Your company’s leaders help your company reach new heights never before thought possible
It s essential to consistently focus on leadership development growth. Within organizations, it s crucial to support the individuals that drive the biggest change. With leadership development, your organization will be able to construct an incredible plan focused on helping these leaders grow your business. 83% of employers state it s crucial to develop leaders at all levels. Remember – there is always room for growth.
Leaders at your organization help your employees and your business grow in ways that could never be imagined. Because of that, it s essential to encourage leadership development and provide opportunities for them to consistently improve themselves. After all, improving themselves leads to improvements for the future of your company – growth leads to innovation. With this in mind, your organization will continue to grow and avoid your leaders leaving for new positions elsewhere.
Do your current leaders have every skill they need? Our friends over at Gallup found five talents needed for all great leaders:
- In addition to fostering trust and open communication, leaders offer complete transparency.
- It s not politics, but productivity that drives their decisions.
- With a compelling mission and vision, leaders motivate and engage all of their employees.
- A culture of clear accountability is fostered by leaders.
- Leaders are capable of driving outcomes, overcoming adversity, and overcoming resistance.
Your current leaders can grow and develop into so much more. Here at AirMason, we ve touched on the need for training and development, as well as upskilling(inbound) time and time again. We build incredible employee handbooks that help get your leadership development started, helping them engage with the company instantly to increase productivity and efficiency the moment they read your new handbook.
Let s get started with learning how to evaluate your current leaders and identify the strengths they bring to your organization!
Evaluating your current leaders and identifying strengths
Leadership development consistently aims at building and growing your company s leaders. Before diving into a laundry list of changes and improvements they can make, it s essential to first take the time to evaluate and identify their strengths. Ideally, your many different leaders will possess several different strengths depending on the position. Some may be great at driving profits while others are great at delegating. These strengths are absolutely essential in identifying early on so you can pinpoint exactly what it is you should be investing time into developing.
Your focus shouldn t be to try to lump all of your leaders into one size fits all solutions. After all, no company is structured that way. Study results show that participants undergoing leadership training improved their learning capacity by 25% and their performance by 20%. Many of these programs not only teach leadership theory and practices but also how these can be applied to the office setting.
Every leader will need a different type of leadership training on their skills and strengths. However, your company will only reap the benefits if you individualize leadership training so that different leaders can continue to provide something unique to your company that no one else can replicate. Your leaders are special.
It s time to be critical – even leaders have room to improve
Now that we ve taken the time to identify and recognize each of our leaders’ strengths and weaknesses, it s time to do the opposite. This is the hard part – you have to be critical. There s no shame in admitting that your leaders aren t perfect at everything. Who is? You can t improve unless you point out the things that need improving.
Leaders take on great responsibility in the workplace, and because of that, there s no doubt that they re a top priority when it comes to the future of your workplace. For your other employees, leaders are the driving factor in their performance and motivation. Employees don t want a flawless leader – but they do want someone that actively looks to better themselves for their company and for their employees. A captivating and inspiring leader often makes a difference in employee productivity.
Certain leaders may require development in areas such as talent management, organizational skills, and other similar areas. By being able to identify the area that each leader struggles with, your entire team is prepared to see the results and growth that come from this training. Well-trained leaders make for well-trained employees.
Resources that offer leadership development
Now that you ve spent time identifying the areas of concern for your leaders, it s time to take a look at how they can improve. We ll be taking a look at some of the most popular leadership development resources available!
One of the more traditional methods of leadership development comes from your local universities and colleges that offer programs on this topic. These are professionally developed courses offered by esteemed academic business schools guaranteed to make a heavy impact on your leaders. Some of these are available online or through self-educational models, allowing your leaders to take these courses at their own pace and time when they are fully available.
Another resource to research and consider includes online courses offered targeted towards helping leadership development. These courses are often more affordable than traditional business schools however offer valuable insight into the skills of leadership. If you re curious about some of the options available, this link shows some great choices!
One cost-effective resource available to you is helping leaders develop through collaboration with other leaders in their organization. Since you have leaders with a diverse skill set, you re dealing with leaders who are masters at certain skills and novices at others. Why not create in-house teaching sessions where leaders can share their insights and skills with one another to improve your organization through every leader?
Think about leadership development for future leaders
Employees want to know that their organization is willing to help them grow into senior roles. A recent study found that 94% of employees agree to stay longer at a company if it invests in their training. With that in mind, your company needs to not only be thinking about helping current leaders but also preparing your next generation of leaders.
By focusing on creating a leadership development plan within your organization, you ll be able to find yourself with many high-performing and high aspiration employees, engaged and performing at their very best. Some day, your current leaders will no longer be contributing to your organization. Because of that, preparing your next generation of leaders to step in and excel at these roles is crucial. Your employees will want to grow with a company that invests in their future. After all, the best possible leader for your team is a homegrown one!
By creating a company culture focused on promoting from within and providing leadership opportunities to employees, your leadership development couldn t be in a better place. It s essential to let your employees know about this focus by creating an outstanding culture book! Curious about what a culture book looks like? Here at AirMason, we ve helped countless organizations reinvent their organization s culture easily with our industry-leading HR software. Come take a look at everything you ll need to include in your culture book!
Growing your leaders means growing your company
Start investing in the future of your company today. Your company s leaders will appreciate you for it, and so will your employees. By focusing on developing the leaders of your organization, all of your employees will see the countless benefits this process will bring. If you re curious about how to get started growing your leaders, your first focus should be taking a look into AirMason and starting an employee handbook that your employees won t be able to put down!