Business priorities ebb and flow.  I have been working with numerous organizations lately helping them to identify how to best support their leaders and their focus on leadership development. This focus seems to be top of mind for many organizations for a number of reasons, and a recent Gartner study shares that HR Leaders in 2023 are focusing on 5 Top priorities – with Leader and Manager Effectiveness being #1.

Important Focus areas for 2023

The below reasons echo my client organizations’ concerns and some of the findings from Gartner:

• Employee engagement has become a critical focus (if it wasn’t already) for organizations in response to the “great resignation”, “quiet quitting”, and the highlight of employee experience being a key influencer on customer (patient) experience. Preparing your leaders to focus on engagement, and learn what that means, is critical to the future of organizations.
• Organizations realize that if they don’t invest in their leaders by offering leadership development opportunities, they won’t necessarily benefit from all that leaders have the potential to offer and their leaders likely won’t be prepared for what the workplace needs now and into the future.
• The recognition that skill development is not the only area of development that leaders need in order to be impactful.
• All of the above reflect the need for the “future of work” which Gartner frames as a new focus on “The Human-Centric Leader”.

The Importance of Connection

Other reports are showing similar trends.

I led a workshop recently where questions came up about the importance of connecting with, and truly knowing your direct reports. This is about Human-Centric Leadership – where managers focus first on the person! This is very new and often uncomfortable for many leaders, and thus, companies may need to invest in their leaders to help them develop in this area.

Invest Wisely in yourself or your Leaders

Below are a couple of ways to invest in your leaders to prepare them for what is needed most:

• Offer the support of an executive coach through one-on-one, team, or group coaching
• Provide workshops focused on developing areas such as:
  • Curiosity
  • Trust and Psychological Safety
  • Empowering others
  • Team building/cohesiveness
  • And more…
• Encourage Employee Resource Groups

Want to ensure you or your organization are set up for success for 2023 and not sure where to begin? Want to engage in leadership development for you or your organization? Are you curious about how you can lead more effectively, or wondering how to help the leaders in your organization embrace their highest potential? I support individuals, teams, and organizations, working with leaders from emerging to executives. I would welcome the opportunity to support you or your organization.  Let’s connect.

“Everyone talks about building a relationship with your customer. I think you build one with your employees first.” – Angela Ahrendts