DRIVER #2 – LEADER AND MANAGER READINESS (Part 3 of 6)
65% of respondents feel that getting people ready for leadership and management is one of the most important challenges facing organisations.
Generation X are said to be the ‘leaders in waiting’ yet, paradoxically, is the generation that feels the least confident when it comes to managing people.
Generation Y, on the other hand, feel very confident and ready to lead, although 80% of respondents thought that future Gen Y managers will have to leave the narcissism behind and focus on the ‘we’.
Preparing for SuccessWhat are companies currently doing to prepare future managers?
- Empowering employees to drive internal initiatives
- Surveying staff to assess current state of operations and training needs
- Ring-fence budgets to protect management training – seen as a priority
- Focus on improving communication techniques to ensure all communications using modern technologies are meaningful and human!
Call to Action
How can your organisation better prepare your managers and leaders for future challenges?
- Encourage more leader and management engagement with the workforce; using technology to facilitate communication with remote teams
- Place less emphasis on formal appraisals in favour of more positive and welcoming feedback, or recognition of achievements
- Define expected behaviours as well as the importance of leadership/management skills
- Encourage more leadership throughout the workforce hierarchy by identifying company ambassadors – individuals who demonstrate loyalty, drive and passion, and can act as motivators for the rest
The key takeaway is that companies will benefit when future managers are identified early and properly prepared for an ever-changing environment.
Check out page 20 of the full report for three imaginative ways to prepare your leaders and managers of tomorrow.
Find out how to prepare for the future workplace in our next post on DRIVER #3 – FUTURE OF WORK AS WE KNOW IT