There are probably hundreds of definitions of leadership. However, at its essence, leadership is influencing others to accomplish results. Leadership is not so much about what you do and accomplish on your own. It is about what you are able to help others accomplish. It is about how you are able to influence other people to raise their level of performance to new and better heights and contribute more than they previously thought possible.
Although corporations within the U.S. spend approximately $300 billion per year on training, permanent change will occur only when an organization’s infrastructure elicits, reinforces, and even demands desired leadership behaviors. Research shows that only about 10-20% of the knowledge gained from training actually transfers to the job. The challenge and opportunity is to translate knowledge and skills into practices that actually improve organizational performance.
This article is part of a series about how to build good leadership practices into the infrastructure of your organization. In my last two newsletters, I’ve discussed the following guidelines for instilling good leadership in your organization:
We’ve all heard that there are only two things we can count on for certain: death and taxes. But anyone who has ever lost a job, suffered from a personal challenge, or kept an eye on the stock market of late can tell you, there’s a third certainty that can be added to that list: setbacks.
Setbacks, quite frankly, happen – and they happen to everyone.
Capable leadership is undoubtedly one of the most important factors in creating and maintaining an organization which achieves outstanding and sustainable results. In fact, in today’s complex and changing world, the need for strong leadership is greater than ever before.
And yet, 80% of CEOs participating in a recent study rated their efforts to develop leaders throughout their organizations as “less than adequate.”
Although corporations within the U.S.spend approximately $300 billion per year on training, permanent change will occur only when an organization’s infrastructure elicits, reinforces, and even demands desired leadership behaviors. Research shows that only about 10-20% of the knowledge gained from training actually transfers to the job. The challenge and opportunity is to translate knowledge and skills into practices that actually improve organizational performance. [Read more…]
Companies must be proactive about building leadership competencies if they are to successfully compete in this complex world. This begins by understanding and common and shared definition of leadership for your organization. But even if the bar has been set and leaders understand, conceptually, your standard of leadership, it has to be reinforced by the infrastructure and systems of the organization.
Helping Business Reach Their Full potential
Consider these facts:
Carlos has recently been appointed as a new supervisor of production. His feelings about his new job are mixed. He loved working on the floor and had a good relationship with his co-workers. He wasn’t sure he wanted all the responsibility and hassles of being a supervisor and how it might change his relationship with his former peers.
[Read more…]
The leadership role often changes significantly in a High Performance organization. This is true for executives and supervisors alike. All too often, leaders consider changes to High Performance as a technique or program which others must implement, but fail to realize the extent to which they must be personally involved and change themselves.
Since High Performance is a way of thinking about and managing the business, the transformation process begins by helping senior leadership define not only what they should be doing in the organization, but how they should go about doing it.
The Leadership Process includes five essential steps: [Read more…]
