Front-line managers or front-line leaders?
In the last 16 years, I have seen the inner workings of many businesses and organisations. Each had their own unique way of employing, promoting and selecting people for leadership positions and for the most part, they selected the right people for the job.
Strong leadership skills are an important attribute that can turn a business around. It can be the driving force in improving moral, it can turn your low performers into high performers but most of all, it can ensure your teams are inspired, driven and empowered to meet the high expectations your business holds. A strong leader will know how to get the best out of the individual whilst knowing how to motivate a team. Businesses tend to focus their investment in their teams skills on the technical aspects required to undertake the job and lack their focus on providing their front-line managers the right skills to lead a team.
Although upskilling, technical training and job competency assessments all have their place, businesses forget that a high performing team needs to be led by a high performing leader. If technical training holds importance for a team to operate, so should the correct training, coaching and mentoring in leadership for front-line managers. A high performing leader will know how to utilise the technical skills of their teams to the best of their ability. They will understand how to build trust with individuals in understanding their individual needs. They will have the emotional intelligence to be empathetic, have self-control, to be transparent, inspire self-confidence and know how to influence.
So how do you breed leadership? What does your business do to ensure your front-line managers are equipped with the skills to lead a team? How can your business expect high performance from a team if you are not empowering your managers with the skills they need to deliver high performance?
There are several ways to teach leadership. The first way is the most obvious and cost efficient - teach leadership by example! The way you lead your business & staff and how this is perceived by your people can determine how they lead their teams. Businesses who expect their managers to get results can only do so if the right leadership is provided. The way your interact and behave with your staff can determine the way they do so with their own team. Promote leadership and do so by example.
Another way to teach and train leadership is through mentoring and coaching programs. Coaching and mentoring can involve a senior member of the business or external provider attaching themselves to one or more junior employees concentrating on teaching skills such as role specific requirements, larger business operations and the skills required for other roles. Along with these skills, teachings need to focus on soft skills such as leadership, managing relationships and emotional intelligence.
Coaching and mentoring are valuable approaches to reward that has benefits to both the employee and the business by showing the employee that the business cares about their progression and success. It allows the business to ingrain the skills and attitude that is required aligning with the workplace vision whilst also increasing loyalty. This strategic reward also commits employees to new learning, which can help the employee recognise that they are increasing their value to the business by working harder and engaging with the business. It also provides the motivation to increase salary, progress in the business and grow their career aspirations.
Invest in your people so they invest in you.