Leader and Management Development
Introduction
Leadership forms the backbone of any organization. This is because it entails offering direction, creating a sense of purpose and defining a strategic plan for the organization. Such aspects of leadership are important in ensuring the success of an organization in the long run (Yukl, 2013). For the leadership functions mentioned above to be successfully implemented, it is critical that the individuals in leadership positions show responsibility in their day-to-day undertakings. It therefore implies that leadership development has become a primary aspect of the overall management function. Leadership development is anchored on the character and behavior of the persons in leadership within an organization. This is especially the case considering that there is an increasing convergence between organizational behavior and other aspects of the society such as politics and the legal environment hence there is a greater need for leaders to be responsible.
In the modern day context, it is not possible to separate an organization’s performance from the behavior of the individuals running such organizations. The more responsible the individuals in leadership positions are, the highly likely such organizations will be successful in achieving their set goals and objectives. Failure to institute effective leadership could lead to disastrous consequences as illustrated by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The propensity for responsible leadership to achieve even better performance is positively related to the management of people within an organization. This is because for a majority of the organizations, human resource costs constitute the largest proportion of expenditure. It is therefore the case that responsibility in managing individuals within an organization could translate into huge cost savings for an organization in the long run. Ultimately, there is a positive co-relation between effective leadership development and the performance of an organization.
The relationship between Effective Leadership Development and Organizational Performance
According to the U.S Office of Personnel Management (2015), leadership development helps to improve management capacity in dealing with actual crises and challenging situations, which help to improve the overall organizational performance and maximizing return on investment for the organization in question. The need for leadership development is as a result of the appreciation that leaders within the organizational context operate in a challenging environment. Organizations that invest in a focused approach to leadership and management through leadership management tend to achieve better results and attain a competitive edge over their contemporaries. This is because leadership development leads to the creation of an environment in which quality management practices can be nurtured and grown. Unlike other organizations in which effective leadership development is not given due consideration, organizations that focus on appropriate leadership development schemes achieve high organizational performance. The improved performance is not necessarily as a result of an organic competitive advantage but due to the ability to prioritize and being committed that is enabled by effective management development.
According to Davis (2014), successful companies have been shown to put in place elaborate structures that are meant to develop their managers and leaders so as to have a positive impact on the overall organizational outcomes. The increased ability of managers and leaders to influence the outcomes within the organization is due to the fact that in most instances, they form the key pillars in decision making, especially with regard to emerging opportunities and investment gaps that in the long run create a competitive edge for an organization.
However, there exists no particular defined path to leadership development. This is because the knowledge and skills gap that any particular leader requires are unique hence a single approach may not be successful (U.S Office of Personnel Management, 2015). Therefore, there is a need to tailor leadership development programs based on the needs of specific leaders and managers if such efforts are to have a positive influence on organizational performance. It therefore calls for a combination of numerous leadership development approaches (U.S Office of Personnel Management, 2015).
The success of leadership development in relation to organizational performance is dependent on various aspects of the leadership development program. For leadership development to result in improved organizational performance there is need for it to objectively assess the leadership needs and deficiencies of the organization in question which is achieved through an organizational review (Mabey, 2011). The importance of such an organizational review is to ensure that a leadership development program complements the competencies of an organization. It is therefore the case that merely having a leadership development program does not necessarily imply improved organizational performance especially if it does not address the skills and knowledge gap of an organization.
Another primary aspect of an effective leadership program that endears it to improved organizational performance is that it is forward looking. The future orientation of a leadership program makes it possible to anticipate the challenges that the leaders and managers of an organization may face in the days ahead. It therefore becomes possible to equip the leaders and managers with the requisite knowledge and skills to enable them deal with such challenges as and when they might arise in the future. It increases the probability for such an organization to improve its bottom line as opposed to an organization that relies on an ineffective leadership development program. Secondly, by being forward looking, effective leadership development makes it possible for the leaders and managers to be strategic in defining the organization’s mission and vision. By having a well-defined vision and mission, it becomes possible for the organization to achieve its goals and objectives with optimal resources hence improved performance in its bottom line.
