What May Be Lacking with Leadership in Management Today

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From leadership in businesses to leadership in nursing, having someone guiding the operation is crucial in any organisation. Without this type of guidance, organisations wouldn’t be able to function at a high level.

However, while most organisations have people in charge, management doesn’t always hit the mark. Specifically, organisational leaders in the modern world are lacking key skills that can help bolster employee satisfaction and yield better results.

Here’s what may be lacking with leadership in management today.

1. Employee Development

While there have been many exciting and beneficial innovations in leadership over the last several decades, some shifting practices aren’t hitting the mark. In particular, many leaders in the modern world don’t engage in enough employee development during their tenure in management.

This disheartening cycle typically starts during the hiring phase. While many businesses used to take chances on budding professionals with the intention of helping them grow and learn, most leaders today simply search for candidates with many years of experience. Though there’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach, it’s resulted in a never-ending cycle of finding pre-qualified employees to fill job roles.

As a result of this method of hiring, many managers don’t put any effort into helping employees grow their skill set and become more valuable employees. In other words, managers in today’s world don’t prioritise employee development as much as they once did.

Fortunately, this is a practice that can be remedied with the right steps. Some great practices that managers can engage in to boost employee development include:

• Upskilling: This amazing new practice can be described as the process of encouraging employees to learn new skills. Ultimately, this practice results in employees becoming more valuable to one’s company and the job market as a whole.

• Understanding employee goals: Oftentimes, leaders in today’s world don’t even bother to ask their employees what their career goals are. By taking time to find this information, leaders have a chance to lend employees meaningful guidance that helps them achieve their career goals.

• Hiring less-experienced employees: Though this doesn’t always have to be the case, hiring less-experienced employees sometimes can give leaders the opportunity to help professionals grow. In the end, this will help managers hone their leadership styles and become better at guiding their employees.

2. Promoting Diversity

Sadly, the past decades were characterised by unfair — and sometimes outright discriminatory — practices in the workplace. From not giving someone a promotion because of their gender to openly mocking employees about their race, these disheartening practices became deeply ingrained in the workplace culture of the United States.

Thankfully, this process has begun to change in significant ways. Instead of ignoring these hard-to-face facts, many organisations are now trying to address them head-on. However, some people who find themselves in leadership positions haven’t adjusted to these efforts as quickly as many would hope.

In today’s evolving age in which equality is one of the most sought-after ideals, organisational leaders must engage in practices that help promote diversity and equal opportunities among all levels of staff.

Some meaningful practices that leaders can engage in to promote diversity include:

• Founding and joining a DEI committee: DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) committees are groups within organisations comprising all levels of employees with the intention of promoting diversity and making sure all employees are being treated equally regardless of their background. Leaders intent on making positive changes can found or join these organisations to take a more hands-on approach to enacting organisational change.

• Always seeking diverse perspectives: Before making decisions, whether big or small, leaders can promote an inclusive company culture by always seeking out diverse perspectives. By consistently engaging in this practice, leaders will ensure that all of their employees feel heard and represented.

• Making all employees feel welcome: While some employees may have many coworkers with similar backgrounds, others may feel more isolated. To make sure that all employees feel welcome, leaders should go the extra mile to engage in different efforts that make each and every employee feel comfortable in the workplace.

3. An Understanding of New Tools and Processes

Over the last several decades, the world has evolved in significant ways — particularly in the realm of technology. These shifts have had massive impacts on the workplace, radically altering the way that professionals in a variety of industries do their jobs.

Sadly, however, many professionals in positions of power ascended the ranks prior to these pivotal changes. As a result, there are many managers today who aren’t aware of how to effectively manage their employees through digital communications and with the use of these new tools.

Oftentimes, this can create unnecessary friction between leaders and their employees. In some cases, leaders may even give faulty guidance that hampers operations due to their inexperience with these newer tools.

Thankfully, however, not all leaders who are unfamiliar with newer technology and tools are doomed to stay inexperienced. Instead, there are amazing ways that they can cultivate a deeper understanding of these tools and become more effective leaders.

Some great ways that leaders can develop a better understanding of new tools and processes include:

• Taking courses: Though many leaders feel that their power is undermined by taking courses, learning about new digital tools will make them more effective in their roles. This being the case, all managers should take courses about how to use the apps and technology that their companies utilise regularly.

• Asking questions: For many managers, asking others for guidance with certain tasks may feel like a step in the wrong direction. The truth is, however, that asking others for tips about how different digital tools function can make the process of becoming acquainted with them far easier.

• Admitting when one doesn’t know: Another trap that many managers fall into is never feeling able to admit when one is wrong. In the new digital age, simply changing one’s course when one realises one is wrong can radically improve productivity and help avoid unnecessary organisational disasters.

Organisational Leaders Need to Evolve

While there have been many exciting changes in business over the last several years, many people in management positions are engaging in poor practices. Fortunately, there are key strategies that these leaders can engage in to improve their leadership styles and better support their employees. As time goes on and more awareness is brought to this subject, many are hopeful that leaders will evolve with the changing times.

This article was guest written by Andrew Deen.