Leading by Example – Maintaining Your Edge

A successful, forward-thinking business needs strong leadership to move its strategy forward and make sure its people have the skills and support they need to meet new challenges. Read more about leadership skills here…

For a business to keep growing and performing at its best, its leadership team needs to keep developing too. The business world never stands still, and leaders need to evolve alongside it to stay effective and competitive.

Finding time for leadership development is often a challenge, and senior teams can sometimes fall into the trap of thinking they already know enough. But leadership sets the tone for the whole organisation, so leading by example matters. Investing in a bespoke development programme can help secure buy-in by addressing the specific challenges your leaders face, while also fitting around their schedules in a way that supports productivity.

When planning training and development for your leadership team, it is worth considering the following:

Incentive – your training programme needs to be engaging enough to encourage participation, spark interest and inspire action. This may come down to the delivery method, session length, location and frequency. Workshops, podcasts, webinars or short sessions spread over six months can all work well. Keep in mind that on-site training can bring distractions, while off-site sessions may affect attendance if travel is involved.

Pace and Content – leaders are used to operating at speed, so training needs to match that pace and level of complexity to keep them engaged. Content, case studies and examples should feel relevant to their industry and clearly demonstrate the value to their organisation. Leaders need to feel confident that the time they invest is worthwhile and directly benefits their role.

Teamwork – senior leaders often do not get much time to come together and support one another in the way middle managers might. Creating space for them to reconnect can be hugely valuable and help strengthen future planning. It allows them to align on priorities and performance, sharpen strategic focus, and uncover new business development opportunities.

New Challenges – to retain top talent, it is important to give leaders the chance to explore new challenges, debate ideas and, where needed, reshape responsibilities so they remain stretched, motivated and engaged.

Engagement – taking time to pause, reflect and reassess can have a real impact on engagement. Learning, challenge and development can re-energise leaders, renew their commitment to the organisation, and open up fresh ways of thinking and working.

Leading by Example – if the wider management team is expected to make time for training and development despite busy workloads, the leadership team must do the same. When people see that development is valued at the top, they are far more likely to embrace it themselves and continue building their own skills.

We are delighted to be supporting three shortlisted companies from this year’s EADT Business Awards, as well as two directors shortlisted for the IOD National Awards on 22nd July 2017.

If you are looking for a leadership development programme tailored to your business, we would love the opportunity to help make a real difference to your organisation and support you in achieving the results you want.

Call 01473 360160 for a chat about how we can support you.