How strong is your organisation on leadership? Do your managers have what it takes to become the leaders of the future or are you facing a leadership famine?

There has always been a need for leaders in every industry, in every organisation, and in every business.

In recent times, the spotlight has fallen dramatically on leadership and everywhere we look there is a call for more leaders, better skills and greater leadership capacity. The need for leadership just got sharper and is being more keenly felt. So what’s the problem?

Business is changing. Competition is fierce, customers are demanding and choice abounds as organisations jostle for market position. E-commerce and the relentless march of technology have created an unprecedented challenge for many organisations in an environment of constant change.

Without vision, commitment and leaders with the ability to inspire, drive and influence, many businesses will struggle to succeed.

There is much concern about the shortage of skills in the UK (for example, the Leitch Review of Skills), the lack of leadership capacity and the warnings of a performance crisis looming for British business.

And what are the reasons? Ineffective managers, poor performance going unchecked, low capacity to influence, lack of vision and sense of direction, senior people too far removed from the front line, failing to understand the needs of customers and employees. Does this sound like your organisation?

To achieve success, cope with change and survive difficult times it’s vital to have leadership at all levels in your organisation. How can people follow if there is no leader in every part of your organisation?

Some people have what it takes at one level but not at another. All of your managers need to be given the scope and opportunity to learn how to lead, to develop leadership capacity and to ensure that your organisation has strong leadership capability for the future.

Take this simple test and find out how your leaders shape up. Give your leaders marks out of 10 for each of the following statements. In my organisation, leaders at all levels:

1. have a clear sense of direction

2. know exactly where the organisation is going

3. communicate openly and often

4. are great listeners

5. earn trust in all that they do

6. promote innovation and creativity

7. motivate people to develop

8. influence and inspire people to do their best

9. give away control

10. encourage ownership and responsibility

Total out of 100 =

If you scored your leaders between 80 and 100

Well done – you certainly are in good leadership shape and ready to face whatever lies ahead.

If you scored your leaders between 60 and 80

Not bad – but there is still room for improvement.

If you scored your leaders between 40 and 60

Oh dear – you are really going to struggle unless you take action NOW to assess your managers and develop their leadership capacity

If you scored your leaders less than 40

Start to panic! You are facing LEADERSHIP FAMINE unless you act IMMEDIATELY and come up with a leadership strategy!

Now is the time to groom, nurture and prepare your junior and middle managers for their leadership roles in the organisation. Take stock of who you’ve got, what they are capable of and what they currently can’t do. Find out who to develop and how to develop them.

Who has fantastic potential? Who is unlikely to make it as a leader? Use individual assessments results to create a development plan for your managers and future leaders. You must start now if you want to survive in business!

5 steps to great leadership

Step 1

Create clarity about what good management and excellent leadership look like for your organisation.

Step 2

Define the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour that managers and leaders need.

Step 3

Find out if they have what it takes to through individual assessment.

Step 4

Put in place a leadership development plan, shaped by the needs of individuals and their assessment outcomes.

Step 5

Run a coaching programme for your key leaders to build and strengthen their leadership capacity.

Wouldn’t you like to see improved performance, increased productivity, higher standards, better quality products or services, meeting all of your strategic and operational objectives? How are you going to do all of that without well trained, effective, skilled and talented managers with the right attitudes and behaviours?

Leadership development should form an essential part of management training and begin early in a manager’s career – as soon as they are given responsibility for people and performance. What’s the point of waiting until they are about to step into a senior position only to discover that they don’t have what it takes?

Do your managers act as leaders, thinking about the future, imagining how the business will look and doing “back from the future” planning to make sure it happens?

What do you have right now that tells you that there is leadership potential for the years ahead in your business?

We believe that every person who is expected to lead should be coached, trained and prepared for the task of leadership.

We don’t believe that leaders are born and not made.

We know that leadership capacity can be created through personal assessment,

coaching and training.

Start your leadership development efforts now and make sure that your organisation will not suffer from leadership famine!

How strong is your organisation on leadership? Do your managers have what it takes to become the leaders of the future or are you facing a leadership famine?

There has always been a need for leaders in every industry, in every organisation, and in every business.

In recent times, the spotlight has fallen dramatically on leadership and everywhere we look there is a call for more leaders, better skills and greater leadership capacity. The need for leadership just got sharper and is being more keenly felt. So what’s the problem?

Business is changing. Competition is fierce, customers are demanding and choice abounds as organisations jostle for market position. E-commerce and the relentless march of technology have created an unprecedented challenge for many organisations in an environment of constant change.

Without vision, commitment and leaders with the ability to inspire, drive and influence, many businesses will struggle to succeed.

