How do you get a promotion at work? Usually, it’s by doing the job you’re doing well. It can, after all, be difficult to justify promoting someone who isn’t doing their job well!
However, therein lies an-age old problem; people promoted to the role of leader will often have strong technical skills, but may not have strong leadership skills. And at some point, the latter become more important than the former.
If you don’t believe that leadership skills can be more important than technical skills, consider the case of Diego Maradona and Sir Alex Ferguson. Maradona, undoubtedly one of the most skilled footballers of his generation, was extremely unsuccessful as a manager. Indeed, under his leadership, Argentina almost failed to qualify for the World Cup Finals. On the other hand, Sir Alex Ferguson, a competent rather than spectacular football player, achieved incredible success as a manager.
I’ve always said that the first management role represents, for many people, their most difficult career transition. This can be particularly true if they become the manager of a team they were previously a part of. From that day forward, their performance is no longer judged on what they deliver, but what on others deliver. And that requires a new skillset and new behaviours. The question is, what support do managers get from their organisations to help them become effective leaders?
Well, if the latest CIPD HR Outlook Survey is to be believed, in many cases the answer is, ‘not much’. Whilst Performance Management and People Management were voted the top leadership behaviours and skills needed by organisations over the next three years, around half of those who identified these as most important also said that current skills in these areas were ineffective.
And, at a time when many of the traditional responsibilities of the HR function are being devolved to line managers, the same survey suggested that fewer than 50% of managers were getting any formal training to help them take on these responsibilities.
And that’s why too, alongside our fantastic course and workshop materials, we launched Managers’ Library, giving managers the tools and support they need on a day-to-day basis to help them become better leaders.
Our Training Design Experts will help you find the right tools and materials for your managers’ learning objectives, so why not put us to the test? Get in touch and see how we could help you transform your managers into leaders. |