The value of leadership is not something tangible. It’s hard to calculate an ROI for a company spending time on leadership development. But it’s important for all employees to have at least some leadership training. Let’s have a look why.

 

Few people are actually born with leadership skills

Teaching and assessing leadership skills are important because few people are actually born with them. Employees can learn a toolbox of leadership skills that they can use in many workplace settings. When they’re equipped with leadership skills, they’ll be able to make informed decisions, guide their peers (and eventually their direct reports), and be better qualified for opportunities that come their way.

There are also consequences of failing to develop these leadership characteristics. Employees may limit their value if they lack leadership skills that others have learned. You can’t apply leadership skills in real situations if you haven’t learned them. Having real world experience is helpful when they’re ready to pursue their leadership roles.

Furthermore, teaching and assessing leadership skills in your employees will help executives see who stands out from others early in their careers.  This can help decision makers move promising employees into leadership roles.

 

Being a manager isn’t all about you

A skeptic might point out that leadership is a skill only meant for executive level positions.  But neglecting to develop workforce leadership skills could weigh on your company’s productivity. It turns out that leadership matters to rank and file employees as well. Imagine a scenario where many employees work on the same project.  Some employees will need to lead the team in getting it completed. No matter what your position, you’ll likely need to learn how to lead at some point in your career.

Workplace leadership gives managers and executives the opportunity to influence others within the workplace.  This is an important trait when you need to get things done.  An employee can improve their leadership ability by taking a leadership skills assessment. This helps them understand the traits that they already have and the areas that they can improve upon.

 

Leadership skills are best developed over time

Promoted employees won’t always figure out leadership skills as they move up. Leadership skills are also best developed over time. Promoted employees often leave technical positions to enter into new leadership roles. A system administrator might get promoted to a project manager or an architect move to a supervisor role. Their compensation is based on good performance in previous roles. But their compensation is now tied to leadership skills that they may not have been trained for.

Workplace leaders will still need to use their technical skills after promotions. But other skills will gain just as much or more importance as they rise up in the company. The necessary skills for promoted employees include:

  • Problem-solving skills
  • Strategic planning skills
  • Relating to people
  • Dealing with different organizational goals
  • Solving conflict in different ways
  • Managing people
  • Dealing with deadlines as priorities change
  • Influencing others
  • Balancing different interests that people bring to the workplace

Leaders excel at integrating people with plans to make the work smooth. Leadership training can help employees and potential hires learn a lot about themselves. And as employees begin to use these skills, companies can enjoy the positive rewards that engaged employees bring.

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