Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER July 10, 2017 FEATURES 15 LEADERSHIP Getting started early Leadership development throughout entire organization most effective approach By Biren Bandara T he importance of leader- ship training and devel- opment cannot be stated enough. ere is rarely an HR department or organization that does not see the absolute importance of leadership train- ing for its managers, executives and supervisors. However, there are two systemic issues with the way most organi- zations tackle the development of leadership. e first issue is timing. Giving leadership training to seasoned managers and supervisors is great, but chances are by the time upper management settles into their new positions, the train has already left the station. e second issue is that conven- tional leadership training only fo- cuses on building the leaders, and fails to acknowledge the benefits of having a whole organization of leaders. Only focusing leadership training on those who are already functional leaders completely denies the organization its full potential in versatility, agility and creativity. Many executives will agree that generally an organization's mid- level and higher managers and leaders are fairly effective. Where the chain is weakest is normally with its front-line leaders. On av- erage, front-line leaders manage up to 80 per cent of the workforce. Twenty per cent of front-line leaders have been rated as doing a poor job by their subordinates, 26 per cent said they were not ready for the job, and 60 per cent said they did not receive training, according to a 2014 white paper by the Centre for Creative Lead- ership, Understanding the Lead- ership Challenges of First-Time Managers, based on a survey of 664 managers. To the keen observer, this could seem like a major problem. To ev- ery employee who has ever left a job she enjoyed because of a poor supervisor, these numbers ring all too true. e flip side to this is many managers underperform or walk away from management positions because they are not properly prepared. To look for a potential solution, there's the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Why? Because leadership is at the forefront of everything that organization does. From day one of basic training, new recruits are required to lead their platoons in simple tasks, such as getting to meals and formations on time, making sure everyone is accounted for and reporting issues to their su- periors. is is where every senior leader in the CAF received their introduction to responsibility, accountability, initiative and self- lessness — the hallmarks of good leadership. From there, military members go through gradual increments of leadership training, commiser- ate with their next rank level. e military trains its members to be effective at the next rank — before they get to that rank, not after. e military constantly empha- sizes the need for an organization of leaders, and expects every member of the team to embody the principles of leadership. As much as the military has histori- cally strived for obedience, its thirst for leaders is stronger. ose who can motivate, serve and en- able their subordinates in the most harrowing of circumstances are those the military wants to stack their ranks with. The effects of this approach can be seen in the many brave and courageous acts made by the most junior soldiers up to the most senior officers. ese acts are rooted in the most basic prin- ciples of leadership: initiative, ac- countability and selflessness. So, what lessons can we take into the corporate world? Here is the biggest one: Every employee should be given leader- ship training that focuses on lead- ership attributes, the values of the company and the vision of the or- ganization. ese lessons should be reiterated constantly. The best time to condition people in an organization is early. is way, the excitement and awe of coming to a new organization can be leveraged to increase the retention of the training. As new employees understand and exhib- it leadership attributes, teams will function better and more effec- tively. Why? Because employees will have an understanding of the vision and values of the company, and will better understand the de- cisions of their senior managers. On the other hand, they will be able to see when decisions are counter to the vision and values. is will allow early red flags to come from the employees, rather than the customers. STOCK > pg. 17

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