With the departure of so many Baby Boomers from the workplace, many companies and organizations are finding themselves today with a talent shortage. One law firm I’ve worked with recently saw more than 100 lawyers and support staff leave within a three month period. And the exodus is just beginning.
What does leadership mean today, and how can you promote leadership development in your business or nonprofit? What kind of leadership skills would help your organization thrive?
Simply having earned a degree from the university, or completing a certification program, or being highly successful in sales, does not assure that a person knows how to lead, do public speaking well, or provide coaching or mentoring to others. Leadership development consists of sharing experience, practices, and intangibles, including how to best communicate both good news and bad, compliments and reprimands.
At the core of leadership development and leadership training is the need for both group coaching and private communication coaching of up and comers, helping them to identify strengths as well as areas for improvement. Within the management arena, there’s a long-term payoff when individuals are taught how to relate to different personality types and recognize what motivates team members. Acquiring and using these critical communication skills early in an executive’s professional development can help prevent law suits and costly turnovers.
How skilled a person is relating to others socially, and how well they can control their emotions – together known as one’s Emotional Quotient, is another important aspect of leadership development. Without a high level of Emotional Quotient, otherwise smart people fail to connect and get the results they need from co-workers and clients. When you combine powerful public speaking skills with a high level of Emotional Quotient, you can expect internal and external communication to reach its highest potential.
To create a productive leadership development and leadership training program, the first step is to realize that these capabilities are usually acquired skills, often learned painfully from embarrasing moments or business failures. The next course of action is to offer executive training including leadership speaking techniques to help individuals overcome any lack in these leadership skills.
Effective public speaking skills, people management and mentoring have always been critical components of leadership development. Companies and nonprofit organizations seeking ongoing success in the competitive market for experienced talent can benefit from seeking ways to expand the capabilities of their most vital resource, their executives and employee base.
Speakout provides the presentation skills and public speaking coaching, leadership training, leadership communication techniques, and practical mentoring to help executives in all levels to advance their goals and vision.