There is much concern about the shortage of skills in the UK (for example, the Leitch Review of Skills), the lack of leadership capacity and the warnings of a performance crisis looming for British business.

And what are the reasons? Ineffective managers, poor performance going unchecked, low capacity to influence, lack of vision and sense of direction, senior people too far removed from the front line, failing to understand the needs of customers and employees. Does this sound like your organisation?

To achieve success, cope with change and survive difficult times it’s vital to have leadership at all levels in your organisation. How can people follow if there is no leader in every part of your organisation?

Some people have what it takes at one level but not at another. All of your managers need to be given the scope and opportunity to learn how to lead, to develop leadership capacity and to ensure that your organisation has strong leadership capability for the future.

Take this simple test and find out how your leaders shape up. Give your leaders marks out of 10 for each of the following statements. In my organisation, leaders at all levels:

1. have a clear sense of direction

2. know exactly where the organisation is going

3. communicate openly and often

4. are great listeners

5. earn trust in all that they do

6. promote innovation and creativity

7. motivate people to develop

8. influence and inspire people to do their best

9. give away control

10. encourage ownership and responsibility

Total out of 100 =

If you scored your leaders between 80 and 100

Well done – you certainly are in good leadership shape and ready to face whatever lies ahead.

If you scored your leaders between 60 and 80

Not bad – but there is still room for improvement.

If you scored your leaders between 40 and 60

Oh dear – you are really going to struggle unless you take action NOW to assess your managers and develop their leadership capacity

If you scored your leaders less than 40

Start to panic! You are facing LEADERSHIP FAMINE unless you act IMMEDIATELY and come up with a leadership strategy!

Now is the time to groom, nurture and prepare your junior and middle managers for their leadership roles in the organisation. Take stock of who you’ve got, what they are capable of and what they currently can’t do. Find out who to develop and how to develop them.

Who has fantastic potential? Who is unlikely to make it as a leader? Use individual assessments results to create a development plan for your managers and future leaders. You must start now if you want to survive in business!

5 steps to great leadership

Step 1

Create clarity about what good management and excellent leadership look like for your organisation.

Step 2

Define the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour that managers and leaders need.

Step 3

Find out if they have what it takes to through individual assessment.

Step 4

Put in place a leadership development plan, shaped by the needs of individuals and their assessment outcomes.

Step 5

Run a coaching programme for your key leaders to build and strengthen their leadership capacity.

Wouldn’t you like to see improved performance, increased productivity, higher standards, better quality products or services, meeting all of your strategic and operational objectives? How are you going to do all of that without well trained, effective, skilled and talented managers with the right attitudes and behaviours?

Leadership development should form an essential part of management training and begin early in a manager’s career – as soon as they are given responsibility for people and performance. What’s the point of waiting until they are about to step into a senior position only to discover that they don’t have what it takes?

Do your managers act as leaders, thinking about the future, imagining how the business will look and doing “back from the future” planning to make sure it happens?

What do you have right now that tells you that there is leadership potential for the years ahead in your business?

We believe that every person who is expected to lead should be coached, trained and prepared for the task of leadership.

We don’t believe that leaders are born and not made.

We know that leadership capacity can be created through personal assessment,

coaching and training.

Start your leadership development efforts now and make sure that your organisation will not suffer from leadership famine!

How many times have you phoned someone to be told, “They’re in a meeting!?”

At least 60 per cent of a manager’s time is spent in meetings. Research in one large organisation discovered that the figure could be as high as 90 per cent. And another survey found that many managers consider meetings they attend, to be a waste of time. In fact, some managers say that – “meetings take ‘minutes’ and last for hours.”

If you are a manager or team leader, then you will have to hold meetings; here are 4 steps to make them exceptionally Motivational:

1. Don’t hold a meeting unless you really have to. Be really, really sure that the meeting is needed and that it has a clear objective. By the end of the meeting, however long it takes, the shorter the better; you have to be sure that you’ve achieved that objective.

2. Start the meeting on time. Don’t wait for anyone and don’t go over what’s been discussed for latecomers. Of course, you really shouldn’t have latecomers and if you do, speak to them individually after the meeting and sort it out.

3. Have a structured agenda showing start time, breaks and finish time. Don’t schedule meetings to start on the hour; say 1.20 rather than 1 0’clock. And if it’s a half day meeting, start in the afternoon rather than the morning; people will keep moving if they think they will be late leaving work. Ruthlessly stick to that agenda; don’t allow people to ramble or talk about things not on the agenda. If you want to have chit-chat time – put it on the agenda! Keep people moving and even get them out the door before the finish time on the agenda.

