What makes investing in a leadership development plan worth it?

Is leadership development worth it?

These days, leadership development is a popular buzzword used by executives and those in management circles. According to the 2015 State of Leadership Development Survey by the Brandon Hall Group, 83% of all organisations say that having a leadership development plan in place to develop leaders at every level is critical to their ongoing success and growth, but less than 5% have a strategy in place to develop leaders at all levels. 84% of these same organisations anticipate a shortage of qualified, effective leaders within 5 years.

While it seems that nearly everyone is talking about how important it is to recruit and develop a deep internal pool of leaders, it’s a bit ironic that many are missing the point as to why leadership development is so valuable to their businesses.

These are two of the most common misconceptions that hold companies back from investing in closing skill gaps and otherwise developing their pool of talent.

We Already Have Enough Qualified Leaders.

A common myth about developing leaders is that it’s easy, and if you have a leader driving great results in one department, that person should not have any problem creating the same results in another. Just because someone excels in their current leadership role does not automatically translate into easy success when they step up to the next level.

Gaps in leadership skills also aren’t easy to pick up on as you go. You’ll only notice them when mistakes happen or critical issues are overlooked. Can you afford rthat?

Organisations need to invest in creating effective development programs to help their people learn and practice those critical leadership skills long before they need them in real-life situations.

Training seems Expensive.

Actually, it’s the lack of training which proves expensive.

Training is an investment that offers a ROI many times greater than the initial cost. According to studies by Harvard Business Review and McBassi & Co., companies that invest in development programs have stock returns that average 5 times higher than their competitors that don’t.

The massive benefits that can be derived from a comprehensive development program are obvious. All of us have seen the effects of poor leadership first hand: otherwise strong companies that should flourish begin to flounder. Employee morale and engagement falls, and once loyal customers begin to turn to competitors. Poor leadership also results in an increase in inefficiencies, sales fall, and the costs of production and missed opportunity costs soar. Unless leadership acts to turn things around, and fast, the business fails!

Since leadership development is so critical to the success and survival of your company, it’s a cost that businesses can’t afford to cut corners on. When you invest in training your internal pool of talent, and developing leaders at every level, you empower people who already share your key values and who are already familiar with your culture, your mission. They are already passionate about the success of the company!

Is your company’s current crop of talent ready for the challenges of tomorrow? Do you and your team have all the skills and support that you need to guide your business to greater engagement and profits, through good times and bad?

Have you ever considered leadership development as part of the plan to enhance the performance of your leaders and organisation?

Get in touch today to learn more about how we can help you take your leaders, and company, to the next level! Call us on 1300 88 53 94  or email info@woocommerce-323835-992368.cloudwaysapps.com