The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner is considered a classic leadership book by many. Through years of research, the authors have identified “The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership”:
- “Model the Way
- Inspire a Shared Vision
- Challenge the Process
- Enable Others to Act
- Encourage the Heart”
Leaders who put these practices into action more often than other leaders:
- “Create higher-performing teams
- Generate increased sales and customer satisfaction levels
- Foster renewed loyalty and greater organizational commitment
- Enhance motivation and the willingness to work hard
- Facilitate high patient-satisfaction scores and more effectively meet family member needs
- Promote high degrees of student and teacher involvement in schools
- Enlarge the membership size of their religious congregations
- Reduce absenteeism, turnover, and dropout rates
- Positively influence recruitment yields” (from The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner)
The Center for Creative Leadership (2015) has identified a leadership “skills gap” based on the most important leadership skills that are most in need as identified by current leaders:
- “Inspiring commitment
- Leading employees
- Strategic planning
- Change management
- Employee development
- Self-awareness”
High quality leadership makes a positive difference, but many organizations have not developed strategies to develop leaders. Although leadership is important, many people move into managerial and leadership positions and must “sink or swim.” This can be expensive and detrimental for organizations.
Do you see these as the key leadership gaps in your organization? What strategies have you developed or need to develop to address these “gaps”? How can we help you develop a leadership development strategy?