It is a wonder why most leaders lord their personal leadership traits over their followers without taking steps to develop their skills to suit growing trends. Seminars and training programmes are important in building leadership capacity, but the real work lies in what is being exercised within an environment.

The importance of having a good leadership team in an organization cannot be overemphasized. Though leaders have their own leadership styles, there is still the need for visionary and committed people to drive their teams to achieving set objectives.  

Determine the Best Leadership Style for your Organization

It would never be appropriate for a person to walk into a king’s palace and sit on the throne, but on the football pitch, players can sit on the manager’s seat without query because the environment and culture differ. The relationship between managers and employees is largely dependent on the nature of business or culture in an organization. The leadership style to be adopted by management affects work progress. This is not to say that in one organization there can only be one leadership style. The choice of a single leadership style would of course be impossible due to the different personalities of the managers and employees. The leadership style implemented should support the long term strategy of the organization. Employees will therefore react either positively or negatively to the managerial leadership style that tries to motivate them to work better.

Identify Current and Potential Leaders within the Company

Leaders in an organization are not limited to those in managerial or supervisory positions; employees who take initiatives to ensure that all is in order within the institution are potential leaders. Once potential leaders are identified, a grooming process through mentorship and coaching also becomes paramount. It is common to find many firms building the skill set of its current leaders without paying attention to its future leaders. It should be noted that proper succession planning is mandatory for continued goal achievement. In the process of identifying current and future leaders, it is common to find some leadership gaps. Identifying these gaps helps build strategies that can be put in place to develop the skills and competencies of leaders. 

Develop Career Planning Roles for Potential Leaders

What career or development plans are present in your organization for future leaders? Are they growing at all in their roles? Career development plans are imperative as individuals are constantly looking at ways to improve and self-actualize. This does not necessarily mean that their growth should be in terms of new positions, but the training opportunities available for their development should be the priority. Has there been an increase in skill and competency as compared to when they first joined the organization? Some roles in organizations are very critical to the organization’s success hence, it is advisable not to adopt the ‘one man for one job’ system, where the absence of a single person can halt work within the organization. Create a working succession plan for those critical roles so that the organization is not left in a vulnerable situation when people move on.

Develop a Skills Roadmap for Future Leaders

It is said that if you do not know where you want to go, you will not be able to tell when you arrive. If we are unaware of the skills our leaders need, we cannot evaluate their development. Different roles require different skills. While some may possess certain skills naturally, depending on personality or upbringing, others need to constantly learn and practice them before they become part of them.

Develop Retention Programmes for Current and Future Leaders

What systems are in place to retain your key employees? Why should they stay with you and not go to another organization? Money is important but not always the deciding factor. Organizations should therefore create good retention plans and an environment where current and future leaders want to stay and develop.

A couple of best practices can be found on how to execute the different steps, and ideas can definitely be borrowed from other companies but the important point worth noting is not to ‘copy and paste’ from one organization to another, but to spend time to find out what will work in your organization.

 Emma Wenani, Director of Human Resource, Global Media Alliance