How to prepare managers for leadership
Not everyone is a born leader — but leadership skills can be taught.
Regardless of natural ability, new leaders need coaching, training and support to successfully fulfill their roles, because overcoming mismanagement is vital to business growth.
Leaders need to feel confident and empowered to do their jobs in order to inspire others on their team. However, 43 per cent of managers who have been in their role for less than a year say they have received no training. This means they could be lacking the necessary skills, tools and resources to do their job effectively while leading the rest of their team.
Since more than half (56 per cent) of human resources managers consider training and development essential to business, in this article, we’ll walk through how to prepare new and future leaders in your organization to feel ready for their roles.
Train managers for the leadership role
There are many ways you can help new leaders explore and hone their skills. Enroll them in an organizational coaching course, encourage them to ask for feedback, and provide them with information on different management styles so they can fine-tune their own skills.
It’s important to look for gaps in experience and skill sets and treat them as learning opportunities. Continual learning requires discipline and initiative, but it’s well worth the effort.
This is where organizational coaching skills can be helpful. You can develop their coaching skills or bring in a trusted mentor or coach to work with them one-on-one or in a group. Organizational coaches can provide teams and new leaders with support for specific challenges, fears or weaknesses that may be holding them back.
Lead by example through reflection and discovery
Leading by example through individual and team reflection encourages introspection and motivates everyone in your organization to set and work toward meaningful goals.
Pause and reflect on how far your team has come. Think about where you are today and where you want to be a year from now, five years from now, ten years from now and beyond. This will give you a foundation on which you can strategize for future team development.
When leaders pause to consider their experiences, they gain valuable knowledge. For instance, holding a “post mortem” to reflect on a project or situation can help your team generate possible solutions for better outcomes in the future.
Explore what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve, but also note how emotional intelligence and self-awareness play into the way individuals respond to different circumstances. These so-called “soft skills” are key leadership strengths worth developing.
Coach new managers on company culture
A proper introduction to company culture is key for a new manager or supervisor because it helps leaders get their bearings in the new environment and dictates how leaders will inspire and shape existing teams.
Be clear on expectations and processes from the start and use check-ins to audit current leadership development systems within your organization to improve the experience.
Regularly checking in with new leaders shows them you care about how they’re doing. Building a trustworthy relationship lets them know they can approach you if they need help, and allows you to monitor the level of support they need to perform their best.
It also helps to model the ways they can support their own direct reports, and it integrates them into your company’s culture with more than just a brief onboarding session.
Prepare your leaders with practical tools
Strong leadership starts with an innovative training plan and organizational coaching skills. Prepare your new and future leaders for success with an organizational coaching course at Lethbridge College (LC).
Train tomorrow’s leaders today. Register your team for the Level 1 ICF-accredited organizational coaching course through LC Extension.