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Who needs someone breathing down one's neck at the workplace? Employees of all organizations need their bosses to be more than mere supervisors. An effective boss is one who plays the role of mentor when required; he must “know the way, go the way and show the way”. Leaders must therefore be sensitive to the developmental needs of their subordinates and committed to mentoring them to achieve success.
A wise man once said, “A leader's role is to raise people's aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there.” This is at the heart of team leadership training. Such programs use a variety of techniques to impart better personnel management skills to managers and leaders at all levels. Would-be leaders are taught the importance of understanding subordinates' needs; they are guided on the different approaches that are appropriate in diverse people-related situations, so that they do not employ a “one size fits all” tactic. Team leadership training programs are tailored to the specific requirements of the audience – thus, a new supervisor might be introduced to the dynamics of leadership, whereas an experienced manager will be guided on how to hone his or her leadership skills.
The broad objectives of team leadership training can be set out as follows:
• To help leaders understand each employee's distinctive personality and their need for supervision
• To train leaders to develop their subordinates into competent and committed professionals
• To equip leaders better so that they can easily take on challenges
• To align the leadership style of participants with that of the rest of the organization
This is achieved by following a scientific process along the following lines:
• Helping participants assess their leadership strengths and identify areas of improvement. Generally this involves a written self assessment exercise, discussions, and group activity.
• Guiding participants to identify the skills and attributes of an effective team leader. Participants also learn why different skills are needed to manage different employee interactions, and the appropriate style of leadership to be employed in each situation. Once the participants are able to identify their individual leadership styles, they are guided on how to make certain adjustments depending on the circumstances.
• Teaching participants best practices in managing relationships with their teams. Useful practical tips such as how and when to schedule group meetings and how to review the team's progress are also shared.
• Helping participants identify their comfort zones, and potential sources of team conflict. The training imparts insight into how different group members make decisions, communicate with each other and process information. Leaders are taught to manage interpersonal differences for the overall benefit of the organization.
While we have generally talked about what goes on in a team leadership training seminar, such training need not necessarily be on-site – one can also access a wealth of resources in terms of books and videos at sites like walkthetalk.com .
Whatever be the format, ultimately, all team leadership training aspires to create leaders who are “ … close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”
Leadership isn't just a simple case of charisma + confidence + likeability. It's a complicate web of factors and past events that create a unique culture in every single organisation. Leadership won't just help protect the jobs of senior managers - but also employees as well. This is because better led companies are more successful, and thus have a higher chance of surviving the recession.
Now that we've concluded that good leadership will certainly benefit companies in the long run - lets look at the different solutions available to senior managers to choose from.
There are public leadership classes and larger seminars, smaller leadership training courses, or one on-one leadership coaching. As a simple rule - the methods become more expensive as the service becomes more personal. Each type of leadership development comes with benefits and drawbacks, so lets look at each one in turn.
Leadership Seminars and large leadership classes.
Good leadership seminars carry a cost of between £70 and £500 to attend, and this can be far higher if the class comes as part of a larger conference. The motivational speakers are usually publicly acclaimed, but their speeches won't be targeted at your industry, never mind your individual company, and thus despite the high ticket price - a lot of work needs to be put in afterwards when the senior manager needs to convert what they've heard into a practical strategy to implement in their organisation. Many managers will find it hard to allocate enough time to this activity, and hence the benefit of the seminar will be all but wasted.
Leadership Training Courses
Leadership training courses generally cost between £800-£2000 for a course that will last several days. The manager will clearly be 'out of action' for an extended period during this time, and such, there is the added cost of having to find a temporary replacement just as if they had gone on holiday.
These courses deal with fewer individuals, and there is two-way communication between the students and teacher in such a way that the inherent value of the course is far greater. Not only are ideas and facts more likely to spark imagination when they can be discussed and debated, but some personalised advice can also be gleaned from these discussions.
Leadership Coaches
Leadership coaches charge around £100 per hour and travel to your office and thus creates a small problem for HR than the other two options. Leadership coaches I would describe as being a cross between a leadership speaker and a consultant, because of the way they will analyse the specific issues at the company, and tailor leadership skills and solutions to deal with them directly.
This means leadership coaches oversee some of the implementation, which ensures a higher success rate, but they can also provide critique on the managers behaviour and current initiatives, and this feedback is valuable.
In conclusion, these different solutions vary in cost and value to the company. For a proactive manager - a seminar could perhaps be all that is necessary. But for large companies where marginal increases in performance equate to very vast sums of money - it's worth spending the extra money to hire a leadership coach/consultant who will maximise the benefit of leadership to the company.
But of course, you must always bear in mind, that the coach cannot run the company themselves - and thus if the CEO is sceptical and unwilling to comply with the coaches recommendations - the benefits may be limited.