Tag Archives: leadership development programs

Leadership

Why Leadership-Development Programs Fail To Deliver Results?

With over 20,000 books and millions of articles about the critical elements of leadership and its overall impact, the issue of leadership really must be important to organisations.

Most organizations have lavish budgets and allot lots of time and effort on improving employee and manager capabilities and also nurturing new leaders. In the USA itself, companies spend almost $14 billion annually on various leadership programs and many colleges and universities now offer degree courses on leadership.

Moreover, in a study of 500 executives asked to rank their priorities, leadership development was listed by most of them. This shows how important the topic of ‘leadership’ is to most companies. However, many leadership development programs initiated to train employees on leadership skills and qualities fail due to lack of focus.

After getting in touch with hundreds of chief executives about their struggle and observing their more successful initiatives, a report by McKinsey has identified four of the most common leadership development mistakes. We discuss these along with some tips to overcome them in the article below.

Mistake Number 1: Overlooking The Real Need

A critical component of leadership development is reality and on ground situation. It is important to understand that a business leader in one situation does not perform the same way in another.

Most training initiatives are set on the assumption that one size fits all and the same style of leadership skills are required to be groomed into all leaders, irrespective of the organizational culture or strategy.

When designing a leadership program, it is important for the designers to understand the nature of the program. What exactly is the program for and who exactly would benefit from it?

It is very important to focus on the context and equip leaders with a small number of competencies or skills rather than trying to teach them everything. This is sure to achieve a much better outcome.

Moreover, leadership programs generally involve a one-time effort or a few training sessions. But learning about leadership requires revision, and the focus should be on regular experiential learning rather than cognitive learning.

Mistake Number 2: Implementing What Has Been Learned

When it comes to designing the development curriculum, many organizations face a balancing issue. On one side, there is value in off-site programs like university or college settings that offer students time to step back and flee from the pressing demands of a day job.

On the other side, even after basic training sessions, adults generally retain only 10 per cent of what they really hear in the classroom as compared to nearly two-thirds when they are learning by doing.

Moreover, many leaders find it difficult to extrapolate their off-site experience into real work scenarios. Hence, the importance of finding a balance between the two cannot be ignored.

The ability to train participants while also giving them real world experience to apply their newly learnt skills is a valuable combination in today’s business markets. Furthermore, it is important to integrate leadership development components into the project itself.

Mistake Number 3: Underestimating Mind Sets

To become an effective leader, it is important to change behaviour. While many companies do understand that this means changing underlying mind-sets, they are often reluctant to address the cause of why leaders act the way they do, as doing so can be uncomfortable for participants, mentors and trainers.

Moreover, even if there is no discomfort, the chances of them changing their behaviour are low. Moreover, leadership programs should also focus on increasing self-awareness and understanding of how their behaviour affects others, rather than just building competencies and skills.

Mistake Number 4: Not Having Concrete Metrics to Measure Effectiveness

It is often seen that companies pay lots of importance to development of leadership skills but do not ultimately quantify the value of their investment. When businesses fail to keep a track of leadership performance over time, they increase the chances of the initiatives not being taken seriously.

In most cases, evaluations to the leadership development program are given by participant feedback. However, if the scenario is moved to a business-performance program, the assessment or feedback is generally in the form of success or failure, which is probably more valuable.

So, if you are looking for robotic leaders – train them. Alternatively, if you are looking for innovative dealers – develop them over time with real-time experience and empowerment.

Jappreet Sethi

I am a HR & Business Strategy professional with experience of leading HR & People Consulting practice of multinational professional services firms, including a Fortune 500 company in India. I was also Heading CSR at a Forbes Platinum 400 company and a member of its Global Diversity Council.

I am a consultant for start-up ventures in South Asia and have been rated twice as one of the Top 100 employee engagement experts in the world by a New York Times bestselling author.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jappreet_S/1328581

 

Leadership

Key Benefits Of Leadership Games In Leadership Development Programs

No matter it is a company, a family, committee or a nation, they all require people having complete package of leadership skills which include leadership games. A leader is not a boss but a person who is committed to obtain mission and guides all other members to achieve common goal. A leader contains many impressive qualities; some of them include self confidence, capacity to work hard, self awareness, skill to build relationship, effective communication skills, emotional maturity and assertiveness.

Leadership activities are inexpensive and basically experiential activities which are designed to use in different leadership development programs and training. Leadership games contain 25 particles with a set of clear directions and hints to use them. These are concerned to estimate skills such as team leadership, managing conflicts, risking innovation, fostering collaboration and using diversity.

Many leadership training camps and courses uses this popular technique of playing leadership games. These games are very interactive and good estimation to know compatibility of a person as a leader. These leadership activities have become essential and more and more businessmen are taking leadership training courses to improve their management style and qualities of their leadership.

Many leadership games entail role playing programs (RPG) in which player consider him as a leader of the pack and try to meet the objectives of the game by sacrificing, smooth tactics and strategy planning.

According to Einstein, normal human being uses only 10% of the brain and to make use of other 90%, these role playing leadership games and mind teaser games are essential. Although some people consider that skills developed in virtual world of playing games don’t work in realty but they are wrong. Sometimes people are not aware of their hidden potential and abilities. Leadership games make them realize that they have enough skills and potential which they have to use to become an outstanding leader.

Leadership games are very beneficial. One of the essential traits of a leader is trustworthiness. Many leadership activities are developed to test this trait. One of them is ‘Blindfold’. In this game a business group is divided into two subgroups. One group is required to blindfold themselves and the other group is required to take this group by the hand towards two objects but without communicating to them. The blindfold group will then recognize the two objects by touching it. Leader makes the final decision by consulting his colleague and this exercise develop and make the group realize the importance of trustworthiness.

