Trends in Leadership Development - Research Paper Example

Name: Topic: Trends in Leadership Development Institution: Date of submission: Instructor Trends in Leadership Development Ricardo and Buss (2008), define leadership and development as the expansion of the organization's capacity to enact basic leadership tasks needed for collective work that is setting goals and maintaining commitment. Whereas leader development focuses on developing human capital, leadership development, on the other hand, focuses on developing social capital. However, majority of leadership development programs are in fact leader development programs aimed at developing individuals. It is important to note that in the current world it is becoming more complex for individual leaders to enact changes on their own. Moreover, the current challenges, that are faced by leaders, are too complex for individual leaders to tackle them alone therefore individuals groups in an organization must work together to come up with solutions that suit an organization. In general, leadership development goes beyond individual capacities rather it focuses on developing connections among people that play roles in leadership. This has led to various trends coming up in the current world, this paper is going to examine those trends and focus on one of them and make recommendations on how the particular trend could be developed in leaders of tomorrow. Due to the changing trends in leadership development organizations have had to come with ways to face challenges that come with these trends through combinations of methods. Williams (2014) gives six leadership trends that are expected in the future, they are: generational difference management, small companies are expected to invest more, businesses will have a more globalized approach and there will be a rise in collective leadership. In addition to these, the author goes further and states that emerging leaders will get more funding and majority of companies focus on vertical development of leadership. These are not the only trends as Parrey (2013) also gives four trends, that is, leader will be defined more under their influence and not the role they play, organizations are now allowing their managers to self-select their participation in global development programs. Moreover, business performance is gaining importance as a measure of global leadership development and that strategic planning is playing a role in developing content for leadership development. To begin with generational change in leadership development is a significant trend as most millennial will start to take up leadership positions. Companies in recent times have had to come up with ways of moderate the generational differences that will arise once young people begin to take leadership positions. Williams (2013) describes Millennials as enterprising people and high achievers; they are independent and confident in addition to following rules. This is because of the reason that they are the only generation that grew up completely absorbed in technology. The trend will bring changes in various boardrooms as has already been noticed since these Millennials will have a new approach to doing thing hence organizations should come up with ways of providing leadership development programs to this group. The other trend is how small companies have begun to invest more, in a recent report by Deloitte the researcher noted that the biggest group that invested in training leaders was small businesses. However, this investment in training of leaders was not limited to the small businesses as mid-sized and multinationals invest in training of leaders. The other trend, as noted by Williams (2013), is a more global approach in terms of doing business. Rowley and Warner (2013) note that leaders of today should not only focus on their hometown business but also global. Visionary leaders should look for ways to grow their business globally hence a trend in leadership development. The trend of emerging leaders being funded more has been in many organizations in recent times. Leadership gaps often arise in organizations and this means that the organization has to look for a way to fill these gaps. In this process, potential leaders are identified and nurtured to take these positions. Firms are, therefore, spending more money in training these types of leaders. Collective leadership and focus on vertical leadership development are also the other trends. Majority of organizations nowadays are encouraging their employees to be more innovative and advice their leaders on how to run the organization better to achieve its goals. This, therefore, brings about collective leadership that makes the employees feel that they are part of the organization in addition to contributing to the leadership. Focus on vertical leadership development as noted by Williams (2013) is about developing leaders within an organization. Many organizations are promoting managers internally since these managers tend to know more about the business unlike recruiting externally. This means that organizations should focus more on their employees and promote them gradually so that they can take the leadership mantles once the seniors retire. As Parrey, (2013) suggests there is a current trend where leaders are defined more by their performance and influence rather than their roles. This has brought about leaders focusing on their employees in helping them make decisions in regards to the business. This in turn has led to improvement of business performance that is used to gauge the reliability of a leader in the business. In the past global leadership, training programs were exclusively for the executives of the business since they were the ones that made a majority of the business decisions. However, recent trends have shown that organizations in the current business model are allowing their managers at all levels of management to take part in these programs. This leads to effective leadership development in the organization as the business is able to source leaders internally. Moreover, strategic planning is playing a vital in leadership development. Organizations are now including leadership development in their long-term strategic planning strategies. This means that many organizations are currently providing leadership development programs unlike in the past. The other trend, that Parrey (2013) suggests, is business performance being used as a gauge of global