Leadership Effectiveness

The capability of an organization’s leadership to successfully manage and inspire its work force is increasingly recognized as the single most important key to creating a high performing organization. Without effective leadership, everything else suffers. Leadership behavior, by its very nature, has a direct impact on what employees feel and do. In turn, employee behavior and attitudes have a substantial impact on customer behavior and bottom line business performance.

Many organizations treat leadership as something that is inherent in the individual. That is, that it cannot be developed, shaped, or even measured. These organizations “manage” their leadership talent through haphazard selection and promotion of individuals to the management ranks. Too often, candidates are selected based on the competencies they demonstrated in their existing job, not the necessary management and leadership competencies required to coach, guide, and inspire employees.

Ensuring that your organization’s leadership is fulfilling its potential is an daunting task. Most progressive companies know that there is no one quick solution to enhancing leadership effectiveness. Instead, they view leadership effectiveness as something to be managed – through succession planning to ensure a steady flow of leadership talent, through assessment programs (such as multi-source assessment or assessment centers) to identify leadership potential and expand existing skill sets, and through performance management to monitor and track leadership effectiveness efforts.