One other set of leadership games is designed to make realize the concept of team building and collaboration. One of such game is “smart hunt game’. First the group is divided into two or more teams with 5 to 7 members in each group. Each group selects its own leader. The leader can be a person with lease leadership qualities to make him get benefit from this confidence building exercise. Another leadership game is designed to mimic the leadership process. It is basically a scenario in which your plane crashed and your team has to choose 12 essential items which are necessary to survive.5 to 10 minutes are given for briefing, 15 to 30 minutes are allowed for exercise and 5 to 10 minutes are allotted for scoring. 20 minutes are assigned to brief and discuss. The key of this game is to listen and to compromise.

Some extra effort is needed to become an outstanding leader and to take leadership capabilities to its maximum. These leadership events help in one’s effort to take his skills to the level he wants to.

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Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Chris_D_Cruz/723696

 

Leadership

Leadership Development – A Strategic Need?

Leadership is vital for any organization’s sustained success. A great leader at top makes a big difference to his or her organization. Everyone will concur with these statements. Experts in human resources field mention the importance of leaders at all levels, and not just that of the leadership at the top. Rightly so. It is not without reason that companies like 3M, Proctor & Gamble, GE, Coca Cola, HSBC etc. have known to put in place processes for developing leaders continuously.

Mention this subject, however, to a line manager, or to a sales manager, or any executive in most organizations and you will probably deal with diffident responses.

Leadership development -a strategic need?

The subject of leadership is dealt with in a general way by many organizations. Leadership is usually understood in terms of personal attributes such as charisma, communication, inspiration, dynamism, toughness, instinct, etc., and not in terms what good leaders can do for their  organizations.  Developing leaders falls in HR domain. Budgets are framed and outlays are used with indicators like training hours per employee per year. Whether the good intentions behind the training budgets get translated into actions or not, is not monitored.

Such leadership development outlays, that are based on only good intentions and general ideas about leadership, get axed in bad times and get extravagant during good times. If having great or good leaders at all levels is a strategic need, as the above top companies demonstrate and as many leading management experts assert, why do we see such a stop and go approach?

Why is there skepticism about leadership development programs?

The first reason is that expectations from good (or great) leaders are not defined in operative terms and in ways in which the outcomes can be verified. Leaders are expected to ‘achieve’ many things. They are expected to turn laggards into high performers, turn around companies, charm customers, and dazzle media. They are expected to perform miracles. These expectations remain just wishful thinking. These desired outcomes can not be used to provide any clues about gaps in leadership skills and development needs.

Absence of a comprehensive and generic (valid in diverse industries and conditions) framework for defining leadership means that leadership development efforts are scattered and inconsistent in nature. Inconsistency gives bad name to leadership development programs. This breeds cynicism (these fads come and go….) and resistance to every new initiative. This is the second reason why the objectives of leadership development are often not met.

The third reason is in the methods used for leadership development. Leadership development programs rely upon a combination of lectures (e.g. on subjects like team building, communications), case studies, and group exercises (problem solving), and some inspirational talks by top business leaders or management gurus.

Sometimes the programs consist of outdoor or adventure activities for helping people bond better with each other and build better teams. These program generate ‘feel good’ effect and in some cases participants ‘return’ with their personal action plans. But in majority of cases they fail to capitalize on the efforts that have gone in. I must mention leadership coaching in the passing. In the hands of an expert coach a willing executive can improve his leadership skills dramatically. But leadership coaching is too expensive and inaccessible for most executives and their organizations.

Leadership -a competitive advantage

During my work as a business leader and later as a leadership coach, I found that it is useful to define leadership in operative terms. When leadership is defined in terms of what it does and in terms of capabilities of a person, it is easier to assess and develop it.

When leadership skills defined in the above manner are present at all levels, they impart a distinct capability to an organization. This capability gives a competitive advantage to the organization. Organizations with a pipeline of good leaders have competitive advantages over other organizations, even those with great leaders only at the top. The competitive advantages are:

1. They (the organizations) are able to solve problems quickly and can recover from mistakes fast.

2. They have excellent horizontal communications. Things (processes) move faster.

3. They tend to be less busy with themselves . Therefore they have ‘time’ for outside people. (Over 70% of internal communications are about reminders, error corrections etc . They are wasteful)

4. Their staff (indirects) productivity is high. This is one of the toughest management challenges.

5. They are good at heeding to signals related to quality, customer complaints, shifts in market conditions and customer preferences. This leads to good and useful bottom-up communication. Top leaders tend to have less number of blind spots in such organizations.

6. It is easier to roll out programs for strategic shift and also for improving business processes (using six sigma, TQM, etc.). Good bottom-up communications improve top-down communications too.

7. They require less ‘supervision’, since they are strongly rooted in values.

8. They are better at preventing catastrophic failures.

Expectations from good and effective leaders should be set out clearly. The leadership development programs should be selected to develop leadership skills that can be verified in operative terms. Since leadership development is a strategic need, there is a need for clarity about the above aspects.

Hemant Karandikar advises companies on business & brand strategy, on business transformation, and for achieving breakthroughs in business processes. He leverages this expertise in product creation projects for companies along with his design associates. He coaches business leaders and executives for developing leadership skills. Hemant founded Exponient Consulting and Learning Leadership.

Previously, Hemant was Managing Director, GWT Global Weighing (now Sartorius Mechatronics) and held position of General Manager at Philips India. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India.

For Onsite and online coaching for leadership development, please visit [http://www.learning-leadership.com]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Hemant_Karandikar/300806