leadership development. Business leaders of business that have good financial results are considered better leaders than those of businesses that do not. In addition to these leadership development trends, Petrie (2014) suggested that there is going to be new is of innovation in leadership development. Most organizations have to embrace the challenge of finding a new approach to leadership. Organizations have had to experiment on new leadership styles and find out which one best suit their organization. These approaches have been developed by leaders who are innovators in leadership development; they try to come up with better methods of leadership that can be adopted by businesses. Furthermore, there has been an increase in transfer of developmental ownership to the individual; this means that individual people are given the chance to develop themselves unlike the organization determining who is to be developed. This translates to the individuals feeling motivated since the power to achieve their goals solely lies in their hands as Petrie (2014) suggests. This report will focus on the generation difference in management trend to come up with the recommendation. Millennials are a group of people that were in the 1980s. Considering these, these are individuals who are in their thirties and ready to take up leadership and for this reason, leadership development among this group is very important. As Williams (2013) suggested these groups bring about change in management with their fresh ideas, an organization should focus on developing these individuals. As earlier determined in this report Millennials grew up when technology had already been in place hence they were able to interact with these technologies and come up with new ones. Consequently, in their leadership positions they are able to use these technologies to make good decisions and make their work easier. Any company, that does not embrace these individuals, will be at a risk since they constitute the highest number in the population. Moreover, this group of individuals form a large percentage in the majority of the organizations workforce therefore leadership development is essential to them. Brack (2012), suggests that unlike preceding generations Millennials have a special view on the world; meaning of success both personal and professionally. This has at times brought about conflict in organizations with other generations in the workplace. However, organizations have realized that the uniqueness of this generation cannot be taken for granted; their perspective on things and technology competency. Organizations are taking this groups strengths into their advantage hence it is not easy for any organization to assume them if they have any chance of success. To understand these Millennials more and how they bring about generational difference in management of an organization an organization has to determine what these generations want. Brack (2012) came up with four essential that an organization should provide for it to attract this generation. These include coaching, collaboration, measures and motivation. To begin with, Millennials were raised through constant learning and they expect this to continue in the workplace. When Millennials join an organization, they expect that they will be trained on how to perform their tasks regardless of the fact that they are qualified for the job. Coaching may begin with simple things such as responding to emails and having a general conversation with them on how they feel about the organization. This makes generational difference very importance in leadership development since it is through this coaching that an organization is able to identify potential leaders and enroll them in leader development program. The other factor, that organizations have to understand about Millennials, is that they are natural collaborators. When Millennials understand the purpose of an organization, they quickly blend in and start to work. For this reason, Millennials will make better leaders of tomorrow for any organization since they are quick in learning and stick to the organization's goals. Leadership development is about developing leaders through various programs, collaboration is a key factor when developing these leaders hence the reason why generational change is a trend in leadership and development that cannot be neglected. The other factor about Millennials is measurement; these are individuals that were raised with many expectations and these expectations were measured in terms of performance. They understand that their performance at work will be measured and they will be promoted in accordance with their performance and nothing else. As noted earlier in this report performance is a growing trend globally on measuring business success hence the reason why Millennials are very important in leadership development. Motivation of any employer is important in improving their morale hence boosting their productivity. Millennials are used to being motivation when they perform well just as good leaders are also rewarded for good performance. Consequently, organizations should always motivate their employees so as to realize success since they are the greatest asset of the organization. In addition to this millennial, are also used to supervision and leaders that are honest and respect them. In leadership development, this is very significant since it is the leaders’ role to ensure that employees are well treated and remunerated hence there is no chance of assuming Millennials. There are various risks that an organization is faced with in terms of leadership if Millennials are not taken into consideration. When this group feels that, they are not appreciated by an organization they tend to look for other places where they will feel so hence it is important for any organization appreciate them. Neglecting them according to Farrell and Hurt (2014) will have various implications for both the organization and its leadership. The Millennials have an effect on organizational culture; this is how an organization is used to run its functions. Since this group makes a large part of the workforce to many organizations, leaders of these organizations should come up with ways to suit the needs of these individuals. For example, if a manager is given a task to supervise them, this manager should ensure that his results are exclusively based on performance and not favoritism if he does not want any