There is also an increasing body of research that shows leadership and management development play a great role in assisting leaders and managers perform duties in diverse work environment, especially with regard to culture, ethnicity, and race (Mabey, 2011). The ability of a leader to oversee a diverse work place is especially important in the modern day context in which organizations and businesses tend to be more globalized hence ethnical, cultural, and racial mixing becomes inevitable. The ability of a leadership and management development program to impart skills and knowledge to managers to enable them oversee a diverse work place environment is as a result of its inherent ability to determine and anticipate emerging trends with respect to the industry in which an organization is subscribed to in effecting its mandate (Mabey, 2011).
The need for leaders and managers to embrace diversity applies for both transactional and transformational styles of leadership because even though such styles may be universal, various attributes related to such styles vary depending on cultural and ethnic inclinations (Yukl, 2013). It is therefore the case that it is not possible to separate aspects of leadership and management with culture an aspect that leadership and management development programs often address. It therefore prepares managers and leaders to be effective in a cultural and ethnically diverse work environment. By being able to manage diversity, managers and leaders can oversee positive organizational outcomes which lead to improved performance.
For organizations with ineffective or non-existent leadership and management development program, this important aspect of human resource management is often viewed as a cost rather than an investment (Garavan, Hogan, & Cahir-O'Donnell, 2014). As such, training programs for leaders and managers are relegated to the back and often times are at the top of the list in times when cost cutting becomes a management tool to improve an organization’s bottom line. However, studies have shown that there is a positive co-relation between organizational practices that do not prioritize leadership and management development and unsuccessful strategic management (Garavan, Hogan, & Cahir-O'Donnell, 2014). This is especially the case for small organizations that tend to have static strategic plans. The rigidity of their strategic plans is attributed to the lack of leadership and management development programs that endear managers and leaders of such organizations to be inward focused. The leaders and managers therefore tend to concentrate on current organizational demands and competencies without giving due consideration to the future (Davis, 2014). As a result, such organizations only tend to experience success in the short term as opposed to organizations that have in place structural leadership and management development programs whose success in terms of performance tends to be long term and consistent (Mabey, 2011).
One of the most critical functions of leadership and management is overseeing change within an organization. Leadership and management development assists in this process through a number of interventions that include job rotations, mentoring, development assignments, and problem simulation (U.S Office of Personnel Management, 2015). Such interventions allow leaders and managers to develop leaders and managers to develop the ability to view issues from different perspectives. According to the U.S Office of Personnel Management (2015), about 31% of leaders in organizations undertaking a survey reported an increase in versatility and adaptability in leadership and management after undertaking leadership and management development programs. Flexibility on the part of management ensures that the change process within an organization can be managed smoothly hence all the organization’s stakeholders can adapt easily (Iscan, Ersari, & Naktiyok, 2014).
Effective leadership development also plays a huge role in conflict management and resolution (U.S Office of Personnel Management, 2015). This is because through such programs, it becomes possible for leaders and managers to acquire skills that are necessary for mediating between both interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts. Such an aspect of leadership and management development is important following the realization that conflicts within an organization are inevitable. The solution therefore lies in developing the requisite skills within the organization that can be employed to manage conflicts that might arise. By inculcating conflict resolution and mediation as part of organizational culture, it becomes possible for an organization to improve on its bottom line performance. This is as a result of organizational harmony which results in an increase in productivity and ultimately overall performance of the organization (Chuang, 2013). It is therefore evident that there is a positive relationship between effective leadership development and organizational performance.
