Leadership development may be the most important thing any company does. That’s why, every week, I review blogs and other publications that cover leadership development to find the very best leadership development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to posts about leadership development for new front-line leaders, a crucial role for human resources, and making learning part of everyday work.
From Kevin Eikenberry: One Thing Organizations Must Provide New Supervisors
“Every day, in organizations everywhere, people are promoted to their first leadership role. They receive titles like supervisor, lead, foreman, or front-line leader. The titles matter less than the situation – people are moving from doing the work to leading the work. And every day, these people are congratulated, patted on the back, and sent into their future. They are scared, excited, anxious, and likely unclear about what is now expected of them.”
From Mark Busine and Evan Sinar: What Are the Greatest Challenges Frontline Leaders Face?
“Our research into leadership transitions shows that a leadership transition is among life’s most challenging adjustments, ranking up there with personal illness and major life events, and that just one in three leaders feels effective at handling the challenges associated with a new leadership role.”
From Lynda Gratton: A Crucial Role for Human Resources
“I believe HR leaders can play a crucial role in delivering a good people experience that addresses the five action areas we identified in our research where the gaps are greatest. These elements must be tackled as fast as possible, and HR leaders must become creative about how they build and support vitality and social resilience, how they motivate and enable adaptability and ‘intrapreneurship,’ and how they empower employees through an autonomous working culture. Here are five ideas.”
From Josh Bersin and Marc Zao-Sanders: Making Learning a Part of Everyday Work
“As automation, AI, and new job models reconfigure the business world, lifelong learning has become accepted as an economic imperative. Eighty percent of CEOs now believe the need for new skills is their biggest business challenge. For employees, research now shows that opportunities for development have become the second most important factor in workplace happiness (after the nature of the work itself). At the most fundamental level, we are a neotenic species, born with an instinct to learn throughout our lives. So it makes sense that at work we are constantly looking for ways to do things better; indeed, the growth-mindset movement is based on this human need. And whereas recruitment is an expensive, zero-sum game (if company A gets the star, company B does not), learning is a rising tide that lifts all boats.”
