There are a range of factors, which go into making your company a unique place to work including its clients, workforce and its history. In light of this, it might make you wonder why your organisation’s leadership requirements would be considered the same as your competitors’ or other companies. Companies that are similar to yours perhaps but hardly identical. Of course, businesses don’t operate in a vacuum. Changing market forces and internal reshuffling cause businesses to change. And, as they change, so too do the requirements of their leaders.
Let’s talk about a client real-life example: This is a growing business where, to date, the leaders have been entrepreneurial and visionary. These qualities have driven the company’s previous success along with its initial growth. Fast forward to the present and we’re finding that building on that success is proving to be tough. The business has become a much bigger, more resource-hungry version of its prior self. It’s not that being bigger is bad - it’s just the financial investments that have been pumped into the machine no longer appear to be providing the anticipated results. Following the Credit Crunch, the competition has actually magnified and marketplace demands are fierce and far less stable. As the context of change has itself altered, the qualities of leadership and the resources required must adjust to the new competitive landscape. The difficulty is to ensure that the business has the proper management in place to handle the needs of the present whilst also having a clear leadership focus on the likely needs for the foreseeable future.
This is simpler to "say than do" for a range of factors. 1. Management of all and leadership of none. Organisations can typically have layer upon layer of management each with its own array of policies, guidelines and processes, all of which are necessary for the every day functioning of the company. Because Management is frequently concentrated on the short-term, it does not often become involved in the business’s long-term objectives. The everyday is energy sapping and by concentrating solely on today’s problems, the organisation doesn’t carry out the necessary preparation for what is coming tomorrow. This approach does not prioritise leadership. Instead it prioritises distribution of management and centralisation of resources. That isn't to say there isn't leadership present at all. There are leaders but they exist in small groups like the leadership team or a particular Strategic Business Unit.The absence of leadership ability cutting through the company horizontally makes it very difficult to implement strategies that focus on its long-term needs. 2. As demands on the business change, so too do the demands placed on its leaders. Whatever the reality of your company's internal environment and the external forces acting on it, your leaders and their actions must adjust or cease to be effective. It’s an ongoing process to examine the company’s leadership requirements and the most appropriate manner in which to lead. 3. Leadership development is a time consuming and skilled endeavour. “Leadership is low down on the priority list“ is not something you will frequently hear said by an HR expert. There is, however, often a lack of understanding about how best to assess and benchmark the company’s current leadership capability. All too often, this rigorous process is put into the ‘too difficult’ basket remaining undone until a lack of leadership capability becomes a serious risk factor. But don’t just take our word for it. There is much research on the international stage, which suggests a substantial percentage of leadership programs simply aren’t delivering the outcomes planned. Tackling the leadership skill shortage head-on.At the centre of all successful organisations is effective leadership.All levels of the company need the right amount of leadership ability balanced with management prowess in order to grow. Therefore, a clear understanding of management and leadership needs is vital for the company. As is the ability to continuously evaluate the resources available to meet these needs, providing additional resources to fill the gaps in a timely manner. There is a subtle relationship between operational management and long-term leadership. Effective organisations recognise the need to nurture both by creating a people structure that allows leaders and managers to engage across the organisation.Failure to develop the leadership and management requirements of the company can have far reaching effects.
Leadership development is a strategic issue, and will certainly remain so for as long as the world keeps changing (that is, to say forever).