A Leadership Development Program at The Primary Level
- Dr. Lovekush Singh
- Dec 24, 2020
- 6 min read
Organizations are investing time and resources in training the leaders of tomorrow to ensure that senior roles are played by professionals with the right set of skills and clear goals. Good leaders are indispensable resources for an organization, not only because they contribute to the growth of the firm but they also drive innovation, create a good working environment, and refer to new people within the organization.
The days of a business owner make decisions that affect the daily productivity and growth of the company. To help the company run more efficiently, the owner of the company puts together policies and programs that address basic business activities. These broad guidelines make it possible for all employees to understand how to perform basic business functions and allow the company to operate more efficiently. Identifying basic business activities makes business planning easier. This blog will focus on the various components of a leadership development program and its importance. It will also give in-depth insights on how you can create an effective leadership development program. Read on to learn more about the intricacies of these programs and how developing a strong leadership team can lead an organization to success.
Basic business activities to start a leading business are includes:
Budget Preparation:
Each company creates a budget that determines how revenue is used in daily operations and in the pursuit of future growth. Each department manager gives input on the costs of ongoing operations, and then a budget is created that allows the company to track all expenses and revenues. The budget for the previous year is compared with the actual results for that year so that a guideline can be made for the next year's expenditure plan.
Accounting Operations & Management:
Accounting is the process of managing the flow of money within and outside a company. The areas under the accounting group are accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, customer credit accounts, collections, and tax accounting. Accounting reporting is responsible for annual tax filings, monitoring company costs, and maintaining financial relationships with vendors and customers.
Marketing Planning and Brand Recognition:
Marketing helps to develop brand recognition in the company and market as well as to develop advertising pieces that the buying public will see. The marketing group develops comprehensive marketing plans that use sales projections in determining the best way to use company resources to gain greater exposure to the organization and its products.
Rising Sales and Building Reliable Business Relationships:
The sales group is the group that maintains direct contact with the customer base. The sales group reaches prospects to help expand the customer base while maintaining a reliable business relationship with existing customers to secure safe sales. The sales team of a company should be skilled in matching company solutions with customer needs to create product demand.
Hiring Well Qualified Employees:
The HR aspect of an organization is important to maintain current operations as well as to plan for future expansion. A company is required to actively search for qualified candidates whose qualifications match those currently available positions, or who can be kept available should they need personnel.
Customer Service and Preserving Relationships:
Customer service maintains corporate revenue by resolving customer issues and preserving the purchase relationship. The customer service group does not seek to expand the company's revenue base by providing solutions to customers. Active customer contact is reserved for the sales group. The customer service department is the one that calls the customer if there is a shipping, product, or billing issue.
*Leadership from the primary level*
Leadership development is a program implemented to broaden the ability of individuals to perform efficiently in a key role within an organization. It focuses on developing critical responsibilities in an organization and honoring the capabilities of professionals, such as designing and executing business strategies, building alignment, and helping others with career development. Development programs help employees understand what not to do as a leader.
A leadership development program at the primary level includes the following-
Context of leadership: Leadership development programs should focus on strengthening the relationship between individual employees and the company. Before creating a leadership development program for a group of employees, it is necessary to understand their goals and identify why they want to develop leadership traits. Leadership development programs should be designed around the strengths and goals of an employee.
Experiential learning: The purpose of establishing a leadership development program is to help budding leaders understand leadership principles and their practical implementation. Therefore, it is important that programs incorporate experiential learning because it can not only retain employees but also better convey leadership concepts to employees.
Acceptance to change: Change is not always welcomed with open arms and the work does not vary by setting. When employees are trained to take leadership roles, it is important that the instructor encourage them to change responsibilities and rise to the occasion. Leadership development should include experiences that can help participants prevent change.
Constructive feedback: As employees will enter a new horizon in their professional lives, it is important that they receive qualitative and quantitative feedback to assess their progress. Employees should know how the progress of their leadership is affecting their business functions. Instructors should ensure that the feedback given to participants is constructive and helps them to work on the skills gaps that may exist.
*Steps to an effective leadership development program*
Step 1: Define the leadership goals of the organization: To create efficient and smart leaders, it is necessary that they have complete knowledge and understanding of the leadership goals set by the organization. The basic element of an effective leadership program is to clearly articulate leadership goals. In addition, it is also important that the development program is created after factoring in leadership gaps within an organization. For example, if someone in the senior leadership team is leaving the job or retiring, the leadership program should focus on the characteristics and characteristics that the business misses. The development program should be designed around the short-term and long-term strategic goals of the organization.
Step 2: Focus on development: While leadership development programs are intended to train professionals in developing leadership skills, approach training should not be focused. It is necessary to create a leadership program where employees are encouraged to develop skills rather than being trained. Leaders must be nurtured and cannot be built. The structure of the program should present participants with learning opportunities that allow them to grow as leaders. This should include important elements such as collaboration, advice, and organizational planning. This will help the participants to acquire skills that can help them to become skilled leaders.
Step 3: Identify potential leaders: Identifying potential leaders is not an easy task. Focusing on the top performers may be the right thing, but it is not necessarily the right decision. If a person is an exceptional artist and has high productivity, it does not mean that they will be good leaders. Characteristics of a leader are not synonymous with a good artist. When creating a leadership development program, it is important to scout beyond clear options and explore more possibilities. It is essential that the chosen few have the ability and will to grow as leaders within the organization.
Step 4: Gauging performance: It is an integral element in the creation of an effective leadership development program. It is important to exclude the factors that determine the success and impact of the program. Some factors that contribute to measuring program success include:
The number of employees successfully completing the leadership program.
Many successful promotions among employees participating in the program.
Effectiveness of the leadership capabilities of employees.
Importance of leadership development programs:
One of the major benefits of leadership development programs is that they have a positive impact on employee productivity;
They can increase employee engagement and help to build leaders who can effectively lead teams.
They create a positive work culture and encourage more employees to work towards learning at work and acquiring leadership roles.
Effective leaders help businesses develop unique and efficient strategies that can take organizations to new heights.
They help create a positive image of leadership, giving emerging leaders a living example.
The benefits of leadership development programs are countless. However, the key lies in creating a development program that matches the work culture and aims to reduce leadership gaps within the organization. Today, organizations are not only seeking leadership capabilities among applicants but also have the ability to nurture new leaders who can contribute to the organization's goals. Today's leaders have a responsibility to make tomorrow's leaders. If you want to know more about the complexities of leadership development programs and enter the professional field.
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