Effective leadership is needed now more than ever. From managing remote employees to adapting to new organizational structures, leaders are struggling to engage employees in today’s work environment — and that disengagement comes at a price.
Gallup found that “low engagement alone costs the global economy $7.8 trillion.” Organizations cannot afford to ignore employee engagement, especially in a tight labor market. Companies must rethink employee engagement from the ground up.
“More than anything else, employees want to feel valued, respected and supported,” says Chris McLean, vice president of training and global master trainer at The Center for Leadership Studies. Leaders play a critical role in helping employees feel valued and supported, which can lead to greater engagement in the workplace.
It’s time for learning and development (L&D) to rethink our approach to leadership training so that we can prepare leaders to truly support their employees — and transform organizations as a result. Let’s take a look at five secrets that can help you transform your leadership training for the new world of work.
1. The Flat Organizational Structure
Hierarchical, top-down organizational structures — ones where ideas, orders (and other things) all run downhill from the C-level to management to individual employees — are becoming less common.
Instead, cutting-edge businesses encourage leadership from all levels. This looks different from business to business, or even between individual departments within the same business, but a flat structure usually features a streamlined, lean hierarchy with fewer levels of management. In a flat structure, decision-making authority is distributed among employees and communication is more frequent. Individuals are given more autonomy to agilely respond to challenges, explore new ideas and innovate more efficient processes.
For this to work, though, it’s essential that L&D equip employees at all levels with leadership skills. Individual contributors need the skills and confidence to exhibit leadership — someone heading a committee or spearheading a project, for example, will need leadership skills to see the project through. Someone who doesn’t formally lead others might find themselves at a disadvantage when suddenly called on to do so.
2. Increase the Flow of Information
As mentioned above, a flat organization leads to a multi-directional flow of information and influence. This is a good thing! But it can be chaotic, especially if business leaders aren’t prepared to step in and help manage the flow.
Creating a common language of performance can help with this by not only equipping individual contributors with leadership skills but also enabling them to collaborate across the organization while holding themselves and their peers accountable.
For example, consider a scenario where a marketing department launches a new product without input from the sales team. The lack of cross-departmental communication could leave sales reps scrambling to communicate product features to potential buyers. Instead, imagine that a product rollout team was assembled specifically for this new product, and that sales reps and members of the marketing team were both involved. This hybrid team might be led by someone from the sales or marketing team — someone who’s well-versed in the specs of the new product, but not necessarily at the managerial level.
3. Make Employees Feel Valued
Employee recognition is a powerful tool and can amplify your employee engagement efforts. When employees feel valued and understand how their job role contributes toward company goals, they are more motivated and engaged in the work that they are doing.
Leaders should regularly meet with employees and help them understand the impact that they are making on the business. They should also work with employees to identify career goals and connect them with learning and advancement opportunities to help them achieve those goals. However, employees must also play an active role in their own development. “Individual contributors need to own their engagement, raise their hands and ask for what they need,” McLean says.
Together, leaders and employees should create an actionable plan. Leaders can start by helping an employee develop a skills matrix — a grid to help visualize an individual’s skill levels in different areas. By mapping out where your employees are now, you can help them devise a plan to get where they want to be.
4. Embrace Change
As we all know, change is the only constant in today’s world. The needs of employees will constantly shift due to advancements in technology and changes in processes or procedures. This requires leaders to continuously assess the skills of employees, identifying any skills gaps and providing the right level of support and direction at the right time.
Navigating change is challenging. We’re not all born with the skills to make this happen. Leaders and individual contributors need to be equipped with change management skills to thrive in changing circumstances. Skills like emotional intelligence, clear communication and motivating peers are critical in a flat organizational structure.
5. Work-life Integration
The role of the leader has evolved considerably. Leaders must assess not just the skill sets of employees but also their emotional states. They must support the whole person, not just managing workflow. “People bring their whole lives to work now,” McLean says. “Employees don’t see work as separate from their private lives anymore.”
Leaders can meet individual contributors where they are by providing more flexible schedules, remote work and learning options, and wellness support. Leaders should also encourage open communication and collaboration, and provide individuals with the skills and tools necessary to make that a reality in a dispersed workplace.
Looking Forward
Organizations are currently dealing with an unprecedented pace of change. But strong leadership can mean the difference between success and failure for organizations. L&D must work to equip leaders with the skills to support employees in these chaotic times. By staying ahead of technological change with timely training and support, you can ensure that your business is ready for whatever the new world of work throws at it.
A leadership model, such as the Situational Leadership® Model can provide a structured approach to building leaders across levels and departments, and provide you with helpful metrics to measure their progress. Understanding the Performance Readiness® of your learners, as well as the leadership styles that may best suit them, will help you develop training that speaks directly to each unique learner.
