As Baby Boomers keep ageing and eventually retire, organizations are losing critical bits of leadership. Not much is known about how companies are planning to replace this vast experience. Succession planning is an aspect many companies need to wake up to. It was believed that the skills of a leader closely match organizational success on the field. Yet, a study undertaken by Deloitte along with the US Federal Reserve clearly shows that this assumption no longer holds true. The focus during management training rounds needs to shift towards leadership development. First of all, the development priorities need to be listed out. Then, priority skills have to be earmarked. The study by Deloitte proved that communication skills, team leadership, feedback mechanism motivational abilities and interpersonal skills seem most important. There exist different training methods too. They could be through game-like simulated environments such as leader boards, role plays and competition. One could opt for open-source programmes like MOOCs or YouTube or even learning portals. When companies plan their talent management budgets, leadership development needs to occupy an important place as it will provide competitive edge. Leadership gaps will not suddenly emerge and resources will be sufficient. A bench strength will also be created divided into levels such as high, moderate or even low performers.

Source:https://trainingmag.com/trgmag-article/2018-leadership-development-survey-are-your-next-gen-leaders-track/

Uploaded Date:26 July 2018

The use of social media for digital marketing is well-known. But it can also be used in another manner, since almost employees these days would be familiar with some platform or the other such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Twitter. This can be leveraged for leadership development as it can be used for collaboration, communication, agility and even motivation talks. A personal brand may be developed on it where one may easily reach friends, followers and subscribers. A true leader can even get mentored by millennials on some new-age aspects. This kind of management training is increasingly popular so that skillsets may be transferred across generations. These leaders must be conscious of keeping all communications brief as people have lower span of attention now. Social media may then be used as a proving ground for employees.

Source:https://trainingmag.com/trgmag-article/leader-social-media/

Uploaded Date:26 July 2018

While all agree that listening is an art, few of the business leaders are actually practicing this, especially with their employees. Most are loath to invite their subordinates to discuss their opinions, for fearing of hearing the unpleasant. A lot of companies have been using improv in their management training programmes to inculcate habits of collaboration and creativity to their game. Instead of being fearful to questions, managers must open up to the idea by following three simple steps. First of all, one must agree to expand one’s awareness levels. One must answer “yes” at all times without necessarily agreeing. This is simply a way to elicit a response. Whatever thoughts emerge, the manager must feel free to ad his/her inputs. Questions such as “what can I notice here?”, “what can I accept here?” and “how can I build on these ideas or perspectives?” can be pivotal in this approach.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Using-Improv-to-Transform-How-You-Lead?gko=745dc&sf190335960=1

Uploaded Date:24 July 2018

A lot of business leaders suffer from this tendency to try and control others’ actions. This ailment may be termed as OPP or other peoples’ problems. In order to save on time and empower co-workers, leaders would be advised to follow some key steps. While mentoring is considered a key ingredient of corporate training, it must always be done on hindsight, keeping in mind the acts committed. Proper boundaries must be established for decision-making so that one knows the limits of his/her scope as well as responsibilities. Regular meetings must be held with direct reports. Time must be set aside for the other key stakeholders as well. While it is important to be accessible, being available all too often creates a false sense of expectation. It may also bring up the pressure levels among many.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/07/4-ways-leaders-can-protect-their-time-and-empower-their-teams?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=dailyalert_activesubs&utm_content=signinnudge&referral=00563&deliveryName=DM10195

Uploaded Date:24 July 2018