Managerial positions don’t need an age prerequisite any longer, they need talent. And, it has now become the responsibility of the HR heads and business owners to groom the talent. According to Samik Basu of PepsiCo, if a company does a good job at developing leadership skills in talented employees, 80% of the leadership roles can be filled internally.
So, how can they create true leaders? Find out.
Help Them in Developing Leadership Skills
A manager is not necessarily a leader. And whether or not they are, can become more obvious as they move up the ranks. Most of the times, managers focus on small operational problems and lose sight of the problems that may arise in the long run.
HR professionals can train the managers to become better leaders who can understand the industry at both, the micro and macro level. They ensure that the capabilities of future leaders aren’t overlooked and prepare them to lead the change by:
- Training them on how to identify strengths and delegate work accordingly.
- Instilling humility in them so that they can accept their failures and learn from the mistakes.
- Teaching them the importance of employee recognition and how it helps in increasing productivity.
- Training them on how to prioritize and distribute work.
- Helping them adopt the employee-centric approach.
Teach Them the Importance of Upward Feedback
The role of leaders and managers is to improve the process and create a culture of trust and respect at the workplace. And, who could be a better judge of whether the culture is conducive of growth or not than the employees themselves?
Employees often avoid giving feedback to improve the system due to the lack of employee engagement. And HRs can counter this problem by helping the leaders and managers create effective strategies for improved employee engagement.
Help Them Become a People Leader
The most important aspect of leadership development in managers is helping them become a people leader. People skills improve trust and communication within an organization, which makes resolving conflicts much easier. Moreover, people leaders are capable of helping employees foster healthy relationships. This not only has a positive impact on the culture within the organisation but also has a positive impact on organisational productivity.
Here’s how HRs can help leaders and managers positively impact the lives of the employees:
- Train them on how to listen actively and provide solutions that don’t compromise the benefits of employees.
- Train them on the importance of employee recognition and how to encourage employees and appreciate their efforts.
- Helping them identify the strengths of employees and training them on how to go about enhancing them.
- Helping them realize the importance of accepting their own mistakes.
- Helping them be open to feedback so that they are perceived as approachable.
Help Them Develop Skills to Deal With Conflicts
A manager who isn’t a leader avoids conflict, but a true Leader, irrespective of their position or role, deals with the conflict.
Conflicts at a workplace can create distrust within the organisation which hinders employees’ professional growth and leads to chaos. New leaders and managers often get intimidated when they come face-to-face with a conflict. So, the HR professionals must provide them structured conflict resolution training which is a 5-step process:
Step 1 – Identify the cause and the source of the conflict.
Step 2 – Look beyond the conflict. Often, it is not the situation, it is the reaction to the situation that intensifies the argument.
Step 3 – Request the parties to solicit solutions that can make things better according to them.
Step 4 – Identify solutions that benefit both parties at no cost to the organisational reputation.
Step 5 – Make sure both the parties agree. Document everything to avoid confusion in the future.
The most important thing that leaders must understand is that the organisations are dynamic, and they no longer employ the one-size-fits-all approach. Hence, the training should be customized too. Companies must accept that professional training cannot be compromised when it is absolutely needed. It is more of an investment with guaranteed high ROI.
Liliana Chitnis is a former HR professional who now works as a content marketing executive at NamanHR, an organization that offers end-to-end HR solutions to help companies build a strong human capital base. She strongly believes in the power of consistent training in the workplace. Liliana writes about various topics related to human resources and shares trends, techniques, and tips with her readers.
