Supporting the development of leadership at all levels in a time of change

The on-going Covid-19 pandemic has made it more evident that organisational agility (the ability to deliver the right customer experience and engage employees in the midst of emerging challenges) is imperative to an organisation’s survival. While many leaders only implement processes in hopes of building organisational agility, leaders who have helped organisations thrive during change are those who built organisational agility through the collective agility of people. This requires supporting employees through their varying work transformations and transitions and helping the organisation shift to an empowered, human-centric culture.

Culture by design coaching provides transformational learning programs that help organisations make this shift and guide people on journeys that build agility across various disciplines and organisational areas. One of our many learning programs focuses on people development, which highlights what leaders need to learn to unlock the potential in people and teams and enable high levels of organisational success. In collaboration with thought leaders across various industries and countries we have identified three key themes to focus on when you’re supporting people development.

Shift from People Management to People Development

• When leaders only focus on managing people and not on developing people, they impede the organisation’s ability to increase its agility. For an organisation to thrive, leaders must recognize that people are the catalyst for agility because the organisation’s agility depends on the personal agility of individuals in every role and at every level.

• This shift doesn’t happen overnight; it requires us to unlearn some traditional people management approaches and embrace both an agile and a growth mindset while empowering and developing those in our organisation.

Develop Leadership in Others

• Successful organisations build leadership behaviours and attitudes in employees at every level regardless of title or role. To do this, leaders need to co-create growth and development plans with individuals in such a way that connects with their passions and interests and aligns with organisational needs and pathways.

• It’s also important to focus on development from day one. Whether it’s through an effective employee training program or through continued learning and development opportunities, leaders should consider how to instil a culture of learning and development from the start for every new employee regardless of their role.

Create an Environment That Promotes Team Development

• Developing people can’t happen in a vacuum. It must be considered in relation to the development of teams and how it interacts with the overall system of the organisation. The role of leadership is to consider factors that have been shown to promote team development, such as self-organisation, collective ownership, and team accountability. As teams are created and continue to evolve, leaders also need to be mindful of these factors and consider how to shift their leadership style to meet the changing needs of the team.

• Regardless of your role, it’s important to support the development of people in your organisation. Doing so helps unlock potential and unleashes an organisation’s ability to survive and thrive in challenging environments.