Leadership Development Articles
Leadership – Taking Your Brand to the Frontline
The importance of the role managers play in infusing real change is under-estimated in most organisations. Whilst it’s true that perhaps certain leaders are born, the significant majority are developed into becoming leaders. Your position as a manager or supervisor gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives. This power does not make you a leader, it simply makes you the boss!
If you Google the word ‘leader’ or ‘leadership’, there are 487 million hits. That’s a lot of information which can only add to the confusion of what leadership really is. Leadership is not the sole responsibility for ‘people at the top’, everyone can learn to lead by tapping into the abilities that lie within each of us. Leadership differs from management in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals, rather than simply bossing people around.
The double-edged sword of being “fair”
There is a body of evidence theorizing on what makes a good manager. However, how a manager is perceived has dramatic effects on their career development, regardless of whether their management style is correct, unorthodox or plain wrong. How you are perceived by specific people within your company can also have dire effects on your promotion opportunities. New evidence suggests that you will be more respected by your peers and senior management if you are perceived as being a ‘tough’ manager verses a ‘fair’ manager. This hidden cost to exhibiting management fairness suggests that it is the opinions of your peers and upper management that could hinder your chances for promotion and career progression. This however does not suggest that managers can through away all scruples in order to be a successful manager.
Leadership – Critical contributor to company value
On reading this blog, you will:
- Appreciate the strategic relevance of leadership
- Operational success
- Intangible value of the company
- Be more open to taking direct action to raise Leadership capability of the organisation
- Appreciate the importance of investing in leadership capability
- Be less risk averse to investing in leadership development.
Leadership Development – Invest and Avoid the Skills Shortage
The good news for the economy is that unemployment is unlikely to reach the projected rate of 8.5%; the question remains however, that as recovery looms will Australia have the skills capacity in the workforce to take advantage of the upturn?
Recent research from the National Institute of Labour Studies indicates that unlike previous recessions, the skills shortage of 18 months ago has influenced companies to hold onto staff, rather than hiring and training young workers to boast the skills pool.