Underwhelming leadership, or downright poor leadership, afflicts organizations of all types. This is seen in politics, public companies, civic organizations, charities and many sports teams (which is why so many coaches get fired each year no matter what sport).
Eszter Molnar Mills shared her expertise and some innovative solutions in a recent interview on Business Innovators Radio. She also gave strategies to improve leadership in organizations in an article in Small Business Trendsetters digital magazine.
Eszter has this to say about the biggest leadership problem in organizations, “Many organizations promote employees based on their past non-managerial experience instead of their leadership potential. It’s common to assume that if someone is good at their job, they will automatically become a good manager, so organizations tend to pick the best professional on a team and promote them into management. However, being good at your “day job” and being a good manager require very different skillsets.
The problem is compounded when organizations focus on employees’ weaknesses instead of their strengths.”
One would think this problem has already been solved. Eszter explains why it hasn’t, “It’s hard for organizations to judge who will be good leaders. Even individual entrepreneurs may not be able to predict if they would be good leaders. In addition, new managers often don’t want to admit that they are struggling with their new roles.”
The innovative solution is one Eszter’s team works with and continues to improve. Eszter describes it as, “We help organizations, teams, and individuals focus on strengths, instead of weaknesses. We help leaders identify their own strengths and learn how to leverage them. We also help them harness the strengths of their team. When they identify a weakness, we encourage them to partner with someone who is strong in the area where they are weak. Microsoft is a great example of a company that has become successful by hiring people based on complementary strengths.
The research that informs Eszter’s work provides encouragement for people who don’t see themselves as “natural born” leaders or as intimidating autocrats. The evidence shows that leadership is a learnable skill, and that positive behaviors are the most effective for employee satisfaction, customer retention, and the organization’s bottom line.
Learn more about Eszter and Formium solutions. Go to: http://leadershipqualification.com/yourgift
