Professional Development for Leaders isn’t just smart, it’s one of the most sure-fire ways to boost your organization’s revenue and rank above competitors
Leadership isn’t something most people learn. From an early age I was the type of person put in charge of things because I worked hard, am very type-A, and perhaps too serious, or was too serious (still am if you ask my wife), hence, adults when I was a teen, after wondering if there was a log up my own arse, would put me in charge of things, even people, when I was only 15.
Was I great at running small little organizations, games for kids and adults at a local festival, being in charge of money and employees? No! Hell no, I wasn’t. I didn’t like hurting the other employees, teens, some older who even could drive, and wanted to be everyone’s friends, and they were too slow to helping customers which, I’m all about service (still am) and they apparently didn’t care about serving customers, or working, or helping. I hated it, and I’d take it out of them, the employees. I was in competition with a bunch of other food vendors, some run by adults, and I did have some of the best sales, but I was miserable because my staff thought I was, well, bossy. I was a long way from becoming a leader, some might say, I still am.
In college I started being put in charge of a bunch of organizations and running for, and gaining, positions, some leadership I started to get good at, some great by everyone’s accounts, and I started to do a key thing that changed the trajectory of my leadership and my life, I started asking mentors and other people who others looked up to, I started watching and learning, I opened my ears and eyes and stopped thinking just because I wanted to be in leadership roles does that a leader make. Far from it.
Even before drinking age, I started reading books and publications about leadership, I started gleaning information from captains of industry, not-so-much the ones who seemed stuck on themselves but rather, the ones that were humble, that stayed humble, and were plain-spoken about what worked in serving people. What was fascinating is some of the best leaders of the era for major corporations in the 80s didn’t, themselves, believe they were done learning, even as some were in their 60s and 70s. It was clear learning to be great at leadership doesn’t end, you can always be better.
Wasn’t even drinking age, but be it in charge of the chess club or in charge of customer service in my retail part-time job, made it a point to remember, leadership wasn’t telling people what to do as much as it was asking people to do things. It was being responsible to, not for, others. It was being of service to people. It was saying no more than yes, but doing so nicely. Leadership isn’t so much a skill as it is an art form, and the more I practiced it, the more I led, the better I became.
I may have been in leadership positions since I was 15, but it wasn’t really until I was 20 until I got it, and now hitting half-a-century, I’ve spent 30 years not only being a leader, but well over two decades helping train other leaders. Have I gotten better? Sure. Am I perfect? Far from it, I’m still learning, every day. I learn from others, I even learn from those who are training to become leaders. Through helping others, you help yourself. Getting other people to see and how to be better, if you’re doing it right, has an appreciable effect on your own ability to be better.
- 88% of people in a study agreed that recognition is just as or even more important than financial rewards to them personally. This shows that having leaders that can foster a positive culture will provide a big impact on the organization long term, thus increasing the importance of leadership development.
- Effective leadership is the second top reason for employee satisfaction at work. To keep an organization happy and productive, you must provide them with well-trained leaders and leadership opportunities, developing new leaders will help keep and boost employee satisfaction.
- 56% of workers in the United States are disenfranchised by their jobs because their places of work lack effective leaders that engage teams. Giving people a sense of purpose and chances for recognition has been shown to make for a profitable organization. Stability breeds profit and solidifies the importance of leadership, and leaders need training, they need development, the same type of professional development I provide.
- In a recent study, leadership professional development has been shown to make a bigger impact on an organization’s success than an organization’s culture of innovation. If you have proper leadership, the culture follows, if you have a bad boss, your culture sinks.
- Companies are focusing on developing leaders from all levels of the organization, especially those with high potential. At one time the focus only on senior-level leaders for development but data proves leadership begins at hiring.
- A recent study found that the more a company focuses on internal leadership development, the better it performs. Focusing on the importance of leadership development by current leaders and human resources is smart financial sense and is one of the largest factors that will contribute to an organization’s success, regardless of the economic climate.
- The most effective leaders in business are able to address efficiency and human needs within an organization. Proactive human resources must focus on leadership development as a critical area that will fulfill a company’s bottom line and future success.
How does one improve and maintain leadership? Hire me to work with an organization’s leadership, individually, bringing out what’s best about each person who leads a portion or all of your company, I’ll get them clear on what motivates them, what drives them. Clarity is power, it’s part of my professional development when training leaders.
It gets better in terms of hiring me to train your organization. In doing team assessments I have tools in my arsenal that will help identify which employees you have latent or current leadership potential, areas where I can help flag for HR and your organization’s leadership who among your staff would be wise to invest in leadership training, if not now, for the long-term. Investing in your employees is one of the smartest ways to ensure future revenue, keep job satisfaction and productivity high, and create a happier, more profitable workplace.