Leaders are the most influential people in an organization. They set the expectations, attitudes, and tone for employees whom they manage. Since leaders direct the behavior of others towards achieving their goals, they have to develop a perfect awareness of their capabilities. Leaders should also be able to lead and manage in a manner that is well interpreted and received by others.
They must have the proper ability to communicate with other members during high-pressure moments. When leaders are familiar and aware of themselves and their surroundings they can have the best impression on people who look up to them as mentors. A well-developed leader will always be the driving force behind the organization’s success.
What are the Reasons for Leadership Development?
To Inspire and Motivate
Leadership development will help you to be aware of implications that will have a significant impact on your performance as a leader. The central task of a leader is to empower, influence and motivate the organization’s human capital.
Therefore as a leader, you need to understand how to motivate, communicate, appreciate and accept the different personalities that make up the organization.
Cost-effective
Training your current employees for a leadership position is more cost-effective than bringing someone new in the organization. Also, it will take a lot of time and human resources searching for a qualified candidate for the leadership position in the company.
The organization will lose time when conducting interviews, hiring consultants, organizing the pay-out. Lastly, you have to assist the recruit to understand the company’s culture; this process can be hectic at times.
Sometimes the new employee even ends up leaving after a few months, and this might because the organization to lose their money and time spent in training.
Promotes Culture and Friendship
Leadership development helps to strengthen the company’s vision, values, and habits. It brings many leaders on an equal platform. Therefore ensuring they have a sense of belonging, unity, and loyalty by being responsible for shaping the company’s future.
A leader is a team member hence leadership development will provide members of the team with opportunities for sharing ideas, connecting, starting friendships and develop effective communication.
Leads to Low Turnover
Employees need to feel nurtured, and supported in their career. They require training that will help them, find new jobs, develop talents, and increase their sense of self-worth. If the organization ignores these needs, the employee will start seeking a new environment that is supportive and caring. Remember, that financial gains do not always motivate people.
Disadvantages of leadership development
The main problem of leadership development is that it is challenging to train someone to be a true leader. As they say, leaders are born, hence shaping an employee to be the leader you want is hectic.
Another reason is that leadership development training should be tailor-made according to the individual’s needs, characters, strength, and weaknesses. This may prove to be costly to an organization that wants to train many employees.
Finally, leadership development can be time-consuming. It takes a long time before seeing the benefits of the training, and in most cases, they are no direct benefits to the business.
