With millions of baby boomers expected to retire in the next decade, the American labor force will soon see a shortage of capable managers. For this reason, companies will need to consider taking steps to educate their employees, so that they will soon be capable of assuming a supervising role. Yet many current and future managers might not be interested leadership training, and some businesses might not be interested in providing it. In this article, we will first consider some of the challenges involved with implementing this process, and then explain why it is worth working through these problems by detailing all of the benefits that such a program offers to a company.
What objections might executives raise?
In all likelihood, the biggest obstacle businesses will face is an unwillingness to be trained. Most employees, especially those who have been with the company for a long time and/or possess an advanced educational degree, will not be receptive to feedback, as they will prefer to stick with what has always worked. However, the higher up the corporate ladder that an employee gets, the more important feedback becomes, as each mistake will have major ramifications. Meanwhile, those who are already in upper-level roles might resist coaching because of greed, and a need for power. Essentially, they believe that this help will undermine their own authority in the office, as it is an acknowledgement that they are not perfect.
What benefits will executive consulting provide?
Though personnel might raise some of the objections described previously, it is important for companies to recognize the many benefits that this service will provide. The biggest benefit will be an increase in productivity, as competent managers will address problems promptly while following a planned path to reach the organization's goals. Executives who are better able to handle employee issues mean that the manager can devote more time to strategic decisions. This also allows them to evaluate the vision and mission of the organization. Even company turnover is affected, as coached employees feel that the company is making an investment in them, and thus feel more loyal to the organization and less likely to leave when other companies show an interest in them. This also affects morale, since managers feel that their work is noticed and that they really do have an impact on the company's success, they are more interested in coming in to work each day. Finally, while employees may initially feel uneasy about receiving suggestions for improvement, they will find the advice they receive to be tremendously beneficial in their professional careers.
Conclusion
Once employees have spent a lot of time at a specific company, they will usually be less receptive to feedback since what they have been doing seemed to work so well for them in the past. However, company decision makers must recognize that providing leadership development to current and future managers will offer many benefits to a company. Even initially skeptical employees will find that they have a lot to gain by receiving this crucial support.
Through leadership development and executive consulting, both the company and its leaders will receive tools that will lead them to long-term success.