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Leadership Development

Everything You Need to Know to Improve Company Culture and Create Successful Leaders

Inspire Software


Increasing employee engagement and creating a positive company culture should be a top priority for every manager. If you want to improve your employees’ skills and create a welcoming workplace atmosphere, you need to have a leadership development program in place.

Employees can fall short of expectations when those expectations haven’t been properly laid out for them. Leaders need to motivate and assist team members to set individual goals that align with individual expectations and organization-wide priorities. Setting the right goals with the right techniques is the start of a successful leadership development program.

Leadership development allows individuals at every level of the organization to prepare for future leadership roles or strengthen their leadership skills in the role they already have. A great leadership development strategy will align organizational goals with those of individual employees. And, in turn, will build up the company as a whole. When employees at every level have a say in an inclusive and healthy company culture, it results in a motivated workforce. Offering training to all employees gives your team the ability to better develop themselves, and the company in return.

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How to Create a Successful Leadership Development Program

The beginning stages of building a leadership development program can be daunting. To ensure your strategy will be a success, utilize new tools and implement new ideas incrementally. Every company has leadership needs in order to keep employees engaged, motivated, and to grow. Needs can be translated into leadership skills like feedback, listening, goal-setting, influencing, etc. Those skills should be defined as requirements when building a leadership development program.

When it comes to defining organizational goals, you should...

  • Identify where skill gaps are and what needs to be done to fill them
  • Align goals with overarching organizational goals
  • Keep leaders on the path to success by ensuring everyone is on the same page

It’s sometimes easier said than done when it comes to creating a successful leadership development program. Here are things to do when determining the right strategy for your company and leaders:

  • Know the impact you want to make
  • Ensure it will allow leaders to thrive and move up in the company
  • Define your needs and the goals needed to achieve them
  • Gain feedback from your employees
  • Understand the requirements
  • Ingrain this strategy into your culture
Critical ways organizations can use leadership development as a strategic advantage:
  • Define goals and expectations
  • Identify skill gaps
  • Shape future leaders
  • Align leader goals at the organizational, team, and individual levels

7 Leadership Principles Every Leader Needs to Understand

Managing and developing an organization means optimizing the most important strategies through sustainable practices and should have a meaningful effect on overall performance. There are underlying beliefs and assumptions that are important for leadership, and, using the power of Leadership Genius, we believe that there are certain unquestioned principles that are imperative for your leaders to adhere to.

These leadership principles should be seen as guidelines, norms, and even requirements for the effective implementation of organizational strategy through leadership in its various contexts.

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Bridging the Leadership Gap Through Development

Leadership development is all about closing the gap between team members and leadership positions. Sometimes it’s more about finding new hires, and other times it’s about building employees up from where they currently are. First, identify the gap. Second, address the gap. Third, find a staffing solution. So, where does leadership development come into play?

Check out these 7 Statistics You Can't Ignore About Leadership Development:

77% of organizations report they’re currently experiencing a leadership gap.

US Companies spent $160 billion on employee training and education.

83% of organizations say it is important to develop leaders at all levels.

Only 10% of CEOs believe their company’s leadership development initiatives have a clear business impact.

89% of executives surveyed believe strengthening organizational leadership is a top
priority.

63% of Millennials said their leadership skills were not being fully developed.

81% of employees reporting to recently trained managers said they were more engaged in their jobs.


Download our free Beginners Checklist to Achieving Leadership Excellence here!

The Importance of Self-Leadership and How to Leverage It to Improve Organizational Leadership

Leadership happens at every level of the organization. It begins with setting self-goals and adapting them to how they relate to the goals of the organization at large. To best lead others, you first have to learn the key skills of self-management.

These practices can help you leverage self-leadership to improve the organization:

  • Be clear about your values
  • Be open to changing your mindset
  • Establish a common leadership language
  • Plan your performance
  • Be proactive

Developing Your Leadership Values with this checklist!

Here are a few tips we’ve compiled to boost retention with leadership development:
  • Combat the skills gap with leadership development programs
  • Gain in-depth insight into retaining top talent at your organization
  • Develop a succession plan to help your company engage top performers and be prepared

The Flip from Traditional Leadership Development to the New Normal

The traditional leadership approach does not take the entire organization into account, which is why you need to combat this in a new way.

Traditional Leadership

How we lead people today cannot be done the same way we led people even just 5 years ago. Managers and executives should not be the only ones included in decision-making. The problem with the traditional approach is that it does not take a holistic approach to train the entire organization with the necessary skills.

New Leadership

This approach is adaptable, which in today’s workplace is a must. Anyone can become a great leader with the right training and development. This strategy ensures everyone has the skills needed to take the organization to the next level.

Leadership Development Can Rescue Your Organization From These 4 Threats!

Tips

Tip 1: Develop leaders to grow within organizations

Tip 2: Adapt leadership styles for the context of the unique situations

Tip 3: Define Leadership Competencies

Out with the Old, In with the New: The Issue with Traditional Leadership Development Programs

Leadership development is constantly changing along with the ever-changing workforce. Leadership development programs are not a one-and-done ordeal; they require regular updating for the company to continue growing.

Leaders do not work alone.
Leaders do not only care about results.
Leaders are not born to lead.

Through leadership knowledge, innovation, and goal orientation one can successfully stay up to date with their leadership development program.

Gain more insight and tips in this whitepaper!

The Future of Leadership Development

Leadership development is an important aspect in determining the success of any organization. Improving your own skills and the skills of those around you will benefit the future of your company. You should always be working to become a better leader today than you were yesterday.

Clearly defined, attainable goals are the definitive link between leadership development and measurable results within your organization. Defining your goals while also keeping each goal attainable is the first step in an actionable approach.

Here are the top proven reasons to invest in a leadership development program:

1. It’s cheaper than a new hire
2. Impending workforce crisis
3. Demand for learning and development opportunities
4. It will keep your employees engaged for the long-haul
5. Ability to cut future costs by tapping into your employee knowledge base
6. It increases your chances of hiring and managing diverse employees
7. To build a culture of collaboration
8. To utilize room for growth
9. Reinvestment in employees

So, you’ve found a new skill that can improve employee learning and development. Now, to get executive buy-in, you need to determine the ROI, build a foundation of facts, and pitch the idea. When employees have a clear idea of how to develop skills critical to their career, they are able to grow professionally and company culture is improved. Leadership development is your solution to reaching success for both managers and employees. To begin creating a successful leadership development program, get in touch with Inspire today!