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According to the survey findings in the white paper, Bridging the Skills Gap: Workforce Development and the Future of Work, published by ATD (Association for Talent Development), there is an ever-increasing skills gap in organizations. This is due in part, to employers being unwilling to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak, and invest in either internal or external upskilling of their employees.
What makes this report even more disturbing is that 50% of respondents, all of whom were headquartered in the US, agreed that their companies had a leadership skills gap, and nearly the same percentage anticipated such a gap in the near future.
While the onus falls on talent development teams to facilitate the closure of this leadership skills gap, it is undeniable that career and skills development, especially for leaders, is equally one’s own responsibility.
What can the rising leaders of today do to improve their own leadership skill set and develop their careers, enabling them to narrow their talent gap and plan for succession?
Continuous self-study
With the expansion of the Internet and the increasing popularization of inexpensive on-demand learning, there has never been a better time to proactively improve one’s skills and knowledge, no matter what the industry. Leaders, and those aspiring to fill managerial or senior leadership positions, should avail themselves of the multitude of resources available for their career growth and particularly, development of their leadership skills.
These resources can include books (in print, audio, and e-books), podcasts, free or paid online courses (for example, LinkedIn Learning), and leadership publications.
Strengths and weaknesses analysis
The advantages of self-study along with actual tangible experience, are that it opens your eyes to blind spots—areas of improvement in your own management technique, that you may not have noticed otherwise. Use this information to your advantage, by allocating time to develop your self-awareness. Analyse your leadership capabilities and ask yourself what areas you excel in, and what areas you find more challenging or are underperforming in. This could also be relayed through feedback from your boss.
Through identifying your strengths and weaknesses, you can tailor your self-study and laser-focus on developing yourself further in key areas.
Solicit feedback
Exceptional leaders actively welcome feedback, and use this as a guide to benchmark their progress. To be truly effective in your leadership career, solicit feedback from your manager, your peers in the management team, your reports, and even your external stakeholders.
Some of the feedback may surprise you, but nonetheless, it is important to receive this multilevel feedback so you can have a 360-degree view of yourself and immediately work on a plan to address specific areas highlighted. This also increases trust in you as a leader, as stakeholders appreciate leaders who are transparent.
Improve active listening skills
According to Expert Market, 86% of employees and executives cite lack of communication skills as the main cause for workplace failures. This makes active listening skills an essential trait of any effective leader.
To improve your active listening skills, seek to understand the subtle underlying messages behind what your employees and stakeholders are physically saying; look out for non-verbal cues that give an indication as to how that person is feeling; and finally, adopt an open-minded, non-judgemental approach.
Set career goals
Successful leaders understand the importance of setting business goals, but they also know how critical it is to their career success to set career goals. Plan your leadership career with intentionality, and set yourself a long-term goal for where you envision yourself 10 years from now.
Then work backwards, and set short-term SMART goals for developing each area of your leadership journey—from skills building, to discussing a promotion, to even switching employers or industries if necessary.
Get a coach
Securing a coach is a worthwhile career investment. A good leadership development coach will be able to help you identify your leadership style, strengths, and weaknesses, work with you to set goals, and advise you on your career path and any issues you may be facing within your organization.
Similarly, obtaining a mentor can be just as effective. Your mentor can come from within your organization, or they can be external, but they should have leadership experience, be empathetic, and be able to share common pitfalls that you should avoid as a leader from their own experience.
Network with other leaders
Attending networking events, business and leadership forums, conferences, and meet-and-greets, are fantastic ways to build your leadership skill set. When you network with other leadership professionals, you expand your market knowledge and business acumen, and open up your horizon to contacts and incredible career-boosting opportunities you wouldn’t have access to otherwise.
You could meet with potential investors, partners, key stakeholders, mentors, and even a potential talent pool.
Discipline and set boundaries
Self-discipline is an essential trait of any effective and successful leader. Good leaders are not only exceptional at leading their teams and setting systems in place for their respective business operations, but they understand the importance of, and know how to, set boundaries for themselves in their personal and professional lives as well.
Successful leaders are not afraid of putting themselves, their families, and their health first; they do not live to please people and are unafraid of the word “no”. These leaders work to do what is in the best interest of their business goals, while at the same time, approaching tough decisions with grace and empathy. Successful leaders also understand the importance of being thoroughly organized in their own personal lives and daily habits.
After all, leadership is an ongoing journey, not a destination. Every day brings a new set of challenges, some that are all-too familiar, and others that are relatively new. What matters most is how well you have personally prepared yourself as a rising leader, to face these risks and challenges. Instead of waiting for your employer to upskill you, begin today with one of the focus areas listed above, and watch your leadership capabilities increase. Which will you start with?
Source: https://www.forbes.com
