Feature

Why leadership training is a challenge

Sudipta Dev writes why leadership development programmes are not always successful in achieving their objectives.

Leadership is one of most discussed and little understood phenomenon in the corporate world. In fact one of the oft-quoted definitions on leadership has been given by Gordon Lippit, who after years of study described it as the “worst defined, least understood personal attribute sometimes possessed by human beings.” It is not surprising that leadership development remains an enigma. Consequently, the much hyped leadership development programmes—a must inclusion in the training calendars in most organisations—are not always successful in achieving their goals. This becomes highly critical, as mediocre leadership is dangerous for the health of any organisation.

So, what exactly goes wrong with the current approaches to developing leaders? The primary reason would be the lack of understanding that leadership development is a continuous process. It cannot be just achieved by a training programme that presents ideas and can do little to change the behaviour of participants. After the training module is complete and they are back at work, it does not always make a difference in the practical day to day affairs. The culture of the organisation makes a big difference in this case. Have these people been given the freedom to take decisions? Are they encouraged to think out-of-the-box? Have they been allowed to make mistakes?

Shantanu Ghosh, Director, BindView India & Vice-president of Engineering, BindView Corp, US, believes that the following approaches to developing leaders could go wrong:

• Choice of a leader: Superstars, typically, are the favourites in getting all the attention and could be considered as the next good leaders. They may have problem working as a team, more so leading a team.
• Accountability without authority: Leaders need to be given authority to effectively exercise their accountability. At times the authorities are not well defined.

There is no one-size-fit-all solution for all industries or organisations. Different niche areas need to be stressed for different work assignments Shantanu Ghosh Director BindView India	It is a series of many years of mentoring that helps develop a leader. Leaders are born and not made. This may sound too clichéd, but I truly believe it Anand Khare Senior VP, People and Processes Kale Consultants

Yet another deterrent is that the higher an individual gets in an organisation, the lower is the feedback he gets on his skill gaps. (The 360-degree feedback however could be the most effective solution in this case). Then there is also the fact that many organisations cannot always differentiate between managers and leaders. “They tend to confuse between employees who have risen up the ranks over the years and tend to mistaken them as leaders. Some organisations however do have a few such employees who have risen up the ranks over a period of time and who actually have become great leaders,” says Anand Khare, Senior Vice-president, People and Processes, Kale Consultants. He points out that leadership needs to be looked holistically and it’s not just about people leadership. “Leadership is about being a visionary, being able to forecast variables which are not visible to others, being able to change course/alter the path, having true market/environment intelligence, commanding respect from followers, being able to take people with them and stand alone when required with conviction.”

Beyond classroom training

Leadership is an individualistic element. Prescription may help but won't be as effective Indraneel Mukherjee Founder & Promoter iProdigy

Potential leaders cannot be groomed by stand-alone training programmes. A coaching model would in fact work the best. Khare agrees that leadership is not something that can ever be taught in a classroom. One needs to have a certain set of qualities, which are then fine-tuned in the classroom. “However, it is a series of many years of mentoring that helps develop a leader. Leaders are born and not made. This may sound too clichéd, but I truly believe it,” he asserts.

Effective programmes are those that can teach senior level managers to handle daily issues while also thinking about the “big picture”. It is a strategic initiative that needs to be imbibed in the organisation. Furthermore, the focus should be on the goals of the organisation and not the just the competency gaps of individuals.

Khare points out that leaders need to be identified earlier on in the organisation. “Special attention needs to be given to such budding leaders, it takes a great mentor to be able to nurture leaders. There should be opportunities to experiment and to take risks/decisions that are strategic in nature. One should not try to enforce a leadership style on any person; leadership is by itself a unique style. It can be fine-tuned. However, it should not be altered drastically, else it may become disastrous.”

Effective training

Management experts in fact root for leadership mentoring programmes that are any time more effective. “Leadership is an individualistic element. Prescription may help but won’t be as effective,” states Indraneel Mukherjee, Founder & Promoter of iProdigy, a Bangalore based consulting company. Conceding that leadership development is a process, not just an awareness building exercise, he points out that behavioural learning in facilitated workshops are often not linked to the realities of the work context.

To enable effectiveness of leadership development programmes (in particular trainings), customisation is necessary. “There is no one-size-fit-all solution for all industries, organisations or even departments. Although some of the basics of leadership qualities are common, different niche areas need to be stressed for different types of work assignments,” reiterates Ghosh. He adds that personalisation of the programme shows positive results as every person has different strengths and weaknesses.

Measuring leadership performance

To improve leadership performance in an organisation it is necessary to measure it. Mukherjee lists a few criteria on which leadership performance can be measured:

• Team members’ awareness of their own talents, their personal vision of their preferred future and its alignment to the strategic vision of the team/organisation
• Incidence of sustained, exponential performance by the team and not just by a few individuals
• Retention of employees
• Succession planning.

The ultimate test of leadership capability is when it transcends an organisation, when leaders who emerge get recognised in the industry and the community.

sudipta @expresscomputeronline.com