Why aren’t organizations putting more of a focus on developing their people and not just teaching them technical skills?!?!
My assumption is that your organization doesn’t put dollars behind a leadership development program for your front-line workers. Or even for your supervisors.
All too often we find that “managers,” those in more formal leadership roles, don’t receive any leadership training. And those who do, attended programs on their own. Sometimes companies pay, sometimes they don’t. We often hear from them that “staff are constantly coming to me to solve their problems” and “I wish they (my staff) were more accountable,” or “I’m constantly putting out fires.” We find that the supervisory staff often feel the same way but since they have never had basic leadership training they lack self-awareness and can struggle with emotional intelligence and communication when under stress. The result: good people who feel frustrated and are at risk of burning out.
Formal and Informal Leaders
All team members would benefit from basic leadership training! Consider your caregivers. Wouldn’t they benefit (and your residents!) if they learned how to better build relationships. The importance of developing trust and having a mutual respect. Understanding the different types of communication. What is emotional intelligence and how to pull back and practice patience. We are asked all the time for “customer service” training for front line staff but organizations should put a budget behind building a common leadership language with their team members from the start!
The Coaching Model
Many organizations have shifted away from annual appraisals and now use coaching models – leaders who coach their employees. They learn to ask open ended questions, learn how to help their employees collaborate with others, and help their team members rely on their own expertise and judgement to make decisions. Coaching involves developing others to help grow them and stretch them beyond their current abilities which also helps to keep them actively engaged. Coaching is a fantastic approach, especially if you’ve already laid the foundation by teaching some basic behavioral skills. Consider:
- What are the best ways you are growing your team members?
- How can some basic leadership skills be taught to all employees during their onboarding?
If you’re looking to jumpstart your leadership program and need help getting started we’re here to support you!
Ps. For those of you obsessed with millennials, millennials ache for this stuff and are looking for a mentor! 75% of the workforce will be millennials by 2025 so you better get ready.
This article was written by team member Allison Duda.
