“Progress is impossible without change, and those that cannot change their minds cannot change anything”. – George Bernard Shaw
Executed effectively, leadership development enables your business to establish and keep a competitive advantage.
As the world continues to evolve and change amidst ongoing uncertainty, organisations still require people who are capable of performing their roles effectively, but having leaders within an organisation who can navigate change, lead and develop others and set direction is a superpower that is required for organisations to thrive in this new era.
Let’s look at why leadership development is important, but also why you need to focus more on non-traditional methods.
Workplaces are evolving as business realities are changing, requiring a new era of leaders with relevant skills and the right mindset. Given its impact on competitiveness, performance and profitability, leadership development has more than ever, become a necessity for companies looking to future-proof their business.
Good leaders inspire their people to deliver excellent performance. With the right training, these people also tend to formulate and execute effective strategies that help move their organisations forward.
In this constant search for top talent, organisations invest thousands of dollars per employee each year in the hope that the training will help them to become better leaders and raise the level of performance and productivity within their team and across the entire organisation.
Yet, as I’ve previously highlighted, leadership still remains the no.1 talent issue facing organisations around the world.
According to the Deloitte Human Capital Survey, companies frequently say they want to strengthen their leadership pipeline yet research shows that corporate leadership capabilities are dropping.
In this super connected world, with endless opportunities to train, support and develop their talent, why are businesses finding that leadership development activities are failing to have the ROI they’d hoped, and paid for?
Because a new era of leadership requires new thinking, new actions and new behaviours.
Organisations require a paradigm shift in personal and business leadership. They require leaders who are self aware, who can connect with and develop other leaders. People who see that in each and every moment there are infinite possibilities to change, grow and evolve and do things differently.
The Harvard Business Review has written that “most executive education programs—designed as extensions of or substitutes for MBA programs—focus on discipline-based skill sets, such as strategy development and financial analysis, and seriously underplay important relational, communication, and effective skills.”
Skills like strategy development, financial analysis, recruitment methods or budget and performance metrics, whilst necessary for business operational success, are not the answer for developing future leaders, today.
As you’ve been learning through this publication, leadership for the 21st century needs to be viewed from a quantum science perspective.
Quantum science shows that we live in a participatory universe, where conscious observers make reality happen and that we are responsible for our own actions, and for the world itself.
This means we require a greater understanding of the personal self, of the mindset and behaviours required to co-create with the universe, whether from a personal or a business perspective. Science is catching up with ancient wisdom and we are coming to the realisation more and more that the inner-world reflects the outer-world.
It’s been called “the business of alignment” but tapping into your inner wisdom and your higher self often leads to feeling more connected to ourselves and the world around us, a sense of unity and oneness with all, and it helps us to gain confidence in practices and activities that aid a higher level understanding and perspective on life itself.
You’ve heard the adage, “people don’t but from businesses, they buy from people”.
Business is about relationships and the strength of your relationships, both externally and internally is critical to how you perform as a leader.
This is why organisations are spending money on traditional training and development yet they aren’t seeing a return on their investment in people. Because in this new era, people are seeking more of the personal growth and relationship skills, as well as training and development to think and act from a different perspective, not just learn how to build a strategic plan or conduct a more rigorous recruitment process.
A shift from traditional models of leadership training to an emphasis on personal and collective growth, rather than pure business skills is set to be an answer to the poor ROI of many organisations’ training and development budget spending.
When organisations can shift to this kind of approach in their leadership development the advantages of leadership development will be exponentially greater. It will be like adding rocket fuel to a pilot light.
Here’s a reminder of why it’s so important to focus on leadership development with this perspective in mind.
Competitive advantage
It’s been written time and time again, yet still it isn’t as understood as I believe it should be. The more you develop your people, the better your organisation will be. You’ll have stronger leadership, a higher level of IQ and EQ within your organisation and greater levels of productivity and performance.
Profitability – improve bottom line financial performance
When you focus on leadership development that helps people to invest in their personal growth as well as core level skills, you develop quality people as leaders in your organisation, which improves productivity and efficiency and has a direct impact on your bottom line.
Enhance employee engagement and improve workplace culture
Leadership development has been proven to enhance employee engagement and performance. Countless studies have investigated the correlation between employee satisfaction and the competence of and connection with their leadership team.
The reality is, for the majority of people, when they feel valued and supported by an effective leader, they are more engaged and more likely to feel connected to the organisation and thereby contribute to a positive company culture.
Attract, develop and retain talent
Watching talented people walk out the door causes tremendous expense for organisations, from morale, advertising, recruitment, and relocation costs, to time spent training new employees.
Building a culture of high class leadership attracts more of the same into your organisation and either forces those within to grow and evolve to a new level, or else shines a spotlight on those who just won’t cut it and helps you to make the necessary adjustments to your human capital.
Drive strategy execution
Effective leaders help businesses develop unique and efficient strategies that can drive organisations to new heights. Leaders who are confident in themselves and their mission are the ones who are likely to come up with the new and innovative ideas, or else more likely to involve their teams in the process, rather than leaving it to those in ‘positions’ of authority.
Increase success in navigating change
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. – JFK
Many people ‘hate’ change, resisting it and resenting it. Having leaders within your organisation who are growth mindset oriented and able (and willing) to navigate change for and with their teams is a success mechanism for any high performing organisation.
When you invest in leadership development for your people that helps them do the deep work required to better understand themselves as well as giving them the tools and resources to thrive in their roles, you invest in the growth of your organisation.