Eddie Kilkelly reveals the common gaps that arise in the professional development of management teams
– This article was published in Training Journal (February 2014)
While a project manager can seek to emulate a defined approach to project management, such as PRINCE2, there is no one definitive approach to leadership. Leaders are expected to define and communicate the business strategy and operational targets, and must be responsible both for leading and managing their people and for their own personal and professional development, without a higher level of management to guide them.
In today’s flatter organisational structures, leaders need to engage their employees and encourage them to buy into the strategy and the plan of action needed to deliver results. Leaders must balance being sufficiently independent to set the agenda and lead with authority with appreciating that they are also interdependent; they are only as good as their team. Different leaders deal with these demands in different ways and this can be related to whether they have been externally recruited into a leadership role or promoted internally. Externally- recruited leaders are able to create a new persona in a new role in a new organisation, and their teams will accept and respond to that persona without preconceptions. Internally-promoted, on the other hand, candidates need to deal with the preconceptions of other senior managers and junior team members regarding their position and level of authority; some find that adjustment difficult. In many cases, these leaders privately admit to a lack of confidence that can have its roots in a type of imposter syndrome, in which they question their right to be in that position in spite of decades of experience and proven capability.
“The leader should create a fictitious meeting and keep changing the label and timing so others don’t realise it is actually disguised thinking time”
In addition to thinking about the business, leaders need to think about themselves and their own continuing professional development. A better leader can generate better results but, as noted above, there are few really suitable training programmes in leadership. Of course, training courses can provide a simple overview of leadership skills and responsibilities and deliver a networking opportunity. However, the focus of a leader’s CPD needs to be on where they individually feel weak; this could concern their ability to develop and communicate the strategy, vision and values of the business. They also need to learn to delegate effectively. It is difficult to wear the two hats of leadership – controlling and directing the business on a daily operational level and determining where it needs to go next – at the same time. By making junior managers responsible for monitoring and delivering operational results, leaders can free up their time and energy to create the vision and lead the business. What is essential here is that leaders continue to receive appropriate performance indicators to drive the strategy and confirm the organisation is on the right track, while also allowing them to act. To help leaders develop those skills and abilities, coaching and mentoring is much more effective than off-the-shelf training. The direction and advice can be tailored to the leader’s specific situation and delivered on an ongoing basis, when he needs further guidance. Many leaders feel isolated, unable to ask for guidance internally and with no rule book for the day-to-day decisions they need to make. Having a trusted advisor at end of the phone can be a powerful attribute. For example, a coach or mentor can be a critical friend when it comes to the tough decisions leaders need to make, when they cannot ask the advice of the chief executive or their peers in senior management. However, the use of coaching and mentoring is comparatively low. In one organisation I know, there are more than 900 senior programme and project managers responsible for multi-million pound projects, yet to date only around 60 have taken advantage of a coaching or mentoring arrangement.
Leaders also need to look at wider development opportunities, through reading management and leadership texts, going along to leadership seminars or joining networks on the web. Trade shows can also provide a valuable opportunity to network with peers. In a leadership context, networking is not about hundreds of connections on a social media site; it is about making sure the leader has the right connections to create a powerful network for his own needs. To achieve that goal, leaders should plot out their network, including mentors and stakeholders, to recognise the value of the relationships they have and those they need to develop. Leadership is a journey, not a destination Behaving like a leader is essential in order to generate respect from peers and juniors. Leaders also need to set the example for others to follow. Typically, a new employee is keen to impress and will work on adopting the right image and behaviour. With the additional pressure of management responsibilities, it is easy to tire and become guilty of bad behaviours. Leaders need to model the behaviour they wish to see in their teams, such as being polite, engaging with others, and being positive even in the face of difficulty. Engaging and inspiring people are perhaps the most important elements of being a successful leader because, without engaged, committed people, the business cannot fulfil its objectives.
Leaders can use their own behaviour to provide a compelling reason for people to follow them in a way that underlines the subtle difference between leading in an inspirational, charismatic way and simply being followed from a functional perspective. The former is more likely to lead to continued business improvement and success. Leaders also need to project an air of confidence, to inspire confidence in others. This may be one reason why so many senior leaders in UK business life are recruited from other countries; it is a very British thing to understate and play down your strengths and abilities but, if you do so, it can be hard to command the necessary level of respect and authority. Just as businesses are subject to constant change, today’s leaders must continually adapt their vision, their strategies, their networks, their behaviours and their skills as needed. A combination of external support and personal resilience helps leaders to navigate that change and enables them to lead and manage their people and their business more effectively. Focusing on leadership, rather than daily management, also helps leaders to respond more quickly to change and to deliver rapid results. A comparatively small investment in the personal and professional development of an organisation’s leaders – particularly compared to the potential cost of business failure or failing to anticipate changes in the marketplace – can yield significant business and financial benefits.