Competences for Measuring Effective Leadership and Management Performance
As a concept that is learnt, it is important for leadership development to have set metrics to be able to measure the extent and rate of its success. This is especially the case if the concept of leadership and management development is to be viewed as a formal management tool that needs to be part of the organizational culture and policies. According to Davis (2014), classical methods of quantifying the success of leadership development, as is the case in contemporary learning institutions, are not effective. This is because leadership and management development rather than being a purely theoretical concept is a practical one that entails practicing by undertaking deliberate leadership acts. One of the metrics that can be used to gauge the performance of effective leadership is Return On Investment (ROI). A study conducted by Archer provides numerous indicators through which return on investment can be assessed in order to determine the success of leadership initiatives (Davis, 2014).
The concept of return on investment should not be viewed abstractly as being merely financial. An organization’s management should therefore put in place specific means that are qualitative rather than quantitative in order to evaluate the concept of return on investment. Such qualitative aspects may lead to an indirect improvement in the performance of an organization (Iscan, Ersari, & Naktiyok, 2014).
Coupled with return on investment, evaluation of a leadership and management development program is synonymous with quality assurance (Davis, 2014). This is because the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the program are determined at this stage and can then be improved upon in the subsequent stages of the program. This is especially the case considering that leadership development rather than being a static event is progressive and as such the learning process builds on aspects of previous and future programs (Yukl, 2013). As mentioned earlier, the metrics for measuring the success of an effective development program need not necessarily be financial; they may include other qualitative aspects that indirectly contribute to improved performance in an organization. Such as aspects include the extent of involvement by other stakeholders in the process especially board members.
The involvement of an organization’s board of directors is an important metric of the effectiveness of leadership (Garavan, Hogan, & Cahir-O'Donnell, 2014). This is because leadership in its inherent nature should be all inclusive and seek to martial support from all the stakeholders. An entity’s board of directors forms the apex of its stakeholders and as such having its support is critical in determining the level of leadership performance in an organization. The board of directors also plays a critical role in mentoring leaders and managers in the organization as well as instituting policies that touch on development strategies, which are a key pillar of leadership and management development programs.
Leadership development should be a selective process; it should ensure total management improvement. Therefore, for leadership development to be considered effective it should into consideration as many of those in leadership and managerial positions as possible. It is the case that in most organizations leadership development is only focused on the top levels of management. According to Garavan, Hogan, & Cahir-O'Donnell (2014), such a strategy can only be successful in the event that the management is crafting a succession plan which tends to be short term in nature. However, the frequency of an organization’s succession plan does not occur in high frequency and as such merely targeting leadership development initiatives on top levels of management may not yield improved performance in the long run. This is because it may expose the organization to structural and leadership weaknesses in the future. Therefore, one of the benchmarks for the evaluation of effective leadership is the depth of its leadership development initiatives in terms of addressing the leadership needs and deficiencies of leaders and managers across all cadres.
No one entity exists in solitude. All organizations exist within an external environment. The external environment of an organization includes the social, political, economic, and legal situation within which it exists. The relationship that an organization has with its external environment is an important benchmark of the effectiveness of leadership and its competency (Mabey, 2011). Therefore, effective leadership is measured by the extent in which it selects the correct practices in relation to its external environment (Garavan, Hogan, & Cahir-O'Donnell, 2014). The correct practices mandate that an organization be a good corporate citizen (Chuang, 2013). The extent of an organization’s level of responsibility cannot be separated cannot be separated from that of its leaders and managers (Yukl, 2013).
The concept of responsibility is closely co-related with that of accountability. The concept of accountability stretches far and beyond the leadership development programs into actual day to day activities of an organization. It is the case that the level of responsibility and accountability as a measure of effective leadership has a huge bearing on organizational performance. An example of this co-relation is the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
The oil company failed as a responsible corporate citizen while undertaking its oil drilling activities. According to a ruling by a U.S District court judge, the company was culpable of the oil spill offence due to what the judge termed as negligence and misconduct (Robertson & Krauss, 2014). The ruling was a result of the company’s failure to take responsibility for the oil spill and instead shifting the blame on the incident to its contractors.