sabotage. Brack (2012) suggests that the human resource department plays a very critical role in leadership development of Millennials. The human resource attracts trains and retains the Millennials through various ways. In attracting them, the human resource on behalf of the organization informs prospective employees on issues like organizational culture and their expected earnings. The human resource thereafter trains the employees by enrolling them in leadership development program and retains them by promotion and good remuneration. This is why generational change is very important in the management of important in leadership development, leaders are identified from their first day at work and the management works hard to ensure that these leaders are retained. If the organization does not provide avenues for these kinds of leaders to develop, that is, the, Millennials then they will not only end up failing but also losing to the future leaders. Millennials are considered to be future leaders in generations, that were born before them, are aging and will need people to succeed them; these people happen to be Millennials hence they are very important in leadership development. There are various reasons why Millennials are important to leadership development, but the main reason is that they are the leaders of tomorrow hence they have to be nurtured properly. Danner (2013) gives other reasons why millennials are important to leadership development programs in any organization. The first reason is that Millennials are digitally immersed; they are not just well versed with technology, but it is an integral part of who they are. Technology through devices not only provides morale for the Millennials but also provides an avenue for interaction globally. Communicating globally is essential for any leader that wants to grow their business hence the reason Millennials are important for leadership development. Most leaders, who are Millennials, are now on social media and are able to communicate directly their clients. This ensures that the leaders are able to establish what their clients require hence why organizations should embrace leaders who are Millennials more. The other importance of the Millennials as a trend in leadership development is that they have an open source mentality. This statement means that they have easy access to information and distribute it regularly. Millennial leaders get the information through the internet and sometimes share it on social media platforms. This has however led to security concerns at times and organizations have to come up with ways of controlling flow of information or else it will end up in the wrong hand; at times information shared is confidential which could be detrimental to the organization. Generation change in management will mean that organizations have to come up with ways of ensuring they source trustworthy millennial leaders and for this reason, millennials are important in leadership development. Taking the above information into consideration, the report, therefore, makes the following recommendations: • Organizations should start measuring leaders in terms of influence and performance rather than their roles. Millennials are future leaders and as determined by this report they to be evaluated only by merit. • Organizations should also develop leadership programs that suit Millennials since they are the future leaders. • Moreover, organizations should embrace more Millennials in their executive positions so as they may be able to develop leaders internally. • In addition to these, the report also recommends that to develop future leaders organizations should adopt current technologies as shown in these report Millennials love to work with technologies. • Furthermore, the report recommends that in developing future leaders organizations should include in their strategic plans how they will attract and retain Millennials since they are the future leaders. • The report also recommends that there should be a change in leadership style; as determined by this report Millennials love more collective leadership style. For this reason, this report recommends that they should be included in leadership positions so as to nurture them as leaders. • The report furthermore recommends that organizations should appreciate the diversity of their organizations; the clash of Millennials and other generations in the workplace should not be encouraged if there is any chance of nurturing leaders out of Millennials. • the Last but not least the report recommends that organizations should control the flow of information since as shown in the report Millennials love to share information hence an organization does not want confidential information getting in the wrong hand. This way the organization will be able to develop leaders who are responsible for what they share. Bibliography Brak, J. (2012). Maximizing Millennials in the Workplace. [Online] Kenan-flagler.unc.edu. Available at: http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/executive-development/custom-programs/~/media/DF1C11C056874DDA8097271A1ED48662.ashx [Accessed 15 Jan. 2015]. Dannar, P. (2013). Millennials: What They Offer Our Organizations and How Leaders Can Make Sure They Deliver. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 6(1). Farell, L. and C. Hurt, A. (2014). Training the Millennial Generation: Implications for Organizational Climate. Journal of Organizational Learning and Leadership, 12(1). Lawson, K. (2008). Leadership development basics. Alexandria, Va.: ASTD Press. Morse, R. and Buss, T. (2008). Innovations in public leadership development. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. Parrey, D. (2013). Four Trends in Global Leadership Development - i4cp. [online] Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp). Available at: http://www.i4cp.com/trendwatchers/2013/10/16/four-trends-in-global-leadership-development [Accessed 15 Jan. 2015]. Petrie, N. (2014). Future Trends in Leadership Development. 1st ed. [eBook] Centre for Creative Leadership. Available at: http://www.ccl.org/Leadership/pdf/research/futureTrends.pdf [Accessed 15 Jan. 2015]. Rowley, C. and Warner, M. (2013). GLOBALIZING INTERN HUMAN RES MANAGE. London: Routledge. Williams, I. (2014). 6 Leadership Development Trends for 2015Switch & Shift. [online] Switch & Shift. Available at: http://switchandshift.com/6-leadership-development-trends-for-2015 [Accessed 15 Jan. 2015]. Read More