Frankenstein's Manager Lousy employee leadership got you down? Hey, Dr. Entrepreneur, here's how to <i>build </i>the perfect supervisor.
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You've probably heard the old joke about leadership beingthe ability to figure out which way people are going, then runningto get in front of them. You might laugh, but in today's world,business owners can't afford to ignore poor leadership in theirsupervisors, managers and executives. A recent survey of top U.S.companies revealed that businesses have a difficult time findingqualified leaders and that employees fear their companies face anuncertain future due to lack of leadership. And, of the leaderssurveyed, 70 percent said that they pursued development activitiesto make themselves more marketable for other jobs, and notnecessarily at their current companies.
The study, conducted by Development Dimensions InternationalInc. (DDI) in Pittsburgh, focused on large corporations, but BarrieAthol, DDI's vice president, says the results are equally, ifnot more, applicable to entrepreneurial businesses. "Thestrength of a leader has much more impact on the success of a smallorganization than a large organization," Athol says. "Forexample, in a small company, if you have an open executive slot orone of the executives is not performing well, that could mean athird of your executive leadership is [floundering]. If you haveone executive who is not performing well in a large corporation,there are [plenty of] others to cover for him."
It's more than just numbers. "Smaller organizations areflatter, so individual leaders don't have a staff to take careof certain things for them," Athol notes. "The quality ofeach individual leader tends to be more critical in a smallerorganization."
So what can you do? First, says Athol, recognize that selectingand developing leaders is extremely important to your company'ssuccess-and one of your chief entreprenerial responsibilities."Take the approach that your primary role is to developleadership within the organization," Athol advises.
Next, understand why people leave jobs so you can improve yourretention ratio. "The research shows the top issues aren'tcompensation and benefits or reward and recognition," Atholsays. "The main reason people leave one company to go work foranother is they don't like their boss. People tend to quitbosses, not companies."
People also need to feel that their work is meaningful and theircontribution is valued, and that they have an opportunity to growand develop in what they're doing. "These are areas whereoften-times smaller organizations are at a real advantage overlarger ones," says Athol. If you can't afford to sendpeople to expensive outside training programs, look for ways tomake the work itself a development program. Athol advises givingpeople more responsibility earlier so they learn by doing. He alsorecommends a system of job rotation so everyone can learn about thevarious aspects of the operation.
Before implementing any program, talk with your people to findout what they want and need. Then think of leadership developmentas a joint venture, with leaders taking responsibility for theirown development and organizations empowering them to do so.
Jacquelyn Lynn left the corporate world more than 13 yearsago and has been writing about business and management from herhome office in Winter Park, Florida, ever since.
Contact Source
- Development Dimensions International Inc.,(800)933-4463, www.ddiworld.com