4. Make meetings fun. Supply snacks, drinks, fruit and chocolate. Start the meeting with a fun energiser game or quiz. Let one of the team chair the meeting occasionally (as long as they control the agenda). Allow people to have a laugh; create energy and enthusiasm.

So there you have it; Motivational Managers run structured meetings with clear objectives where people have fun and resultantly contribute and get things done.

Let me ask you a quick question; do you have any children? I don’t have any children, however, I appreciate the challenges that parents face and I’m most reluctant to tell anyone how to bring up their children.

Whether you do or don’t have children, I’m certain you appreciate the importance of raising them to be happy and successful.

To do that, you’d take a great deal of interest in them and what they’re doing; show you care about them and give them lots of your time and attention.

Children show us from an early age that they want lots of attention. We become aware of this by the way they physically and emotionally, reach out to us. If we fail to provide their required level of attention or acknowledgement, then they’ll almost certainly let us know; usually by behaving badly.

Some parents have difficulty in giving time and attention and often bribe or pay their children to be successful with offers of gifts or money. “Pass your exams and I’ll buy you a new bicycle!” However, children want presence not presents and if they fail to receive their acceptable level of attention and acknowledgement, then they may behave badly.

Not a lot changes when we become adults; we still crave attention and acknowledgement from other people. We look for it from our partners, friends, children, parents and, very importantly – our boss at work!

Successful Motivational Managers realise this and provide their staff with attention and acknowledgement.

They spend quality time with every member of their staff, giving feedback on job performance; be it good or bad.

They listen to problems, both business and personal; they show interest and help the staff member find solutions

They show that they trust and believe in their staff by empowering them to make decisions and be responsible for their actions

Successful Motivational Managers do not bribe or pay their staff to be successful. Incentives, bonuses and prizes are all acceptable; however, they will never replace attention and acknowledgement.

Some food for thought; take a minute and think about someone in your life who you did your best for. Perhaps it was a parent, a teacher or a manager. What was it about them that made you want to do your best; was it presence or presents??

Leadership is vital for any organization’s sustained success. A great leader at top makes a big difference to his or her organization. Everyone will concur with these statements. Experts in human resources field mention the importance of leaders at all levels, and not just that of the leadership at the top. It is not without reason that companies like 3M, Proctor & Gamble, GE, Coca Cola; HSBC etc. have known to put in place processes for developing leaders continuously.

Mention this subject, however, to a line manager, or to a sales manager, or any executive in most organizations and you will probably deal with diffident responses.

Leadership development -a strategic need?

The subject of leadership is dealt with in a general way by many organizations. Leadership is usually understood in terms of personal attributes such as charisma, communication, inspiration, dynamism, toughness, instinct, etc., and not in terms what good leaders can do for their organizations.  Developing leaders falls in HR domain. Budgets are framed and outlays are used with indicators like training hours per employee per year. Whether the good intentions behind the training budgets get translated into actions or not, is not monitored.

Such leadership development outlays that are based on only good intentions and general ideas about leadership get axed in bad times and get extravagant during good times. If having great or good leaders at all levels is a strategic need, as the above top companies demonstrate and as many leading management experts assert, why do we see such a stop and go approach?

Why is there skepticism about leadership development programs?

The first reason is that expectations from good (or great) leaders are not defined in operative terms and in ways in which the outcomes can be verified. Leaders are expected to achieve’ many things. They are expected to turn laggards into high performers, turn around companies, charm customers, and dazzle media. They are expected to perform miracles. These expectations remain just wishful thinking. These desired outcomes can not be used to provide any clues about gaps in leadership skills and development needs.

Absence of a comprehensive and generic (valid in diverse industries and conditions) framework for defining leadership means that leadership development effort are scattered and inconsistent in nature. Inconsistency gives bad name to leadership development programs. This breeds cynicism (these fads come and go….) and resistance to every new initiative. This is the second reason why the objectives of leadership development are often not met.

The third reason is in the methods used for leadership development. Leadership development programs rely upon a combination of lectures (e.g. on subjects like team building, communications), case studies, and group exercises (problem solving), and some inspirational talks by top business leaders or management gurus.

Sometimes the programs consist of outdoor or adventure activities for helping people bond better with each other and build better teams. These programs generate ‘feel good’ effect and in some cases participants ‘return’ with their personal action plans. But in majority of cases they fail to capitalize on the efforts that have gone in. I must mention leadership coaching in the passing. In the hands of an expert coach a willing executive can improve his leadership skills dramatically. But leadership coaching is too expensive and inaccessible for most executives and their organizations.

