Do Any Of These Statements Sound Like Your Workplace?

“40% of our middle managers DO NOT have the leadership competencies required for our company to be successful.”	“The executive team are not showing up as leaders.”
“We have a culture that says, ‘You should be lucky to work here.”	“People are disconnected from why we exist and where we are going.”
“We promote people who are great at their job, but do not have the competencies or maybe even character to lead.”	“I am blown away by the people issues that get in the way of moving forward.”
“We don’t lead people; we herd them.”	“We need to stop trying to hire a team and start developing our people.”

I have partnered with organizations ranging in size from 15 to 150, to 1,500, to 15,000 employees.

All have scaled from high-impact teams into enterprises.

All struggle when the ties and tendons that once held everyone focused became stretched by the growth.

Stretched to the point where the organization’s efforts to meet its goals and objectives were frustrated because employees:

They lacked trust and confidence in leadership and
They were disconnected from the organization’s mission and strategic objectives.

Read about connecting employees to strategy

And they faced these very issues while undergoing a considerable expansion.

Imagine the most significant project your company has ever taken on.

A new project that would grow your company’s size by 30-50%.

Your company’s leadership is 90% sure they will be on time, on budget and successful.

BUT: Employees are 75% sure this will fail.

The Problem

When I reported what I saw to the client, the CEO asked angrily, “Why is this a problem? I Am The CEO, if I want it fixed, I’ll say so!”

Why can’t the CEO fix it?

The CEO, though respected, is an emotional vacuum.

Read more about Emotional Intelligence.

He would move through the floors of his office complex by the stairwell and skirt around work areas. He purposely avoided talking to his employees.

He was a visionary but could not explain the strategy or the tactics humanly.

He needed to accept responsibility for how the company’s story was disseminated through the company.

My work with employees identified concerns about leadership competencies, the poor culture of leadership and the leadership skills of managers & supervisors.

Read about Steve’s organizational consulting.

Yet the CEO wanted it fixed by fiat.

Research and experience show that investing in the following key leadership competencies are most critical for success:

Inspirational Leadership & Execution
Strategic Direction & Influence
Building Talent

Leaders who are influential in these competencies have the strength to lead the organization for years.

Organizations whose leaders struggle in these areas are doomed to remain irrelevant and ineffective.

The Solution?

The gap between the current organization’s leadership bench strength and what its future leadership demands is as severe a liability as failing to manage any other risk.

I recommended that my client take both a strategic and a tactical approach to align the development of managers with organizational objectives.

Strategically, they must invest in developing leadership competencies development programs and hiring tools and processes.

Tactically, they must develop mentoring and coaching support to close the skill gaps in each critical leadership competency.

The Single Most Important Thing To Do?

There is a Japanese term called Gemba (現場), meaning “the actual place.”… In business, Gemba refers to where value is created; in manufacturing, the Gemba is the factory floor.

The CEO needs to see and be seen where value is created—the gas plant, the control room and, yes, even the accounting and IT departments.

Read about leadership presence.

He needs to ask good questions to hear and see what is going on and ensure his messages are communicated throughout his company.

He needs to paint the picture of his vision so everyone can see it.