What a weird year. Some businesses are thriving. But many are sluggish. Uncertainty abounds. Questions are in greater supply than answers.
When will this pandemic be over?
What does the election hold for us?
How can we compete and win in times like this?
In uncertain times, some companies press the PAUSE button on developing their leaders. In an effort to hold cash they’ll exchange short term security for long term growth.
But the end result is actually more costly than anticipated…
There are 4 consequences companies face when they decided to cut back on investing in their leaders:
- Morale sinks.
People see they’re not being invested in and they know decisions are being made (or not made) out of fear. - Fear abounds.
Employees are afraid of the future. This becomes a distraction to productivity. - Productivity slows.
See the vicious cycle? People are distracted, fear is growing, productivity gets bogged down. - Talent leaves.
Emerging leaders look for better places to work (places that commit to developing their managers through thick and thin).
So if your organization is cutting back in its investment in leadership… you may want to think again!
Preparing to Win in 2021 and Beyond
Legendary football coach Bear Bryant said, “It’s not the will to win that matters – everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
What does “preparing to win” look like right now? Developing your leaders!
83% of all organizations believe it’s important to develop leaders at all levels. And yet, only 5% have fully implemented development at all levels.
If you’re in charge of growing talent in your business, you can’t afford to ignore the development of your managers! There’s too much to lose in the long run.
And if you’re a manager of people, this is not the time to coast in your personal growth as a leader.
This is the time to prepare to win.
By getting intentional and disciplined about developing managers now, you’ll have a distinct advantage over your competitors who are slumbering in the talent development area.
There are two benefits to investing in manager development now:
- You’ll project optimism and confidence
Providing leadership development demonstrates optimism and shows you’re invested in your employees’ growth for the future. It illustrates a belief that the future is promising. It shows that the highest level of leadership isn’t stuck in the trough, but is looking to the next wave. It exemplifies the kind of forward thinking you want your employees to exercise as leaders in the future. - You’ll reap engagement and retention
Managers who’ve developed skills in self-awareness, communication, delegation, and leading teams naturally foster employee engagement. Preparing managers to be effective in these areas creates an environment where good people want to give their best work over a longer period of time. And, employees view development as a meaningful benefit.
That all sounds great… but realistically, how do you set up your leaders to win?
3 Key Actions for Developing Exceptional Managers
Here are three key actions to develop the best leaders so your organization can prepare to win:
- Hire and promote the right people
Not everyone is cut out for management. Not everyone is well-suited to lead your organization’s culture.
How can you minimize personal bias to make superior hiring and promotion decisions? Use a valid, reliable assessment. A quality assessment provides deep insight into a person’s values, leadership strengths, and potential derailers that do not show up in an interview. The assessment also shows what areas your interview questions should focus on! (Click here to see how we help clients use the Hogan Assessment to select and develop key talent). - Train managers to lead
Accelerate your managers’ progress through the learning curve by developing skills like delegation, self-awareness, and coaching. Strengthen their ability to lead local and virtual teams.
Cultivate these abilities through formal training, coaching, mentoring – or best of all, a combination! In Launch, our Manager’s Masterclass, we blend these modalities to create really effective learning (by the way, Launch is offered just twice a year. Don’t wait to get on the list for the next cohort in February!)
- Give managers practice
Create stretch assignments for emerging leaders to take the lead on initiatives. Give them access to a good mentor, freedom to fumble, and an environment where question asking is respected. Acknowledge and praise them when they demonstrate growth.
- Provide managers with feedback
Quality feedback reveals blind spots and improves performance. Implement a 360 evaluation process so leaders can receive feedback from reports, peers, clients, managers, even external stakeholders. Provide coaching on the feedback, then re-measure 6-9 months later to see where they’ve made improvements. Here’s how we do it!
The winning organizations of tomorrow will be those who prepare their leaders today. Now is the time to prepare to win!
If you’re looking to transform your culture with leadership and team development, check out Converge Coaching and Consulting’s services today!
