ARE THEY WORTH THE MONEY?
I have just had a really interesting discussion with one of my colleagues about the value of management development and leadership development in times of eceonomic turmoil.
It has long been recognised that security and as a result possibly job security is a hygiene factor. A basic need that we, as human beings, all have. Due to the recent economic downturn there are many, many people who fear that they will lose their jobs. As a result of job insecurity the fundamental trust relationship between employer and employee and the engagement the employee has with the business may be de-stabilised. If you accept this hypothesis then nothing the manager or leader do will change and the ultimate impact is on performance.
You can imagine that I don’t accept this view. You may be familiar with the saying that ‘people join a company but leave their manager’. I believe the same to be true in this case. Even in times of uncertainty for the organisation managers’ and leaders’ have a key role in creating trust and developing the environment for all employees to perform to their full potential. In supporting everyone to give of their best should help the business through difficult times.
I believe that management development, leadership development and business coaching are even more critical right now in helping leaders and managers to improve individual and business performance. Our world of work has cahnged and will inevitable evolve further managers and leaders will always play a key role in helping their team navigate change.
Kim