Building Leadership Development Organization-Wide? Here’s Where to Put Your Focus.
As an organizational leader, you’re probably well aware of the benefits of focusing on developing your High Potential (HiPos) talent. Because these employees are super dedicated and innately driven to achieve results, investing in them through strategic professional development and growth opportunities can result in great ROI. But keep in mind, these superheroes typically make up just 3-5% of a company’s workforce. So what do you do with the rest of your people—the 97-95% of your employees?
For starters, don’t ignore them! They certainly matter, too, and given the fact that every single one of your employees brings their own superpowers to the table and that people generally are inclined to want to grow and improve, there is always room to champion leadership development for total organizational growth. How can you nurture leadership qualities in all your people, better your organization, and inspire sustainable results and growth? Here are a few key areas where you can put your focus:
Communication. No matter the organization, every employee (not just those HiPos) within it can benefit from learning and practicing effective communication habits. From the standpoint of organizational growth, when you develop better communicators and give them the right training, tools and resources they need to improve, communication improves culture-wide. Take action: Regular team-building activities are a great way to break down communication barriers, get people to share more, learn and better understand their different communication styles and preferences, and build trust—all of which can lead to greater rapport and transparency throughout the organization.
Emotional intelligence. Many workplaces today are experiencing record-high stress levels, putting emotional intelligence (EI) to the test, daily. While some people are born with the ability to manage their emotions more effectively than others, many people must work at this skill to sharpen it and keep it that way. Recognizing that your organization could benefit from professional development that targets and improves EI is a first smart step. Take action: In addition to improving communication skills (as noted above), encourage your employees to practice more active listening, empathy and a greater openness to feedback. Importantly, model this same behavior and expect those same qualities of your top leadership and/or HiPos as well.
Across-the-board coaching. Whether you choose to hire a professional development coach or challenge your top crop of leaders to take on the role of coaching people throughout your organization, this approach to leadership development builds everyone’s capacity to develop skills and excel. A workplace culture that embraces and makes coaching a habit tends to be more growth-minded, aligned, accountable and results-oriented than the competition. Take action: Create a culture of coaching, committing to training not just for top performers but others who have expressed a strong interest in professional growth. Give them the resources and support they need to succeed through proven leadership workshops, team trainings and/or effective online professional development courses.
Build your organization’s leadership development capacity today, unlocking breakthrough growth—Contact MAP today!
