And here’s the thing.

What helped them succeed as an individual performer will not necessarily contribute to their success as a leader – where the challenges and responsibilities require a different set of skills.  In fact, 40% of new leaders fail in their first 18 months because of poor fit, poor delivery or a poor ability to adjust to a change down the road. Often the underlying root cause is that they instinctively think that what made them successful before will make them successful in the new job. (George Brandt, Forbes Magazine)

All too often these new leaders are thrown into the role and expected to immediately fix things or rally the troops or manage change or achieve ambitious goals.  As they struggle to get things done, they have little guidance and no time to figure out how to lead effectively or who they want to be as a leader.

The result is that they may lead the way they were led – and that is not necessarily a good thing.

Research shows that formal leadership development often doesn’t kick in until middle management or executive level. In fact, the bulk of leadership development dollars are spent on senior leaders. By that time, any bad habits developed over the years are ingrained.

This is unfair to the new leader and detrimental to the organization.

New leader training needs to be a key component of every organization’s learning and development plan. And it should not be just a one-day event around policies, performance reviews and disciplinary actions.  It needs to be structured in a way that gives participants time to apply their learning, receive feedback, and get the ongoing support necessary (mentoring, coaching) to grow into the next line of senior leaders and executives.

Keep it Real Leadership is an innovative approach to leadership development that provides new and advancing leaders with the knowledge, behaviors and practice they need to successfully lead a team or organization. It is the product of more than 25 years of corporate leadership and executive coaching experience. It’s an online learning platform – leadership development, anywhere / anytime.

Keep it Real was developed as an alternative to traditional one-size-fits all leadership development programs that fail to recognize the uniqueness of individuals as leaders, and that lack learning stickiness.

I firmly believe that every leader is unique. Keep it Real helps leaders be the leader only they can be.

Contact me at kcolligan@PeopleThink.biz to learn more or to schedule a demo. 

“The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development.” – John Maxwell

Till next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Be the Leader Only You Can Be appeared first on PeopleThink.

All too often new leaders are simply thrown into their new role and left to their own devices for answers to these questions. Expectations are not clarified until the unspoken goes unmet. There’s no preparation for the change in peer relationships and broader accountability. And the answer to “how do I lead?” usually becomes, “the way I’ve been led,” which isn’t necessarily the path to success.

Organizations need to give new leaders a strong start with a well-defined and consistently implemented leadership development program. In the course of my career, I’ve created and delivered many leadership initiatives. Here are what I’ve found to be “best practices” when developing new leaders.

Duration. Conduct the training over at least a 6-month period to allow for shorter sessions, application of new learning, and feedback. Learning is a process, not an event.

Mentor. Each new leader should have a seasoned leader mentor. Ideally, this is someone other than their immediate leader.

Commitment. Both the new leader and their immediate leader should demonstrate commitment to the development program. The new leader to participate and complete it, the immediate leader to support and reinforce the learning.

Regularly scheduled short workshops. These can be weekly or bi-weekly, but should be regularly scheduled over the course of the program and a priority for all involved. (This is where the commitment comes in). For weekly workshops, I recommend two hours on the same day each week. For bi-weekly, you may want to go a little bit longer. Topics should be built around what it means to be a leader in your organization – expectations and responsibilities, managing vs. leading. I also recommend including sessions on effective communication, resolving conflict, team building, coaching employees, and transitioning from peer to leader.

Self-discovery workshop. The best leaders are self-aware. Giving new leaders the opportunity to understand themselves – how they communicate, how they interact, how they are likely to lead – early on, increases the likelihood that they will adapt successfully to the role. I use the Lumina Spark assessment for this. Done in a workshop setting, it also helps leaders gain a better understanding of others, which will help them successfully lead the individuals on their teams.

Individual Development Plans. Throughout the program, participants should be receiving regular feedback from their immediate leader as well as guidance and feedback from their mentor. Upon graduation from the program, each participant should work with his/her leader to identify strengths and development areas to create an individual development plan.

A few other components I’ve also used in the past with positive results are: a syllabus of reading materials – books, white papers, articles, on leadership topics; having participants work in teams to research and present on one of the topics outlined in the program; and creating a “New Leader Forum” where new leaders get together to share issues and ideas, with alternating senior leader facilitators.

These best practices are included in my Keep it Real Leadership Development Program, along with rich content and an array of leadership resources. Keep it Real is leadership development anywhere/ anytime.  It’s a virtual, blended learning approach with practical application, accountability and follow up.

Give your new and advancing leaders a strong start. Contact me at kcolligan@PeopleThink.biz to learn more and to schedule a demo.

“Winning companies win because they have good leaders who nurture the development of other leaders at all levels of the organization.” — Noel Tichy

Till next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Give New Leaders a Strong Start appeared first on PeopleThink.