Leadership -a competitive advantage

During my work as a business leader and later as a leadership coach, I found that it is useful to define leadership in operative terms. When leadership is defined in terms of what it does and in terms of capabilities of a person, it is easier to assess and develop it.

When leadership skills defined in the above manner are present at all levels, they impart a distinct capability to an organization. This capability gives a competitive advantage to the organization. Organizations with a pipeline of good leaders have competitive advantages over other organizations, even those with great leaders only at the top. The competitive advantages are:

1. They (the organizations) are able to solve problems quickly and can recover from mistakes fast.

2. They have excellent horizontal communications. Things (processes) move faster.

3. They tend to be less busy with themselves. Therefore they have ‘time’ for outside people. (Over 70% of internal communications are about reminders, error corrections etc . They are wasteful)

4. Their staff (indirect) productivity is high. This is one of the toughest management challenges.

5. They are good at heeding to signals related to quality, customer complaints, shifts in market conditions and customer preferences. This leads to good and useful bottom-up communication. Top leaders tend to have less number of blind spots in such organizations.

6. It is easier to roll out programs for strategic shift and also for improving business processes (using Six Sigma, TQM, etc.). Good bottom-up communications improve top-down communications too.

7. They require less ’supervision’, since they are strongly rooted in values.

8. They are better at preventing catastrophic failures.

Expectations from good and effective leaders should be set out clearly. The leadership development programs should be selected to develop leadership skills that can be verified in operative terms. Since leadership development is a strategic need, there is a need for clarity about the above aspects.

Hemant Karandikar advises companies on business & brand strategy, on business transformation, and for achieving breakthroughs in business processes. He leverages this expertise in product creation projects for companies along with his design associates. He coaches business leaders and executives for developing leadership skills. Hemant founded Exponient Consulting and Learning Leadership.

Previously, Hemant was Managing Director, GWT Global Weighing (now Sartorius Mechatronics) and held position of General Manager at Philips India. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India.

For Onsite and online coaching for leadership development, please visit http://www.learning-leadership.com/

Let me ask you a simple question. Do you, as a manager, want a highly motivated team who don’t take time off work, who achieve their goals and objectives, and don’t stress you out in the process?

I’m sure the answer is – Yes! However, you’re no doubt asking how you’re supposed to achieve this ‘miracle.’

The one thing you need to know about team motivation is that – there’s no such thing! Okay, so the football manager ‘motivates’ the team by getting them together at half-time and ‘explaining’ how they’re about to lose the game unless they start to play a lot better. (This, of course, is the polite version)

However, the only way to build a highly motivated team is to concentrate on individual motivation and create an environment where the individual ‘motivates them self.’

Every member of your team is a complex and complicated human being and they all have different needs. Your job, as a Motivational Manager, is to find out what these needs are, and satisfy them.

There are 3 actions you can take

1. Spend some quality time with each team member – One or two minutes of quality time on a regular basis is far more productive than an appraisal once a year. You need to get to know the individual better and they need to get to know you. You’ll gain a much better understanding of them and how they’re handling the job. It will also send the message that you care about them and show that you’re there to help with problems, both personal and business.

2. Give feedback and coach them – You need to regularly tell each of your team members when they’re doing well and when not so well.

This is where so many employers and managers fall down in dealing with their people; they’re hopeless at giving feedback! Many managers are uncomfortable telling staff how they feel about their work performance. Some managers still believe – “Why should I praise people when they’re only doing what they’re paid to do!”

However, most employees want to know how they are performing in their job; they want to know if they are doing it right or how they could do it better.

If you really want to motivate your team members then you need to ‘catch them doing something right’ and tell them about it. If, on the other hand, you hear or observe them doing something you’re not happy about, then you need to tell them what needs improved and coach them.

It’s important to tell the team member when they’re not performing. There are too many managers who either ignore poor behaviour or come down on the person like a ton of bricks. There are particular ways to give feedback and coach and they’re described in detail in my book – How to be a Motivational Manager.

3. Be a believer – You need to constantly demonstrate to the team member that you trust and believe in them, by what you say, your tone of voice and your body language.

They will very quickly sense if you don’t trust them to carry out their job and they’ll act accordingly.

If you believe that your people are not to be trusted to do their job; that they’ll turn up late and go home early, then that is exactly what they’ll do.

On the other hand, if you believe that your people will do their job well, that they can be trusted to make decisions that are good for the business and that they’ll give you a fair day’s work, then it is more likely this is what you’ll get.

As with all theories, there is no guarantee that this will work every time. However the majority of people in this world are reasonable people; if you treat them as such they’re more likely to behave in a positive manner.

So there you have it; Motivational Managers know that to get the best out of their people they need to concentrate on the human interactions and make that emotional connection with each individual team member.