Why you benefit from leadership development even if you don’t aspire to a leadership role.

The last couple of years have proven beyond doubt that challenges can confront us at any time. Yet, according to Brandon Hall Group’s 2020 Leadership Development research, less than 60% of organisations believe their leaders possess the competencies to lead their businesses towards success in the next two years. If your leaders don’t have the capacity to lead, how will your organisation achieve its goals?

To cope with the challenges, confront and overcome them, we need more than the job training we’re given. We need personal development as well as professional. No matter where you are in your career or where you’re headed, if you haven’t considered leadership development as your skill source, now is the time to do so.

The benefits of leadership development are many.

1. We need the ability to work well with people and influence them to get the job done. Leadership development addresses the soft skills – communication, influence, and interpersonal skills – not covered by standard workplace training.
2. Those who perform consistently and engage others to work towards an intelligent outcome are those who build solid careers. When you show you’re up to the challenge, you prove yourself valuable beyond your current role. Leadership development focuses on you and your development needs, giving you the best opportunity to blossom and perform at your best.
3. The skills and self-awareness you gain through leadership training makes you a valuable commodity. No matter what your next career move might be, networking contacts or potential employers are watching you and we know they prefer to select people who already have the skills they are looking for.
4. Leadership development can be a huge asset to women and people from groups underrepresented in the workplace. Not only does it increase and enhance your existing abilities, but it also proves you are willing and able to step up when opportunities arise. Your actions speak for you.
5. If your leaders aren’t leading, you have a choice. You can put up with the status quo or you can fix what needs fixing. You can choose to lead change no matter what your title. Leadership development equips you with the confidence to lead change and the ability to influence others towards the better outcome.
6. How well do you know yourself? Leadership development helps you become more self-aware, so you understand your actions and reactions. It helps you deal with your emotional reactions, so they don’t control you. It helps you manage yourself, so your words and behaviours advance you to your goal.
7. One of the most important skills in the workplace is emotional intelligence yet it’s one area that can make or break a career. The Center for Creative Leadership reports that 75 % of careers derail for reasons relating to emotional competencies. Without working on your emotional intelligence, you may be limiting your career future. Leadership development will hone your emotional intelligence, helping you make better decisions, improve your job performance and enhance your personal and professional relationships.

You don’t have to be in a leadership role to lead people, but you do have an impact on the leadership of your team. The level of impact is up to you. That’s why it’s important to build and polish your leadership skills even if you don’t want the title.

Leadership coaching will help define your goals, discover your unique qualities, reveal your blind spots and improve your overall effectiveness.

Are you ready to make the most of yourself and your abilities? Give me a call or shoot me an email and let’s chat. This is the year to make the most of yourself.