Go online, stroll through a bookstore, attend another training workshop or seminar and you will see that the topic of leadership is everywhere. We talk about it in political terms, business, sports, and tax-exempt organizations. People are captivated and confused at the same time by the concept of leadership and the essential elements that produce a high performance leader.
Though we may be in very different organizations by purpose and function, we all know when we are experiencing and working with an ineffective leader. It is something we feel. It is also something we experience in diminished outcomes and performance. We often learn from these experiences what we do not want to imitate in the technical and behavioural skill lapses of these ineffective leaders.
Conversely, we often find it difficult to identify and develop traits of an effective leader, programmatically, that does not seem to be mechanical or a “one-size-fits-all” approach that ignores the unique qualities of individual human beings. Consequently, there are a number of factors that contribute to the failure of leadership development.
Keep in mind that leadership development and aligning leaders toward performance outcomes and cultural improvement is a key strategic priority for senior leadership of virtually any organization.
We have discovered in our research, three critical factors we can identify as the root cause of stalled or failing leadership development programs in most organizations. First, is limited participation by senior leadership in the training. Second, is the failure to customize the training and development to the needs of the individual leader and the strategic objectives of the organization. Third, is the lack of accountability for changing behaviour following the training that measures improvement in key outcome indicators.
The limited participation of senior leaders signals a lack of commitment to the other key leaders of an organization. As one common saying explains, “The difference between participation and commitment is like an eggs and ham breakfast: The chicken participated, but the pig was committed.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.