tangible ROI for them. When was the last time you brought in training for leadership that actually required the trainees to measure and track their performance with respect to what they were learning and applying? Never would be the correct answer. Leadership training that cannot be clearly connected to the job and the company and which cannot demonstrate value added is training that is simply part of going through the motion of checking it off on someone’s personnel file. Nothing will change because regardless of what a company may say this kind of training reveals a lack of intent or understanding about why leadership development is important. We Know Our Leaders Are Trained! In this situation companies have invested and are committed to the improvement of their leadership. They either look for or develop programs that connect directly to the company purpose and the work that the leaders and their teams are doing. They are not afraid to tie accountability to this training so that they can ask and be shown how the training is making improvements with leadership and how that is impacting the company bottom line. They value the training because they have given it a clear mandate and purpose that is tied to the company mission. If the type of training listed in the previous paragraph seems foreign to you or if you are feeling uneasy about the value of the current training being provided to your leadership or if you are not doing any training at all then let me invite you to explore a Certificate in Performance Leadership. With this program you will be able to remove all uncertainty, find clarity and know, really know that your leaders and their teams are not only improving but improving the company with them. Performance Leadership - Think About It. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
January 2021
|