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill revealed underlying deficiencies in BP’s leadership which can be attributed to poor leadership development. It is because an effective leadership development program anticipates challenges that an organization may face in the future and provides possible solutions with which to address the challenges as and when they occur. Given the poor of the company during the oil spill, it is evident that its leadership and management development was severely ineffective which acts as a pointer to poor overall leadership in the company. As a result, the extent and management of outcomes (both desirable and undesirable) in an organization may also act as a measure with which to evaluate the competency of effective leadership. It is also the case that the lack of effective leadership leads to negative outcomes and performance for the organization.
Effective leadership development also entails open communication (Davis, 2014). One of the primary attributes of effective leadership is the ability to communicate effectively. It is through open communication that those in leadership and managerial positions can lay out their strategic goals and objectives for the entity and in turn get feedback from the other stakeholders. It is such a relationship that leads to an improvement in the performance of an organization since it promotes organizational harmony. Effective communication also helps to prevent conflicts from arising since any issues that may occur can be resolved before they degenerate into disputes. Secondly, communication which should be a two way process creates a sense of ownership among the stakeholders. It is therefore the case that the level of engagement through communication raises also serves as a metric for determining effective leadership and management development (Garavan, Hogan, & Cahir-O'Donnell, 2014).
One of the most practical means through which one can evaluate the effectiveness of leadership development is by evaluating the extent in which the organization’s overall direction points towards global and emerging trends (Yukl, 2013). The initiative of leadership development needs to reflect the changing expectations of the communities in which organizations operate if they are to become successful in achieving their goals and objectives (Davis, 2014). It is because the tastes and preferences of the external environment of an organization are not static. Failure by an organization to adapt to the ever changing needs would mean that its product offering would fall behind leading to a loss of competitive advantage. It is especially the case in the context of business organizations. By aligning leadership development with emerging issues such as climate change and increased appreciation of diversity, an organization is able to remain competitive both in short term and in the long term.
Identifying Leadership and Management Development Needs
As mentioned earlier, there is no uniform means through which leadership and management development can be effected across a number of organizations. It is because the leadership needs and deficiencies of organizations and individuals within organizations vary (U.S Office of Personnel Management, 2015). The identification of such needs and deficiencies is achieved by conducting an organizational review.
A leadership development program should therefore be tailored to meet the unique needs of an organization. However, there are some sets of principles that should be adhered to in identifying leadership and management development needs of an organization. Both internal and external actors must be involved throughout the entire process (Adams, S.M, & Zanzi, 2005). It is important in order to create a rapport between the two teams. It also affords them an adequate opportunity to engage efficiently in terms of communication which is a primary aspect in leadership and management development (Davis, 2014).
Another means through which an organization can identify leadership and management development needs is through a rewards system. Through such a system, managers and leaders that exemplify the desired outcomes are rewarded. By employing such a scheme, it becomes easy to identify those that fall below par and as such enables senior management to tailor management development programs that are specific and highly targeted. As mentioned earlier, communication is a two way process in which those in leadership and managerial positions should be able to leverage on since it will make it possible for them to solicit and listen to others and in the process identify their needs and deficiencies.
Conclusion
It is evident that an effective leadership and management development program has positive outcomes for an organization. Therefore, organizations should view such programs primarily as investments rather than as costs. The return on investment for leadership development should not be looked at expressly from the purview of financial performance. It is because it affects other quantitative aspects of leadership and management that contributed indirectly to the performance of an organization. Leadership development programs should also be practiced rather than being taught abstractly as theoretical concepts if they are to have meaningful effects. The initiatives should also incorporate elements of a good corporate citizen if they are to be sustainable. It therefore calls for an increase in the level of responsibility and accountability among leaders and managers in organization. Such an approach will result in managerial efficiencies that will translate into improved organizational performance (Kirton, 2015). The improved performance is especially with regard to the management of human resources which represent the largest proportion of costs for most organizations. Savings accrued as a result of efficiencies brought about by leadership and management development could be invested in other areas thereby increasing the competitive advantage of an organization.
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