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It is one thing to understand leadership skills; it is another thing to integrate them into your organization. Learn in this article what leadership skills and competencies are, and why leadership training is important. We show you how to bridge the gap between leadership in theory versus leadership in practice. These steps serve as a structured method for achieving leadership competency integration in your company:
1. What Are Leadership Skills?
Your journey to unlocking leadership potential begins by identifying critical leadership competencies that align with your organizational values and goals. Often this will include strategic thinking, effective communication, empathy, adaptability, problem-solving and innovation. Whichever the competencies, they need to support the organization's short- and long-term objectives while addressing the specific challenges you face.
Pro Tip: The three foundational leadership competencies are defining your purpose, setting goals and focusing resources. Clarifying this is essential before advancing other leadership objectives. Priority Management has developed a leadership competencies guide that you can review below.
Learn More: The 8 Core Competencies of Leadership Part 1
The 8 Core Competencies of Leadership Part 2
2. Assess Current Leadership Capabilities
Figure out where you stand in meeting the desired leadership skills by conducting assessments within your leadership team. Performance reviews and leadership surveys are traditional avenues, while 360-degree feedback assessments may be the right choice for companies with flatter rather than rigidly hierarchical organizational structures. In any case, the goal is to understand where there are gaps between current capabilities and desired competency levels.
3. Build a Leadership Development Program
Based on the identified gaps, create a leadership development program catered to your organizational needs. The core of this program will focus on training leaders in the specific competencies, both those that require shoring up and those that are already strong but need refinement. Consider relying on a mix of training methods like workshops, coaching and mentoring to enhance learning and retention.
4. Align with HR Practices and Create Accountability
Integrate these leadership competencies into all aspects of human resource practices. This will run the full gamut from hiring and onboarding to promotions and performance evaluations. These processes should explicitly spell out the identified leadership competencies and set expectations for their development and how leaders should demonstrate these competencies. This means incorporating these expectations into leaders’ performance objectives and review processes. Leaders should have specific, measurable targets related to developing and applying their competencies in their roles.
5. Foster a Culture of Support and Evaluation
It is not enough to go through all of the critical above steps and leave it there. Leadership skills, like any abilities, need reinforcement to ensure they are regularly applied. Otherwise it is human nature to slip into old habits.
To fully integrate leadership abilities into your organization, cultivate a culture that supports their development and application. An environment of continuous learning and feedback is the place to start. When leaders feel supported in taking risks and innovating, they are more likely to do so.
Additionally, consider monitoring leadership development effectiveness through metrics like team performance, employee engagement scores and specific project outcomes. Feedback from all levels of the organization can provide insights into how effectively the competencies are being integrated and the impact they are having.
Pro Tip: Companies that aspire for a culture that is truly supportive of employees and generates high quality production and growth embrace continuous performance management. You can learn all about it in our guide below.
Leadership Skills Integration for Lasting Positive Change
Being methodical in weaving leadership skills into the fabric of the organization will reap dividends in efficiencies, growth and morale. When implemented correctly, along with creating a culture of support, these leadership competencies can be the catalyst for lasting, positive change.
Ongoing behavioral improvements are what Priority Management is all about. We train leaders and their teams to not just learn, but implement skills and best practices. We fully customize all training programs for every client and provide crucial follow-up coaching to ensure that you meet your goals. We have been doing it for over 40 years for companies big and small around the globe. Contact us today to find out why so many organizations trust us with their training needs.
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